Stock picks and pans: MSFT, AMSC, IBM, PLA, BKS, SPLS, AAPL, TGT ...

As the market tries to come to terms with the state of the economy, the financial, the auto and the housing sectors, as well as digest the different bailout and stimulus plans, investors continue to find value and growth stocks appropriate for long-term investors. Here are a few picks from BloggingStocks and around the Web:

Microsoft (MSFT) decided recently to get into retailing as well, but that is not why Bill Martin thinks it's a buy. The real money, however, is still in its core business of the Windows operating system, its server systems and other software products. They have made Microsoft the cash cow that it is.