Of all the insights I've heard over these few crazy months, the most telling came from an investor who appeared on CNBC last fall and advised, in all seriousness, "There are only two positions to be in right now: cash and fetal."

Even with the recent rally, it's ugly out there. Many companies that overleveraged their balance sheets are permanently impaired and will likely never fully rebound; exploding industrials such as General Motors (NYSE: GM) come to mind. We had an unprecedented boom; now we're in the middle of an unprecedented bust. That's how markets work.

Even so, history tells us time and time again that market panics and forced sell-offs indiscriminately throw the good out with the bad. The frenzy over financial markets, and the "sell-now-ask-questions-later" mood of global investors, are creating the kind of opportunities that bargain-hunting investors haven't seen in decades.

Using the wisdom of our 130,000-member-strong CAPS community, I've hunted down a few dirt cheap, high-quality companies. Have a look:

Company

Recent Share Price

Forward P/E Ratio

5-Year Expected Growth Rate

TTM Return on Equity

Dividend Yield

CAPS Rating  
(out of 5 stars)

Newell Rubbermaid
(NYSE: NWL)

$10.39

8.2

9.8%

(3.9%)

1.9%

****

Kraft
(NYSE: KFT)

$24.80

12.2

8.3%

7.9% Continued...