Don't Overpay

One of the biggest miscues bear market investors make is concluding that certain stocks are bargains simply because they've traded down to historic lows. It's better to consider "tangible book value."

The reason: Tangible book value represents what a shareholder can actually expect to receive if a company starts going bad it's a good measure of what the firm's real assets are worth.

At a time when earnings are decelerating or have vanished completely, buying companies that are trading below tangible book value can provide an extra measure of downside protection. Especially when you're talking about a company that's perfectly positioned to capitalize on powerful global trends.