Q: In that case, tell us what to buy in the next six months. Fred Hickey: Buy value, and protect yourself against the threat of the dollar's collapse and the return of inflation. I've been riding the gold wave for a decade, and the major secular bull market in gold isn't over. I'm twice as adamant now as in January about the need to own gold. I continue to like the mining companies. The GDX, or Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF [exchange-traded fund], is a diversified fund of some 30 mining stocks. I still like Agnico-Eagle Mines , and bullion, which you can own through the GLD, or SPDR Gold Shares ETF. My favorite gold miner is Yamana Gold . It is based in Canada but operates in Brazil, Mexico and Chile. It trades on the New York Stock Exchange. It rallied to 11 a share from 4, but is down from a year-ago peak of 19, even though the price of gold has recovered to almost $1,000 an ounce. The P/E is reasonable. The company has new mines coming on, and it is benefiting from lower costs.

Q: In that case, tell us what to buy in the next six months. Fred Hickey: Buy value, and protect yourself against the threat of the dollar's collapse and the return of inflation. I've been riding the gold wave for a decade, and the major secular bull market in gold isn't over. I'm twice as adamant now as in January about the need to own gold. I continue to like the mining companies. The GDX, or Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF [exchange-traded fund], is a diversified fund of some 30 mining stocks. I still like Agnico-Eagle Mines , and bullion, which you can own through the GLD, or SPDR Gold Shares ETF. My favorite gold miner is Yamana Gold . It is based in Canada but operates in Brazil, Mexico and Chile. It trades on the New York Stock Exchange. It rallied to 11 a share from 4, but is down from a year-ago peak of 19, even though the price of gold has recovered to almost $1,000 an ounce. The P/E is reasonable. The company has new mines coming on, and it is benefiting from lower costs.

Q: In that case, tell us what to buy in the next six months. Fred Hickey: Buy value, and protect yourself against the threat of the dollar's collapse and the return of inflation. I've been riding the gold wave for a decade, and the major secular bull market in gold isn't over. I'm twice as adamant now as in January about the need to own gold. I continue to like the mining companies. The GDX, or Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF [exchange-traded fund], is a diversified fund of some 30 mining stocks. I still like Agnico-Eagle Mines , and bullion, which you can own through the GLD, or SPDR Gold Shares ETF. My favorite gold miner is Yamana Gold . It is based in Canada but operates in Brazil, Mexico and Chile. It trades on the New York Stock Exchange. It rallied to 11 a share from 4, but is down from a year-ago peak of 19, even though the price of gold has recovered to almost $1,000 an ounce. The P/E is reasonable. The company has new mines coming on, and it is benefiting from lower costs.

Q: In that case, tell us what to buy in the next six months. Fred Hickey: Buy value, and protect yourself against the threat of the dollar's collapse and the return of inflation. I've been riding the gold wave for a decade, and the major secular bull market in gold isn't over. I'm twice as adamant now as in January about the need to own gold. I continue to like the mining companies. The GDX, or Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF [exchange-traded fund], is a diversified fund of some 30 mining stocks. I still like Agnico-Eagle Mines , and bullion, which you can own through the GLD, or SPDR Gold Shares ETF. My favorite gold miner is Yamana Gold . It is based in Canada but operates in Brazil, Mexico and Chile. It trades on the New York Stock Exchange. It rallied to 11 a share from 4, but is down from a year-ago peak of 19, even though the price of gold has recovered to almost $1,000 an ounce. The P/E is reasonable. The company has new mines coming on, and it is benefiting from lower costs.

Q: Which tech stocks do you like? Fred Hickey: Microsoft is unloved at 22, because of competitive threats from Google [ticker: GOOG] and an antitrust problem with the European Union. It is the best play in the tech world right now. It trades for 12 times earnings, something you don't ever see. The catalyst for the stock is Microsoft's best upgrade cycle ever. In the next 12 months the company will introduce about a dozen new products or upgrades. Windows 7 will ship on Oct. 22. It will kick off an upgrade cycle for the whole computer industry.

Fred Hickey: The other safe way to play tech is Verizon Communications . It will offer the Palm Pre in about six months, and new Nokia phones, and probably the iPhone. Just as eyeballs excited everyone in 2000, earlobes should excite them today. Verizon has 87 million wireless-communications customers. It has the biggest network in the country, and the best. The company has mostly built out FiOS, its fiber-optic telecom service. It yields 6.3%. Microsoft and Verizon are a lot safer than trying to catch Apple [AAPL] at $150 a share.

Q: So you're buying shares of takeover candidates? Mario Gabelli: In some cases. I still like the stocks I recommended in January. Among new names, Legg Mason sold its brokerage to Citigroup [C] in 2005, and bought Citi's money-management arm. Legg is selling at 24. There are 143 million shares outstanding, and the company has to issue another 23 million in connection with an equity instrument that matures in 2011. Assuming 166 million shares, the company has an enterprise value of $3.7 billion. It has about $2 billion of cash and $2 billion of debt. CEO Mark Fetting is doing a terrific job of overseeing the different businesses, which include Legg Mason Capital Management, run by Bill Miller, and other fund groups run by Chuck Royce, Buzz Zaino, Whitney George and others. The biggest, based on assets under management, is Western Asset Management, the fixed-income specialist. The businesses have benefited from coordinated marketing.

Mario Gabelli: I recommended O'Reilly Automotive , an auto-parts retailer, in January, and nothing has changed except the stock, which is up to around 37.50 from 31. The integration of CSK Auto, which it bought last year, is going well. In real estate, O'Reilly is getting better locations at more reasonable prices, to buy or lease. The company could earn $2 a share this year. There are 250 million cars on the road. The guy who owns a 14-year-old car trades it for a nine-year-old car, and that guy trades his car for a six-year-old car. That is good for O'Reilly, the leader in the business.