As regular readers of StreetAuthority Daily know, I think there is money to be made investing in companies building “America’s Natural Gas Highway.” One of my favorites is a company that could help… Read More

Four years ago, if an individual investor even entertained the idea of buying a stock, chances are it was in the utility sector. They were boring. Our grandparents would collect them like tourists collect sippy cups from amusement parks. While some people feared the… Read More

Warren Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A), is currently worth about $44 billion, according to Forbes’ list of the world’s richest people. This makes him the world’s third-richest person, behind Bill Gates and Carlos Slim. Read More

Energy prices are on the move once again with crude oil solidly above $100 a barrel and at 18-month highs. Shares of offshore drilling company Transocean (NYSE: RIG) have been trading in a $20 range between $60 and $40 since August 2011. RIG has been a market laggard in the past year, down 2% while most stocks have pushed higher. Support at $40 has held with a… Read More

Energy prices are on the move once again with crude oil solidly above $100 a barrel and at 18-month highs. Shares of offshore drilling company Transocean (NYSE: RIG) have been trading in a $20 range between $60 and $40 since August 2011. RIG has been a market laggard in the past year, down 2% while most stocks have pushed higher. Support at $40 has held with a 52-week low of $43.65. The stock actually has stair-step support, first at $46 from the past six months, then at $44 dating back to the second half of 2012, and finally, at $40 from a double bottom made in December 2011 and June 2012. The midpoint of the two-year range sits at $50. A push above that level targets a move to the top of the channel at $60, with a longer-term price objective of $80 on a breakout… Read More

During the 1849 California gold rush, the yellow metal sold for between $12 and $35 an ounce. That was enough in those days to make you rich — if you could find it. But consider this: Because the Western frontier was undeveloped at the time, the price of basic goods for these intrepid miners was through the roof. Eggs cost $3 each. A bottle of whiskey cost $16. According to “The Gold Rush Chronicles,” a history of the period: “Pills were $10 each without advice, $100 with.”#-ad_banner-# You may already be familiar with the story of Levi Strauss, the German… Read More

During the 1849 California gold rush, the yellow metal sold for between $12 and $35 an ounce. That was enough in those days to make you rich — if you could find it. But consider this: Because the Western frontier was undeveloped at the time, the price of basic goods for these intrepid miners was through the roof. Eggs cost $3 each. A bottle of whiskey cost $16. According to “The Gold Rush Chronicles,” a history of the period: “Pills were $10 each without advice, $100 with.”#-ad_banner-# You may already be familiar with the story of Levi Strauss, the German immigrant who made his fortune during the gold rush — not by striking gold, but by supplying the rough-and-tumble miners with sturdy denim overalls. The origin of the term “picks and shovels” may have had its roots back in the 1850s when smart businessmen like Strauss realized they could make just as much money with a lot less risk supplying the miners with picks, shovels and other essentials. Today, we can use the same idea to our advantage by… Read More

In any industry, investors weigh the relative merits of the best growth stocks versus the best value stocks. And in the race to tap into the burgeoning natural gas vehicle market, the growth stock has typically ruled the day. Westport Innovations (Nasdaq: WPRT) has become quite well known among energy industry investors while rival Fuel Systems Solutions (Nasdaq: FSYS), a struggling value stock, disappeared off radars. Back in April, I suggested that investors should give Fuel Systems Solutions a fresh… Read More

In any industry, investors weigh the relative merits of the best growth stocks versus the best value stocks. And in the race to tap into the burgeoning natural gas vehicle market, the growth stock has typically ruled the day. Westport Innovations (Nasdaq: WPRT) has become quite well known among energy industry investors while rival Fuel Systems Solutions (Nasdaq: FSYS), a struggling value stock, disappeared off radars. Back in April, I suggested that investors should give Fuel Systems Solutions a fresh look, as a solid near-term catalyst was in place: GM (NYSE: GM) was gearing up to launch new pickup trucks with Fuel Systems’ compressed natural gas (CNG) engines. And shares are up more than 30% since then. I still think Fuel Systems is a solid investment opportunity, but I also think it’s time to give Westport — the former industry high-flier — a fresh look. While shares of Fuel Systems have been surging, shares of Westport Innovations have been sliding. But… Read More

A lot of corporate managers call themselves “idea people.” But even the best ideas are hard to value. After all, how much does a well-prepared business strategy or a dynamite marketing concept really add to a company’s bottom line? There’s only one sector I’m aware of where ideas can be immediately and precisely valued in dollars and cents. In fact, in this business, clients directly purchase ideas — often at six- or seven-figure price tags. It sounds too good to be… Read More

A lot of corporate managers call themselves “idea people.” But even the best ideas are hard to value. After all, how much does a well-prepared business strategy or a dynamite marketing concept really add to a company’s bottom line? There’s only one sector I’m aware of where ideas can be immediately and precisely valued in dollars and cents. In fact, in this business, clients directly purchase ideas — often at six- or seven-figure price tags. It sounds too good to be true, I know. All the more so given that these ideas can be generated for almost no cost — offering a return on investment that’s mathematically close to infinite. I’m not talking about high-priced business management consulting or branding services. Businesses in those sectors usually require substantial overhead expenses in order to create and sell their concepts. The industry I’m talking about is much simpler than that. Million-dollar ideas in this sector can quite literally be made by a single… Read More

The duck-billed platypus defies all scientific reason. This beaver-tailed, otter-footed, semi-aquatic creature is the only mammal on the planet that lays eggs instead of giving live birth. On top of that, it is the ONLY living representative of its family and species. Basically, the platypus is an inexplicable freak of nature. Although the platypus officially has no relatives, I have a theory that it may be distantly related to financial and commodity markets — which often also look really weird and defy explanation. Recently, I’ve noticed an odd disconnect between the price of… Read More

The duck-billed platypus defies all scientific reason. This beaver-tailed, otter-footed, semi-aquatic creature is the only mammal on the planet that lays eggs instead of giving live birth. On top of that, it is the ONLY living representative of its family and species. Basically, the platypus is an inexplicable freak of nature. Although the platypus officially has no relatives, I have a theory that it may be distantly related to financial and commodity markets — which often also look really weird and defy explanation. Recently, I’ve noticed an odd disconnect between the price of oil and the performance of oil- and energy-related stocks. I’m no Dennis Gartman or Jim Rogers, so reading commodity price tea leaves is not my thing. But there’s something going on — and if there’s something quirky going on in the investment world, there’s an opportunity to make money. Here’s an interesting chart of the one-year price action on West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI): The spot… Read More

Over the past few years, the notion of Murphy’s law comes to mind for Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX), the world’s largest copper miner. In that time, the company has witnessed: A sharp drop in copper prices as China worked off overbuilt stockpiles A similar plunge in gold prices (which accounts for roughly a fourth of the company’s revenues) A mining accident that took 28 lives in Indonesia A pair of major acquisitions in the oil and gas industry that were greeted by a chorus of boos from shareholders and… Read More

Over the past few years, the notion of Murphy’s law comes to mind for Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX), the world’s largest copper miner. In that time, the company has witnessed: A sharp drop in copper prices as China worked off overbuilt stockpiles A similar plunge in gold prices (which accounts for roughly a fourth of the company’s revenues) A mining accident that took 28 lives in Indonesia A pair of major acquisitions in the oil and gas industry that were greeted by a chorus of boos from shareholders and analysts A rapid spike in the debt load to above $20 billion that raised alarms at a time when revenue and cash flow forecasts were being trimmed The net result, this stock has lost nearly 40% of its value over the past 2 1/2 years, even as the S&P 500 has moved higher by a similar amount. The fact that this stock recently tested support… Read More

Thanks to a dome of cool air that is enveloping much of the eastern United States, natural gas prices are back in freefall, falling roughly $1 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) since just the start of May to a recent $3.36 per Mcf. Meanwhile, oil prices have been on a tear, rising more than $10 a barrel in that time to a recent $108 a barrel for West Texas Intermediate crude. For companies that produce a considerable amount of both oil and gas, it’s hard to know if the good (oil) outweighs the bad (gas). Yet… Read More

Thanks to a dome of cool air that is enveloping much of the eastern United States, natural gas prices are back in freefall, falling roughly $1 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) since just the start of May to a recent $3.36 per Mcf. Meanwhile, oil prices have been on a tear, rising more than $10 a barrel in that time to a recent $108 a barrel for West Texas Intermediate crude. For companies that produce a considerable amount of both oil and gas, it’s hard to know if the good (oil) outweighs the bad (gas). Yet insiders at certain energy companies have no such confusion. They are aggressively buying company stock while share prices meander. Perhaps their bullishness stems from the fact that their companies aren’t really dependent on energy prices and instead are focused on providing services and equipment to the industry. 1. Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR ) Make no mistake, many energy insiders long for the good old days of 2007 and 2008, when triple-digit oil prices fueled a vigorous amount of… Read More