I'm opening this topic for anyone who wants to suggest a stock or
ETF.  Please back up your suggestions with reasons why you think it's
a good buy.  PLEASE DO NOT USE THE REASON "IT'S A BIG NAME AND IT'S SO
CHEAP RIGHT NOW!"  For example, Citigroup's stock is cheap right now,
but so is a bucket of dirt.  Personally, I'd rather have the bucket of
dirt...it will keep its value.  GM's stock is worth a little
more...about two buckets of dirt.

Here's my suggestion:  Family Dollar Stores (FDO).  They're like a Wal-
mart on steroids.  The obvious reason is that discount stores do well
in a recession, but another big plus is that because we'll be in a
deflationary period over the next year or two, their costs will go
down while their sale prices stay the same (you can't go lower than a
dollar if you're a dollar store!).  So far, the stock has been
thriving while the markets were going down.  Even if the markets
bounce back, consumers will still be in the mindset of saving as much
money as possible, so the stock should still do well.  It's a win-win
situation.  I just bought some today and will buy more if it goes
lower.

Ooh..I saw FDO on Cramer the other week.

One odd industry to look into is beauty products. They have done well
historically during times of recession.  Reason being: Women are
cutting down their visits to salons and getting their hair/nails done
on a less frequent basis and dyeing their hair at home as opposed to
paying a premium to have someone else do it for them.  Women are also
scaling back on the less expensive brands of make-up at department
stores and scaling down at the local Pharmacy store (Brands: L'Oreal,
Maybelline, Revlon, etc.)  There was a study published sometime last
year (sorry don't have a source) that women hide behind their
recessionary woes with--lipstick.  I don't own any make-up, but this
all makes sense to me.  Joey's probably laughing at me as he reads
this.

Agricultural industries are good.  Urban and suburban home-gardeners
are rising at a progressive rate for ecological reasons and for self-
dependency.

We survived a drought in the south-east last year.  Water industries
(purification, engineering) look promising. There is also huge
diplomatic movement to bring water technology to the third world for
those who do not have access to clean drinking water.

Infrastructure stocks - bridges need to be rebuilt and fixed.  Anyone
remember the bridge collapse last year?

Green stocks:
Alternative energy sources (windmills are big in Europe and will be
coming to the East Coast soon).
Energy-efficient products, etc.