The big news from Thursday came out of Dubai, one of seven semi-independent emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE) federation. Dubai has been the poster child for excess development, funded by oil revenues and inflated real estate values. It seems the emirate is suffering from an all too familiar overindulgence: too much debt associated with real estate development.

Dubai World, a state run fund, asked creditors if it could delay interest payment for six months on $60 billion. News of the potential debt default sent global markets sharply lower Friday, with Asian indices dropping nearly 6% and the Dow opening over 200 points lower. By the end of the session however, most of the reaction had been muted and while stocks in the U.S. closed lower, Europe finished higher by 1%.

There can be no doubt that Dubai over did it. Dredging ocean floors to build palm tree-shaped islands, indoor ski resorts, and the tallest building in the world are the very definition of excess…

The survey is based on a basket (no pun intended) of traditional thanksgiving dinner items including turkey, vegetables, pie, and rolls.  Apparently, lower fuel and transportation prices, combined with a little deflation in certain food item prices such as stuffing mix and sweet potatoes, will help Americans save some cash with this year’s Thanksgiving feast.

American consumers will begin to show their true colors when they make an appearance at their favorite mall or retail outlet this Black Friday – the official kick-off to the holiday shopping season.

The Friday after Thanksgiving marks the day when many retailers can count on high store traffic as consumers hit shopping malls and web sites around the country. But it can also be a rather dark day for consumers who find themselves racing through isle after isle to get the goods, crammed elbow to elbow while they wait in the cashier’s line, and sit in traffic with the rest of the county.

While this may indeed be a Black Friday for retailers and consumers, I’m not expecting great results from the overall holiday shopping season.

But don’t tell that to the market, as it seems to think boon times are ahead for the retail sector. The stock market is pricing in a strong holiday shopping season according to the current price level of the S&P Retail Index (Chicago Options: ^RLX). The index is trading just 1.8% below the 52-week high it hit last Monday, and at levels not seen since September of 2008. And since the 2009 March lows, the index has outperformed the broader S&P 500 by 15%.

For an industry that has experienced the negative impact of this recession first hand, it seems surprising that investors have flocked to retailers. Certainly the retail companies that have survived the downturn thus far are likely to remain in business through this economic cycle. But the dismal financial performance of many retailers makes it difficult to justify the recent run up in their share prices. And the recent rise of retail stocks tells me the market has priced in more than we should expect out of this year’s holiday sales.

In these cases, I often pass on the investment, but if I like the company I’ll continue to watch for signs that it has broken out of the development stage.  Timing the investment properly can mean the difference between making, or loosing, a lot of money.

This brings me to the topic of today’s issue. A reader wrote in about an exciting company that just reported its first profitable quarter.  However, when I looked closer, the company’s operation is actually funded by a subsidiary in an entirely different business.  This is a case where it really pays to do your homework: investors who jumped into this stock at its recent high are now down 50% in a period of weeks.

That’s not to say the stock won’t go higher – it very well may.  But like I said, timing is everything, and this company makes for a good example of how to do your homework.  Since the company is interesting and may be a future pick, I’ll share with you what I found…

On Thursday I stated that job creation will be one catalyst that will bring renewable energy infrastructure back into the spotlight in 2010.  This job creation is going to come from innovative, small-companies just like it has in the past – and that means small-cap stocks like Chinese wind turbine manufacturer A-Power Energy Generation Systems (Nasdaq: APWR).  I featured this company in yesterday’s article.

Don’t be fooled by this company’s name, renewable energy is a global industry and even small foreign companies like A-Power are creating jobs for Americans.  A-Power’s new plant in the U.S will employ over 1,000 workers, not to mention those who will be hired to engineer and build the factory, and those who will eventually install and service turbines on U.S. soil.

With the official rate of unemployment at 10.2% and the broader U-6 rate at 17.5%, President Obama is focused on real job creation going into 2010.  But the old rules from the last three decades of a consumer driven economy don’t apply now – we are in an economy of slow growth that will only recover when value is actually created, not just consumed.

And several industries that have been reliable job creators – the auto, financial, and residential construction industries to name just a few – are unlikely to grow at a rate that will absorb the hundreds of thousands of unemployed…

 Today I’m going to tell you about the opportunity in small-cap companies that produce power – and specifically one Chinese wind turbine manufacturer that has seen its stock soar 182% already this year.   I know that there is a huge opportunity here for investors who want to establish a position in a company that is growing market share in this exciting industry.

In fact, I’ve recently put together a special report on three companies that will benefit from a renewed focus on alternative energy including wind, solar, and landfill methane.  You can read my Special Report: Alternative Energy Investing: 3 Top Stocks Set for Profits when you sign up for a no risk trial to SmallCapInvestor PRO. 

Renewable energy infrastructure is coming back into the spotlight 2010 for a few important reasons:

1) Job creation that the economy desperately needs

2) Reduction of pollution required to combat global warming

3) Need for independent, home grown sources of energy

All of these will require a range of energy producing solutions.   Tomorrow I’ll write about job creation – today it’s all about wind power.