The headlines remain scary:  oil prices above $100 per barrel, world economies in recession, inflation taking grip, investment banks failing, mortgage giants taken over by government, housing prices falling. It is enough to make your head spin.  One would think the world was ending. 

Well, the headlines are indeed scary.  That's the point here.  News organizations are now huge corporate entities trying to make money and cary headlines sell. Fortunately for diligent investors, if you look past the sensational headline, we can find some really interesting opportunities.

Flash–there is good news out there–Yyou just need to look for it.

One nugget that has caught my eye this week was a story regarding one of my favorite companies Walt Disney Co. (DIS).  At the London premiere of, “Camp Rock,” Chief Executive Robert Iger stated that his company was proving to be very resilient in the face of challenging operating conditions.

Maybe it is in fact, a small world after all.

Pleanty of Demand for Disney Products in the U.S. and Abroad

DIS now receives nearly 25% of its sales from outside the United States.  Growth internationally combined with a weak dollar that brings in foreign travelers to domestic theme parks. Such is proving to be a potent combination.  The best news is that the world is actually quite large, leaving many areas that are yet untapped.  Thus future growth for DIS is expected to be quite robust (In fact, many of my entertainment stocks have done quite well over the past year. See, "Marvel (MVL) Shows It's Super Human Strength.")

In 2004, I made Walt Disney one of my Rational Investor model portfolio recommendations.  At that time shares traded for about $20 per share.  I thought that price was too low for a company that had a proven track record of growth. It turns out that owning DIS at that time...