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Jeff Reeves, editor of InvestorPlace.com

Web surfers, beware. The data demand caused by Netflix (NFLX) could soon become enough to crash the Internet.

Netflix has seen rapid growth recently, with shares up a stunning 550% in the past five years versus just 10% for the Dow. Part of that success has hinged on the company's seemingly seamless transition from dominant home delivery of DVD rentals to plentiful streaming content and partnerships to provide online movies through various gadgets -- from wired BluRay players and HDTVs to video game consoles.

But what would have happened to Netflix if, five years ago, the U.S. Postal Service had been overwhelmed by DVD mailings and movies didn't reach your house until weeks after you ordered them -- if they arrived at all? NFLX stock not only would have missed out on its recent growth but might have gone out of business entirely.

By Don Dion, TheStreet

Investors' desire for equity exposure beyond the shores of the U.S. and other developed markets has led many ETF providers to launch funds aimed at emerging markets. One popular destination for these sponsors has been India.

India has expanded to become one of the dominant emerging economic forces in not only Asia but the world. This week, the nation generated a flurry of positive economic news, including a strong manufacturing report. Noticing the impressive strength of India's economy, the Reserve Bank of India raised rates for the sixth time in 2010.

Companies such as Van Eck, WisdomTree, PowerShares, and BlackRock (BLK) have jumped on board with respective products aimed at tracking this fast-growing nation.

Let others pontificate on whether the president will swing a petulant, defiant left or a conciliatory right. The media and blog pundits can have all the fun they want speculating on the impact of the Tea Party, or lack thereof. We will hear endless commentary on winners and losers.

I couldn't care less.

I know who the biggest winner was last night: coal.

Coal put its money on the right candidates. It made some solid investments in people like Roy Blunt of Missouri, Joe Barton of Texas, Nick Rahall of West Virginia, Ohio's Rob Portman and West Virginia's Joe Manchin. All received sizable donations from the industry. All won big.

By Robert Holmes, TheStreet

Investors say political gridlock stemming from an energized Republican Party will bode well for the stock market.

Eric Singer, the manager of the Congressional Effect Fund (CEFFX), isn't among them.

With the GOP capturing the House, the two-month lame-duck session will be "incredibly dangerous" for investors, the mutual fund manager says.

Will the president listen? Will he hear?

Will the election matter to him?

I think the answer is a resounding no.

I don't see anything about President Barack Obama that speaks to making peace and getting along with the other side of the aisle, and I don't see the other side coming together with him either because, beginning tomorrow, we will be in presidential-electio​n mode.

How long are you willing to wait for a turnaround?

No doubt about it, shares of Whirlpool (WHR) are cheap, trading at 7.9 times trailing-12-month earnings per share.

But last Wednesday's earnings report for the third quarter was depressing. Including all items, the company reported earnings of $1.02 a share, down from $1.15 in the third quarter of 2009. Excluding these special items, earnings came to $2.22 a share, but that was below the Wall Street estimate.

"Sell on the news" isn't just for the U.S.

The preferred shares of Banco Bradesco (BBD), the second largest bank in Brazil by market capitalization, dropped 4% last Wednesday in Brazil, while the U.S.-traded ADR (based on the preferred shares) fell 5.3% in New York after the company reported a 40% increase in adjusted profit that still fell short of analyst estimates.

The difference between actual results of 2.52 billion reais (the plural for Brazil's real) and analysts' estimates of 2.55 billion reais came down to an 18% increase in expenses and weaker- than-expected loan growth.

By Paul Ausick, InvestorPlace.com

Is there room in the marketplace for another netbook? Google Inc. (GOOG) seems to think so, as do partners Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and Acer Inc. Just about everyone else thinks netbooks are heading for extinction as customers flock to the iPad and other manufacturers race to get their own tablets out the door.

Google apparently didn't get the memo. The company first talked about this smartbook -- Googlespeak for netbook -- over a year ago. Now DigiTimes reports that Google will launch it later in November, followed by similar products from HP and Acer in December.

People are jumping on the gold bandwagon just like they jumped on the dot-com bandwagon and the real-estate bandwagon and every other bandwagon before them. Is this time different? Never mind gold's 20%-plus rise this year. It still has a lot of overlooked weaknesses as an asset class. Goldbugs won't like this, but here are just a few.

By Jake Lynch, TheStreet

A Republican influx into the House and Senate would probably be cheered by investors hoping for political gridlock or a change in economic policy.

Stricter regulations in response to the subprime-mortgage crisis and the ensuing recession have painted Democratic leaders as anti-business. Further, ObamaCare and the threat of looming tax increases have aided a Republican resurgence. The GOP needs 39 seats to reclaim the House and oust Nancy Pelosi as speaker. Some analysts predict a 60-seat swing in Republicans' favor.

Jobs and the federal deficit are voters' top concerns, polls show. And fear of harsher regulations has made businesses hesitant to hire. Moody's (MCO) data indicate that S&P 500 ($INX) companies are sitting on $1 trillion in cash.

By Lauren Tara LaCapra, TheStreet

One of the most important tasks before the 112th Congress will be rewriting the rules of the American dream.

Since Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) were seized by the federal government in September 2008, lawmakers, with a few exceptions, have remained surprisingly mum about what will become of them. The Obama administration has promised to deliver a plan for the future of housing finance a few times but ultimately put it off until next year.

Restructuring Fannie and Freddie in any meaningful way would be difficult enough with one party dominating Capitol Hill. Now, with polls predicting that Republicans will at least split the legislative branch -- if not take it over -- it may be completely impossible to restructure the government-sponsored​ entities.

By Scott Moritz, TheStreet

Tablets are going to be on a few gift lists this season, and it's Apple's (AAPL) iPad that will be getting most of the ribbon-and-bow treatment.

There are, however a few challengers that may also end up under the tree, helping to keep Apple from collecting all the proceeds from the tablet giving season.

One would think that the market was teeming with tablets, given all the hype lately. But so far, the list of available tablets is short, though not unimpressive: Hewlett-Packard's (HPQ) Slate, Amazon's (AMZN) Kindle, Samsung's Galaxy Tab and the Apple iPad.

By Jim Cramer, TheStreet

We're lost in the miasma of the election, the Fed and the coming labor report, and no one can blame us. But right around the corner is an IPO that could ignite as much interest in the market as we have seen in years: that of General Motors.

The GM public offering is kind of like the U.S. Olympic team in 1980, the Miracle on Ice: a feel-good story, except that you get to make money from it. That's right, I believe the deal is going to be a smashing success. The key questions are who is going to get it and how can you get in.

It is not just pricing that matters, although I believe the government is going to throw it to the good guys, meaning the buyers. There's also actually a strong investment case out of China.

By Gregg Greenberg, TheStreet

Just because everybody around is using a cell phone does not mean the mobile Internet wave is over. And the same goes for the bullish move in technology stocks, says Channing Smith, fund manager for the Capitol Advisors Growth Fund (CIAOX).

The $22 million fund, which garners three stars from Morningstar (MORN), is up 8.5% over the past year, putting it in Morningstar's 44th percentile versus its peers. Over the past five years, the fund has returned more than 3% annually, better than 70% of its rivals.

Welcome to TheStreet.com's Fund Manager Five Spot, where America's top mutual fund managers give their best stock picks and views on the market in a five-question format.

By James Rogers, TheStreet

Google's (GOOG) Android operating system continues to gain momentum in the U.S. smart-phone market despite stiff competition from Apple's (AAPL) iPhone.

Sales of Android-based smart phones accounted for almost 44% of U.S. sales during the third quarter, according to research firm Canalys, up from 34% in the prior quarter. With new Android phones, such as Motorola's (MOT) Droid Pro and the Verizon (VZ) Fascinate swarming onto the market, Google's mobile OS is going from strength to strength.

Apple also enjoyed a strong quarter. The tech giant overtook Research In Motion (RIMM) as the top individual vendor. The iPhone maker accounted for 26.2% of the U.S. market, up from 21.7% in the prior quarter. RIM's share dropped from 32.1% in the second quarter to 24.2% in the third quarter despite the recent launch of the BlackBerry Torch.