As firms off all sizes work to boost their fundamentals and prop up their books, many smaller companies are taking a unique approach. They are utilizing the cost-saving advantage of self-storage.

Companies like Sovran Self Storage (NYSE:SSS), Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) and Extra Space Storage (NYSE:EXR) are reporting an increase in revenues thanks to the recession’s nasty impact on small businesses.

Instead of risking their business by expanding too quickly, many companies are making timid advances and renting on a month-by-month basis. Foreclosures, bankruptcies and downsizings are good news to an industry that promises to safeguard your assets until the economy rebounds.

The trend is adding more pain to the already horrific commercial real estate industry, but is creating a great opportunity for savvy investors. The self-storage industry offers a rare shot at revenue growth even in the teeth of one of the nation’s fiercest slowdowns.

Their pain, your gain

Out of the three companies mentioned above, the one worth taking the closest look at is Extra Space Storage. With a market value of about $710 million, it is larger than Sovran by about $200 million, but drastically smaller than Public Storage and its $11.3 billion market value.

One of the most appealing aspects of the company is its exposure to some of the nation’s weaker real estate markets. As the value of its properties rebounds, its shares price will follow.

Don’t forget, as a REIT the company must give back 90% of its income to shareholders. The company’s current dividend stands at 12% of its $8.34 share price.

As the markets begin to level off after a big plunge and the ensuing correction, fundamentals will be key. Not only does the self-storage industry have a strong business model, with growing revenues, its books will only get healthier as the nation’s economy rebounds.

The industry helps to prove there is always a silver lining in even the darkest of storm clouds. All of those bankrupt businesses and foreclosed homeowners have to put their junk somewhere.

Might as well let them put some profits in your pockets.

Source: Where to ‘Store’ Your Money Now

This from Today’s Financial News:

The theoretical benefits of stem cell therapy could have a revolutionary effect on biotechnology and medicine.

Stem cell technology could create a renewable source of specifically differentiated cells to replace and regenerate cells and tissues damaged by conditions such as heart disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s etc…

It could provide tools for the identification and (hopefully) prevention of the causes of abnormal cell division that lead to birth defects and cancer.

And it could change the way we test new medications entirely.

Adult vs. embryonic stem cells

As a general rule, adult stem cells can only be relied upon to divide and replenish into cell types of their original tissue. This is fine in situations where a patient’s own cells can be used and such treatment thereby avoids immune rejection.

Embryonic stem cells, on the other hand, can develop into any and all cell types. And they are much easier to grow in culture as compared to adult stem cells.

What does this mean for stem cell biotech companies?

Most of the smaller American companies engaged in stem cell research have had to focus on a specific adult stem cell for narrow applications because of limitations to Federal funding for new stem cell cultures.

For example…

StemCells, Inc. (NASDAQ:STEM), is currently focused on human neural stem cell and human liver engrafting cells.

Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp. (CVE:SSS) and BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics (OTC:BCLI) take cells from patients’ own bone marrow in order to treat, Parkinson’s, ALS, spinal cord injury, etc.

Transitions Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:TTHI) and Ixion Biotechnology, Inc. focus on using islet beta cells in the pancreas to treat diabetes.

The addition of embryonic stem cells to genetic therapy has the potential to revolutionize the revolutionary.

Imagine… rather than focusing all their money and time on one specific type of cell, they could apply their science to cells affecting areas throughout the body.

These unspecified embryonic cells can (again, in theory) be specialized to fix whatever ails you, once the science catches up.

The tiny biotech firms would no longer have to rely on qualified adult donors (think of all the restrictions the Red Cross now has regarding acceptable blood donors!).

And with the relative ease of embryonic stem cell culture proliferation, experimentation can reach new levels.

Obama Administration to support stem cell research

President-elect Barrack Obama has clearly stated his opinion, “ … we must all work together to expand federal funding of stem cell research and continue moving forward in our fight against disease by advancing our knowledge through science and medicine.”

And that could mean lower costs and higher ROI for these small biotech companies (many of which are trading under $2 today!).

Source: New administration could mean advances — and profits — for U.S. stem cell biotech companies

But there are still countries with over 6% growth, says Andrew Gordon in Investor’s Daily Edge. Some of them, such as Afghanistan and Angola, aren’t the safest places in the world, however. And they are difficult to invest in directly.

A way around this is to find an American company doing business in these high-growth economies or a foreign company listed on a US stock exchange.

Market growth is nowhere to be found. Not in Canada, not in Mexico, not in emerging countries and certainly not in the U.S., as the chart below attests.

So, has market growth and the economic growth it depends on completely disappeared from the face of the earth. Not quite. There are still some countries showing impressive economic growth. The fastest-growing country in the world is Azerbaijan. Its economy is growing at an 18.6 percent clip. And on Azerbaijan’s heels is Angola – clocking growth of 16 percent.

According to the IMF there are plenty of countries whose growth comes in over six percent. I’ve listed them below from fastest to slowest.

Armenia (10)
Turkmenistan (9.5)
Liberia (9.5)
China (9.3)
Nigeria (9.1)
Georgia (9)
Libya (8.8)
Afghanistan (8.6)
Ethiopia (8.4)
Uzbekistan (8)
India (7.9)
Tanzania (7.8)
Panama (7.7)
Sudan (7.6)
Oman (7.4)
Vietnam (7.3)
Cambodia (7.2)
Montenegro (7.2)
Belarus (7.1)
Uganda (7.1)
Argentina (7)
Peru (7)
Moldova (7)
Egypt (7)
Mozambique (7)
Ghana (6.9)
Russia (6.8)
Madagascar (6.8)
Suriname (6.8)
Sierra Leone (6.5)
Morocco (6.5)
Lithuania (6.5)
Sri Lanka (6.4
Zambia (6.3)
Indonesia (6.1
Mauritania (6.1)
Uruguay (6)
Pakistan (6)

Other than the BRIC (Brazil/Russia/India/China), not many of the other countries have captured investors’ imagination. Vietnam and Argentina are the two notable exceptions.

Would you like to invest in the fastest-growing country – Angola? All I know about Angola is that my daughter lives on the Namibian side of the border between Namibia and Angola and the Peace Corps won’t allow her to step one foot inside Angola. It’s not the safest country in the world … to travel or invest in.

Pakistan anybody? How about Afghanistan? The Sudan? Clearly, many of these countries are unsavory for one reason or another. And many others are hard to invest in: there are no mutual funds investing in them or companies in those countries listed on American exchanges.

But there are some. For example, Telekomunikasi (TLK), Indonesia’s major telecom company, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Another way to invest? Find an American company that is doing a lot of business in one or several of these countries. For example, Dow Chemical is making a major investment in Libya and Intel is doing a major project in Vietnam.

Or find a respectable overseas company listed on a U.S. exchange that is doing business in these countries. For example, Sasol (SSS), the oil and gas producer from South Africa, has operations in Mozambique and other African countries. It’s also listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Or if you’re interested in Moldova, Belarus, Montenegro and other central European countries, you could invest in iShares Austria Index ETF, (EWO). This ETF invests in companies which do business in central Europe.

Granted, it’s indirect exposure. But given the risky nature of many of these countries, indirect is probably the best kind of exposure to have.

Source: It Is Still Possible to Invest in Growth