NEW YORK – The United Kingdom’s economy has its own share of problems, but in a world with numerous troubled economies, the U.K. is a relative bright spot. In a recent report, the International Monetary Fund gave a positive view of the U.K. economic outlook, citing robust future growth and benign prospects for inflation.

U.K. government forecasters expect Britain’s real (inflation-adjusted) gross domestic product will grow 2.6% this year versus a 2.4% increase expected for the U.S. by Forbes/Bridge Economists.

British stocks haven’t been immune to the worldwide decline in equity prices. The bellwether FT-100 index is down 15% so far this year, in line with the decline in the Morgan Stanley Capital International World index.

“I don’t think the British will have quite the downturn that we’ll have here, because they didn’t have the excesses,” says William V. Fries, lead manager of the Thornburg Value Fund (TVAFX) .

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NEW YORK – “Certain companies strive to have a lot of cash because they want a cushion, particularly in a downturn,” says April Klein, associate professor of accounting at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

For some companies, that cushion may also mean a competitive advantage. Take, for example, Technitrol (nyse: TNL – news – people), a Philadelphia-based manufacturer of electronic components for use in networking and Internet applications. As of its latest reported quarter, the company held $163 million in cash and equivalents, 50% of its shareholders’ equity.

All that cash could serve Technitrol well, according to David D. Weaver, analyst at Legg Mason Wood Walker. “The company has said it’s looking for acquisitions,” Weaver notes, “so it’s nice they have that firepower available, without having to go to the debt or equity markets.”

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NEW YORK – A recent report published by the National Intelligence Council, a division of the Central Intelligence Agency, estimates that by 2015 nearly half the world’s population will live in countries that are water-stressed. In China, for example, the report notes that the water tables under the country’s core grain-producing areas are falling at a rate of five feet per year.

The challenge isn’t limited to emerging economies. “The issue of purifying water cuts right across the board,” says John Hermance, professor of environmental geophysics and hydrology at Brown University. “You not only have entire communities and cities which will need increasing levels of treatment for their water supplies, but also private homeowners and small businesses who face the problem of installing filtering for their water systems.”

Such problems are creating opportunities for companies like Meriden, Conn.-based Cuno (nasdaq: CUNO – news – people). The company designs and manufactures filtration products to purify fluids and gases. Its Aqua-Pure and Water Factory Systems units offer water filtration treatment products for residential and commercial use.

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NEW YORK – Shares of Genesco, a Tennessee-based footwear and accessories retailing concern, have more than doubled from last May’s 52-week low. But the stock is down 8% since peaking in mid-February. Where is this stock headed?

According to theories of market sentiment, the upward trend will probably continue. Commenting generally, Bernie Schaeffer, chief executive of Schaeffer’s Investment Research, explains. “If you have a stock that’s in clear bull-market mode,” he says, “and you see strong indications of negative or bearish sentiment, that tells you the uptrend has a good chance of continuing.” Schaeffer adds that “such a pattern shows there’s still skepticism and money on the sidelines.”

Schaeffer and his colleagues specialize in market sentiment indicators–measurements of investors’ bullish or bearish mood. One popular indicator is short interest, or the percentage of a company’s outstanding shares sold on the expectation that they can be repurchased at a lower price. Another is the put/call ratio, which compares the volume of put options to call options. A rising put/call ratio (sells/buys) generally indicates increasing skepticism about a particular stock.

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NEW YORK – It’s not always easy being a market leader. Someone is always gunning for you. Still, advantages that accompany this status–such as the ability to establish price benchmarks for an industry and attract top-level employees–can be tremendous. And in an economic slowdown, industry leaders can gain market share at the expense of weaker competitors.

One unheralded market leader in the technology space is Acxiom (nasdaq: ACXM – news – people), a developer of real-time software for managing customer information across multiple databases. The firm’s flagship program is a package called AbiliTec.

John Schneller, analyst at CIBC World Markets, thinks Acxiom can stave off the competition thanks to partnerships with companies such as Oracle (nasdaq: ORCL – news – people), IBM (nyse: IBM – news – people), Compaq (nyse: CPQ – news – people), Lockheed Martin (nyse: LMT – news – people) and PricewaterhouseCoopers. “These technology players have made a big bet on Acxiom,” says Schneller. The company recently completed 12 long-term contracts.

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