Jutia Group

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Rare Earth Metals?Not Your Father?s Mining Biz: Byron King
2012-01-31 22:00:00
The Critical Metals Report: No year has brought higher highs and lower lows to the rare earth space than 2011. Do you expect the same volatility in 2012? Byron King : The short answer is yes. In this market, anything is possible. In 2011 we saw highs toward the beginning of the year because there was a lot of enthusiasm for the technology metals space. We experienced lows towards the end of 2011 because there was a general market selloff. It didn’t matter if you were stock-picking. The falling tide sucked everything down. Looking ahead into 2012, the good plays are going to see brand-new highs. But along with that good news for a select number of plays, . . . → Read More: Rare Earth Metals—Not Your Father ’s Mining Biz: Byron King

About Those U.S. Jobs
2012-01-31 20:31:00
By David Galland, Casey Research US politicians make a great show of concerning themselves with the level of unemployment. And so they bluster about the need for this new program or that new program ? in fact, about any new idea except for the one that will actually be effective. Namely, stop the meddling. Recently there have been some interesting developments that merely confirm the government’s intentions are to continue doing exactly the opposite of what they should be doing. For starters, we had the news that President Obama announced his administration was going to block the Keystone XL pipeline, blaming the decision on the Republicans and foisting responsibility for the call onto the back of Hillary Clinton’s State . . . → Read More: About Those U.S. Jobs

Is Deepwater Horizon the New Ecuador?
2012-01-31 19:30:00
Nearly two years after the worst accidental offshore oil spill in the history of the energy industry, some of the biggest companies in the world are busy pointing their legal fingers at one another in court over who has to pay what in claims, damages and fines over the deadly Deepwater Horizon oil spill. A federal judge this week ruled that BP is still obligated to a clause in its contract with Transocean that would protect the rig owner from damages related to the spill. That means BP still has to shell out money to settle claims filed by those along the southern U.S. coast impacted by the spill. BP, meanwhile, is suing Halliburton, something Halliburton said was ridiculous. . . . → Read More: Is Deepwater Horizon the New Ecuador ?
More About: Commentary

My Secret for Picking Consistent Winners in Gold Stocks
2012-01-31 19:00:00
Want to know the secret to a 669% gain in gold stocks? I'll tell you in a second, but first, some background… If you don't know what gold stocks are, they're pretty straightforward. Gold stocks consist of the gold miners, the companies that actually pull the yellow stuff out of the ground. I prefer gold stocks to bullion for a couple of reasons. For one, many miners pay regular dividends — whereas, to paraphrase Warren Buffett, gold bars just sit there and look at you. But more important — gold stocks offer considerable leverage over owning physical bullion. As the price of gold increases, production becomes more profitable, justifying a higher stock price for gold stocks. That's not . . . → Read More: My Secret for Picking Consistent Winners in Gold Stocks

Is The Stock Market Getting A Bit Ahead Of Itself?
2012-01-31 17:10:00
“You are neither right nor wrong just because the crowd disagrees with you. You are right because your data and reasoning are right.” In investing much is said about the folly of following the crowd. It’s voiced in age-old maxims like “The market will do whatever it must to fool the majority,” and Warren Buffett ’s advice to “Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful”. It’s measurable in investor sentiment statistics, which clearly show that investors tend to be overly fearful and pessimistic at market lows, not willing to participate when the market turns up, and then overly bullish and confident at market tops, not believing a rally has ended. The current . . . → Read More: Is The Stock Market Getting A Bit Ahead Of Itself?
More About: Commentary

American Gridlock
2012-01-31 15:39:00
How do we resolve the current political gridlock over healthcare, the economy, and a myriad of other problems? It is clear that there are no easy solutions, and putting off making choices will just make the ultimate cost we pay that much more expensive. This week for our Outside the Box we deal with just this question, in a piece from a master of logic and reasoning and one of my favorite writers. I absorb everything I can get my hands on from Dr. Woody Brock. He has written a new book, called American Gridlock: Why the Left and Right are Both Wrong" (www.amazon.com/gridlock). I am doing something very unusual and giving him two back-to-back editions of Outside the . . . → Read More: American Gridlock
More About: Analysis

The Most Lipstick on the Biggest Pigs Ever!
2012-01-31 15:32:00
We’ve seen the political and financial elites paint lipstick on a pig before. But never anything like this! Consider the pig in Washington: Uncle Sam continues to run the worst deficits — and borrow the most money — since America’s war for independence. And yet Congress has virtually given up on any semblance of a long-term solution. In any other world or time, Uncle Sam would be paying through the nose to borrow money, driving interest up all over the U.S., and causing havoc in the stock market. The lipstick: The Federal Reserve continues to paper over the disaster with the wildest money printing of all time … PLUS … the most sustained zero-interest policy . . . → Read More: The Most Lipstick on the Biggest Pigs Ever!
More About: Commentary

The Perfect Trade for the Natural Gas Vehicle Boom
2012-01-31 14:00:00
That car in your garage should be running on natural gas. With oil prices around $100 and unlikely to fall much lower in coming years, and natural gas selling for less than $3 per thousand cubic feet (MCF), the cost differential is far too big to ignore. Consider this: $3 of natural gas gets you about one million BTUs (British thermal heating units) of energy. It takes about eight gallons of gasoline (or about $25 to $30 worth at current prices) to get the same amount of energy. The gas price is wholesale while the gasoline price is retail, but even on an apples-to-apples basis, gasoline is at least five to six times more expensive. So why . . . → Read More: The Perfect Trade for the Natural Gas Vehicle Boom

Lack of Greek Debt Deal Sends EUR Tumbling
2012-01-31 11:17:00
Source: Forex Yard Lack of Greek Debt Deal Sends EUR Tumbling After reaching a six-week high against the US dollar in early trading yesterday, the euro staged a downward correction after Greece once again failed to come to an agreement with its creditors regarding its debt. Today, traders will want to continue monitoring announcements out of the euro-zone, with any further negative news likely to bring the common currency further down. Additionally, economic indicators out of both Germany and France are likely to influence euro pairs today. Economic News USD – Dollar Stages Upward Correction Following Poor Euro-Zone News The USD came off a six-week low against the euro in trading yesterday, after news that Greece had once . . . → Read More: Lack of Greek Debt Deal Sends EUR Tumbling
More About: Finance

ECB Refinancing Operation Expectations Boost Risk Appetite
2012-01-31 10:08:00
Source: Advanced Currency Markets | G10 Advancers and Decliners vs USD GBP 0.31 EUR 0.29 CHF 0.26 JPY 0.00 The conclusion of the Eurozone summit yesterday brought no new progress on the Greek debt crisis, leading to a growing sense of realisation that European policy makers are running out of ideas. This in itself is unlikely to be a shock to the market, as investors and speculators have been pricing in scenarios of Greece default and Eurozone dispersion for some time now ? even though politicians… Read More …
More About: Risk

My $100,000 Portfolio Strategy for this Changing Market
2012-01-31 02:00:00
Roughly a month ago, I was quite excited to launch a new $100,000 Real-Money Portfolio here at StreetAuthority. The market offered plenty of bargains and was looking quite healthy from a technical perspective. Sure enough, the S&P 500 is up nearly 5% in January and up roughly 15% from the start of the fourth quarter of 2011. But this creates a real conundrum. Is it best to infer that the recent strong market performance is simply a precursor to even more gains for the rest of 2012? Or is it wiser to take a foot off the gas and hold off on further purchases until the market catches its breath? Technical analysts are beginning to cite concern, . . . → Read More: My $100,000 Portfolio Strategy for this Changing Market

Underpriced Precious Metals Juniors Due to Move in 2012: Matthew Zylstra
2012-01-30 21:30:00
The Gold Report: When you last spoke with The Gold Report in early March of last year, gold was trading around $1,420/ounce (oz) and silver was around $36/oz. Silver peaked about $49/oz in late April and then gold hit around $1,900/oz in September. Now we’re back up above $1,700/oz on gold and about $33/oz on silver. Where do you see these prices going this year, after it appears that they have likely bottomed out? Matthew Zylstra: We’re long-term bulls on both metals. Gold has been correcting since September and it looks like it bottomed out around $1,500/oz. We believe the recent decline is a normal pullback in a longer-term uptrend where nothing has really changed to the outlook. We . . . → Read More: Underpriced Precious Metals Juniors Due to Move in 2012: Matthew Zylstra
More About: Finance

Why the Yen Is Set to Weaken
2012-01-30 18:22:00
The problems facing Japan have been building up for some time. And I don’t believe the coming negative impact on its currency can be delayed much longer. Earlier this week I gave my World Currency Trader members two powerful reasons why. In today’s column, I’d like to share those with you: Reason #1— Japan just recorded its first current account deficit since 1980 As you can see in the chart below, Japan posted a trade deficit of 2.49 trillion yen in 2011, after the economy was hit by the price shock of oil and a slowdown in global growth. There are two related points to consider here that should lead to a weaker yen: •  . . . → Read More: Why the Yen Is Set to Weaken
More About: Commentary

Fed Pledges Low Rates Till Kingdom Come! What It Means..
2012-01-30 17:21:00
Last week, I discussed how the European Central Bank has lost its marbles, launching its own version of quantitative easing. I dubbed it “QE-E.” I also said that QE accomplishes almost nothing for the “real” economy, even if it juices asset markets. And sure enough, we got more proof of that this week (details to follow!). Well, this week it was the Federal Reserve’s turn at the podium and what happened? Policymakers didn’t launch an official QE3 program. But they did promise to keep short-term interest rates low through late 2014 … up from a previous pledge of 2013. Not only that, the Fed also said it would continue with its “Operation Twist” policy of selling shorter-term Treasuries . . . → Read More: Fed Pledges Low Rates Till Kingdom Come! What It Means..
More About: Government , Kingdom Come

My Next Real-Money Portfolio Stock Could Easily Gain 50% or More
2012-01-30 16:30:00
When you voluntarily cease doing business with your biggest customer, you best have a good explanation. If not, then investors will think you're nuts — and dump your stock. But car battery maker Exide Technologies (Nasdaq: XIDE) had a good excuse. The company's biggest customer, Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) made life unbearable, asking for price cut after price cut, making it almost impossible to earn a profit. Management hoped investors would appreciate that sales would fall but margins would sharply improve. Investors initially balked when the Wal-Mart decision was announced in February 2010, pushing the stock down more than 20% to $6 in just one day. Eventually, investors got wise to the logic of the Wal-Mart divorce, and a . . . → Read More: My Next Real -Money Portfolio Stock Could Easily Gain 50% or More

EURUSD Resilience To Credit Downgrades Could Herald Correction Higher
2012-01-30 09:54:00
Source: Advanced Currency Markets | G10 Advancers and Decliners vs USD JPY 0.06 GBP -0.31 CHF -0.44 EUR -0.48 EURUSD has started the week at new highs, reaching a peak of 1.3234 at the Asian open before paring back below 1.3150. This buoyancy comes in spite of fresh sovereign credit downgrades on Friday evening where Fitch lowered the rating on five European countries by at least one notch. The most notable targets on this occasion were Italy and Spain which were reclassified two notches lower, and… Read More . . . → Read More: EURUSD Resilience To Credit Downgrades Could Herald Correction Higher

USD Bearish Ahead of Heavy Trading Week
2012-01-30 09:04:00
Source: Forex Yard USD Bearish Ahead of Heavy Trading Week The US dollar closed last week on a bearish note, as it took significant losses against most of its main currency rivals, including the euro and Japanese yen. The dollar began to decline during the middle of the week, following an announcement from the Fed saying that record low US interest rates would likely remain for the next several years. A softer than expected US Advanced GDP figure on Friday only caused the currency to drop further. This week, all eyes will be on the US Non-Farm Payrolls figure. Should the figure come in below expectations, the dollar will likely extend its bearish trend. Economic News USD – . . . → Read More: USD Bearish Ahead of Heavy Trading Week

Here?s Why I Think Shares of Ford Could Jump 50%
2012-01-27 19:00:00
Many of you invest right alongside me and my $100,000 Real-Money Portfolio. And since your money is at stake here, along with the $100,000 in real money that StreetAuthority has given me to invest, I'm constantly monitoring my holdings. As some of you may have noticed, there's been some real buzz about one of my core holdings… After a solid recent move in its stock, Ford (NYSE: F) needed to deliver a strong quarter to maintain its momentum. The just-released fourth-quarter results are a bit shy of the consensus view, and the stock is being hit by profit-taking on Friday.  [Read my original take on Ford here.] Said another way, Ford's stock had risen 19% thus far . . . → Read More: Here’s Why I Think Shares of Ford Could Jump 50%

Yen Appreciates Despite Noda?s Warnings
2012-01-27 10:13:00
Source: Advanced Currency Markets | G10 Advancers and Decliners vs USD JPY 0.51 GBP -0.15 CHF -0.41 EUR -0.43 Since Wednesday?s exceedingly dovish Fed meeting, US bond yields have been under downward pressure and in turn we have seen USDJPY selling off sharply ? reversing most of the gains made earlier in the week. This is not the direction that Japanese policymakers want to see the currency pair heading, as their discomfort with yen strength has been apparent for some time. Japanese Prime Minister Noda… Read More …

EUR Bullish as Investors Shift Focus to Fed Decision
2012-01-27 08:04:00
Source: Forex Yard EUR Bullish as Investors Shift Focus to Fed Decision The euro staged a strong upward correction throughout the day yesterday, as investors shifted focus away from the euro-zone crisis to a recent decision from the US Federal Reserve. The Fed announced earlier in the week that US interest rates would remain at their current levels for at least the next two years. The news brought the EUR/USD to a five-week high, at 1.3175. Today, traders will want to pay attention to the US Advance GDP figure. A positive reading may give the USD a temporary boost to close out the week. Economic News USD – Fed Decision Turns USD Bearish The US dollar turned overwhelmingly bearish . . . → Read More: EUR Bullish as Investors Shift Focus to Fed Decision

Lithium Investment to Power Portfolios: Daniela Desormeaux
2012-01-26 23:00:00
The Energy Report: Daniela, over the past three months the small-cap lithium developers have on the whole been in positive territory. Are we at the beginning of a long-overdue bull market in lithium equities? Daniela Desormeaux: Most of the smaller-scale suppliers trading in the open market are young, junior mining companies. The stock price fluctuations observed during recent months reflect the market’s sensitivity to the companies’ announcements and news. TER: What is currently driving lithium demand? What will drive it in the future? DD: Lithium demand has a promising future. Rechargeable batteries are the largest application, accounting for about 30% of the lithium demand. This is also the segment with the highest growth rate for the next 10?15 years, . . . → Read More: Lithium Investment to Power Portfolios: Daniela Desormeaux

Will Iran Kill the Petrodollar?
2012-01-26 20:20:00
By Marin Katusa, Casey Research The official line from the United States and the European Union is that Tehran must be punished for continuing its efforts to develop a nuclear weapon. The punishment: sanctions on Iran ’s oil exports, which are meant to isolate Iran and depress the value of its currency to such a point that the country crumbles. But that line doesn’t make sense, and the sanctions will not achieve their goals. Iran is far from isolated and its friends ? like India ? will stand by the oil-producing nation until the US either backs down or acknowledges the real matter at hand. That matter is the American dollar and its role as the global reserve currency. The . . . → Read More: Will Iran Kill the Petrodollar?

Something?s Fishy in Tripoli
2012-01-26 19:07:00
Way back in early 2011, members of the U.N. Security Council had no problem getting a resolution through that authorized military force in Libya ostensibly to protect civilians from attacks by forces loyal to strongman Moammar Gadhafi. The year before, lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic were bickering over who did what and why in terms of the cancer-stricken Lockerbie bomber. This Scottish decision to release him, depending on which U.S. lawmaker you spoke with, was tied to a BP deal to drill for oil in Libya. Despite fractures in the new interim government in Tripoli and reports of renewed protests, a decision by the Italian government to quietly discuss trade relations suggests something isn’t quite right in . . . → Read More: Something’s Fishy in Tripoli

The Best Way to Invest in Biotech Stocks
2012-01-26 19:00:00
The appeal of finding the right biotech stock is self-evident. If you get it right, and a cutting-edge biotech scores a major win with a breakthrough drug treatment, then you can score huge gains. Last month, I reviewed my performance over the course of 2011 in hopes of gleaning important new lessons for the coming year. Chief among those lessons: avoid companies that will need fresh injections of capital to keep afloat. I singled out the biotech sector, which not only faces the prospect of an uncertain economic environment in which to raise money, but is headed by executives who are simply clueless about how Wall Street works. So many biotech stocks waited far too long to . . . → Read More: The Best Way to Invest in Biotech Stocks

Four Paths to Real Estate Profits with ETFs
2012-01-26 18:07:00
I’ve spent my investment career following sector momentum, and it’s worked out pretty well. ETFs make it even better. Right now my indicators show a lot of short-term strength in real estate. Personally, I find it hard to believe the housing market has truly bottomed. My colleague Mike Larson recently gave you some good reasons to doubt the housing rally. In my experience, trends (either up or down) endure longer than most people think possible. So it makes sense to at least be aware of the alternatives on both sides. Today I’ll tell you about four paths to the real estate sector with ETFs. I’ll also describe a couple of ways you can make a bearish bet on . . . → Read More: Four Paths to Real Estate Profits with ETFs
More About: Real Estate

BROKEN DOLLAR
2012-01-26 17:26:00
It has been my theory that this year we would see one of the worst performances by the stock market since 2008. However that has always been dependent on Bernanke not being able to break the dollar’s rally out of its three year cycle low. As of this morning the dollar has printed a failed daily cycle. More often than not a failed daily cycle is an indication that an intermediate degree decline has begun. I have begged and pleaded with people not too short the stock market over the last several weeks. For one it’s very hard to make money on the short side for the simple reason that markets move down differently than they move . . . → Read More: BROKEN DOLLAR
More About: Dollar

The Market Leader in a Fast-Growing Industry
2012-01-26 14:30:00
We humans are pretty predictable. We live our lives in certain patterns and according to certain preferences. There was a time when no one knew what those preferences were. The guy taking my order at a restaurant might remember I like Diet Coke, or the mechanic might remember something about my car, but these observant people were the exception, not the rule. And they didn't talk to each other. There was no network. That has changed. When my wife and I moved to West Virginia, we had a number of things we needed to find, fast. A grocery store. A dry cleaner. A gas station. A barbershop. A pharmacy. And do you know that at . . . → Read More: The Market Leader in a Fast -Growing Industry

Covered Call Option Screener
2012-01-26 11:00:00
Born To Sell is in the business of screening for covered calls. We are constantly asked how to use a covered call option screener effectively. Investors know that a screener will save them time, but how to do you reduce the universe of 200,000+ covered call candidates down to a handful that you can then do additional diligence on? This article will show you how. How Many Covered Call s Exist? There are 5643 stocks and ETFs that trade today (Jan 25, 2012). Of those, 3716 have call options available. Factor in all the possible expiration dates and strike prices, and there are 229,636 covered call possibilities for today. Using A Covered Call Option Screener Not all covered call candidates . . . → Read More: Covered Call Option Screener
More About: Options

Fed Strikes Dovish Tone, Pledge To Keep Low Rates Until Late 2014
2012-01-26 10:10:00
Source: Advanced Currency Markets | G10 Advancers and Decliners vs USD EUR 0.37 GBP 0.29 JPY -0.18 CHF -0.38 Market chatter overnight has been dominated by last night?s FOMC meeting, where Fed members struck a noticeably dovish tone. Significantly, the committee pledged to keep rates on hold at their current ultra-low levels until late 2014 ? and indeed some members voiced a preference to push that date back another year or two. In addition, Fed Chairman Bernanke clarified that the decision to keep… Read More . . . → Read More: Fed Strikes Dovish Tone, Pledge To Keep Low Rates Until Late 2014

Yen Tumbles Following Negative Japanese News
2012-01-26 08:00:00
Source: Forex Yard Yen Tumbles Following Negative Japanese News News that Japan logged its first annual trade deficit in over 30 years sent the JPY tumbling during yesterday's trading session. The USD/JPY shot up well over 100 pips, reaching above the 78.00 level. Meanwhile the EUR/JPY extended its bullish trend before staging a downward correction toward the end of the European session. Today, a batch of US news is forecasted to generate market volatility. Traders will want to pay particular attention to the US Unemployment Claims figure, as it will be an important gauge of the US economic recovery. Economic News USD – USD Turns Bullish Following EU News The US dollar had a particularly strong day yesterday following . . . → Read More: Yen Tumbles Following Negative Japanese News