Who is more powerful: the Pope, or Steve Jobs? If you're a secular company like Paul Stephen Daniels, the choice is pretty obvious. Overseeing a well-heeled horde of disciples, Jobs' every product launch, memo and bowel movement is greeted with praise, squeals of joy and fainting. That's not news, and it goes a long way to explaining the exceedingly rich price of Apple stock (AAPL). However, the entire economy is down now, and stock prices have suffered. Apple's stock hasn't been excempt from this phenomenon, but it should've been. No other brand boasts as much loyalty as Apple. It's future is assured for many years, certainly beyond the latest stock market slump. That's why Apple's stock is a glorious investment among a stock market of bargains. With a little gumption and some foresight, Apple investors will be doing very well in a few years. Maybe even well enough to afford an Apple product.

A little analysis: As of right now GE stock price is 19.08. Their 52 week high is 41.22 If someone were to buy in now and hold the stock until it rebounds to 41.22 they would make a 116% yield. That of course assumes that it would rebound to 41.22. A more interesting historical fact is this. After 9/11 GE went from 39.66 (Sep 6, 2001) to as low as 22.48 (Feb. 14, 2003). By Dec 17, 2004 it was up to 36.75 and on Oct 5, 2007 it was at 41.77. If you were to buy in at 22.48 you would have seen a 63% yield in 22 months and an even greater yield if you held it longer than that. To put that in perspective, a $5000 investment would have turned into $8150 in less than two years. In addition you would have earned $304.14 in dividends. Putting the total at $8454.14 (69% or $3454.14 yield in 22 months) This is the lowest GE has been since May 1997. They are at a 20 year low and have historically proven that they are able to withstand tough times in the market.

CCL Industries is a maker of specialty packaging for global producers of consumer goods. While it has separate departments for Label, Tube and Container operations, it's the latter that shows the most opportunity for growth. The rosy future for energy vending in the form of caffeine-stuffed consumables has major companies vying for shares of the market. As the preferred maker of energy drink containers, CCL is well-placed to capitalize on what Goldman Sachs and Mintel predict will be a $10 billion market by 2010. With a wide array of products designed to deliver caffeine, including energy shots and energy chews, the need for progressive and inventive packaging will surely give CCL plenty of business. A P/E of 10.91 and its position near its 52-week low means that this is the perfect time to snap up this stock. CCL Industries is based in Toronto, Canada. Check it out: CCL.A

DryShips Inc. (DryShips) is a holding company that is engaged in the ocean transportation services of drybulk cargoes worldwide through the ownership and operation of the drybulk carrier vessels. As of December 31, 2007, they owned and operated a fleet of 38 vessels and eight new buildings consisting of nine Capesize drybulk carriers (including four new building Capesize drybulk carriers), 33 Panamax drybulk carriers (including two new building Panamax drybulk carriers), two new building Kamsarmax drybulk carriers and two Supramax drybulk carriers. Its fleet carries a variety of drybulk commodities, including major bulks, such as coal, iron ore and grains, and minor bulks, such as bauxite, phosphate, fertilizers and steel products. In addition to its owned fleet, DryShips has also chartered-in a Panamax drybulk carrier for a period of three years ending in December 2008. In July 2008, the Company acquired the 100% interest in Ocean Rig ASA. Primelead Ocean Rig is a drilling contractor in the area of offshore exploration, development and production, and operates two ultra deep-water drilling rigs, Leiv Eiriksson and Eirik Raude. Most important to the performance of all shipping stocks is The Baltic Dry Index, which is a measure of bulk-shipping rates.  The Baltic Dry index ...

Industry officials have pointed out that the help available through a mortgage interest repayment scheme put into place by the government is limited, and those aged sixty or over will not benefit from the scheme at all. Improvements have recently been announced relating to the scheme, but officials have said that older homeowners in this age group will not benefit from the changes. At present the government pays the mortgage interest on loans of up to £100,000. However, with the value of mortgages having rocketed over recent years, and the government is planning to raise this amount to £175,000 from April. In addition the turnaround times are to be looked at, and it is hoped that the current waiting period of thirty nine weeks will be reduced to thirteen weeks. One industry official said: "By the time you get help from the benefit system it is quite likely that your lender has gone to court and you are being shuffled out the door. The reduction to 13 weeks should make it more possible for lenders to wear that amount of arrears and that should help people stay in their homes." Another official said: "The reform to support for mortgage interest is designed ...

The whys and wherefores of the national economic meltdown have been well-documented elsewhere. But for investors like Paul Stephen Daniels, that's in the past. The task now is to divine the future of the nation, the market, and the individual stocks that comprise it. And we believe we have. We've been reading a lot of Sherlock Holmes lately, which has reinforced the importance of analytical thinking and rational decision-making in all aspects of life. By applying these methods to the current economic crises, it became obvious to us that most Americans will be tightening their belts, spending less overall and making their dollars stretch as far as possible. Rising gas prices dictate that people will avoid driving further than necessary, while the credit crunch and mortgage worries mean that consumers will look for down-market alternatives for luxury and basic goods. Is there one place where you buy groceries, vacuums, motor oil and blue jeans, of adequate quality and at low prices? Of course there is: Walmart. Their ubiquity, price advantage and borderline ruthless business model make them the paradigm of efficiency in these troubled economic times. When money is tight, people are willing to sacrifice their moral misgivings about the giant corporation. ...

The economy has been in the news a lot recently, particularly with the collapse of Lehman Brothers and problems with AIG, Merrill Lynch and others. High gas prices, the credit crunch and the uncertain political future of the country are all contributing to investors' fears, and the market has been plummeting. Despite these difficult times, Paul Stephen Daniels is not alarmist. In fact, we're certain that the market will turn itself around and, in time, grow bigger, stronger and more profitable. As such, we see more opportunity than misfortune in the current economic climate. We're not day-traders looking for a quick buck. We're in it for the long term and if there are stocks available at low costs, that'll only make it easier to buy low and sell high. The key is to arrange personal finances correctly, which entails not spending beyond your means, putting savings away, cutting out unnecessary costs and living frugally. Put your money where it can work for you, and in a few years' time, you'll be reaping the rewards.

"Buy low and sell high" is the mantra of anyone speculating in the stock market. It's common knowledge that, over time, the stock market will provide a positive return on investment at an average of 10% per year. That's an oversimplification of what to expect for the average investor, but it remains true that a sufficiently diversified portfolio will gain value over time. It may take a very long time, but that's the difference between investment and short-term speculation. The only exceptions are stock market collapse and bankruptcy, the latter of which is more a risk for poorly-managed and flash-in-the-pan companies. General Electric (GE) is neither. One of the largest companies in the world, GE has its hand in all sorts of media, finance and technology industries. It also has a history of strong management and inovative business culture. As such, it can reasonably be expected to perform in accordance with the rest of the market: down when the economy is bad, up when the economy is good, and steadily growing over time. We're looking for a healthy mixture of investing and speculation here at Paul Stephen Daniels, with a collection of low-priced, volatile stocks balanced out with proven winners. GE fits ...

Recently, we've become very interested in penny stocks. Generally more volatile than more expensive stocks, we feel that the current economic downturn is ready to pick up in a big way. That's why grabbing these cheap stocks near their 52-week low will be a bargain; they'll gain a large percentage of their value, given time, and we'll profit. A great example is Advanced Semiconductor Engineering. Sitting in the $3.20s, it only needs to pick up a dollar to generate a 30% percent ROI, which we're confident it will. With their recent acquisition of the Chinese company Weihai Aimhigh Electronic Co. Ltd., ASE has demonstrated their willingness to embrace the future boom market that is China. And let's face it: semiconductors never go out of style. You'll rue the day you didn't get on board, while we'll be swimming around in our piles of cash. And that's a fact.

One stock we're looking hard at is Unilever (UL). The corporation has two major branches: Food and Home & Personal Care. Among the companies under their corprate umbrella are Slim Fast, Breyers, Axe and Dove. It's the personal care arm of Unilever that really shows the most potential for earnings, and consequently, improvement in the value of the stock. The growing markets of China and India present a huge opportunity for personal care products. As they become more developed and a true middle class emerges, the benefits and status of name-brand soaps and other hygenic goods will translate into big money for Unilever. It won't happen overnight, which is why this stock is a great long-term investment. Moreover, the marketing departments within various Unilever companies have identified females as the single most important demographic in the United States. Weilding 80% of the buying power in American households, women are the decision-makers when it comes to family spending. Those companies that realize this fact and act on it will propel themselves ahead of the competition, and I'm backing Unilever to be one of those companies. Perhaps the best example of this market intelligence is Dove, who debuted revolutionary TV commercials featuring "regular" women instead ...