Bank on NBG; don't make book on Barnes & Noble

Dear Mr. Berko: I'm considering an investment of $6,000 in each of the following three stocks: Barnes & Noble, Advanced Life Sciences and National Bank of Greece.

My goal is long-term growth with moderate risks. Because the market has gone up so much in the last year or so, it's becoming harder to pick good stocks.

So if you have any recommendations for me to look at I'd appreciate your thoughts on four or five stocks you think will do well over the next few years.

D.N., Vail, Colo.

Dear D.N.: Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS-$35.26) is a very poor choice. You don't want BKS in your portfolio because future revenue gains will be miserly because of competition from video games, the Internet, TV and a declining literacy rate.

Many Americans between ages 10 and 40 are infected with a genetic intellectual deficit. (We are observing a phenomena called "the dumbing down of America” and what Dan Rather calls "the dumbing down of the news.”)

Revenue growth for BKS is suffering and books that sell best are of the Harry Potter genre, which basically are bubble gum for the mind. Meanwhile, heavy discounting to attract buyers and competition from Amazon has crippled earnings.

Net profit margins are getting squeezed and BKS expects to report lower 2007 earnings of $1.75 compared with earnings of $2.18 in 2006.

However, SunTrust, Prudential, Matrix Research and Stifel Nicholas each rate BKS a "buy.

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