The numbers are out and it’s official: this year’s summer was the fourth-warmest on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Moreover, on a population-weighted basis, it was perhaps the warmest summer on record in the United States. Yet here we are with natural gas… Read More

Although the energy sector has underperformed in the wake of the Gulf oil spill disaster, it will likely be a plentiful source of profitable stocks as the economic recovery grinds ahead. While investors ought to do nicely during the next few years with household names like Chevron (NYSE: CVX), ConocoPhilips (NYSE: COP) and Exxon (NYSE: XOM), I’m anticipating much larger returns from some of the sector’s small- and mid-caps. One mid-cap oil and gas producer I’ve found could more than quadruple your money by 2015 or even sooner. Read More

Although the energy sector has underperformed in the wake of the Gulf oil spill disaster, it will likely be a plentiful source of profitable stocks as the economic recovery grinds ahead. While investors ought to do nicely during the next few years with household names like Chevron (NYSE: CVX), ConocoPhilips (NYSE: COP) and Exxon (NYSE: XOM), I’m anticipating much larger returns from some of the sector’s small- and mid-caps. One mid-cap oil and gas producer I’ve found could more than quadruple your money by 2015 or even sooner. Projections call for a share price of $45 to $70 in three to five years from the current price of about $15. Assuming five years, the annual return would be +25% to +35%. At three years, you’d be looking at something more in the +45% to +65% range annually. All told, the stock could jump roughly +200% to +365% from current levels. The company I’m referring to is called Petrohawk (NYSE: HK). Such ambitious return projections for the stock are feasible, mainly because of its plans to keep ramping up production at its… Read More

During the course of 2010, investors have continually fretted that the solar power industry was headed for severe slump. They worried that too many new factories were set to produce far more solar panels than the industry could absorb. And that supply increase was coming right at a time when… Read More

Canada has been an income investor’s playscape for decades. That reputation is mainly thanks to Canadian trusts, which aren’t taxed at the corporate level as long as they pay out the bulk of earnings as dividends. That’s allowed them to… Read More

Legend has it that the term “blue chip” stems from poker, in that it represented the poker chip with the highest value in the game. These days, the term is ubiquitous in the stock market and refers to a large, stable company that is financially sound, has well-known brand and… Read More

If you had a crystal ball in the 1960s, you probably would have seen that Japan would turn out to be a great investment. The country’s economy was growing nicely, family birth rates were high enough to ensure a young workforce, its education… Read More

My phone is an old Nokia about the size of a small brick. It doesn’t take pictures, tell me the weather or connect to the Internet. That’s the way I like it. In a world that has grown increasingly complex, I feel like a… Read More

There’s an old Wall Street adage: “Buy what you know.” It’s not bad advice, as it points investors toward stocks they can reasonably assess. For the year so far, though, sticking with what you know would have kept most investors clear of the market’s best performing industry, as none of… Read More

As anxiety over U.S. economic performance increases, so too does the price of gold. Surging to more than $1300 per ounce, the precious metal hit a new record the September 20th trading week, following news that the Federal Reserve may undertake quantitative easing to combat the threat… Read More

In the debate between growth and value investors, it’s usually a contest between high growth and higher valuations and low growth and very low valuations. But what should investors do with a company that is seeing revenue and cash flow actually shrink? It’s been a longstanding question dogging the newspaper industry. In a worst-case scenario, cash flow turns outright negative and bankruptcy has been the only option. For the New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) and Gannett (NYSE: GCI), things have not been quite that… Read More

In the debate between growth and value investors, it’s usually a contest between high growth and higher valuations and low growth and very low valuations. But what should investors do with a company that is seeing revenue and cash flow actually shrink? It’s been a longstanding question dogging the newspaper industry. In a worst-case scenario, cash flow turns outright negative and bankruptcy has been the only option. For the New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) and Gannett (NYSE: GCI), things have not been quite that dire, and bankruptcy is quite unlikely. But is there any reason to search for value in these industry survivors? The short answer: a qualified yes. In this piece, I’ll focus squarely on the New York Times, although many of the conclusions may apply to Gannett as well. There’s no need to re-hash all of the twists and turns at the Times, but it’s helpful to pit the positives against the negatives. The positives: Rising national market share as regional rivals sharply re-trench and cede important national coverage… Read More