by Sam Kessler

Created on: December 08, 2008   Last Updated: January 15, 2009

Corporate Warriors Withstanding Economic Recession

When we think of a recession, we often tend to assume that the economy and our lifestyles will be spiraling downwards to the point where we feel we can never return to the "good old days", when stocks were soaring high, unemployment was at an all time low and bonuses to company employees were exceptionally generous. Those days may be gone for the moment but there's still some spark left in the economy to help reignite the next batch of bullish markets.

In fact, the financial and economic distress that we're seeing today can be an excellent opportunity to not only shed the excess fat that we gained from the "the good old days" when opportunities and profits were usually thrown at us for the taking. Now, we're finding out that the financial and economic distress is requiring us to become more lean and savvy when conducting business and looking for opportunities to make money. Many people are now seeing their stock portfolios dwindling in value over the recent months and many of you are probably cringing at the sight of your financial statements in the mail wondering how much has been lost this month.

Well, instead of cringing and feeling helpless in all this distress, let's look at companies who are beating the odds in this recession. Such companies offer us a glimmer of hope that there is always a way to overcome the harsh realities of a recession by having a good strategy and a product that will always be in demand as well as part of our basic consumption needs and patterns.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT)

Whether it's a bull or bear economy, this multinational firm makes prescription drugs, baby formula, heart-disease devices, medical and nutritional products that everyone in the world needs. They show no signs of slowing down and according to CEO, Miles White, "Our products are the kind that people need, regardless of economic conditions." His company's third-quarter sales prove this point when they soared 18% to $7.5 billion which half of that came from international sales. White also says that, "Abbott's biggest strength is a wide range of products and geographic sales that balances things that aren't going so well".

Wal-Mart (WMT)

The world's largest retailer continues to open hundreds of outlets in Latin America, China and Eastern Europe and has reported a strong cash flow with a 7% increase in their third quarter profits to $98 billion. According to CEO, Lee Scott, Wal-Mart was built to withstand economic downturns

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