What's Really Making People Money Right Now
By Dr. Steve Sjuggerud
August 22, 2008

Funny how times change...

In 1999, tech stocks were the darlings of the investment world. Today they're completely forgotten... which is exactly when you want to consider buying them.

Tech stocks are making a compelling case for themselves, right now... I think they may be on the brink of an extraordinary new bull market. Let me explain...

Texas Instruments soared over 500% from late 1998 to March 2000. Chipmaker Applied Materials ran up even more. Intel was up hundreds of percent. After all, these businesses were the future – everything ran on one of their chips. And therefore you had to own these stocks... right?

Today, it's still true these companies make the most crucial component in just about every electronic gizmo. But nobody cares...

These three names are down an average of 70% since their 2000 highs.

Instead of being priced as cutting-edge technologies, they're now priced as if they're commodities businesses...

But wait! We have some signs of life!

Semiconductor stocks are now cheaper than they've been since the beginning of 1997, by most measures of value. The industry has matured... These stocks are now paying dividends and have the highest dividend yields ever. And it seems like whenever tech stocks get this cheap, they stage a nice rally:

Tech Stocks Are the Cheapest They've Been in a Decade

When the market started to move after bottoming in March, semiconductor stocks jumped nicely. And after the market bottomed in July, once again, semiconductor stocks bounced big.

I think semiconductor stocks – and tech stocks in general – could be one of the leaders of a new bull market.

The First "Screaming Buy" of 2008 Three Reasons to Buy Tech This Year

So far in August, tech stocks ARE the leaders. Every day, you hear news on banks, oil, and real estate. But what's really making people money right now are tech stocks and biotech stocks.

They're as cheap as they've been in a decade. They're completely ignored by investors. And they're sneaking in on an uptrend. Uptrends are hard to come by in this terrible bear market... but tech stocks have shown excellent relative strength this month.

When the markets finally start to recover, look for tech stocks to lead the way.

Good investing,

Editor's note: Steve Sjuggerud is a regular contributor to DailyWealth, a free investment newsletter focused on the world's best contrarian opportunities. We write with a simple belief in mind: You don't have to take big risks to make big money with your investments.

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THE EASY WAY TO OWN THE "WORLD'S BIGGEST"

World's biggest bank... World's biggest oil company... World's biggest phone company...

A few years ago, you'd find those companies in the U.S. Nowadays, you'll find most of 'em in China. Bloomberg reports the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) just became the world's most profitable bank. It's been the biggest by market cap for a year or so now.

ICBC's No. 1 ranking is just another "notch on the bedpost" for a getting-richer-by-the-day China... and another reason to keep an eye on the iShares China Fund (FXI). This ETF is stuffed with the Chinese versions of ExxonMobil, American Express, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Verizon.

Although these companies are enjoying huge growth right now, the China selloff has pushed FXI down 43% from its October 2007 peak. Of course, the trend is down for stocks of all sizes and nationalities... But when the trend finally turns up, this fund is worth a look. It's one of the easiest ways to own the "century's biggest" growth story.