Infosys is likely to continue to see growth in 2009, thanks to the Satyam situation, plus the recent multi-year contract it signed with Astra-Zeneca (NYSE: AZN), and the devaluation of the Rupee, which makes it more competitive.

Infosys is a current holding in the Xcelerated Profits Report (XPR) portfolio - one faring well for us, thanks to our strategy of selling covered calls against our shares, in addition to picking up a dividend on the stock.

To find out how you can join the XPR team and discover which companies you should add to your portfolio, check out this report.

* * * * * * * * * *

Profit Slump In U.K. As Economy Experiences “Frightening Deterioration”

In Britain, however, many firms aren’t faring as well as Infosys.

Accountants Ernst & Young said the number of publicly traded companies that issued profit warnings jumped by 17% in 2008 - a seven-year high.

And with the British Chambers of Commerce stating today that there’s a “frightening deterioration” in the U.K. economy (one report just out stated that the British GDP growth slumped by 1.5% during the fourth quarter - the worst performance in 28 years), it doesn’t bode well for an improvement in 2009.

In Japan, the situation is even worse…

* * * * * * * * * *

Japan: “Closed For Business”

Research firm Tokyo Shoko said today that corporate bankruptcies shot up by 27.7% in December, compared with a year earlier.

In all, 1,362 companies filed for bankruptcy, as the fallout from the financial crisis clobbered Japan’s economy. And 33 publicly traded firms also went out of business in 2008 - the most in postwar history - as the nation saw bankruptcies rise by 11% for the year - the most since 1997.

The news isn’t surprising, given the steep drop in Japanese exports like cars, and the fact that the country slid into its first recession in seven years during the third quarter.

Talk to you again tomorrow.