This Week's 'Barron's' Roundup

Editor's note: Welcome to Stockpickr's "Barron's Roundup." Each weekend, we present Stockpickr portfolios related to articles in the latest issue of Barron's.

Smart Money Plays: Barron's looks at picks and pans discussed by Wall Street heavyweights like David Einhorn, William Ackman and Jim Chanos at a recent investment conference. Among the names mentioned are Strayer Education(STRA Quote), General Growth Properties(GGWPQ.PK Quote) and Millicom International(MICC Quote).

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The New Consumer: In this article, Barron's introduces what it calls its Michelle Obama Index, which consists of 10 stocks that offer good value, something the first lady has championed. Among the names are Apple(AAPL Quote), Urban Outfitters(URBN Quote) and J. Crew Group(JCG Quote).

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Bear-Market Veteran: Barron's talks with Ronald Canakaris, chairman and chief investment officer of Montag & Caldwell, and portfolio manager of Aston/Montag & Caldwell Growth Fund-N Class (MCGFX). Canakaris has managed money through three of the six worst bear markets since 1900. Among the stocks in his portfolio are Research In Motion(RIMM Quote), Apple and Charles Schwab(SCHW Quote).

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'Speaking of Dividends': This Barron's column highlights the latest dividend increases, initiations and cutbacks. This week there's information on H.J. Heinz(HNZ Quote) and Pharmaceutical Product Development(PPDI Quote).

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Bullish and Bearish: Each week, Barron's publishes bullish and bearish stories on a variety of stocks. We present summaries of those stories in this portfolio. This week, there are bullish stories on Varian Medical Systems(VAR Quote) and Boeing(BA Quote), plus a bearish piece on Green Mountain Coffee Roasters(GMCR Quote).

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Top Insider Purchases of the Week: Insider purchases are a lot more predictive than insider selling. Barron's lists companies where managers are buying stock, and we build a portfolio with those companies' stocks. There has been interesting activity in Fortress Investment Group(FIG Quote), GameStop(GME Quote), Wal-Mart(WMT Quote) and Siga Technologies(SIGA Quote).

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Latest Activist Purchases: Which companies are the top hedge funds chasing? This week's list includes names like Ditech Networks(DITC Quote), Superconductor Technologies(SCON Quote) and Air Transport Group(ASTG Quote).

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Research Reports: The latest analyst research highlighted by Barron's, including reports this week on Giant Interactive(GA Quote), United Therapeutics(UTHR Quote) and Boeing(BA Quote).

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1 What would best describe your stance heading into the coming week of trading? Bullish Bearish Neutral 2 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move up in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities 3 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move down in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities View the results without voting