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Altria Group (NYSE: MO) is one of those companies that people love to hate. Considering Altria sells cigarettes, it is understandable. But Altria stock is making big moves and gives you a good chance to profit and collect a tidy dividend.

Steve McDonald looks ahead to the investment climate in the new year. He sees a bounce in the Dow reaching as high as 11,000. But an economic recovery will depend on whether the Obama administration can restore confidence in the public. For 2009’s top money-makers, Steve picks six high-dividend stocks and two corporate bond plays.

Last week’s government aid package for homeowners appears to be working. Mortgage rates have fallen sharply, sending applications soaring. Andrew Snyder says this could be the start of a recovery in the real estate market, which would help stabilize the wider economy. This creates a great chance for profits with discounted blue chips like General Electric (NYSE:GE) and Altria (NSYE:MO).

There are great wealth-creating opportunities in today’s miserable markets, says Andrew Snyder. Take oil, for example. The black goo is on a slippery slope towards $50 a barrel, and no OPEC production cuts are going to stop this in the short term. Andrew says the UltraShort Oil and Gas ProShares ETF (AMEX:DUG) is the best way to profit from the oil industry’s downturn.

As corporate earnings slump, companies are cutting back on dividend payments to shareholders. In fact, 3Q 2008 is set to be the worst quarter in over half a century for dividend cuts.

Andrew Snyder says this creates a great opportunity for contrarian investors. When stock prices tumble, the ratio of dividend payouts to stock prices increases. This gives “smart investors a shot at some great low-priced, high-yield equity plays.”

Andrew says Altria Group (NYSE:MO) is a great option for dividend-seeking investors.

Andrew Snyder says investors need to look beyond the chaos on Wall Street if they want to profit in this crisis. Strong and established firms have been dragged down by the toxic banking sector and are now selling at bargain prices. The share buybacks of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Altria (NYSE:MO) and Nike (NYSE:NKE) this week show they are undervalued. They also generate income through solid dividend payments.

As the financial sector continues to roil with uncertainty and unease, Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:KFT) has been selected to replace American International Group Inc. (AIG) in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, reports Jennifer Yousfi in Money Morning. AIG stock plunged Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve’s $85 billion bailout of the flagging insurer, taking the 112-year old blue-chip stock index down with it.

Right before yesterday afternoon’s spectacular rally in US stocks, Andrew Snyder recommended investors buy oversold shares. In particular, he said Nortel (NYSE:NT), which was down 45% since the start of the week, didn’t merit the plunge and was due a short-term bounce. NT today is up by only a fraction of a percent. This means there’s time to get in on this trade.

Altria Group Inc.’s (MO) purchase of UST Inc. (UST), the largest smokeless-tobacco maker, could spark a wave of consolidation in the domestic tobacco industry.