With stocks moving higher on Friday--and looking as if they will finish their third consecutive higher week--the most important question for active investors and long term traders is this: how many high Long Term PowerRatings stocks have you swapped into your portfolio while the markets were scuttling along the lows back in March?

The markets are hardly out of the woods, right now. Although the S&P 500, for example, looks to be breaking out beyond the major trendline I mentioned in a Weekly Outlook a few weeks ago (see my "Torn Between Two Trendlines" in the Weekly Outlook piece "Get Shorty" from April 4), that market remains below its 200-day moving average. And while this means one thing for short term traders, those looking for stocks that are likely to be higher a year from now should be more focused on what are the "right stocks" right now as opposed to the level of the S&P 500 today, tomorrow or yesterday.

The "right stocks," in our opinion, are the high Long Term PowerRatings stocks, the stocks that historically have shown the ability to do well in markets that have soared as well as struggled. Our research, which goes back to 1995, includes not just the go-go second half of the 1990s, but also the difficult bear market years of 2001 and 2002. And while past performance is no guarantee of future results, we believe the stocks that have held up in the past are among the best guides to the stocks that are likely to outperform going forward.

What are some of the stocks that we have talked about this week at PowerRatings.net that fall into this category?

Among the stocks we have highlighted this week at PowerRatings.net, perhaps two stand out above the others: Procter & Gamble (PG | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) and Consolidated Edison (ED | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), both with Long Term PowerRatings of 9.

Procter & Gamble actually appeared in two stories this week. The stock was noted as a high Long Term PowerRating stock back on Tuesday as we looked at "The Best 5 Stocks in the S&P 500 Right Now", and again on Thursday as we surveyed the stocks at PowerRatings.net that investors and long term traders were most interested in ("PowerRatings Best of the Requests").

The stock not only has a Long Term PowerRating of 9, but also comes from an industry group, Personal Products, that an Industry PowerRating of 8. When recommending stocks for investors and long term traders, we consistently suggest stocks with Long Term PowerRatings of 9 or 10 that are a part of industries that have PowerRatings of 7 or higher. In both instances, Procter & Gamble makes the grade.

The other stock worth reminding investors about is Consolidated Edison, which was our Featured Stock Spotlight of the week.

Consolidated Edison is a member of the Diversified Utilities industry, an industry group with an Industry PowerRating of 10. As I noted earlier this week in the discussion of Consolidated Edison and its industry group, there are a large number of high Long Term PowerRatings stocks in that group, including a number of stocks rated both 8 and 9. Active investors looking for yield as well as the potential for growth would do well to look into a top-rated industry like Diversified Utilities to find the sort of stocks that may be increasingly in demand over the balance of the year.

Stocks in the News

This week's stocks in the news includes some positive news on the telecommunications front, continued bad news from the financials, continued good news from companies with agricultural exposure and plenty of buzz surrounding acquisitions and takeovers both friendly and, at least potentially, not so friendly.

Gains in both wireless subscriptions and in subscribers to the company's fiber-optic data delivery systems helped Verizon (VZ | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) produce a first quarter profit increase of 10%, the company announced this week.

Posting its first loss in five years, Deutsche Bank (DB | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) announced that it would be writing down the value of loans for leveraged buyouts and asset-backed securities by more than $4 billion.

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) reported a surge in earnings to the tune of 42% for the third quarter due to increased grain prices.

Backed by Warren Buffett, the privately held Mars Inc. announced a $23 billion acquisition of Wrigley (WWY | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating). The deal will create the world's largest candy company.

Competition from rivals was blamed for Garmin (GRMN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating)'s lowest profit in years. The company sold off by 16% on the news announced earlier this week.

If Exxon Mobil (XOM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) announces profits that are only somewhat less than their previous record-breaking performance, will shareholders shed a tear? Narrowing profit margins accompanied Exxon's earning announcement this week, which revealed the company to have the smallest earnings gains of the Big Three oil companies.

Tossing a wet blanket on some of the good news out of technology of late, Sun Microsystems (JAVA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) surprised investors with poor earnings for the third quarter, leading to a sharp sell off in after hours trading in the stock.

Suspicions grew over the course of the week that Microsoft (MSFT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) would launch a hostile takeover bid for Yahoo! (YHOO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), a company the software giant has spent much of 2008 pursuing.

What To Look For Next Week

Monday: ISM Non-Manufacturing Composite Index
Tuesday: Chain Store, Retail Sales
Wednesday: Pending Home Sale / Consumer Credit
Thursday: Jobless Claims / BofE, ECB Announcements
Friday: Trade Balance

Best Performing Stocks (PR 8-10) of the Last Five Days

Here are some of the best performing, high Long Term PowerRatings stocks of the past five days. This week, all of the listed stocks have PowerRatings of 8 or 9.

Great Plains Energy (GXP | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Long Term PowerRating 9
Kimberly Clark Corporation (KMB | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Long Term PowerRating 9
Abbott Laboratories (ABT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Long Term PowerRating 8
Clorox (CLX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Long Term PowerRating 8
Verizon (VZ | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Long Term PowerRating 8

Worst Performing Stocks (PR 1-3) of the Last Five Days

Here are some of the worst performing, low Long Term PowerRatings stocks of the past five days. This week, all of the listed stocks have PowerRatings of 1 or 2.

Radioshack Corporation (RSH | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Long Term PowerRating 2
Temple Inland Inc. (TIN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Long Term PowerRating 2
UnderArmour Inc. (UA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Long Term PowerRating 2
Freddie Mac (FRE | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Long Term PowerRating 1
Excel Maritime Carriers (EXM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Long Term PowerRating 1

David Penn is Senior Editor at PowerRatings.net.