Jim:     It's time to stock up on our "nuclear winter" plays... the companies that will still make money even in a world where the rescue plan fails... and our financial system, and then our economy, fails along with it... as Hank Paulson talks about the need for LIBOR and credit default swaps to be better...

Look, without this plan, we're not talking about the Street... we're talking about the road...

In this environment, investors are flocking, not to banks, but to food banks...  stocks like McCormick & Co. Inc. (MKC), the biggest maker of spices in the world.  There will be a bull market in spice.  MKC has got flavor...

Very simply, MKC is a play on fewer people eating at restaurants... more meals at home.  The company is the #1 name when it comes to herbs, spices and now marinades, ever since it acquired Lawry's...

MKC has 50% of the market for spices in the U.S. and France, 40% market share in the U.K.  These guys really own this.  Since Europe is experiencing an economic downturn too, you're going to see more and more people cooking their own meals over in Europe, as well as in America.  It's a simple equation...  home cooking equals MKC.

This is the spice of money, not just life...

Without a bailout plan, we're going to see a lot more people eating at home...  Some are going to have to use MKC to spice up Alpo...   To those who balk at eating dog food, I say, come on, don't knock it until you try it (yuck!)...

And, even with the plan, we'll still be in a world of skyrocketing unemployment, too many foreclosures, and a slowing domestic and global economy.  You don't raise numbers because of the plan.  People are feeling squeezed, and food is one of the places where they're trying to save money.  Cookbooks, by the way, are on fire too.

Remember, without this Invest in America plan... at least that's what I would have called it... as opposed to the "reduced LIBOR" Plan that (Treasury Secretary) Paulson calls it... we are talking stone age.  And, even in that environment, you still have to spice what you kill and grill...

According to a survey from NPD group... that's a market research company... fewer people are buying luxury foods, and more people are buying store brand items... which works for MKC, okay.  I mean, that's what you've got to do here... because it's also the largest producer of private-label seasonings in North America... remember that Ralcorp (RAH) idea that we had (see that show recommendation for RAH from September 19th here), the king of private-label cereals that we recommended last week.  MKC works for the same reasons.  The same survey showed that lower prices were the #1 most important factor for 37% of consumers, when deciding where to shop for food.  That's up from 31% last year... and well ahead of the second most-often cited factor, location.

People may be going out less, and buying cheaper food, but that doesn't mean they want it to taste like Purina Cat Chow... which is why they're going to buy more spices, hence MKC.

The company gets 80% of its operating profit from consumer sales, although it also serves 9 of the top 10 food service chains, and 13 of the top 20 leading food and beverage companies.  I want you to think of McDonald's (MCD*), Wendy's (WEN), Yum! Brands (YUM), Chili's, Anheuser-Busch (BUD), and Pepsi (PEP)...

With 50% of the spice market, and control of both branded and private-label spices, no one else even comes close to MKC. 

This one isn't just a play on more people eating at home either... It's also a healthier-eating play...  You can go to the McCormick Spice Institute [here]...  Now I would have gone to college there, but I got deferred...  and see how they're aiming to educate customers about how their herbs and spices help with common health problems like inflammation and weight management.

Even though MKC is part of the trade down from restaurant to home eating, its branding itself more as a trade up, by launching gourmet recipes by Cat Cora, the current Iron Chef, on its website...

Now, I'm sticking my neck out here, because MKC reports its third quarter tomorrow.  I am absolutely telling you... please, do not buy this after-hours so you can get in ahead of the quarter.   That's wrong.  That's not what I'm trying to do.

See, if the quarter's good, and the stock goes up, I don't even want you to buy it. 

What would a good quarter look like?...

The Street's looking for 48 cents a share of earnings this quarter, and sales of $781 million... with consensus of a full year, at $2.14 a share.  If the numbers come in more than a couple of pennies worse than that - or "shy" as we call it - all bets are off.  Forget that I even mentioned MKC, and certainly don't buy it.

But this is why I'm really doing the piece...

If the quarter's better than expected, and the stock goes slightly higher, you're going to get a chance.  But, in this market... and this is it... this is the real deal with this market...  in this market, everything is hated.  That's why I'm doing this tonight before everything goes down at some point...

So you need to wait for MKC to do just that...  It could report a really great number and go down anyway...   I'm talking about it today, because it's in the right spot.  I want you to be ready to buy it, if the market collapses, because the Plan dies, and this is the one to buy, because it gets pulled down by all the other stocks.

Regardless of what happens tomorrow, you should wait for MKC to come lower.  You could pull the trigger then.  One thing we can count on, in this volatile and violent market, it's going to push stocks down, even good ones like MKC...

This one is not a Red Hot Chili Pepper...  It's more like parsley, sage and rosemary...  you've got thyme!  I couldn't resist...

When the buying opportunity comes, you'll be in good hands, because this company's very shareholder friendly.  It's got a cozy 2.3% yield.  Over the last five years, MKC's returned 86% of its cash from operations to shareholders... either in the form of dividends or buybacks.

Last year, they bought back $157 million in stock, although now they're buyback is running low, with just $49 million left in the repurchase authorization... that was on February 29th...

Hey, this is a company that does not need mortgage finance to crank up to make the numbers...

The bottom line...