This video is part of our "Motley Fool Conversations" series, in which senior analyst Anand Chokkavelu, CFA, and consumer goods editor and analyst Austin Smith discuss topics across the investing world.

As part of the Motley Fool Madness Series, Anand and Austin go head-to-head analyzing two Dow titans. In today's showdown, we have two companies that were quite affected by the housing bubble burst: Bank of America and Home Depot.

Bank of America's balance sheet was ravaged by too-good-to-be-true loan-making, and Home Depot suffered as consumers couldn't pay their mortgages -- much less buy a new toilet seat. Both have interesting upside cases in a recovering economy, and both have been on runs during 2012. But which is the better bet for the year ahead? Anand takes the B of A bull side, and Austin takes the Home Depot bull side.

After you watch the video, if you're interested in some more global prospects, check out our free report: "3 American Companies Set to Dominate the World." The report won't be available forever, so we invite you to enjoy a free copy today. Click here to get your copy today!