In the wake of Governor Parnell's successful efforts to reverse Sarah Palin's ACES legislation in Alaska, big oil companies are announcing new investments in exploration and development, not only in the North Slope but elsewhere too.

It's part of a flurry of activity which has been several years in the making. Back when Palin was in charge, the perception was that Big Oil had become complacent, treating Alaska as a cash-cow without reinvesting their gains. ConocoPhillips, Exxon and BP were...[read more]

There's a boom happening in publicly-traded Master Limited Partnerships (MLP's) which focus on the energy sector. Many commentators believe there'll be sustained interest in MLP's for years to come, and that the party is just getting started. They're probably right.

The ones which particularly interest me are the upstream MLP's, which are similar to pipeline MLP's in terms of their structure, but vastly different in their performance and volatility. In short, they've become a very attractive way to speculate on..."[read more]

The mainstream press may have missed the point of Xi Jinping's recent trade visit to Mexico, Trinidad-Tobago and Costa Rica. This wasn't just a high-level trade mission. Rather it was a calculated statement by China, saying to the world "We are equals now with the United States. We're moving boldly into the Americas, and the US is incapable of stopping us."

It's an aggressive move, in economic terms. The modern equivalent of military posturing.

The outcome of the trip is...[read more]

What happens in the petroleum industry ends up having ripple-effects across the planet. The shale phenomenon which has resulted from the horizontal multi-stage fracking technology is not just impacting domestic production but also has the potential to bring several new players (South Africa, China, Australia, and several other countries) into the ranks of global petroleum producers.

This is great news for companies like Halliburton. But what does it mean geopolitically?

Quick answer: the capacity of the Middle Eastern producers to...[read more]

It should come as no surprise to my readers that I'm exceptionally bullish on gold right now, given the pullback of recent weeks. Just very briefly, here is a quick survey of three other gold bulls:

John Ing of Maison Placements Canada, says gold will rise to $2,500 per ounce within 18 months.

Nick Barisheff of Bullion Management Group, is projecting $10,000 gold within about five years.

Albert Edwards of French investment and London bullion bank, Societe Generale,...[read more]

The stunning effects of North American shale gas production are being felt all over the world.

First, as domestic producers churn out record quantities of cheap natural gas, utilities and other consumers switch away from coal. This results in coal producers exporting more of their product, keeping a lid on global coal prices. European countries benefit, switching from expensive Russian gas to relatively cheap US coal. This puts pressure on Russia to lower its gas prices or lose sales. It...[read more]

Everyone knows he's no fan of gold as an investment. Buffett isn't a hard money guy. He prefers equities --- which represent ownership in something productive, real, active. Here are two statements made by Warren Buffett in interviews he's given:

"I have no views as to where it will be, but the one thing I can tell you is it won't do anything between now and then except look at you. Whereas, you know, Coca-Cola will be making money, and I think Wells Fargo will be making a lot of..."[read more]