E*Trade's (ETFC) management is doing a superb job in correcting the errors of the past and bettering the firm's position for the future. Through of a series of brilliant marketing campaigns (i.e. funny baby commercial) and creative initiatives (global trading), the company has managed to retain its retail client base. The April activity report was surprisingly bullish, as average revenue trades were up 5.8% year over year while the stock was trading at 6 times its current value. While management has disclosed that further writedowns and capital dilution may quite possibly occur, these low expectations will play to ETFC's advantage rather than disadvantage from a trading perspective.

Gencor Industries (GENC) is at the forefront of two major bull markets, namely infrastructure and agriculture. The Orlando-based heavy machinery maker manufactures asphalt plants, soil remediation plants, combustion systems and screening equipment for the road and highway construction industry. They are working on developing different biomass fuels, waste fuel recovery, asphalt recycling etc. The pending global infrastructure upgrade cycle and agricultural secular growth trend should allow this company to benefit from a myriad of fronts. Management has had an excellent track record of creating shareholder value, namely by eliminating most debt, by maintaining a steady growth in R&D spending and by continuing to grow its core businesses.

Nevertheless, small companies do often incur unforeseen capital expenditures, delays in orders and temporary R&D expenses in an effort to better position themselves for the long-term. While GENC has consistently met and exceeded Wall Street expectations, it just reported a dismal quarter. Nevertheless, the company still managed to earn $1.50 for the trailing 6 months. Even after the miss, it is quite conceivable for the company to earn $3 in 2008 and for it to resume its growth trend after that.

How many global telecom stocks are trading at below 8 times trailing earnings while growing EPS at 25%+ per annum? After performing a detailed equity research on a multitude of global telecom names, I reached the conclusion that Tele Norte (TNE) has by far the most upside potential while still being relatively undiscovered.

After Sun Microsystems' (JAVA) dissappointing results in this past quarter (see conference call transcript), investors have decided to unforgivingly get rid of their positions in panic. This has sent the stock tumbling down 25% in the past week. Does anyone remember all of the doubters of Cisco (CSCO) and John Chambers after their dismal results a quarter ago? CSCO ended up bouncing 15% from its lows and may be poised for a breakout if it delivers on its earnings today, May 7th.

The current 20% pullback on the heels of an unjustified S&P downgrade presents a tremendous buying opportunity in Tele Norte (TNE).

The reasoning behind S&P's decision is TNE's recent acquisition of Brasil Telecom Participacoes (BRP). BRP just announced stellar quarterly results in which earnings grew by 50%+ year over year. Since this acquisition will allow TNE to gain a strong national foothold and allow it to compete against regional rivals such as America Movil (AMX) this acquisition makes perfect strategic sense. Once the synergies from this deal and competitive advantages from this deal become more apparent, it will be considered a steal.

E*Trade's (ETFC) management is doing everything right to turn the company around, and their efforts will reap benefits for shareholders sooner rather than later. The stock has obviously taken a serious hit due to its careless investments in commercial mortgage-backed securities and other derivative products. The company has also done a great job disclosing the magnitude of future writedowns, namely $3 billion over the next two years, which in turn has painted a clearer picture of future performance. Joe Moglia, the CEO of TD Ameritrade (AMTD), recently mentioned on CNBC's Fast Money that the defection of customers from E*trade has already taken place.

Despite the financial turmoil, management has shrewdly decided to focus on investing in its core competence. The company is continually investing in its trading platform; after having had an account with TD Ameritrade and Schwab (SCHW) I can attest to E*Trade having a superior trading platform. Another great initiative has been the firm's global trading platform, namely the ability of a U.S investor to invest in stocks traded on a variety of global stock exchanges in local currencies. That strategy should become highly accretive to earnings once it gets more widely adopted. The company's marketing strategies have been highly effective and have allowed the company to at least regain some of the customers who had switched to other brokerages.

How many global telecom stocks are trading at below 8 times trailing earnings while growing EPS at 25%+ per annum? After performing a detailed equity research on a multitude of global telecom names, I reached the conclusion that Tele Norte (TNE) has by far the most upside potential while still being relatively undiscovered.

Manitowoc (MTW), one of the leading construction equipment firms in the world, has consitently produced stellar results. Management has achieved a 28% EPS growth in the past two years and been one of the prime benefactors of the global construction booms. The company's crane's have received rave reviews from a variety of different publications and allowed the company to consistently gain market share; it has done a particularly good job on positioning itself in emerging markets such as India, China and the Middle East.

In the past two years, it has not been a wise decision to bet against Cal-Maine (CALM), the largest domestic egg producer in the U.S. The company has seen its earnings power grow tremendously, mainly as a result of increasing pricing power brought about by strong global demand (mainly from China). As the middle class in developing countries around the world continues to expand, more people will want to consume protein. Therefore, CALM's pricing power should accelerate rather than decelerate into the future, as more people will demand its products.