Top Stocks

By Robert Hsu, Editor of China Strategy

With widespread investor concerns over the current state of China stocks, there are a lot of fear and frustration over China investments right now. The issue is that all China stocks are not the same. There are different types of China stocks listed in the U.S. -- state-owned enterprises, mid-cap blue chips and small caps, each with specific characteristics. 

Overall, I still believe that we will see 40% upside in many of these stocks by year's end, most of it in fourth quarter, and now is the time to position for the upcoming rally.

To help you navigate toward some promising China investments, here are 3 stocks that show potential for growth this earnings season.

As Friday's market tumble demonstrated, there's still plenty of fear to go around in the current market. Yes, sentiment had improved markedly earlier in the week as the market continued to bounce off its early-July lows, but all it took were a couple iffy earnings reports and some bad consumer sentiment data to send investors heading for the hills.

With fears of a double-dip recession or another bear market running high, it's not surprising that many of the stock market gurus I keep an eye on are finding opportunity. As Warren Buffett has said, the time to be greedy is when others are fearful.

• Check out my Buffett-inspired Top Stocks tracking portfolio at Wall Street Survivor

One top mind finding bargains amid the fear: Bruce Berkowitz, who was recently named Morningstar's domestic equity fund manager of the decade.

Thursday's second-quarter earnings report from JPMorgan Chase (JPM) raised concern among investors. 

The bank reported falling revenue -- just 6% -- in its investment banking business. That seemed to confirm concerns that the Wall Street side -- investment banking, trading and the like -- of the big banks is slowing.

But today's earnings reports from Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) have escalated that concern to at least worry and maybe all the way to fear.

Megabanks JPMorgan (JPM), Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC) have all reported better-than-expected earnings results this week -- only to be knocked to the ground by unimpressed investors. The problem is that the earnings beats are being driven by reduction in loan-loss provisions, which are like accounting piggy banks that are used to protect against defaults.

An optimist would say that these reductions are a result of a strengthening economy and improvements in the number of people who can pay their loans on time.

But the skeptics are having none of it. Bank stocks have tumbled over the past two days on concerns that bank executives are using creative tactics to dress up their earnings -- prematurely tapping into their credit reserves. So who's right?

By Jim Cramer, TheStreet

We get Goldman Sachs (GS) back but we lose Google (GOOG)? Or did we lose Google a while ago and get a whole bunch of financials back? Hard to puzzle through.

Last night confirmed what we've been wondering since last quarter: Google is not a monopoly. It is in competition with Facebook and Apple (AAPL), two formidable adversaries. Facebook can spend whatever it wants, as it is private and doesn't have to report to shareholders, and Apple can do whatever it wants and seems to do it right.

And to compete, Google, one of the most cash-rich companies on the globe, is raising capital! That's not what we want to hear from a company that missed estimates and is experiencing maturity at a lightning pace. Plus, it has ceded to China! You can never cede to China if you are a growth company. Only local, community banks don't dream of entering that market. I can't think of any other business that doesn't want to operate there or find a way to do so unfettered.

So far, so good for bank stocks.

Thursday, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) reported second-quarter earnings of $1.09 a share. Not only was that a 289% increase from the second quarter of 2009, but it beat Wall Street projections for a 159% jump in earnings and earnings of 73 cents a share.

Some people, including me, had worried that Wall Street’s expectations for bank earnings had gotten way ahead of themselves and that banks would be unlikely to meet those projections. (For more on that worry, see my July 7 post, Watch for a buying opportunity on my watch-list banks if earnings disappoint this quarter.)

You can take that worry off your list.

By Jake Lynch, TheStreet

Luxury retailers may seem like the worst investments, given the prevalence of tightwad consumers, but the opposite is true for some companies.

Last week's "Best in Class" feature made the bullish case for jewelry seller Tiffany & Co. (TIF). The same for leather-ware seller Coach (COH) follows. The investment theses are comparable: Emerging-market demand, specifically in Asia, will offset developed-nation stagnancy this year.

Although America's economic dominance is weakening, its cultural hegemony is squarely intact. American luxury brands have cache in emerging markets, confirmed by Coach's latest commentary.

I've dived into history and the economy a lot lately in my recent columns and blog posts (with examinations of last week's big 3%+ up day as well as a look at the growth rate of the leading economic index or LEI). The takeaway: History suggests now is the time to be optimistic. In particular, there are some striking resemblances between the current situation and the 1962 summer stock market rebound.

Then, like now, the stock market dipped below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages and then posted a big 3%+ up move. Also, the LEI's 12-month growth rate remained in positive territory -- brushing off concern of a double-dip recession (the economy was recovering from the 1960-61 recession). Stocks went on to gain more than 32% over the next 12 months.

I'm not the only one looking at 1962 for clues to what lies ahead.

Bell's bid is effectively $25 million more than Playboy founder Hugh Hefner's offer for the company, which would take it private

• Related:Bell's Letter to Playboy's Board

In making the offer, Bell and Boca, Raton, Fla.-based FriendFinder announced that they have retained Imperial Capital LLC as a financial adviser. (On Monday, Bell told TheWrap he would not need the help of a financial backer because FriendFinder generates enough cash on its own.)