Is the market overpriced? Maybe it is cheap, or perhaps it is fairly valued. This is the third in a series examining the issue. Still, it has been my contention that it does not make any difference because no matter how the market is valued as a whole, there are plenty of cheap stocks out there to accommodate a large amount of capital allocation even this deep into a bull run.

If you would like to follow along from the beginning, the initial post screened stocks for lower than market average P/E ratios: Serious Money: Market Looks Cheap to Me -- 35 Stocks. In the second installment, I looked at yield and PEG ratios: Serious Money: Still Cheap Market -- 35 Stocks + Yields & Growth.

Let's try and reduce the gambling by examining the facts and ignoring what the bulls and bears are chatting up at the moment. We started the process by screening for lower than market average P/E ratios, see: Serious Money: Market Looks Cheap to Me -- 35 Stocks.

Two more important criteria influence today's review: the yield, a favorite of "my pal Warren"; and the price-to-earnings-to-growth (PEG) a focus of Peter Lynch, the retired fund manager extraordinaire of Fidelity's Magellan Fund.

We frequently receive comments that the market is overpriced. Recently one of our active readers commented that the market P/E was 30, which it's not. The actual rate (S&P forecast) has been even higher at times due to the volatile market.

The average should trend closer to the long term P/E of 15.7 in the next few years. However, I have reviewed companies often covered on our site and come up with a list of 35 stocks that have price-to-earning ratios below the long-term average already. I think there are dozens of bargains regardless of the status of the overall market.

Bright and early this morning, lab-technology innovator StarLIMS (LIMS) announced that it will be bought by pharmaceutical firm Abbott Laboratories (ABT) for roughly $123 million. This purchase price reflects a per-share price tag of $14 for LIMS, which closed Monday's trading session near the $10 region.

Needless to say, LIMS was the subject of heavy pre-market trading, which pushed the per-share price closer to the premium paid by ABT. According to the report, ABT will acquire all outstanding equity of LIMS, which currently has roughly $18 million cash in hand.

Is it time to take a bite out of Apple, Inc (AAPL) or leave it on the vine? After reviewing the current list by examining the stock yields and price-to-cash flow (P/CF) we will take a look at Apple for 2010.

Yesterday I dropped two stocks, but the list is still too long. In the coming weeks there will be more cuts and if I find anything of more value perhaps there will be something new.

Today it's time to do some trimming of the fourteen stocks and four options on the contenders list. This review will prioritize the companies by price-to-book (P/B), price-to-sales (P/S) and return-on-equity (ROE). This does not preclude more possible stocks being added and the final list will not be done until the end of the month.

We will also compare recent stock prices to three-year highs to give us a relative idea where the stock floated in rosier times.

The march toward year end continues as three more stocks are reviewed in a search for the eventual 2010 stock picks. This year there will be nine stocks with a new wrinkle, I will add one naked put.

These options have contributed to a mind-boggling return on my 2009 portfolio, exceeding 200% to date. This has been a very unusual year, and I bet against the rampant fear in the market. I will not pretend for a moment that this is repeatable. What I will do is share my opinions and investing adventure, hoping to stimulate investor interest and dialog.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the Senate is filled with more-savvy politicians, and the upside for beaten-down names is huge.

Nancy Pelosi has now said her piece. The most unpopular Speaker of the House in the history of Wall Street has gotten her precious health care legislation through the House after ramming through a stimulus package that had far too little infrastructure and far too much pay raise for municipal and state workers, the most powerful interest group in the country.

But this time the Senate sees through it, and the politicians -- despite Pelosi's insistence that Tuesday's election went her way -- know better. There are pages after pages after pages in this bill that look threatening. But here's the rub: This bill's public option, the one that is supposed to be a killer to everything health care, should affect no more than 6 million people over a 10-year period, according to the Congressional Budget Office. In order to get 60 votes in the Senate, even that may prove to be too powerful an option.

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) higher Q3 earnings topped expectations but revenue was in line.
• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) posted better-than-expected Q3 results, but shares sold off.
• Allegheny Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ATI) was downgraded on concerns about its Q4 guidance.
• Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) shares fell after it posted a deeper-than-expected quarterly loss.
• Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) fell victim to profit taking despite reporting better-than-expected earnings.
• CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) better-than-expected Q3 earnings sent shares higher, despite a decline in revenue.

Plenty of companies are reporting earnings this Wednesday morning, one of which is Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT).

The health-care giant reported third-quarter earnings of 95 cents per share, far better than last year's 69 cents per share. Taking items out of the equation, Abbott would have earned 92 cents per share, which is two cents better than the consensus estimate. Quarterly revenue matched the consensus estimate for $7.76 billion.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), the broad-based health care company that produces both Humira and Similac, is scheduled to discuss its third quarter 2009 financial results in a conference call Wednesday at 9:00 AM ET. You can catch the live webcast on the company's website.

During the three months that ended in September, Abbott Labs announced acquisitions of Visiogen, Evalve, and Solvay pharmaceuticals, as well as declared its 343rd consecutive quarterly dividend. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect this suburban Chicago company to report that earnings rose 12.2% from a year ago to $0.90 per share. Sales for the quarter are expected to be 3.3% higher to $7.8 billion.

"Being contrarians, we are always looking for laggard stocks with the potential to rebound," says turnaround expert George Putnam.

In his The Turnaround Letter, the advisor reviews four medical and pharmaceutical stocks that have been among the worst performers in the S&P 100 since the market bottom. Despite their poor performance, he thinks they may be due for a rebound.

"We think that investors who got left behind by the first leg of the market rally are struggling to catch up.

Goldman Sachs upgraded the banking sector last week, and this coming week we'll get a chance to see whether Goldman and other big banks reporting third quarter results will live up to the expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

New York-based Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) looks set to be this week's earnings game winner. Analysts expect this dividend-paying company to report a third-quarter profit of $4.24 per share, which is 57.3% higher than in the same period of last year. Revenue for the period that ended in September is expected to be $11.0 billion. So far, the full-year forecast is for $17.74 per share on $44.6 billion.

Traders had on their rally caps today, and the DJIA moved as high as 9,823 as it renewed its ascent toward 10,000. The index moved back down a bit at the end of the day as traders got lazy during a session in which most of the news came before the bell.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) and Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) both announced deals today that pumped some air into the M&A business. Financial shares are mostly moving higher because increased M&A activity generally means more fees for financial services companies. Trading volume was light, mostly due to the Yom Kippur holiday today.

Today's numbers:

Dow 9,789.44 +124.25 (1.29%)
S&P 500 1,062.88 +18.50 (1.77%)
Nasdaq 2,130.74 +39.82 (1.90%)

Stocks are expected to open modestly higher on Wall Street after a losing week last week. On Friday, stocks fell for the third straight day after reports on new-home sales and durable goods proved weaker than expected, leading investors to believe the economy has not yet emerged from the recession.

Stocks to watch today include pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), which agreed Monday to buy an 18% stake in European drug maker Crucell (NASDAQ: CRXL) for 301.8 million euros ($440 million), as part of a deal to develop flu vaccines.