Will India be the next China? The economic numbers make India look as if it is on track to be the next mover and shaker in global markets. The Indian economy -- which the government tracks by fiscal years ending March 31 instead of by calendar years -- posted an impressive 9.4% expansion in 2006-2007 and is on course for 8.2% growth this fiscal year.

China's top-dog status in emerging markets isn't really in danger, though. India's long-term average rate of economic growth is likely to be 7% to 8%, while China's will be on the order of 9% to 10%. That means China is going to retain its substantial lead over India in terms of the size of its economy in the near future. China's gross domestic product is close to topping $3 trillion, overtaking Germany as the third-largest national economy in the world. India's economy, by contrast, will be worth about $1 trillion this year.

India still has major growth bottlenecks to clear. The service sector is going gangbusters, but India's manufacturing sector is far from matching China's role as factory for the world. "Infrastructure has really been the Achilles' heel of trying to develop a more robust manufacturing sector in India," says Rick Rossow, director of operations for the US-India

Of the infinite number of possible stock-picking strategies, one that we particularly like can be summed up in three words: The pros know. In other words, ask the experts what stocks they're buying and you're likely to come up with some pretty good ideas. Last year, we asked seven top portfolio managers to name their favorites, and their 22 choices returned an average of 29% to May 14, well ahead of the 18% gain of Standard & Poor's 500-stock index (for more details, see Our Team Gains 29%).

Now we've rounded up a new group of outstanding managers using the same simple criteria we used to pick last year's bunch: They all have produced superior records, over both the short term and the long term. When these folks discuss their best investing ideas, it's worth listening in.

A Berkshire bent
Many a mutual fund manager has bolted to the free-wheeling, less-regulated, potentially more lucrative hedge-fund world. Whitney Tilson and Glenn Tongue have done almost the reverse. They launched their first hedge fund in January

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Pharmaceutical companies Wyeth, Roche Holding AG and Baxter International Inc. all posted double-digit profit increases Thursday, mainly due to strong sales of key medicines.

Shares of Wyeth and Baxter fell despite the fact both companies beat analyst expectations and raised their profit forecasts slightly, although Baxter was hurt by news on a product recall.

Meanwhile, Roche, the Swiss parent of Nutley, N.J.-based Hoffmann-La Roche, said its longtime CEO, Franz Humer, is giving up his post but will remain chairman, as the company's board is splitting the two posts. Humer will be succeeded by Severin Schwan, 40, who had been the head of Roche's diagnostics division since January. Roche shares rose nearly 3 percent in Zurich.

Baxter shares fell $3.04 percent, or 5.2 percent, to $55.56.

Shares of Madison, N.J.-based Wyeth fell more than 2 percent but recovered to close down 28

SEATTLE (AP) -- Microsoft Corp.'s fiscal fourth-quarter profit edged up 7 percent despite a hefty charge to cover the cost of defective Xbox 360 video game consoles.

The world's largest software maker said Thursday its earnings for the three months ended June 30 climbed to $3.04 billion, or 31 cents per share, from $2.83 billion, or 28 cents per share, during the same period last year.

Results were weighed down by a charge of $1.06 billion, or 8 cents per share, related to the video game console repairs.

In early July, the company said it would extend the warranty on the Xbox 360 to three years after too many succumbed to "general hardware failure," a vague condition marked by flashing red

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Google Inc.'s second-quarter profit climbed 28 percent, but it wasn't enough to fulfill Wall Street's high expectations for the Internet's search leader.

Investors quickly expressed their dismay, causing Google shares to plunge by nearly 8 percent after the results were released Thursday.

The Mountain View-based company earned $925.1 million, or $2.93 per share, during the three months ended in June. That compared with net income of $721.1 million, or $2.33 per share, at the same time last year.

If not for costs associated with employee stock compensation, Google said it would have earned $3.56 per share. That figure missed the average analyst estimate of $3.59 per share among analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Revenue for the period totaled $3.87 billion, a 58 percent increase from $2.46 billion at the same

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Bank of America Corp. recorded another profitable quarter Thursday, but gave investors reason to worry as it fattened its provisions for loan losses, an indication it sees lending risks growing.

Bank of America, the No. 2 U.S. bank by assets, reported a 5 percent rise in earnings from growth in capital markets activity and consumer fees, offsetting an increase in credit losses.

But its provision for credit losses ballooned 79.2 percent to $1.81 billion, up from $1.24 billion in the first quarter and $1.01 billion in the second quarter of 2006. Net charge-offs, or bad loans, rose to $1.5 billion, compared with $1.43 billion in the first quarter and $1.02 billion in the year-ago quarter.

JPMorgan, the nation's third-largest bank, on Wednesday reported a 20 percent increase in

NEW YORK (AP) -- The nation's economy could be in for a sluggish spell in coming months as a downturn in the housing industry takes a deeper toll on businesses and consumers.

The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators, released Thursday, signaled economic weakness with a 0.3 percent decline in June, more than the 0.1 percent analysts were expecting. The index had risen 0.2 percent in May after dropping 0.2 percent in April.

The report is designed to forecast economic activity over the next three to six months.

"The leading index has slowed in recent months, suggesting a possible softening of the overall pace of economic activity later in the second half of