Dec 5, 1998. At this time of the year, all the financial newsletters come out with their top picks for the new year. To start the year right I like to pick what I call safe stocks to sleep by. In other words stocks that you would not have to worry about if something happens in a downturn or a mild bear market.

Here they are:

° American Home Products (AHP)

° Worldcom (WCOM)

° Bank One (ONE)

° WAL-MART (WMT)

° Bell South (BLS)

If an investor wants to purchase all the above items, the best way to do it is to put the same amount of money in all the issues. Say you have $10,000 to invest, divide it by the five stocks; $2,000 in each one. This is the best way to invest if you're buying more than several issues in a short time. Happy New Year!

George