In the aftermath of the accident the Japanese took the decision to shutdown their entire reactor fleet. As of today only one reactor of the fifty four in Japan are currently operating. Japanese public opinion towards nuclear power has swung decidedly negative.

An overwhelming majority of Japanese people

For 2011, the Company reported record revenues of $156.8 million, adjusted EBITDA of $28.6 million and a net loss from continuing operations of $(0.1) million. Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations increased to $28.6 million for 2011, compared with $1.7 million for 2010.

The company took numerous charges in the fourth quarter to clean up some outstanding issues so that 2012 could start out with a clean slate, these included:

Nonrecurring losses and expenses totaling $12.3 million, including: approximately $4.1 million related to the impact of the significant slowdown in the Haynesville Shale area including the relocation of personnel, equipment and temporary costs related to the change in business conditions in the dry gas industry; $2.5 million for additions to the bad debt reserve in anticipation of collection issues related to the overall industry

The company operates in some of the most prolific and high growth areas of the country, including the Eagleford, Barnett, Haynesville, Marcellus, and Utica shales. Heckmann provides water for the initial frack job on the well and then provides disposal of both the flowback water and produced water from the well.

This is a very lucrative business, because without substantial amounts of water, the well cannot be fracked properly. For example, the company estimates that on average 6.3 million gallons of water are used per fracking job. The company in its most

• The prevalence and ease with which gold bullion ETFs can now be purchased by investors. These vehicles did not exist during the last gold bull market. The ETFs allow people to get exposure to gold without the risks associated with mining. The Agnico-Eagle (AEM) announcement that it was going to write off its Goldex mine in Quebec is an example of what some people are

• The continued policy of the Federal Reserve to hold negative interest rates in place. Negative rates defined as the ten-year Treasury rate minus the current CPI rate (keeping in mind that the CPI is understated).
• Continued uncertainty in the financial markets, especially surrounding the outcome of sovereign debt problems in Europe, the US, and Japan. My view is that all roads lead to inflation, as a result of debasement of fiat currencies as the ultimate political solution.
• Decrease in the gold supply as mine grades continue to decrease over time in the face of continued demand increases from emerging markets. The classic

This is the case with Heckmann Corporation (HEK). The company was formed back in November 2008 as a "blank check development stage company" and raised a bit over four hundred million dollars. The company stated in its

In the past twelve months or so, we have seen the following big transactions in the oil and gas sector; Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) announced it would pay $4.7 billion for most of East Resources' shale gas assets; ExxonMobil (XOM) paid $31 billion for XTO Energy, the

“In April 2008, the U.S. Geologic Survey raised its estimates of recoverable oil reserves in the Bakken Formation of North Dakota and Montana. The figures, as high as 4.3 billion barrels of oil, represented about a 2,400% increase over earlier estimates.

Less than three years later, production in the Bakken is booming and the estimates of recoverable reserves are soaring anew as new technology opens up shale plays in the region and across the country.

Jeff Hume is president and chief operating officer of Continental Resources (CLR

Operators who play by the rules and clear the higher bar can be allowed to resume drilling.

Companies will have to comply with new safety rules such as certifying blowout preventers, ensuring appropriate cementing standards are followed, and that a plan is in place to contain any spills incurred during drilling. In addition the CEO’s of the companies drilling in the GOM will have to personally sign off that all safety protocols are being followed.

The administration had said back in May when they instituted the ban that they would lift it in six months. For whatever reason, most likely due to political pressure, the administration only waited five months to lift the ban. In the meantime I was putting my list together of

Everybody already knows the story about growth in the emerging markets. We are

While the general liquidation in oil and gas stocks may have been warranted due to the collapse in oil prices, one company has become the classic baby thrown out with the bathwater. Niko Resources Ltd (NKRSF.PK) is a Canadian based oil and gas exploration company with an extremely interesting story that is being overlooked by the market.

Niko currently has oil and gas production in India and Bangladesh that totaled, as of the end of last quarter, around 90 MMcfe/d. The big story for

One way is to become part of the rentier class. A rentier is a person who collects property income such as rents, incomes, or capital gains from fixed assets. Karl Marx called such people “parasites” and called “rentier capitalism” a decadent form of capitalism. Notwithstanding Mr. Marx’s view, I have found a vehicle that provides relative safety, throws off a stable income stream, and has the potential for capital gains when the stock market eventually recovers.

The vehicle I have in mind

He said that the current lack of uranium supply expansion in the face of the current financial system difficulties coupled with the uncertainty of how Russia will react after the current Megatons to Megawatts deal expires in 2013 is setting up the uranium market for a future supply crunch. He was quoted as saying, “I think the financial crisis is clearly impacting the ability of every supplier to raise capital,” according to Reuters. “When you see project cancellations, you see expansion derail, you see some projects that will just go slower. That is just simply taking away future supply and sowing the seeds of the next spike in the uranium price.”

The current supply of uranium from mines is