Best Stocks to Buy Now: A Weekly Round-up from Money Morning

By Diane Alter, Contributing Writer, Money Morning • August 19, 2013

It was a rocky week for markets- but if you know the best stocks to buy now, your portfolio is in good shape...

Last week, the Dow lost 2.23%, or 344 points, to finish at 15,081.47, and the Standard & Poor's 500 fell 2.1% to 1,655.38.

Investors are getting nervous that this year's 15.09% market gains are nearing a top. Talk of a stock market crash is up - but, as we told you last week, most of it is just talk. Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald explained the real story in The Only "Crash Talk" Worth Talking About.

Fitz-Gerald outlined four things investors should do now. With the right portfolio defense in place, you can afford to explore stocks to buy. We've found some winners flashing "Buy" signals right now.

Take a look at the best stock opportunities Money Morning profiled last week... and stick around this week for our next round of free investment analysis.

Best Stocks to Buy Now

First we'll start with energy stocks to buy -

• Here are some undeniably impressive facts about the U.S. natural gas boom: The new natgas era could lead to U.S. energy independence by 2020. The Energy Information Administration reports the U.S. is sitting on some 862 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. That amounts to over a century's worth of domestic supply. Moreover, demand for America's natural gas is not just increasing domestically, but globally. These facts add up to some lucrative investment opportunities, which we profiled in How to Invest in Natural Gas Stocks as Prices Swing Back.

• The oil landscape is changing in the United States, and that means investors need to look at these developments for new opportunities. Much of the nation's increased oil production has come out of North Dakota's Bakken, as well as the Eagle Ford and Permian Basin in Texas. But it hasn't been able to reach the market place. However, Money Morning Global Energy Specialist Dr. Kent Moors notes that this is all starting to change thanks to new pipeline infrastructure being added to move this stockpiled oil. In How to Invest in Oil as Pipelines Release Trapped Profits, readers will find which oil industry stocks to buy as companies profit from this shift.

Now, here's a look at where to find income and growth...

• After five long years of a near-zero interest rate policy (ZIRP), investors are clamoring for yield. And with more and more companies boosting dividends in an attempt to keep investors happy, it pays to be selective. Money Morning Global Investing & Income Strategist Robert Hsu tells readers how they can get some hearty income along with a tax advantage and growth with these stocks to buy now.

• Readers know we here at Money Morning are gold bugs, and that we're always looking at fresh buy signals. Our Global Resource Specialist Peter Krauth found four. When these flash at all once, they send a bullish signal gold investors shouldn't ignore. In Today's "Gold Convergence" is Your Best Buy Signal Yet, Krauth explains each event in detail and urges investors not to wait because a "gold convergence like this hasn't happened in 12 years."

In news you might have missed out of Asia...

• Monday, with the launch of its first naval carrier, India joined the exclusive club of recognized nuclear powers with "blue-water" navies-the ability to project power around the world. Money Morning was quick to advise readers how to get in on some "ground floor" opportunities investing in India's military and economic rise. You see, over the next four years India is set to spend more on its defense budget than Britain. Investors have a choice of options when it comes to making direct and indirect plays on India's military rise, which represents one of the fastest-growing defense sectors.

Finally, from tech...

• Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) last week enjoyed a rally not seen since the start of the year, thanks to a fresh investment from billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn. In a single tweet that added $17.6 billion to Apple's market value in minutes, Icahn revealed he had taken a large stake in the iPhone maker and called shares undervalued. In Apple Stock Hits $500 Thanks to Carl Icahn, we share all the details that sent Apple shares soaring and a link to where Money Morning Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani first told our Private Briefing subscribers that Apple was a buy on July 10.

• Finally, for some of the best tech stocks to buy now - and ever - you can't miss our profile on how Big Data is changing the world. The amount of data created in 2012 is the equivalent of the content on as many as 62.5 billion iPhones - a stack of which would go from the Earth past the moon. The companies best able to harness all this data will tap into trillions in industry-wide profits...Go here for the details.