Just a Commodities Correction - Not the End of the Bull (Part 2)
Source: Seeking Alpha, Eric Roseman  (8/20/08)
...Total oil supplies remain in deficit to the tune of roughly 2 million barrels per day or 87 million barrels of demand compared to 85 million barrels of supply. That discrepancy in supply and demand has been consistent for over a year and remains threatened by supply bottlenecks in many oil-producing markets and threats of regional conflicts... More >

Crude Oil at Bearish Extremes
Source: Seeking Alpha, Cam Hui  (8/20/08)
...My estimate of mutual fund positioning is also encouraging for the energy sector. Consensus mutual funds have sold down their energy holdings to a market weight from an overweight position. By contrast, smart funds remain overweight the sector. Long term bullish on oil... More >

Just a Commodities Correction - Not the End of the Bull (Part 1)
Source: Seeking Alpha, Eric Roseman  (8/19/08)
Every single day, the world's population uses more oil than the planet can possibly produce. This means the peak oil theory is still alive and well. That's why this ongoing correction in crude oil prices is creating the best entry point for new investors in more than three years. More >

The Energy Sector Goes on Sale
Source: Seeking Alpha, Investment U  (8/19/08)
In spite of short-term corrections, the International Energy Agency predicts that by 2030, overall energy use will increase 55% from today's levels. And it's been estimated that $22 trillion of new infrastructure projects will be required in the same timeframe... More >

Study France's Nuclear Power Success
Source: theledger.com  (8/14/08)
...nuclear power supplies 20 percent of America's electricity, and no new nuclear plant has come on line since 1996. It's time to look to the French who get 80 percent of their electricity from nuclear power. They're way ahead of the rest of the world in wresting energy from the atom. More >

Uranium Shortage Feared
Source: thestar.com  (8/14/08)
"From the point of view of the world, we will be desperately short of this stuff if Cigar Lake doesn't come on stream," said Salman Partners analyst Raymond Goldie. More >

Uranium Price Expected to Rise as Nuclear Demand Soars
Source: citywire.co.uk  (8/14/08)
...with sub-$100 oil barrels a distant memory and coal following similar trends, Richard Lockwood, Investment Manager, CQS New City, said he would be ‘flabbergasted’ if long-term uranium contracts from new nuclear power stations did not reach $100/lb or more within a year. ‘I think we will have a new pricing established and it will be by the people who are spending vast sums of money on power stations,’ he said. ‘There’s no point in spending $5 billion on a power station if you haven’t got the actual base commodity worked out.’ More >

Natural Gas: Clean Fuel with a Dirty Little Secret
Source: Seeking Alpha  (8/14/08)
This dirty secret is not obvious, until you spend some time with the data. While natural gas demand is expected to increase by 1.42% in 2008, from 65.42 BCF/d to 66.35 BCF/d, domestic natural gas supply increased from 52.97 BCF/d in May 2007 to 57.14 BCF/d in May 2008! This is a stunning 4.17 BCF/d supply response in the midst of a .93 BCF/d increase in demand. The natural gas markets are currently 3.24 BCF a day oversupplied!...Nathan Weiss More >

A New Global Market for Natural Gas
Source: Seeking Alpha  (8/13/08)
...As one watches the price of natural gas collapse in the U.S., is it possible the price remains near $8.00 this winter as Asians and Europeans pay more than two times that price? Michael B. Smith More >

Water Inflows Halt Cigar Lake Uranium Project Yet Again
Source: Mineweb  (8/13/08)
The problems which have plagued Cameco's Cigar Lake uranium project since October 2006 are not quite finished as the company temporarily suspended remediation work again due water inflow concerns. More >

Is Uranium Set for a Rebound?
Source: proactiveinvestors.com  (8/8/08)
So where are we now in the current cycle and what is the long term outlook? Of course these are the sixty four million dollar questions, but there is a school of thought which argues there is now a misalignment between the outlook for nuclear energy, (which is becoming better by the day as oil prices soar and concerns about energy security and carbon emissions intensify), and the current low valuation of uranium companies. Arguably, the best uranium companies, those which will genuinely deliver in the future, are looking cheap.

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Getting More Constructive on Crude Oil
Source: Seeking Alpha  (8/8/08)
...If we are indeed facing Peak Oil in the immediate future then the secular trend for energy prices is up and will continue to rise until a combination of alternative energy and conservation measures kick in. This bull would have a long way to go...Cam Hui More >

A Supply Side Problem: Oil's High Price Is Here to Stay
Source: Seeking Alpha  (8/6/08)
The argument is that no matter the size of the US recession, no matter the short term infrastructure on conservation measures, no matter the lower discretionary demand for oil may be, the higher demand for the inelastic demand for oil, especially in the emerging economies, will lead to higher prices of oil. The high price of oil is here to stay. Frank J. Maura More >

Nukes Need Money
Source: Forbes.com  (8/6/08)
The nuclear energy industry is one group in a good position to take advantage of the changing of the guard. And one of its biggest guns--former New Jersey Gov. and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman--is drumming up publicity for what might be a nuclear renaissance in the U.S. within the next few years. More >

Investment in U.S. 'Cleantech' Climbs Near $1 Billion in Q2
Source: Industry Week  (8/6/08)
Second-quarter 2008 venture capital investments in U.S. clean technology companies rose by 41% over the previous quarter, reaching a record $961.7 million, according to an Ernst & Young report based on data from Dow Jones VentureSource. Year-on-year cleantech investments were up 83% over the same quarter in the previous year. More >

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee Faces Another Challenge
Source: Dr. Larry Chorn, Platts Chief Economist  (8/5/08)
...Investment decisions are negatively impacted by high and unpredictable construction costs which lead to delays in oil and gas field developments, refinery, petrochemical and power plant construction projects. As energy supply lags demand, a vicious price cycle is created... More >

Congress & Alternative Energy: Investment Ideas
Source: Seeking Alpha  (8/5/08)
...The nascent alternative energy industry is greatly dependent on subsidies. Demand for solar and wind energy products is likely to fall if the tax credits are not renewed. Given that companies require around half a year lead time for financing major projects, plans for next year are starting to come on hold. If nothing happens by the end of September, projects will be dropped. Solar and wind shares will likely continue falling as a result...Devin Hobbes More >

BMO Predicts Tight Supplies Are Turning Met Coal into Black Gold
Source: Mineweb  (8/4/08)
Global Commodity Strategist Bart Melek and Associate Michael Zimerman expect metallurgical coal prices to average $305/t in 2008 and $300/t in 2009. "Upward pressures on prices are unlikely to abate until 2010, when infrastructure constraints are overcome." More >

The War for Oil
Source: Marin Katusa, Casey Energy Opportunity  (8/4/08)
. . .when the going gets tough and you feel backed into a corner, there is a way to come out on top. . . you need to continually reassess your approach and have the conviction to go in a new direction. More >

Uranium Prices Start to Rebound
Source: Mineweb  (7/30/08)
In her analysis, Scotiabank economist Patricia Mohr said that spot uranium prices appear to be rallying from a lower of only US$57 per pound in mid-June. "However, term contract prices (before escalation) fell from US$90 to US$80 in late June. Price retreated earlier this year alongside lower ‘uncovered utility requirements', though discretionary, off-market buying to take advantage of bargain prices has been substantial."

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The Volatility of Natural Gas
Source: Seeking Alpha  (7/29/08)
The current free fall in the NG market is more in sympathy with the falling oil. This drop may not go too far below the current $9 level, probably $8 - $8.5 range should provide a good support...The current drop of NG provides a good buying opportunity for investors with a long term horizon, if they believe that the long term trend on the oil market is intact and only under correction, and oil will stay at 3 digits and go back up to higher high in the future...Thomas Tan More >

Tightropes and Torpedoes
Source: Mineweb  (7/28/08)
Over the past two months, the world's top 40 listed stocks in mining and oil have surrendered USD 1.45 trillion in value, apparently breaking the belief that commodities had become bullet proof. Investors have been flocking not only out of commodities, but also further out of listed mining and oil producers, which had latterly being playing second fiddle to hard commodities, preferred as inflation and crisis hedges. More >

Chinese Investment in Energy and Materials to Soar
Source: asia.legalbusiness.online  (7/28/08)
In the latest figures from Thomson Reuters Deals Express, China’s Cross Border Outbound acquisitions rose to US$45.2bn so far this year from 129 deals, compared to just $7.6bn from 111 deals for the same period in 2007. More >

Rick Rule on Energy: Look for Best Management Team and Risk-Adjusted Value
Source: The Energy Report  (7/28/08)
In this interview with The Energy Report, legendary investor Rick Rule, founder of Global Resource Investments, explains how important his bottom-ups approach is to his investing strategy, and how he looks for the best risk-adjusted value and the best management teams. He says he usually find those in the alternative energy sector, especially in geothermal. More >

WA Liberal Leader Aims to Overturn Uranium Mining Ban
Source: Mineweb  (7/24/08)
Leader of the WA Liberal Opposition, Troy Buswell, gained a positive response from delegates at the Australian Uranium Conference in Fremantle today after he made it clear the ban imposed on uranium mining by Labor Premier Allan Carpenter would end should the Liberal coalition gain power. More >