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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. 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:

#5 - McDonald's (MCD) + 4.4% Total 2008 Return
Last November, I bought this burger maker for $57 in spite of only paying one dividend per year. I was rewarded by MCD moving to quarterly dividends and a 2008 total return of 4

Filed under: Industry, Stocks to Buy

Over the last few months, real estate investment trusts (REITs) have shown that they are able to survive in tough conditions, at least compared with most other stocks. However, there have been signs of weakness for REITs lately and this is likely to continue.

With recession fears still looming, real estate operators are facing yet another difficult situation brought on by rising unemployment, which could result in lower office and retail space demand. And rising inflation will come with higher interest rates, leading to higher borrowing expenses for REI