Top Stocks

• With just 4% of global GDP they have 20% of the world's land and 15% of it's population
• Between 2000 and 2008 Africa's GDP grew 5.3% annually but the global GDP only grew 4% for the same time frame
• In 2009 Africa's GDP grew 2% -- US dropped 4%, EU dropped 2.8%, Latin America dropped 1.5%
• These companies do business not only in their own country but in the rest of Africa and around the world as well
• The companies mentioned in their survey far outstripped the rest of the world in increased sales and earnings growth

The European debt crisis, a very disappointing jobs report, and a continuing environmental crisis off America's shores -- uncertainty has made its way back into the stock market in a big way over the past few weeks. But while that uncertainty has led to a wide array of opinions on where the market and economy are headed, many of the investment gurus I keep an eye on agree on at least one thing: If you know where to look, there are opportunities to make money.

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Take Chuck Akre, who produced an exceptional 12.6% per-year return for the FBR Focus Fund from 1996-2009 before moving on to manage his own fund. Akre tells Fortune magazine that he likes convertible preferred shares of Hartford Financial Services Group, which must be converted into common stock in 2013. While hit hard by the 2008 financial crisis, Hartford is now in good shape, Akre says. “It’s an interesting, low-risk, decent turnaround play in a market with a lot of uncertainty,” he told Fortune, as part of a "25 Stock Picks from 25 Great Investors" feature that also included top stock-pickers Bruce Berkowitz, Tom Forester, and David Herro.

Another top fund manager who's seeing opportunities is Eric Schoenstein, co-manager of the Jensen Portfolio, which has beaten 95% of its peers over the past 10 years. He recently told MarketWatch that despite the major recent volatility, his fund remains fully invested in stocks. And he says companies in a number of different sectors are offering attractive “margins of safety”.

It’s a busy month for drug announcements at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA), with news on Copaxone, Azilect, and Gianvi -- and it’s only June 4.

Of these, Gianvi is the biggie -- at least for now.

The drug is a generic version of Bayer’s (BAYRY) oral contraceptive Yaz. Sales of Yaz came to $780 million in 2009. The contraceptive has been especially popular among younger women, since taking it produces less water retention than some other contraceptives and works to reduce acne.

By Seth Fiegerman, MainStreet

Uncle Sam wants you to forget about our oil problems for a minute and start thinking about electric cars.

The New York Times reports that the federal government has allocated $15 million in stimulus money and another $22 million in grants to build 4,600 charging stations for electric cars across the country. The goal, according to the Times, is to make the transition to electric cars "easier for communities and consumers."

The money will go to Coulomb Technologies, a company that builds fueling units for electric transportation. Coulomb will now begin installing charging stations in public areas like offices, stores and parking lots. Best of all, about 2,000 of these chargers will be installed for free in the homes of people who buy an electric car. As the Times notes, these chargers would otherwise cost around $2,000.

By Jim Cramer, TheStreet

Something amazing happened at Hershey's (HSY) this spring. The company, hated by nearly all analysts -- 11 holds, two sells, one buy -- stood its ground.

It chose not to compete with Kraft (KFT) in a bidding war for Cadbury. It chose not to put itself up for sale, even though analysts were pretty certain that the company didn't have the earnings power or the vision to lift the stock from the mid-$30s level.

But this is a different Hershey from the one they followed. Beginning with some management changes last year, Hershey's stopped being paternalistic. It started closing plants, moving manufacturing to where labor was cheaper, slaughtering sacred cows.

Kellogg (K) has had a difficult go of things in the wake of the recession, lagging rival packaged foods companies in the industry as it struggled to connect with consumers. Recently the company has been looking to turn sales around with ad campaigns that focus on how its cereals help kids stay healthy and attentive in school.

The only problem is that according to the Federal Trade Commission, Kellogg is just making up those claims. For the second time in a year, FTC officials have taken the cereal giant to task for misleading consumers by claiming Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal makes kids do better in school and that its Rice Krispies ward off the common cold.

“We expect more from a great American company than making dubious claims – not once, but twice,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz.

Have I got a China indicator for you! 

Like a lot of investors, I think the selloff in Chinese stocks marks a buying opportunity -- sometime in 2010.  

The Shanghai Composite Index is down 22% in 2010, and the market is deep into bear market territory. But that doesn't mean it can't get cheaper still. So, when should you buy? 

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Public opinion is turning against Warren Buffett.

The billionaire investor is getting raked over the coals this week after defending credit ratings agencies like Moody's, saying that lots of people -- himself included -- did not expect the economy to implode.

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"The entire American public was caught up in a belief that housing prices could not fall dramatically," he told a panel looking into the financial meltdown, according to The Associated Press.

By Jim Cramer, TheStreet

Why isn't some hedge fund, or some group of hedge funds, out there trying to crack the euro? Or is there one – or several – and the euro has hit a floor now that there are so many more bears than bulls on it?

A very complex and difficult dynamic out there has suddenly shifted, allowing us to think about individual stocks again. Oil has bottomed – thanks for that great call Dan Dicker – at $70. The economic data in this country has been unbelievably strong, as Doug Kass points out, and the possibility of a terrific employment number on Friday still exists, stoked by President Obama's words Wednesday. The Chinese stock market seems to have stopped going down, and weaker numbers from China are now being viewed positively as a sign of a soft landing – although that view has not been articulated on TV yet, other than on my "Mad Money" show.

So we have a barometer of economic strength – oil – saying things aren't so bad, and we have a major economy that gets better and better.

Political risk moves stock markets. 

Investors are getting a reminder of that from Japan, where the resignation of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has sent the yen falling against all but one of the world's most traded currencies. The Nikkei 225 stock index is down more than 1%. 

And they're likely to get another refresher in coming weeks from Spain, where the government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is struggling to stay in power.