Slowly, an assessment of the damage to chip plants in Japan is emerging. This story tells about just one such plant. It sheds light on what we can expect in the way of future shipments.

The company is Renesas Electronics (RNECY). It is is important because it supplies the automotive industry with car navigation chips. In Japan, it provides 41% of the chips used by Japanese automakers,

U.S. markets were mixed most of Monday with what felt like very directionless trading on light volume. A selloff late in the day erased the small gains, and markets closed in the red today.

Another weak housing figure did not manage to cause too much harm as -- by now -- investors are conditioned to expect poor housing data. Consumer spending and income rose in February, topping expectations. U.S. investors also continued to expect that oil infrastructure would keep growing based upon Middle East build-outs for expanded production.

With several major developments occurring around the world, many investors may wonder how they could affect their portfolios or their lives. Here are two of the current, newsworthy events and how investors may interpret them.

Libya

The oil from Libya totaled about 2 million barrels a day before the revolution, half of which was exported. About 1 million barrels a day are no longer available to the world. That isn't enough to really affect the price of oil for a long period of time. Plenty of other countries can supply that amount without straining their capacity. But they're unlikely to step in to fill the gap when oil prices are above $100 a barrel. That price should recede once the conflict finishes and a more stable government is in place.

This post is part of Japan: A Special Report for Investors.

"The Japanese market was already among the most beaten down in the world, even before the earthquake; the Nikkei 225 stock index now has has presented investors with some bargains," notes global specialist Nicholas Vardy.

The editor of The Global Bull Market Alert explains, "Our latest recommendation is based on an expected bounce in the Japanese stock market through one of its biggest and most liquid stocks, Toyota Motor Corp. (TM).

This post is part of Japan: A Special Report for Investors.

"It's during times of panic and uncertainty that investors are able to get the biggest advantage because other investors are running for the sidelines 'waiting for things to settle down'," says value investor Charles Mizrahi.

The editor of Hidden Values Alert suggests, "When valuing a company, you're not trying to guess what the company will do over the next few days or weeks.

"Instead, you are trying to value it based on what they will be doing over the next few years or decades.

This post is part of Japan: A Special Report for Investors.

"Although some people may think it inappropriate, our job is to make readers aware of opportunities as they occur," says Glenn Rogers.

The contributing editor to Internet Wealth Builder explains, "Invariably, every major crisis creates such opportunities although they may only be suitable for aggressive investors. This one is no different.

"The question is: where to begin? Usually the best place to start is by looking at some of the securities that were hardest hit by the big sell-off that followed the disaster.

This post is part of Japan: A Special Report for Investors.

"The list of those hurt financially by the earthquake include the Japanese government (so don't buy Japan's government bonds), insurance companies (who will make up their losses through higher future premiums) and the unfortunate Japanese people themselves," says Martin Hutchinson.

The contributing editor to Money Morning explains, "Of course, even among listed companies, there will be some losers. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TKECY), or TEPCO, is the unfortunate owner of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station.

This post is part of Japan: A Special Report for Investors.

"Uranium and nuclear power stocks are the most directly impacted by events in Japan. In my view, this isn't the time to sell uranium plays," says Elliott Gue, who continues to recommend Cameco Corp. (CCJ), the leading uranium mining company.

The editor of The Energy Strategist explains, "Investors looking for a road map of what's likely to transpire over the next few weeks should recall the Macondo Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in late April 2010.

This post is part of Japan: A Special Report for Investors.

"Japan's tsunami has struck worldwide," says Richard Moroney, the editor of Dow Theory Forecasts, which has maintained a model portfolio of blue chip stocks for over 50 years.

Here, he reviews a number of the top buy recommendations in the newsletter's portfolios to determine the potential risk posed by the recent tragic developments in Japan.

Stocks cited as "Focus List Buys" are are those issues that the service expect to significantly outperform the market over the next 12 months.

This post is part of Japan: A Special Report for Investors.

"Without underestimating the magnitude of the tragedy and human suffering following the earthquake in Japan, we recommend investors buy into Japan amid the current market weakness," says Yiannis Mostrous.

The Asian stock expert and editor of Global Investment Strategist explains, "The tragic earthquake in Japan has roiled markets, but the country's long-term strength remains intact. This is a good time to establish long-term positions in some of Japan's best companies, such as Mitsubishi Corp. (MSBHY).

This post is part of Japan: A Special Report for Investors.

"Following the earthquake in Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index lost 18% in just 3 trading days, a worse decline than even the crash of 1987; the behavior of the iShares MSCI Japan Index ETF (EWJ) looks like a selling climax has occurred," says Marvin Appel.

The editor of Systems & Forecasts explains, "After a fast decline, the market bounced on unusually heavy volume. In this particular case, EWJ opened on March 15 with a loss of 7%. However, by the close, all of this loss was recouped on exceptionally heavy volume.

This post is part of Japan: A Special Report for Investors.

"The normal human response to a large-scale natural disaster will be to eventually look to rebuild," observes Geoffrey Seiler.

The editor of BullMarket.com explains, "Those desires create the somewhat perverse irony of a future economic boom, especially for companies and individuals tied to the construction industry, such as Kubota (KUB), which is essentially the Caterpillar of Japan.

This post is part of Japan: A Special Report for Investors.

"Tokyo-based Mizuho Financial Group (MFG) is Japan's second-largest bank in terms of total assets," notes Paul Tracy.

The editor of High Yield International suggests, "Banks are typically considered cheap when they trade at a discount to their underlying book value and Mizuho currently trades at just 0.7 times book.

"The past two decades have not been kind to the Japanese banking industry, though the leading financials have been restructuring successfully.

"Few people know exactly how long it will take Japan to recover and rebuild, nor the full impact of the destruction in the world's third-largest economy," says Louis Basenese.

The contributing editor to Investment U advises, "In the short term, expect volatility to be the norm; but if you're a long-term investor there are reasons for bullishness:

"First, Japan is cheap. Even before the earthquake hit, Japan was one of the world's cheapest markets with the average stock on the TOPIX trading at a price-to-book ratio of 1.0 -- a 56% discount to the average U.S. stock.

The Japanese devastation is almost incomprehensible. First there was the earthquake, followed by the tsunami, followed by radiation. It seems the disaster has no end. The people are suffering beyond imagination. It will be a long time for the country to heal. In the north, it will take decades.

Investors are trying to understand what the economic aftershocks will be. Which industries will be hurt and which ones will benefit? Because the crises change from day to day, it's extremely difficult to ascertain. But there are a few themes that seem to be emerging. Some of these will be short lived, such as the closing of the Japanese auto manufacturers. While they will lose days of production, the long-term effect will be minor, unless supplies are interrupted, causing further delays.