5 Stocks Picks

please check them before you make your own decision

Estée Lauder Cos.
A solid foundation is as important to foreign expansion as it is to a good makeup routine. Just ask Estée Lauder (EL: 58.80*). The maker of brands such as Clinique and M.A.C. started advertising its skin care and cosmetics products in high-end Chinese fashion magazines years before it started selling them in the country. The early buzz set the stage for strong growth that’s helping to shore up the company’s bottom line today.



Expeditors International of Washington
In 1979 a scrappy Seattle upstart opened a small office and helped companies with the ins and outs of moving their goods from Asia to the West Coast. Three decades later, Expeditors (EXPD: 36.90*) is one of the world’s largest freight forwarders, with promising footholds in some of the fastest-growing countries.


Illinois Tool Works
Products made by Illinois Tool Works (ITW: 45.60*) turn up in cars, computers and six-packs (you can thank the company for those clear plastic rings that connect the cans). While the outlook for any single product can wax and wane with the overall economy, analysts say the sheer diversity of ITW’s offerings helps it weather recessions better than most. “ITW makes a broad range of very unsexy products that are much in demand,” says Michael Cuggino, portfolio manager of the Permanent Portfolio fund.


Baxter International
Buoyed by steady demand for its health care products, Baxter International (BAX: 57.04*) came through the recession just fine. It’s the market recovery that’s giving stockholders headaches. After holding up better than most in the 2008 meltdown, shares of the Deerfield, Ill., company gained just 10 percent last year, less than half the gain in the overall market. That means investors can now pick up a “dominant, high-quality franchise” on the cheap, says Kent Croft, comanager of the Croft Value fund, who has been buying shares lately.

Marvell Technology Group
The recession hit Marvell Technology Group (MRVL: 19.39*) hard. Orders dried up, and the semiconductor maker laid off 15 percent of its staff as it posted a loss. But what a bounce back: In its quarter ended Oct. 31, Marvell made more money than in the previous two fiscal years combined. Sales jumped 10 percent on new products and a pickup in orders from technology firms making everything from netbooks to networking equipment.


Read more: 5 Stocks Capturing Growth Abroad SmartMoney.com http://www.smartmoney.com/Investing/Stocks/5-Stocks-Capturing-Growth-Abroad/?page=1