The first step to sidestepping danger in this slow economy is what I call The 75% Rule: The most vulnerable companies right now derive over 75% of their revenues domestically.

Let's take two excellent companies, Chipotle (CMG) and Crocs (CROX). Chipotle's overseas sales are nonexistent. It is entirely dependent on the U.S. consumer. It's a great growth stock, but I don't expect ANY growth here this year.

Chipotle's a buy at half today's price.

Crocs on the other hand sells its products in 13,000 outlets in the U.S.–but 19,000 in 90 other countries.

Crocs is a superb buy here–and its P/E under 10 makes it practically irresistible!

Amazon, Google and eBay are also diversified enough to keep growing through a recession, even a period of stagflation.

Cisco's (CSCO) growth is only 10% tied to the U.S. That's good news.

Caterpillar (CAT) has guided higher–even though it expects U.S. sales to decline.

Shaw Group (SGR) –we've talked about this nuclear plant management company's big presence in China before–is growing mostly outside the U.S., and it's growth is locked in for the next 5 years.

These are the stocks we want.

Growth in 2008 will be global, not domestic. So go down the list of stocks in your portfolio and check them against the 75% rule.

Step #2: Beware of Dividend Hikes and R&D Cuts

When times get tough, many widely followed companies will reduce head count, spin off underperforming units, restructure, re-engineer, delay or, even launch buyback programs.

Frankly, it's all bull.

Management is busy blowing smoke when they should be outperforming their peers.

Nothing makes me hit the SELL button faster in a downturn than news that management is "getting lean and mean" by laying of its laboratory researchers. Marketing programs should be flexible, but if you cut your R&D, what's in your pipeline when the economy booms again?

Such companies lose twice and fool no one.

If 3M (MMM) had cut back in tough times, it wouldn't have come up with Post-It Notes, a product that remade the company when times got good again.

One of the most blatant attempts by a company to fool investors is to hike dividends. The recent 10% dividend hike by Lloyd's Bank should set off all kinds of alarm bells.

On Wall Street a few years ago, when Microsoft attempted to manipulate investor opinion by issuing a dividend, the joke was, "When's the funeral?"  As a growth stock, Microsoft died that day.

The point is, if a company can't think what to do with its money, the evidence is in the dividend.

Step #3: Load Up on the GameChangers

When you've protected your portfolio by following the first two steps, you're ready to start investing in the best, most innovative companies. These are the ones that thrive on new economic challenges.

The ones building new streams of revenues, not throwing head fakes.

We call them GameChangers, and it is my life work to find them for you.

Right now many of these companies are in the discount bin, which is a source of wonderment and glee for me, as you may imagine. Here are just a few we're buying in GameChangers:

• This demolishes the very concept of "company HQ" and puts the corporation's resources right on the front line. Nothing's going to stop this little company.  It just announced fabulous earnings and guided higher. Yep–it beat and guided up–only to trade down. It's happening a lot out there. Use it to your advantage.


• This big-box retailer just announced growth numbers 12 times better than Wal-Mart's. Big overseas presence. Snap it up now.


• The phone maker with just 5% U.S. exposure that just hooked up with Google for a major new initiative.

The Moment-of-Truth Economy

This is the moment of truth for every CEO in the land.

Those companies that remain tied to the U.S. economy will not grow in 2008.

Those that fall back on financial engineering or dividend hocus-pocus or cutting R&D will fall behind and never catch up in the recovery.

But those that use this shift to get out in front of their customers will grow, AND they will make you wealthy because you are picking the stocks up now for a song.

GameChangers THRIVE on disruptive times. They break the rules, go their own way, surprise the Street and make you rich. Broadvision (MDT) was a GameChanger. I identified it as such, and clients who followed my advice made 70 times their money.

Ciena (CIEN) and Ascend (ASAQ) were GameChangers identified by our system. They were thirty-baggers.

Medtronic (MDT) and Harley-Davidson (HOG) were GameChangers, and our system clearly flagged them early and publicly. They were twenty-baggers.

In times like this–you need stocks like that!

For more than 30 years, Georges Yared has helped investors get rich by investing in companies that changed the way the game is played. We're talking life-changing profits like more than 7,000% gains in Broadvision, 3,000% in Ciena and Ascend Communications, and the list goes on. Now it's your turn to get in on the profits. Join GameChangers today and get immediate access to Georges' Special Report: Stagflation Profits: Making Money in a Poor Economy. Plus, you'll save $100! Take advantage of this special offer now.