This from The Rude Awakening:

This financial meltdown is mauling almost every asset class. Stocks are trashed. Corporate bonds are a wreck. Emerging markets are crushed. Energy prices are tumbling. Commodities generally are in the dumps. Safe havens? Get outta here!…Even gold is trending lower. There has been nowhere to hide…except T-bills.

But there is a ray of sunshine; stocks have not been this cheap in more than twenty years…and many stocks are as cheap as anything you could have found at the market lows of 1974. No, we don’t think your should borrow a massive amount of money to invest, hoping for a quick turnaround. But it is time to cautiously look at the opportunities the market presents…

Often, it is the small companies that lead the charge toward market recovery. Just take a look at what some of the market specialists are saying:

“When you look back over the last 10 recessionary environments, what tends to lead back on the upside is small-cap equities.”

— William Greiner, Chief Investment Officer of UMB Asset Management

“Like springtime crocuses, small-cap stocks flourish once the harsh cold of a bear market is over… Because small-caps are undervalued once the market turns around, they benefit disproportionately from an earnings recovery.”

— Larry Light, Wall Street Journal

Now, who knows when the bear market will end, or when the stock market will find a bottom? After the Dow’s 1,000-point rebound on October 13, we all hoped the worst was over. That rebound, however, proved to be nothing but a tease. Over the following weeks, the Dow proceeded to give back every one of those 1,000 points. Then stocks rocketed higher again…and then tumbled again.

Despite these 1,000-point gyrations, the Dow has managed to crawl almost 9% above its bear market low of 8,175. Unfortunately, the beleaguered index would need to gain another 60% to return to its all-time high! So that gives you some idea how far the mighty have fallen. And many of the less-mighty – the small cap stocks – have fallen even farther. But this is where our sad story takes a turn for the better: A lot of very fine stocks are wearing deeply discounted price tags.

Just look at a stock like Neenah Paper (NYSE:NP), a small-cap paper manufacturer that saw its share price slide 80% despite very solid fundamentals. Or look at stocks like chip-maker Silicom Ltd. (NASDAQ:SILC) or chemical manufacturer Buckeye Technologies (NYSE:BKI), both of which have solid fundamentals and P/Es under 7.

Even though the markets have been anything but kind to investors lately, a few courageous (and historically successful) investors are making a good case for buying up some undervalued stocks right now.

Warren Buffett, who has never claimed the ability to predict short-term stock market action, is one of the investors who is beginning to make some purchases. “A simple rule dictates my buying,” the Oracle of Omaha explains, “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”

We agree…and we think it’s time to get greedy…at least a little greedy.

Source: Betting on Gambling

More from Penny Sleuth:

Warren Buffett has never claimed the ability to predict short-term stock market action. Instead of relying on charts and technical indicators, the greatest investor this country has ever seen has trusted his own analysis. By picking through individual businesses and stockpiling shares of the best of the best, Buffett built his fortune.

Now he’s doing it all over again…

In a guest column in the New York Times, Buffett admits he is buying American stocks with his personal money, which was previously tucked away in government bonds. Soon — if Buffett feels that prices will remain attractive — all of the Oracle’s non-Berkshire net worth will find its way into U.S. stocks.

“A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful,” Buffett writes.

We agree…it’s time to get greedy. We’re seeing some cheap stocks out there in Pennyland. And today, we’re going to discuss the best way to find the stocks most likely to surge when the economic outlook brightens…

In last year’s letter to shareholders, Buffett explained that he looks for businesses that he can understand, have favorable long-term economics, able management, and a sensible price tag. If you want to play off of Buffett’s strategy, the first thing you’ll want to look for is a business model you can count on.

Understanding what you own is an essential part of investing. During the tech bubble, as Internet companies grew at an impressive clip, Buffett stayed away simply because he didn’t understand their business prospects. The decision turned prophetic when the bubble burst and online companies went belly-up one by one.

Valuation is equally important. Over the course of the last several months, countless companies have seen their share prices trampled for no real reason at all — just look at Neenah Paper (NYSE:NP), a small-cap paper manufacturer that saw its share price slide 55% in spite of otherwise solid fundamentals.

If you’re looking for solid penny stock plays, another thing to keep in mind is cash. With credit markets still on shaky ground, companies with enough money to stay the course through tough times have a serious liquidity advantage over those who need to borrow to keep afloat.

What should you look out for? Well, Buffett has advice on that too…

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This little-known defense stock soared 2,341% in 12 months — then another 47% after joining the Nasdaq Capital Market…

To learn more about how this “secret” market stock jumped to a major exchange and major profits within 12 months, read on…

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“The worst sort of business is one that grows rapidly, requires significant capital to engender the growth, and then earns little or no money. Think airlines… if a farsighted capitalist had been present at Kitty Hawk, he would have done his successors a huge favor by shooting Orville down,” explains the Oracle of Omaha.

Today, there are plenty of companies out there that meet Buffett’s investment criteria. Like Neenah Paper, the company whose price fell for no real reason, there are stocks like chip-maker Silicom (NASDAQ:SILC) and chemical manufacturer Buckeye Technologies (NYSE:BKI), both of whom have solid fundamentals and P/Es under 6.

Even though the markets have been anything but kind to investors lately, fearful investors are making a good case for buying up some undervalued penny plays. The time to get greedy is now.

Source: Applying Buffett’s Recession Strategy to Your Penny Portfolio