Some think Berkshire's best days are over and there isn't much money to be made in the stock, which was just $20 when Buffett took control in 1965. Yet the company looks stronger than ever, due to its promising portfolio and some top-flight businesses. Investors could now buy that package for a low premium to book value and get the talents of Buffett, who continues to demonstrate his incomparable investment skills.

"RSC generated record levels of cash flow during the first quarter, and we remain highly confident that the company continues to execute and produce ever-stronger free cash going forward," says Morgan Stanley analyst Vance Edelson, who contends the company will earn 45 cents a share next year, as it recovers from an expected 15-cent loss this year. With free-cash-flow yields of 45% this year and 63% next year, RSC is rated Overweight by Vance, who believes the shares can reach $15 during the next 12 months. The stock, which was at $5.19 before our story ran, is changing hands at around $6. But don't count on the construction industry to provide a quick boost. It "isn't likely to recover before we are well into 2010," says Olsson. Instead, he predicts the industrial segment -- rentals tied to maintenance and repairs -- will recover sooner and faster than the rest of the industry.

Discounter and online-broker Charles Schwab is well-positioned to benefit from the confusion within Wall Street's broker community. And the stock looks pretty cheap too.

Shares of Brasil Foods could struggle at first because of merger issues, but then climb by as much as 36%.

When Morgan Stanley analyst Kathryn Huberty turned bearish on Apple (AAPL) last September, her report triggered one of the sharpest-ever selloffs in the stock, wiping out more than $18 billion of company's market value in just 60 minutes. Yet many investors heeded her warnings -- so they missed most of the tumble that took the price from near 180 to a winter '08-'09 low of 80. Now Huberty has turned bullish again and, once again, it may be a call worth heeding. She sees the stock headed up from a current 138 to at least 180 again -- and just maybe 270 -- within 12 months. Huberty, like lots of others, is upbeat on the prospects for the iPhone. But the point she makes is that amid all the hoopla over the recent launch of the iPhone 3G S, Apple's core Mac business has been undeservedly ignored. Huberty figures that, as the personal-computer business heads for a revival, the biggest winner will be the Mac. Windows-PC unit sales will be down 11% for the third quarter and flat in the fourth quarter, she thinks, as buyers wait for a new operating system from Microsoft, Windows7. Then general PC unit sales will trend higher, rising maybe 9% in 2010 as big corporate users finally face the need to upgrade. But the Mac -- and Apple -- will be a bigger winner, especially as the company ramps up its typically strong back-to-school promotions.

"Ford is in a much better position than GM," says Magliano. "It can use its market leadership to exploit weakness at GM. More important, it really looks as if the company's global car strategy is finally starting to pay off." Ford Europe, once a blight, has reported five straight months of market-share increases, gains that have helped Ford's new Fiesta subcompact topple VW's Golf as the Continent's most popular car. On top of all that, there are growing signs that Ford CEO Alan Mulally has made real inroads into changing the company's uninspiring culture. The stock could prove inspiring, as well. Since February, it has risen from 1.58 to 5.58, a nice gain, although it remains way off the '04 peak of 16. With auto sales still in the doldrums, some investors may feel it's too early to jump in. But for the reasonably venturesome, this could be the perfect time to get behind the wheel again.

Google's decision to attack Windows comes just weeks after Microsoft's launch of Bing, a well-received search engine that is attacking Google at its core. Data from Hitwise shows Microsoft in June saw usage of its new search engine increase an average 25% a week sequentially through the month. Microsoft's task is more manageable. Search engines aren't that sticky. Operating systems require a commitment. The boys in Redmond are holding the better hand.

Google's decision to attack Windows comes just weeks after Microsoft's launch of Bing, a well-received search engine that is attacking Google at its core. Data from Hitwise shows Microsoft in June saw usage of its new search engine increase an average 25% a week sequentially through the month. Microsoft's task is more manageable. Search engines aren't that sticky. Operating systems require a commitment. The boys in Redmond are holding the better hand.