Andrew Snyder says the temporary economic pain of allowing General Motors (NYSE:GM) to fail is better than propping up a lost cause with public money. He says its time to let GM go and allow the process of creative destruction to work freely.

Global Panic - Bring it On! Be greedy when others are fearful - stocks for the recovery.

These violent market swings can be devastating for the short-term investor. But Jon Herring says market volatility is handing long-term investors a once-in-a-generation chance to buy world-dominating companies at bargain prices.

William Patalon III has a four-point plan to beat the bear this time round: 1) Load up on high dividend stocks; 2) Buy gold; 3) Stick to ‘global titan’ companies; and 4) Stay relaxed…

As you may have heard there is now officially a ban on short selling for financial companies; whether or not you agree with what the Fed has done you can still make money. What this means is that only the best will survive. today, Fiscal Frenzy is recommending the best recession proof stocks to buy at this time.

Wall Street is on its knees this morning. Lehman Brothers (NYSE:LEH) is out for the count. Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER) has been sold for a song. And AIG (NYSE:AIG) is living on borrowed time after its stock was pummeled in Friday’s going.

Worse still, according to William Patalon III the wider US economy is sliding into a deep recession.

Now that more than half the year is behind us, I thought it would be interesting to look at my top 5 performers through July 31, 2008. As dismal as the stock market has been this year, there are still some bright spots. One bright spot is that my top five performers have all achieved double-digit positive total returns since I owned them and positive returns in 2008. Here they are with comments:

Tom Dyson says the best way to protect your portfolio from the fallout of a failing Fannie and Freddie is to invest in high-dividend stocks…

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) is the cheapest place to eat in the US right now.And 12% Letter editor Tom Dyson says it’s going to get more and more business as the recession puts expensive restaurants out of reach. But are prices going to stay low as McDonalds’ transport and food production costs rise? Only time will tell.