For clean energy investors, 2010 finished on a dismal note. A change of political control in Congress signaled diminished support in Washington for any kind of major financial incentives in alternative energy. In Europe, fiscal challenges led countries such as Italy and Germany to scale back their previous commitments to… Read More

What would you do if you had a stock that returned 20 times your initial investment over a span of two decades? Would you sell some or all and lock in the huge gain? That would seem reasonable. After all, the stock may have run its course. Read More

Technical and fundamental investors are fond of using indicators to divine which direction stocks may be headed. These cues can come from almost anywhere: interest-rate yield curves, put/call ratios, manufacturing surveys… you name it. Some even use the Super Bowl as a prognosticating tool. Read More

Gold and silver have appreciated about 30% and 130%, respectively, in the past year. Given the returns, a pullback or correction in precious metals-related stocks would not be surprising. However, should the rally in precious metals continue to have legs, I have three… Read More

One of the real charms of energy sector is the potential for fast gains. Unlike staid utility stocks, energy stocks are so volatile that a six or 12-month price target can be secured in a matter of months. My “Better than Exxon” pick of Sandridge Energy (NYSE:… Read More

In 1999, just months before his death, a respected geochemist named Leigh Price was working on a research paper that would soon send shockwaves through the energy sector. Dr. Price had spent much of his career with the US Geological Society (USGS) assessing the hydrocarbon potential in… Read More

Big Oil is accustomed to a high return on investment (ROI). It makes some sense. After all, it costs millions to drill a conventional oil well and hundreds of millions to drill offshore, with no guarantees. With that in mind, it would be foolish… Read More

I recently watched the classic man-eating fish movie “Jaws” and the latest action in the precious metals space reminded me of the tagline for the film, “Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water…” Is it safe to swim in the water?… Read More

February 18, 2011 may turn out to be a notable day for investors. That’s when the S&P 500 hit a 30-month high. Since then, the index has plunged, rebounded and cooled anew, even as global conditions have become much more challenging. Throw in the fact that consumer sentiment and spending levels are dropping as gas prices rise, and we may not reach back to those February highs for the rest of the year. At least that’s how short-sellers hope things will play out. They’re stepping up bearish bets, hoping the broader market will help their investment… Read More

February 18, 2011 may turn out to be a notable day for investors. That’s when the S&P 500 hit a 30-month high. Since then, the index has plunged, rebounded and cooled anew, even as global conditions have become much more challenging. Throw in the fact that consumer sentiment and spending levels are dropping as gas prices rise, and we may not reach back to those February highs for the rest of the year. At least that’s how short-sellers hope things will play out. They’re stepping up bearish bets, hoping the broader market will help their investment targets to fall in price. If they’re wrong and the market can power up to new highs, then these short sellers may be forced to close out those bearish bets and re-buy shares, unwittingly adding buying pressure to the very stocks they want to go down. With that in mind, I’m looking at three stocks that are increasingly in the sights of short sellers. Each stock has seen at least a 25% spike in short interest in the two weeks ended March 30. What do the shorts see? And how will this play out?… Read More

The price of oil is around $110 a barrel. This with nearly 9% unemployment, anemic consumer spending and less-than-robust growth in the United States and European Union. Even China and India’s economic juggernauts are beginning to decelerate. It’s time to think about the inevitable future. And I think things are going to get better. We’re in the early stages — leaders are starting to put forth serious, detailed plans to significantly reduce federal outlays, including a complete overhaul of Medicare and Social Security. I think… Read More

The price of oil is around $110 a barrel. This with nearly 9% unemployment, anemic consumer spending and less-than-robust growth in the United States and European Union. Even China and India’s economic juggernauts are beginning to decelerate. It’s time to think about the inevitable future. And I think things are going to get better. We’re in the early stages — leaders are starting to put forth serious, detailed plans to significantly reduce federal outlays, including a complete overhaul of Medicare and Social Security. I think we’ll see a balanced budget before the end of the decade, as well as an honest-to-goodness budget surplus. I predict that Washington’s spending, currently around 25% of GDP, will fall dramatically in the coming years as these events unfold. When that occurs — notice I’m not hedging my bets here with conditional language like “if” — two things will result: 1. Businesses will be created as the nation’s entrepreneurs begin to feel more optimistic about the long-term future and more comfortable taking risks. We’ll see this in… Read More