Best Stocks to Buy List: How to Play the Eagle Ford, Gold, and Obamacare

Best stocks to buy for the week ending April 18, 2014: The newest investment picks from Money Morning experts come from the bullish gold market and the tech, healthcare, and energy sectors, among others.

Three oil stock picks play on Texas' Eagle Ford shale formation, which, since its beginning in 2009, has already surpassed the Bakken Shale in North Dakota as the largest tight oil formation in the United States. Two hot IPO picks take advantage of the changing healthcare sector, while another company's stock is a great choice because it's "Obamacare-proof." And a homeland defense tech recommendation from last Monday has already jumped 4.66% - it's up 76.54% year over year, and 11.23% so far in 2014.

Here are our latest, best ways to capture profits.

Money Morning's Best Stocks to Buy Now

• "A good CEO can create a very strong company, but a great CEO can create an empire," Money Morning Executive Editor William Patalon III wrote on Wednesday. Strong leadership means greater rewards for investors. For instance, General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) CEO John F. "Jack" Welch Jr. took over the moribund company in 1981. During his tenure, Welch increased the company's value by 4,000%, and GE hasn't been the same company since. Patalon told readers about five top tech CEOs that he believes, like Welch, will drive their respective companies to booming success - and generate soaring gains for investors...

• The Eagle Ford shale formation in Southern Texas is the largest oil formation in the United States - and it's making investors very rich. Soaring output from Texas helped the United States account for 10% of the global oil output in the fourth quarter of 2013. "In March 2013, Texas oil production reached its highest level since 1984," Money Morning's Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors said. "In all, the Lone Star State pumped more than 74 million barrels of crude, which means if Texas were a country, it would be one of the 15 largest oil producers in the world." Thanks to the booming Eagle Ford, investors can tap into these three oil stock picks that we predict will reach new heights in 2014...

• Over the last couple of weeks, TV pundits have been referring to the current tech market as a "crash" in the making. "Don't believe them," Money Morning Defense & Tech Specialist Michael A. Robinson wrote on Wednesday. To be sure, the Nasdaq is down about 5% over the last month. However, during the five-year bull market, there have been short-term drops of about 10% at least four times. In each of those cases, the losses evaporated in just a few weeks, and tech inevitably led the market higher once again.Robinson sees these dips as great buying opportunities - he recommended four investments you can make right now that turn the market's recent turmoil into your financial advantage...

• Now that all the key deadlines for Obamacare have finally taken effect, a lot of tech investors are busy trying to figure out how this will affect their portfolios. On Thursday, Robinson identified two promising startups that are rumored to go public this year that will thrive in the Obamacare era. One provides online marketing tools for clients in the health, wellness, and beauty industries - it's been used by more than 33,000 businesses in 100 countries. The other has already garnered upwards of $77.5 million in venture capital funding. It offers software and cloud-based solutions to aid with everything from healthcare plans to specialty pharmacies. After these two hot IPO picks, Robinson concludes by identifying what he thinks is "one of the better Obamacare-proof stocks out there today"...

• The shellacking the markets took on April 10 was a powerful warning sign that things are not what they seem in the financial markets. On Tuesday, Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald called it a bearish omen, but told readers that not all bearish signs are bad news. Fitz-Gerald recommended investors prepare their portfolios with this three-pronged approach, including picking up one of these inverse funds for "some substantial reinforcement, not to mention healthy profits too"...

• Fitz-Gerald also made an appearance on FOX Business' "Varney & Co." on Monday to discuss why he's buying stock in this homeland defense tech company right now - shares have already jumped 4.66% since his pick.

• Money Morning Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani, a retired hedge-fund manager who runs the Capital Wave Forecast and Short Side Fortunes advisory services here at Money Map Press, often makes contrarian picks. Last week, Gilani touted two tech giant picks that he believes still have much higher to go: One is a $40 stock that Gilani believes will go north of $100 a share in the next five years. The other is presently sitting on a whopping $160 billion in cash...

• The latest "noise" from the IMF and European Central Bank (ECB) signals that Europe is about to crank up its own printing press. While the implications of this may be serious, Money Morning GlobalResource Specialist Peter Krauth thinks the profit opportunities are even bigger. He recommends this European stock ETF that's up 34% since bottoming last July to take advantage of the European easing...

• Gold is on a tear following its disappointing 28% drop in 2013. The yellow metal rebounded from December into mid-March, adding $200 an ounce, or nearly 17%. Krauth is bullish on gold stocks in 2014, and with gold at $1,326 an ounce last week and showing further bullish signs, he recommended these three gold stocks for readers to take advantage of the rise...