Table of Contents

1.  Market Update
2.  Russia
3.  Chipotle (CMG)
4.  Additional Investing Ideas
5.  Investor Trivia -- The Lighter Side of Financials
6.  Featured Topic -- A New Frontier for Gains
7.  Free Investing Resources

Today's Top Stock Picks

High Yield Strategy: The Billionaire Watch
To find some of the world's highest yields, just follow the money -- or in this case, the billionaires. Read More. . .

Another Chance to Pick Up this Growing, High-Quality Restaurant Chain
It's hard to decide which is better -- Chipotle's (CMG) food or a chance to pick up this stock at a bargain. Read More. . .

Market Update

With tumbling crude prices deflecting lingering economic concerns, the major averages have just put together one of their strongest weekly showings in months.

However, uneven trading early on gave little hint of that. In fact, traders were greeted on Monday with disconcerting news from the Commerce Department that consumer spending rose just +0.6% in June, respectable, before considering that prices for goods and services jumped +0.8%. In other words, spending actually dipped -0.2% on an inflation-adjusted basis, even with the aid of tax rebates.

And lackluster July same-store sales tallies from Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and other retailers suggest that the situation has not improved in recent weeks.

Fortunately, there was good news on other fronts. Factory orders are up, pending home sales showed a surprise uptick, and the critical service sector of the economy rebounded at a much brisker pace than expected last month. The key catalyst, though, has been the continued free fall in crude prices.

After peaking at near $150 per barrel, oil prices have retreated precipitously -- falling all the way back below $116 on Friday. There have been several factors behind the pullback: a strengthening dollar, a larger than expected build in crude stockpiles, even a benign path by tropical storm Edouard away from any major production facilities in the Gulf.

Whatever the reason, Wall Street has cheered the dramatic turnaround. Suddenly, market leadership has now flip-flopped, with consumer discretionary stocks racing forward and the energy sector in full retreat.

Thanks to a pair of hefty triple-digit gains, the Dow Industrials finished the week with a solid gain of more than 400 points (+3.6%), and tech stocks were even stronger.

Since climbing as high as $4.11 per gallon, average gas prices have slid more than -$0.25 nationwide. That's a lot of quarters going back into the pockets of everyday shoppers. That's welcome news for a host of consumer-oriented companies -- including casual diners like Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG, $73.58). And below, Half-Priced Stocks editor Nathan Slaughter explains why now may be the time for investors to take advantage of the happy hour prices for this undervalued company.

Also on tap for today, High-Yield International editor Nick Lanyi serves up an interesting demographic study of the world's most affluent. If you have aspirations of one day seeing your name alongside those of billionaires like Carlos Slim, then you might want to begin by following their lead and investing overseas.

Good Investing!

-- Nathan Slaughter
Co-Editor
TopStockAnalysts Digest

A billion dollars may not be what it used to be, but it's still a serious pile of cash. So why are more and more of the world's most eye-popping fortunes being made in foreign countries? Because that's where the growth is. 

Companies in these red-hot economies are not only trouncing their U.S. counterparts in terms of capital appreciation, they're also paying luxuriant yields and in strong currencies. You can add new life to your income stream with surprisingly little risk if you just keep your eyes on the world's billionaires. 

The U.S. all-star team used to lead the league. Now they're barely warming the bench.

Five years ago, nine of the top ten richest people in the world were U.S. citizens. Five were members of one family. Now, only Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are on the top-ten list, and just two other Yanks had vast enough fortunes to afford themselves a spot in the top 25.
 

The list of the world's richest folks is compiled by the editors of Forbes Magazine early each summer. Bill Gates had been at the top of the list for more than a decade. But this year he was finally dethroned by Buffett, his friend and bridge partner, as well as by Mexican telecom baron Carlos Slim, who snatched the No. 2 spot. Gates' $58 billion hoard now ranks third -- though that can hardly be considered a bad place to be. In all, 31 Americans made the top 100.  But that's -26% lower than it was just five years ago.  Did all our U.S. billionaires move away? What happened?

The short answer: The world woke up -- and got busy.

India and Russia have produced wealth at such a fast rate, and a few of their oligarchs have managed to grow their fortunes at such an astonishing clip that they're displacing even the most well-heeled Americans. To wit: Only one of the 100 wealthiest people hailed from India in 2003. Today 13 Indians are on that exclusive roster. The ranks of Russian billionaires, meanwhile, grew from three in 2003 to 19 today.

These international captains of industry reflect the dramatic growth playing out across the "developing" world. And the stock markets in Russia and India tell much of the story.  The Russian MICEX index has skyrocketed +672% since the beginning of 2003. In India, the returns have been a more modest +471% -- or roughly +38.6% annualized since January 2003.  Here at home, the S&P 500 crept along at an +8% annualized rate. This underscores an indisputable truth: U.S. equity markets are lagging. The S&P hasn't been the top-performer for 60 years.

These are not your father's emerging markets: These are, after all, the countries that have created enough wealth to relegate old-line U.S. dynasties like Walton, Mars, Pritzker and Newhouse to almost second-class status. 

It's true that as recently as a decade ago, the prospect of owning stock in any non-European foreign country would have seemed far too risky. But times have changed.

With the exception of our own dollar, currencies have stabilized.  Democratic reforms have cast tin-pot dictators onto the ash heap of history. Eastern European, South American, African and Far East markets have been opened to outside investment and have been stabilized by not only globalization but by the information revolution as well. These countries got with the program; all that's left is for you to join them.

In 2003, three Russians were on Forbes' list of 100 wealthiest people. They were worth a combined $18 billion, a teeny little 4% fraction of the $414 billion held by U.S. billionaires. This year, the now 18 Russians on the list are worth $267 billion, nearly half the U.S. billionaires' $573 trove and a 1,383% increase overall.   

Are there any good investment opportunities left in Russia?

Yes. Investors are absolutely basking in red-hot Russian economy: They're not only inking huge returns, they're protecting their portfolios from the weak dollar. And many of the Russian stocks pay fat dividends, so these investors are raking in rubles, too. 

In fact, I profiled a world-beating fund earlier this year in an issue of my premium newsletter. The fund invests half its assets in Russia and distributed $10.442 last year for a yield of 62% at current share prices!! It's benefiting from Russia's immense reserves of oil, natural gas, and other commodities, as well as its proximity to vital European and Asian markets.

Russia's most prominent corporate names -- Lukoil, Gazprom, Norilsk Nickel -- make up a quarter of this fund. And bear in mind that these three companies alone have added five names to the top 100 list of the world's wealthiest. Not one of these industrial barons was on the top 100 list five years ago: Today, they're worth a combined $78.6 billion.

Now I can't promise that all the investments in Russia have quite that lofty a yield, but the region is certainly fertile ground for income investors. You may not be able to become a billionaire -- that's a tall order. But you can make money from the same companies that are creating those megafortunes -- and without learning a new language or cultivating an affinity for vodka and zakuska. 

If you'd like to learn the name of this fund -- plus receive a steady stream of foreign stocks, preferreds, and other investing ideas with abnormally high dividend yields each and every month -- then I'd like to extend you a personal invitation to try my premium investing newsletter . . . High-Yield International.  Visit this link to learn more.