If you’re thinking of stashing your money in gold, think again. The yellow metal has enjoyed a nice run, posting gains for 12 years running. And it may extend that streak in 2013, particularly if inflation heats… Read More

Ask any economist about the future of America and you will likely get a sobering answer.  Data on exports and imports for the month of November 2012 showed the United States bought $231.3 billion of goods from foreign sources and exported only $182.6 billion… Read More

It’s no news that gold has been one of the hottest investments in the past decade. With the dollar on a steady decline, gold has gained more than 500% in the past 12 years, crushing the S&P 500’s paltry 12% return. Take a look… Read More

It’s no news that gold has been one of the hottest investments in the past decade. With the dollar on a steady decline, gold has gained more than 500% in the past 12 years, crushing the S&P 500’s paltry 12% return. Take a look at the meteoric gains below. Anyone who’s invested in the yellow metal has made a lot of money… And the trends that have been driving gold higher in the past 12 years are still… Read More

It’s no news that gold has been one of the hottest investments in the past decade. With the dollar on a steady decline, gold has gained more than 500% in the past 12 years, crushing the S&P 500’s paltry 12% return. Take a look at the meteoric gains below. Anyone who’s invested in the yellow metal has made a lot of money… And the trends that have been driving gold higher in the past 12 years are still well in play. The U.S. dollar continues to depreciate under heavy stimulation from the Federal Reserve and lingering trade deficits. And the world still views gold as a safe haven against inflation and social instability, with political events in Europe and the Middle East fueling more demand. But owning bullion is unrealistic for most investors. Not only is it incredibly difficult and dangerous to store bullion, but it’s also capital-intensive at $1,650 an ounce. That’s why many investors, including former Texas congressman Ron Paul, are focusing on gold-mining… Read More

Stocks were generally higher last week, with the notable exception of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). Traders often expect a pullback or a consolidation after a big gain like we’ve seen in the past few weeks. The big… Read More

Stocks were generally higher last week, with the notable exception of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). Traders often expect a pullback or a consolidation after a big gain like we’ve seen in the past few weeks. The big question is whether that will be a reversal or a pause in a strong uptrend. S&P 500 Moves Up Without Apple Apple opened last week as the largest company in the world when measured by… Read More

Stocks were generally higher last week, with the notable exception of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). Traders often expect a pullback or a consolidation after a big gain like we’ve seen in the past few weeks. The big question is whether that will be a reversal or a pause in a strong uptrend. S&P 500 Moves Up Without Apple Apple opened last week as the largest company in the world when measured by stock market capitalization. After a 12% drop, Apple had ceded the top spot to Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM). Apple accounts for more than 3.5% of the S&P 500 index, which makes the gain in that index noteworthy. It was broad-based strength that pushed SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY) to a 1.29% gain for the week. PowerShares QQQ (Nasdaq: QQQ), an ETF that tracks the 100 largest Nasdaq stocks, couldn’t… Read More

The American Energy Renaissance has gotten a lot of press. And it should. The prediction that the United States will surpass Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil and gas producer by 2020 is big news. But what’s… Read More

With every passing month, we read another report about our nation’s fast-track path to energy independence. Our domestic production of oil and gas is growing so rapidly, that we may just be a half-decade away from ending our long addiction to imported energy. And this would be great news for… Read More

The American Energy Renaissance has gotten a lot of press. And it should. The prediction that the United States will surpass Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil and gas producer by 2020 is big news. But what’s truly amazing about this story is that the headlines just keep coming. Regular readers of StreetAuthority are by now probably familiar with the enormous and expanding reserves of oil and gas that have been discovered in the Bakken Shale of North Dakota, the Marcellus Shale in the Mid-Atlantic region… Read More

The American Energy Renaissance has gotten a lot of press. And it should. The prediction that the United States will surpass Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil and gas producer by 2020 is big news. But what’s truly amazing about this story is that the headlines just keep coming. Regular readers of StreetAuthority are by now probably familiar with the enormous and expanding reserves of oil and gas that have been discovered in the Bakken Shale of North Dakota, the Marcellus Shale in the Mid-Atlantic region and the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas. In fact, Scarcity and Real Wealth Editor Nathan Slaughter just gave his subscribers an in-depth analysis of a new discovery in his home state of Louisiana: the Tuscaloosa Shale Formation. And now another play is ramping up in the West Texas region, a find with so much potential that John Breyer, a geologist and technical consultant for Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO), has said it could “dwarf” the reserves already discovered in North Dakota. “It’s like the Eagle Ford on steroids. They haven’t even begun. We’re just in the toe of this thing,”… Read More

With every passing month, we read another report about our nation’s fast-track path to energy independence. Our domestic production of oil and gas is growing so rapidly, that we may just be a half-decade away from ending our long addiction to imported energy. And this would be great news for our nation’s trade deficit, employment picture and national security.#-ad_banner-# Despite the ever-brightening energy picture, it’s still quite easy to find value-priced stocks in this sector. Dozens of stocks trade at reasonable levels in relation to their… Read More

With every passing month, we read another report about our nation’s fast-track path to energy independence. Our domestic production of oil and gas is growing so rapidly, that we may just be a half-decade away from ending our long addiction to imported energy. And this would be great news for our nation’s trade deficit, employment picture and national security.#-ad_banner-# Despite the ever-brightening energy picture, it’s still quite easy to find value-priced stocks in this sector. Dozens of stocks trade at reasonable levels in relation to their cash flow, asset base and long-term growth prospects. I ran a series of screens to help bring a sharper focus to these industry value plays.  By triangulating the results of several screens, it’s possible to see the deepest values in this steadily-growing sector. Single-digit multiples abound While stocks in many other industries are often assessed by their price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples, this metric isn’t quite as useful for energy-exploration firms. They have such intense capital requirements and… Read More