For true long-term investors, the intended holding period for a stock is typically measured in years, and the decision to buy it is based solely on that company’s long-term prospects. But every now and then, a short-term factor takes hold and forces an investor to become a trader. Refusing to take on that role, even if only temporarily, can mean missed opportunities. Like it or not, anybody who’s currently holding… Read More

For true long-term investors, the intended holding period for a stock is typically measured in years, and the decision to buy it is based solely on that company’s long-term prospects. But every now and then, a short-term factor takes hold and forces an investor to become a trader. Refusing to take on that role, even if only temporarily, can mean missed opportunities. Like it or not, anybody who’s currently holding a position in Kellogg (NYSE: K), General Mills (NYSE: GIS), or Flowers Foods (NYSE: FLO) is a trader. How so? Because these food stocks and their peers have rallied considerably since the latter part of last year — so much so, in fact, that they’re all at considerable risk of a pullback. Shareholders will have to make a decision soon, too, since the underlying reason for the rally is already starting… Read More

For true long-term investors, the intended holding period for a stock is typically measured in years, and the decision to buy it is based solely on that company’s long-term prospects. But every now and then, a short-term factor takes hold and forces an investor to become a trader. Refusing to take on that role, even if only temporarily, can mean missed opportunities. Like it or not, anybody who’s currently holding… Read More

For true long-term investors, the intended holding period for a stock is typically measured in years, and the decision to buy it is based solely on that company’s long-term prospects. But every now and then, a short-term factor takes hold and forces an investor to become a trader. Refusing to take on that role, even if only temporarily, can mean missed opportunities. Like it or not, anybody who’s currently holding a position in Kellogg (NYSE: K), General Mills (NYSE: GIS), or Flowers Foods (NYSE: FLO) is a trader. How so? Because these food stocks and their peers have rallied considerably since the latter part of last year — so much so, in fact, that they’re all at considerable risk of a pullback. Shareholders will have to make a decision soon, too, since the underlying reason for the rally is already starting… Read More

Forget the old adage “A penny saved is a penny earned.” When it comes to investments in energy efficiency, the payback can be 200% or even 400%, according to various studies. That’s why there is a fresh push to step up… Read More

Did you know that the United States accounts for just 5% of the world’s population, but 20% of global energy demand? The massive amount of power we use every day has a major effect on U.S. trade balances and the global climate. Indeed, the amount of carbon dioxide in the… Read More

Did you know that the United States accounts for just 5% of the world’s population, but 20% of global energy demand? The massive amount of power we use every day has a major effect on U.S. trade balances and the global climate. Indeed, the amount of carbon dioxide in the… Read More

In 2008, a Houston-based energy company saw an enormous opportunity. In June of that year, natural gas was selling for $14 per thousand cubic feet. At the time, it appeared the U.S. was going to run out of natural gas, and it seemed like the perfect time to build new import facilities and take advantage of increased demand. However, new hydraulic fracturing (fracking) technology changed the rules of the game. All of a sudden, natural gas was plentiful and cheap. As a result, gas prices plummeted. So what happened to the… Read More

In 2008, a Houston-based energy company saw an enormous opportunity. In June of that year, natural gas was selling for $14 per thousand cubic feet. At the time, it appeared the U.S. was going to run out of natural gas, and it seemed like the perfect time to build new import facilities and take advantage of increased demand. However, new hydraulic fracturing (fracking) technology changed the rules of the game. All of a sudden, natural gas was plentiful and cheap. As a result, gas prices plummeted. So what happened to the energy company eager to import natural gas? As you might expect, shares prices fell off a cliff. Since then, things have turned around for Cheniere Energy (NYSE: LNG). In fact, the stock has gained an astonishing 2,568% since bottoming out five years ago. If you’re a regular StreetAuthority reader, you’ve probably heard of Cheniere before. In December 2011, StreetAuthority resources expert Nathan Slaughter recommended Cheniere to the subscribers of his Junior Resource Advisor newsletter. Read More

All across Europe, power companies are being forced to mothball natural-gas power plants. In just the past few weeks, renewable-energy companies such as Germany’s E.ON and Norway’s Statkraft have done so as well, as a key dynamic taking place in the United States starts to have a global effect. That dynamic: abundant production of natural gas. As U.S. power producers have shifted their multi-fuel plants from coal-burning to gas-burning (known as coal-to-gas, or C2G), demand and pricing for coal have collapsed.#-ad_banner-# Coal is now so cheap that European electricity producers now realize it’s far cheaper to switch back to imported… Read More

All across Europe, power companies are being forced to mothball natural-gas power plants. In just the past few weeks, renewable-energy companies such as Germany’s E.ON and Norway’s Statkraft have done so as well, as a key dynamic taking place in the United States starts to have a global effect. That dynamic: abundant production of natural gas. As U.S. power producers have shifted their multi-fuel plants from coal-burning to gas-burning (known as coal-to-gas, or C2G), demand and pricing for coal have collapsed.#-ad_banner-# Coal is now so cheap that European electricity producers now realize it’s far cheaper to switch back to imported coal rather than continue burning pricier gas. Call it the gas-to-coal movement. In fact, the C2G trend, a key theme in the United States over the past few years, has run its course. And a switch back to coal has been the new response from some U.S. power producers as well. There is a multi-month lag time regarding power-plant usage, but UBS’s analysts noted in a May 1 report that “Coal once again appears to have continued to regain market share in… Read More

Remember the “super spike”? That phrase entered our vocabulary five years ago this month when crude oil prices suddenly surged to $120 a barrel. By July 2008, prices surged to $140 a barrel, which surely played a role in pushing the global economic into a deep crisis.#-ad_banner-# Consumers had to slash discretionary spending to have enough money to fill up their gas tanks, airline carriers were hit with a rising tide of losses, and many companies saw their profit margins squeezed as costs rose faster than… Read More

Remember the “super spike”? That phrase entered our vocabulary five years ago this month when crude oil prices suddenly surged to $120 a barrel. By July 2008, prices surged to $140 a barrel, which surely played a role in pushing the global economic into a deep crisis.#-ad_banner-# Consumers had to slash discretionary spending to have enough money to fill up their gas tanks, airline carriers were hit with a rising tide of losses, and many companies saw their profit margins squeezed as costs rose faster than revenues. Though crude oil prices tumbled to just $40 a barrel by year‘s end, the global economic damage was already done. Now, as the U.S. economy starts to percolate again, some have expressed concern that the world’s largest economy may again lead a surge in demand — and prices — for crude oil. Yet a pair of factors implies that it’s quite unlikely we’ll see another super spike and we may in fact be on the cusp… Read More

With the market hitting record highs, value investors are having a tough time searching for bargains. Don’t get me wrong, I’m as pleased as anyone to see green numbers flashing when I check my trading account.#-ad_banner-# But… Read More

Sometimes the best way to play a commodity is to find one getting beaten up by Wall Street. As any seasoned investor knows, Wall Street has a tendency to overreact, and that’s happening right now with one of the most important metals on Earth… At the moment, commodities … Read More

Sometimes the best way to play a commodity is to find one getting beaten up by Wall Street. As any seasoned investor knows, Wall Street has a tendency to overreact, and that’s happening right now with one of the most important metals on Earth… At the moment, commodities analysts flat-out hate iron ore. Forecasters at prominent brokerage houses like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have slashed their short and long-term price forecasts. And top Australianeconomists are projecting prices to slide from an average of $119 per ton this year to just $90 per ton by 2015. Nobody knows the iron ore … Read More