Scorched Earth Economy
Source: David Galland, Casey Research��(7/3/08)
Whatever you do, donʼt be complacent at this point. If we are right, then the economic crisis will soon head into its next and most dangerous stage. Certainly, we should feel the heat, and maybe worse, by the end of the year. Therefore, at the very least, youʼll want to take measures now to protect yourself.

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Credit Crunch Taking Toll on Canadian Junior Explorer IPOs
Source: Mineweb.com��(7/3/08)
Even though interest in exploration-stage junior company IPOs is shrinking, Tom Whelan, Ernst & Young Canadian mining industry leader, does forecast continued IPO demand for mining companies at or near the production stage. "The credit crunch has really hit the grassroots exploration phase of the IPO market hard, and so many are ripe for takeovers," Whelan noted. "We're anticipating many more mining mergers and acquisitions in the second half of this year." More >

Why Isn't Natural Gas at $19.50 per Mcf?
Source: redorbit.com��(7/3/08)
It is easy to deliver oil to almost any market. This is not true of gas - the infrastructure for transporting gas is less developed and has a higher starting hurdle. This is also true of the infrastructure for the end user, who has to be tied to the gas pipe. More >

Oil and the Futures Market
Source: Seeking Alpha��(7/3/08)
...there should be little contention that the commodity index funds raise futures prices, since buying, holding, and rolling over futures is what they are mandated to do... More >

Sharp Correction in Coal Prices Hits Listed Stocks
Source: Mineweb.com��(7/3/08)
A sharp correction in spot coal prices yesterday spread like a contagion across the world, triggering heavy profit taking in listed coal stocks, and then spreading into other resources sub-sectors. Nothing in coal's fundamentals has changed in the past few days, but spot prices had moved into frothy areas and were vulnerable to a blow off. More >

Oil Demand May Be Victim of Its Own Success
Source: MarketWatch��(7/2/08)
"Looking at the first six months of 2008, we have seen the most volatile period in the history of oil markets," said Charles Perry, president of Perry Management, an energy-consulting firm. More >

Coal ETF: Dirty, Sexy Money
Source: TheStreet.com��(7/1/08)
"It has been one of my favorite areas of the market for three years now," says Frank Husic, chief investment officer of Husic Capital Management. "It's the short-term answer to our energy problem because it is something that we have a lot of. The U.S. is the Saudi Arabia of coal." More >

Wind Is Blowing Strong Right Now
Source: Hard Assets Investor, Seeking Alpha��(7/1/08)
Wind power is widely seen as the alternative energy source that's closest to prime time. Wind can compete head-to-head on a cost basis, without subsidies, with most other kinds of electrical generating power. More >

Queensland Resources Lobby: Open Up Uranium, Nuclear Industries
Source: Dow Jones Newswires��(7/1/08)
Mr Roche, chief executive of the Queensland Resource Council, said that with nuclear power expanding in 30 countries and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change highlighting its role in combating climate change, Queensland's ban on uranium has been overtaken by global developments. More >

Europe's Nuclear Energy Woes
Source: Business Week��(6/30/08)
Global interest in nuclear energy (over 200 projects currently are pending) has tripled the construction costs for plants over the last five years, according to figures from Lehman Brothers. That’s come just as many workers in Europe’s nuclear industry are thinking about retiring (consultancy Capgemini reckons the average age of employees now is around 45 years old) and energy companies are finding it hard to fill this knowledge-gap with graduates. More >

Solar and Wind Will Drive Natural Gas
Source: Jim Kingsdale, Seeking Alpha��(6/29/08)
The price of natural gas in the U.S. has about doubled in a bit less than a year despite the fact that U.S. production has actually increased by about 5%. This is due in part to new horizontal drilling techniques being applied to recently developed vast “unconventional” gas fields in the U.S. and Canada. So it might seem like the price of gas has gotten ahead of fundamentals. But there are good reasons to be bullish about gas prices longer term. More >

Resource Mergers Set to Continue
Source: theaustralian.news.com��(6/28/08)
Deutsche Bank said in a note to clients that the "world is on the verge of a uranium renaissance" and that the "financial markets continue to underestimate the potential for a rapid increase in uranium demand going forward". More >

Uranium Sector Cheers Panel's Call for Liberalization
Source: Peter Koven, Canwest News Service��(6/27/08)
The two dominant players in Canada's uranium sector are cheering the Competition Policy Review Panel's call for liberalization of the industry. More >

ETF Allure in Coal, Oil
Source: forbes.com��(6/26/08)
...commodity-based ETFs have seen a substantial increase in investment. They grew +17% from a small base during the past six-week period. Oil and natural gas funds played an important, but not dominant, part of the growth. More >

Uranium Stocks Well Positioned
Source: www.MoneyMorning.com��(6/26/08)
Of all the commodities to ride the volatile global roller coaster in 2007, uranium had the wildest ride. Overall, it gained 28% for the year. But that seemingly simple statistic masks a much-more-complex story. More >

Solution to the Global Petroleum Crisis
Source: Raju Agarwal, Seeking Alpha��(6/26/08)
...at the end of the day, we must recognize that petroleum has become an essential asset class for institutional investors. And, given the unabated growth of institutional capital from pension funds, insurance companies, university endowments and sovereign wealth funds, petroleum prices are likely to continue their upward trajectory. More >

Emergency House Resolution Bans Uranium Mining, Exploration Near Grand Canyon
Source: Mineweb.com��(6/26/08)
As Republican members boycotted the vote in protest, the Democrats of the House Natural Resources Committee Wednesday adopted an emergency resolution that requires the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to withdraw perhaps as much 1,068,908 acres of federal land near the Grand Canyon National Park from any new uranium mining for up to the next three years. More >

Oil Price Implications of a Strike on Iran
Source: Jason Kelly, Seeking Alpha��(6/25/08)
Today, a stagflationary shock may result from an Israeli attack against Iran's nuclear facilities. This geopolitical risk mounted in recent weeks as Israel has grown alarmed about Iran's intentions. Such an attack would trigger sharp increases in oil prices -- to well above $200 a barrel. The consequences of such a spike would be a major global recession, such as those of 1973, 1979, and 1990. Indeed, the most recent rise in oil prices is partly due to the increase in this fear premium. More >

Energy Crisis' Nuclear Answer
Source: Nuclear Energy Institute��(6/24/08)
Meeting future U.S. electricity demand while protecting the environment calls for greater use of nuclear energy. Democrats and Republicans alike have embraced that simple idea, says Frank L. Bowman, President and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute. More >

The Energy Crises' Nuclear Answer
Source: Frank L. Bowman, CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute, nypost.com��(6/24/08)
There is a growing consensus that any credible program to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions must rely on a variety of technologies and approaches. And nuclear energy, which produces one-fifth of US electricity at 104 commercial reactors, is indispensable in that effort. More >

Alternative Energy ETFs Respond to an Increase in Demand
Source: Gary Gordon, Seeking Alpha��(6/24/08)
...even if you do not believe that oil will go down in dramatic fashion, do you really want to be part of the herd betting on rising oil prices? What about an area where a small group of qualified suppliers are responding to a genuine increase in demand - the demand for alternative energy?... More >

Uranium Poised for Rebound as Reactor Construction Booms
Source: Yuriy Humber, Bloomberg��(6/23/08)
The uranium industry's worst year is about to collide with a nuclear construction program in India and China that rivals those undertaken during the oil crises of the 1970s.The result is likely to be a 58 percent rebound in uranium to $90 a pound from $57 now, according to Goldman Sachs JBWere and Rio Tinto, one of the world's largest mining companies. More >

Mining Explosive Costs Detonate
Source: Mineweb.com��(6/22/08)
These are boom times for mining companies but the big profits are being eaten into not only by spiraling energy costs but suddenly rising prices for the explosives used to blast into the rocks. More >

Energy Bombshell: China Raises Oil and Diesel Prices
Source: Seeking Alpha��(6/20/08)
Prior to this price increase, the Chinese refiners [such as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (SNP), and PetroChina Co. Ltd. (PTR)] took a loss on each liter of gasoline and diesel they sold. Although they receive a subsidy from the government, it has not kept up with the rising price of crude. More >

'Idle' Oil Field Fallacy
Source: The Wall Street Journal��(6/20/08)
Because a lease is not producing, critics tag it as "idle" when, in reality, it is typically being actively explored and developed. Multiply these real-world circumstances by hundreds or thousands of leases, and you end up with the seemingly damning but inaccurate figures our critics cite. More >