(MONEY Magazine) – Income-oriented investors usually stick to U.S. issues. But this year they might also consider high-yielding foreign stocks that trade in the U.S. as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), which are as easy to buy as domestic shares. Profit growth will be greater for many foreign companies in 1990 than for U.S. firms, according to most economists. In addition, U.S. interest rates are likely to fall relative to those in other countries, which could drag down the dollar and boost the prices of foreign shares in dollar terms. ''If the dollar drops about 10% this year, as I expect, American investors in high-yielding foreign stocks should have the best of all worlds,'' says John Dessauer, publisher of Dessauer's Journal of Financial Markets. To find ADRs with yields of 4% or more and solid growth potential, Money surveyed analysts, fund managers and newsletter writers. Here are the experts' seven top picks by country: Australia. Despite a weak economy that could hurt the value of the Aussie dollar, Westpac Banking, with assets of $85 billion, managed a 34% jump in profits in 1989, and Dessauer expects a small gain this year. He rates Westpac as the best managed bank Down Under. The Netherlands. Dessauer picks Akzo, a $9 billion chemical and drug producer, as one of the big winners from the crumbling of the Communist bloc. ''The potential demand for Akzo's products is staggering,'' he says. ''For example, the company is the leading supplier of birth-control pills in Western Europe. This is a product that Eastern Europeans still don't have access to.'' Gavin Dobson, portfolio manager at Murray-Johnstone International, a Scottish money-management firm, favors Royal Dutch Petroleum, whose revenues of $81 billion make it the second largest oil company in the world. ''Royal Dutch has ample petroleum reserves and one of the best records of finding new oil.'' Spain. The rapid growth of the Spanish economy should bolster the stock of $6 billion Telefonica de Espana, the country's monopoly telephone utility. Dobson points out that, while Telefonica will have to make expensive capital improvements to upgrade its antiquated equipment, phone-call volume -- particularly for business -- should continue to surge. United Kingdom. Despite 6% inflation and 15% interest rates in the U.K., Peter Keane, an analyst at Interstate/Johnson Lane in Charlotte, N.C., recommends ADT Ltd., the world's largest provider of security alarm systems, because about 70% of its $1.3 billion revenues come from North America. He expects the company to report a 25% earnings gain this year. Analyst Frank Knuettel at Prudential-Bache calls $45 billion British Petroleum, the world's third largest oil company, ''one of the most attractive of the major integrated oils,'' because it has been cutting costs and also has a record of finding reserves cheaply.

Dobson also favors Hanson Trust, a $12 billion conglomerate that conducts industrial, consumer and gold-mining operations. ''Hanson's management is particularly adept at buying companies, then keeping the good parts and selling off the underperformers for a price that often pays for the acquisition,'' he says.

CHART: NOT AVAILABLE CREDIT: NO CREDIT CAPTION: Foreign yielders These seven foreign stocks pay 4% or more and have bright earnings prospects. ADT and Akzo are bought and sold over the counter. The other five trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

Stock Yield Price P/E Westpac Bank 6.8% $21.50 6 British Petroleum 6.2 65.50 13 Telefonica de Espana 5.8 24.50 5 Akzo 5.1 36.00 7 Hanson Trust 4.7 19.50 8 ADT 4.6 32.50 10 Royal Dutch Petrol. 4.5 74.75 11

Note: Price/earnings ratios are based on analysts' es timates of 1990 profits. Yields reflect dividends paid in 1989, excluding special distributions.