When surveying the financial and economic landscape of November 2009, it isn't that hard to get "the big picture". It seems to me that the manipulations and the activities of the "Smart Money", a.k.a the Exchange Insiders, the Specialists and their array of big banking clientele makes it abundantly clear that they want the stock market and precious metals market to remain in "bubble mode" for awhile longer. There are many opinion and myths about it all floating around. This concerns me.

Alfred Goldman, the wise old sage of the former brokerage firm called A.G. Edwards and Sons had a saying that I always liked: "It's not the snake you see that bites you, it's the snake you don't see." He wanted to warn customers that we can easily become distracted by all the noise, all the "talking heads" and myriad opinions and miss what is really going on.

Three upcoming investment themes for discussion:

• Policy shift into natural gas by Congress may become more likely with a return to even mediocre US growth and rising oil prices. Also as the dollar drops, oil becomes less affordable and a domestic solution is needed (priced in dollars and produced 100% in America). With massive budget deficits, huge natural gas discoveries in the US driving prices down, and an urge by Congress to "create new jobs", this may be a policy action whose time has come. The economic and national security reasons for this action might make investments in this area start to pay off. A bill to provide for infrastructure for a conversion of the US trucking fleet to natural gas should start to get a lot more support. As that shows success, a follow on to convert the auto fleet may be possible. Autos and trucks account for 70% of all US oil imports. Natural gas is the one solution that can solve our oil problem. Huge discoveries in North America and elsewhere make a transition to natural gas for trucks, and then eventually cars, a much more viable solution for our oil dependence. At some point as oil starts to rise and the disparity between the two increases, I think we'll see much greater investment in natural gas. Investment wise this one can look at plays that own natural gas in the US, as well as exploration, and more speculative bets like Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE) and Westport (WPRT) which makes engines that use natural gas.
• China is due for a hiccup. Lots of stories leaking out about increases in bad debt. Does this mean I think China is due for a huge drop? No, but there are macro problems with excessive lending and an imbalanced currency. Through this crisis we have had the Chinese currency fixed to the dollar. As the dollar drops, this kills Europe and Japan. The Chinese either have to start to revalue higher, or pressure on the ECB and the Japanese will become politically untenable. You can't have a fixed rate regime in the world's third largest economy with major imbalances created (again). Something's got to give. If Warren Buffett wants to buy a railroad, I like Australian plays better than US plays.
• Health Care. Stocks were up on elections. Don't bet against a bill here. Use today's uptick to get out. I prefer to stay out of the sector--but I know quite a few hedge funds that go in whenever hype is high, then go short when hype is low. I prefer to stay clear of musical chairs for a song that I am fairly sure I know will end badly for the insurers.

Disclosure: Author is long APC, DVN, CHK, WPRT, CLNE and looking for more as a long term play.

• Enlightened-American Portfolio: +33.5% YTD (my actual IRR, including cash balance)
• DJIA: +10.7%
• Nasdaq: +29.7%
• S&P 500: +14.7%
• DJ Wilshire 5000: +16.9%
• Russell 2000 (smallcap): +12.7%

All the major indices, except for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, booked losses ranging from 3% - 9% for the month of October. Our portfolio lost half a percentage point, despite the volatility in energy stocks. Much of the steady performance was attributable to the continued build of cash. In some instances, such as Intel (INTC), these cash-outs were forced as our call options expired in-the-money.

• No new positions taken.
• We were called out of our Intel position at $16 per share. We missed roughly 20% upside due to writing this call option but sometimes that happens when writing options. At the time, we wrote the option, Intel was trading around $15 1/2 and we had successfully sold a string of INTC calls to good benefit. While it may be easy to rue this move in hindsight, investors must not forget the lessons of this bear market -- cash on hand may be a less desirable but never regrettable option.
• Our Yamana Gold (AUY) position was reduced by 25% due to being assigned on our $9 Oct calls. We have been writing $9 calls on AUY for a year, thus booking good gains before getting called this past month. Gold mining stocks in general are good candidates for options-writing due to their historical volatility, which means bigger upfront premiums and relative assurance that general drops in stock prices will be reversed at some point in the near future.
• I reduced one position in the current portfolio by 25%, the details of which are revealed only to premium subscribers. Find out more about Enlightened American Premium here.

Our cash position currently comprises 46% of the total portfolio. While I am not enamored with this situation, I continue to hold cash rather than compromise our standards for investing. During huge rallies, it is easy to get caught up in the euphoria and feel a subtle urge to join the party. However, Seth Klarman has proven in the past that it is possible to outperform the markets even while holding huge chunks of cash. In fact, that is precisely what we have done this year, as the Enlightened American portfolio is now beating all the major indices, including the red-hot NASDAQ, despite 30%+ cash holdings for most of this year.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK) reported third quarter results of 70 cents per share, compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 66 cents and year-earlier quarter earnings of 87 cents. Before adjusting one-time items, earnings per share were 30 cents. Despite the increased production volumes and lower production expenses, earnings were down due primarily to weak natural gas prices. (See earnings call transcript.)

Chesapeake’s average daily production for the quarter increased 7% year-over-year and 1% sequentially to 2.48 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe), of which natural gas was 92%. Taking into account the company’s production curtailments, Chesapeake’s year-over-year and sequential production growth rates were 14% and 2%, respectively. The company is guiding towards full-year production growth of approximately 5-6% in 2009, 8-10% in 2010 and 12-14% in 2011.

Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript

November 3, 2009 9:00 am ET

• Buffett buys Burlington for a cool $44B. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) announced it will acquire the 77.4% of Burlington Northern (BNI) it doesn't already own for $100/share in cash and stock - a 30% premium to Monday's close of $76.07. The transaction is worth $44B, including $10B in outstanding debt. Here's what Warren Buffett had to say: "Our country's future prosperity depends on its having an efficient and well-maintained rail system. Conversely, America must grow and prosper for railroads to do well. Berkshire's $34B investment in BNI is a huge bet on that company, CEO Matt Rose and his team, and the railroad industry. Most important of all, however, it's an all-in wager on the economic future of the U.S. I love these bets."
• Stocks slide; futures fall. Global stock markets painted a gloomy picture Tuesday, with bourses in Asia and Europe taking 2%-plus losses as risk appetite took a breather and investors clamored for safe-haven assets, sending the dollar and U.S. Treasurys climbing and futures tumbling (see data below in Today's Markets). "The basis for the correction seems to rest on three legs," Merrill economist Bill O'Neill said. "Worries over prospects for holders of equity in banks; concern that interest-rate hikes are imminent; and paradoxically, that recovery in 2010 will be crippled by a U.S. consumer unwilling or unable to open his or her wallet." Others took the recent downturn as a sign equity prices had gotten ahead of real improvements in the economy.
• Stanley, B&D craft $8.4B merger. Stanley Works (SWK) agreed to buy rival Black & Decker (BDK) for $4.5B in stock, the culmination of a courtship that spanned 27 years and three other attempts. The bid values B&D at about $57.57/share, a 22% premium to Monday's close. "The more we talked, the more we felt like these were two very complementary and unique companies," BDK CEO Nolan Archibald said, adding both CEOs were "totally swayed" by potential synergies of $350M. Stanley shareholders will own about 50.5% of the combined company; B&D shareholders will get 49.5%.
• Lloyds, RBS diverge on aid. Lloyds (LYG) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) unveiled agreements with the U.K. Treasury over their participation in its program to insure toxic assets, and detailed the divestments they will need to make to satisfy EU regulators. Lloyds opted out of the expensive U.K. asset-protection scheme, saying it would raise £21B, including a £13.5B rights issue; the government will maintain its 43% stake in the bank. The move subjects Lloyds to more modest EU demands: Lloyds said it will dispose of "a retail banking business" with a 4.6% market share and about 19% of its mortgage portfolio; sell £180B in noncore assets; and limit acquisitions over the next 3-4 years. RBS will enter the asset-protection scheme to insure £282B of its illiquid loans, with the first £60B in losses borne by RBS. The government will inject another £25.5B into RBS, raising its stake to 84.4%. RBS will sell its RBS retail network in England and Wales and NatWest branches in Scotland; RBS insurance; Global Merchant Services; and its stake in RBS Sempra Commodities. LYG +2.8% premarket. RBS -8%.
• Outflows continue to plague UBS. Shares of UBS (UBS) are -7% premarket after the Swiss bank said it doesn't expect client inflows to recover anytime soon due to its mangled reputation as a result of its tax dispute with the IRS. UBS posted a fourth straight quarterly loss of 564M francs (-$552M), worse than the 207M loss expected by the Street. Total client outflows rose to 36.6B francs ($35.8B), led by a doubling of outflows at its Americas wealth-management division. On a media call, CFO John Cryan cited UBS's "residual reputational issue" along with "some morale issues among advisers" that it needs to face, and said UBS expects "modest outflows from Swiss clients until we return to profit."
• EU sees gradual recovery. The EU lifted its 2010-2011 growth forecast to 0.75% and 1.5% respectively, but cautioned its outlook is "highly uncertain" given that "significant fiscal and monetary policy measures" are supporting the recovery. Predicting government deficits will swell to 7.5% of GDP, the Commission said a "protracted period of fiscal consolidation will have to follow at some stage to put public debt back on a sustainable footing."
• RBA hikes rates again. Australia's central bank, the first G-20 member to break from super-loose monetary policy, raised interest rates for the second time in two months - to 3.5% - amid a rapidly improving economic outlook. The bank hinted it may not boost rates again in December, saying the rises in October and November would work to temper inflation and ensure a sustainable upswing in the economy, which sent the Aussie dollar (ETF: EWA) lower. The central bank has never hiked rates three months in a row.
• CRE breaks death spiral. Prices of investment-grade commercial real estate rose 4.4% in Q3, according to the MIT CRE's transaction-based index, possibly signaling an end to the sector's year-long downward spiral. "One quarter does not a trend make and we are still well below normal trading volume," David Geltner, director of research at MIT/CRE, said. "Nevertheless, this is the strongest sign of a bottom that we've had in two years." The positive news comes in stark contrast to gloomy remarks from the Fed's John Greenlee, who said Monday (.pdf) that regional banks building up "unprecedented concentrations of CRE loans" will suffer the impact of worsening conditions in real estate markets, and warned, "Poor loan quality, subpar earnings, and uncertainty about future conditions raise questions about capital adequacy for some institutions."
• Hat trick of upside surprises. U.S. manufacturing activity hit its highest level in 3.5 years and pending home sales contracts unexpectedly surged, reducing fears the economy's budding recovery would falter. ISM's manufacturing index climbed 3.1 points to 55.7 (vs. 53.3 consensus) as companies began rebuilding inventories. "Overall, it appears that inventories are balanced and that manufacturing is in a sustainable recovery mode," ISM said. Pending home sales rose for the eighth straight month, the longest streak on record, with NRA's index gaining 6.1% (vs. +0.7% consensus) to 110.1. The index is now at its highest since Dec. 2006. And construction spending (.pdf) rose 0.8% (vs. -0.3% consensus) to an annual $940B, though the gain was offset by a large downward revision to August's number.
• Pensions bulge while market caps shrink. Pensions rose an average of 19% for top executives in 2008, even as their companies' stock prices fell by 37% amid a global downturn, according to an analysis of SEC filings. The growth was largely due to arcane pension formulas that have received little scrutiny.

Earnings: Tue. Before Open

• Alpha Natural Resources (ANR): Q3 EPS of $0.47 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $729M (+5.9%) in-line. Shares -0.9% premarket. (PR)
• American Tower (AMT): Q3 EPS of $0.17 in-line. Revenue of $444M (+8.5%) vs. $430M. (PR)
• AmerisourceBergen (ABC): FQ4 EPS of $0.44 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $18.27B (+9.7%) vs. $18.06B. Shares +5.5% premarket. (PR)
• Archer Daniels Midland (ADM): FQ1 EPS of $0.77 beats by $0.20. Revenue of $14.9B (-29.5%) vs. $17.9B. Shares +0.1% premarket. (PR)
• Cameron International (CAM): Q3 EPS of $0.58 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $1.23B (-18.1%) in-line. Shares -0.3% premarket. (PR)
• Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH): Q3 EPS of $0.45 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $853M (+16.2%) vs. $806M. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.45 vs. $0.42 and revenue of at least $880M vs. $830M. Shares +6.9% premarket. (PR)
• Emerson Electric Company (EMR): FQ4 EPS of $0.67 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $5.32B (-20.5%) in-line. Sees 2010 revenue of $19.45-19.87B vs. $20.21B. "We are well positioned for economic recovery, but the shape and speed of the recovery remains unknown and we expect weakness to continue in the near-term." Shares -1% premarket. (PR)
• Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD): Q3 EPS of $0.27 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $1.04B (-33.7%) in-line. "There certainly were significant challenges during the latter part of this quarter as both air and ocean carriers imposed capacity reductions in order to implement very aggressive price increases. While we wouldn't call it 'The Perfect Freight Storm,' the rapidity of these carrier moves created a pricing environment that resulted in our experiencing single digit airfreight yields out of Asia during the first several weeks of September. Ocean yields were also significantly impacted." (PR)
• Frontier Communications (FTR): Q3 EPS of $0.17 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $527B (-5.6%) in-line. Shares -0.3% premarket. (PR)
• Gaylord Entertainment (GET): Q3 EPS of -$0.32 misses by $0.21. Revenue of $199M (-12.2%) vs. $202M. (PR)
• IntercontinentalExchange (ICE): Q3 EPS of $1.18 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $256M (+27.3%) in-line. Shares +0.2% premarket. (PR)
• Marathon Oil (MRO): Q3 EPS of $0.61 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $14.48B (-37.9%) vs. $13.7B. Shares +1.3% premarket. (PR)
• Marvel Entertainment (MVL): Q3 EPS of $0.26 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $106M (-42.1%) vs. $92.5M. Disney (DIS) is due to acquire Marvel by year-end. (PR)
• MasterCard (MA): Q3 EPS of $3.48 beats by $0.54. Revenue of $1.36B (+1.9%) in-line. Gross dollar volume +0.3%. Purchase volume +0.4%. Shares +3.3% premarket. (PR)
• Medco Health Solutions (MHS): Q3 EPS of $0.75 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $14.79B (+17.8%) in-line. Shares +2.5% premarket. (PR)
• Northgate Minerals (NXG): Q3 EPS of $0.03 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $120M. (PR)
• Oshkosh Truck (OSK): FQ4 EPS of $0.27 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $1.49B (-19.8%) vs. $1.4B. "We expect to be solidly profitable in fiscal 2010, led by significant revenue growth in our defense business, which should more than offset anticipated low demand at our construction-related businesses." Shares +3.8% premarket. (PR)
• Petroquest Energy (PQ): Q3 EPS of $0.07 misses by $0.06. Revenue of $50.3M (-35.8%) vs. $52.2M. Shares -6.5% premarket. (PR)
• Polo Ralph Lauren (RL): FQ2 EPS of $1.75 beats by $0.44. Revenue of $1.37B (-3.8%) vs. $1.31B. "We are raising our sales expectations for the remainder of the year, but we continue to be cautious with our outlook and are planning accordingly." Shares +2.7% premarket. (PR)
• Rockwell Collins (COL): FQ4 EPS of $0.84 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $1.19B (-7%) in-line. Shares -2.7% premarket. (PR)
• Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL): Q3 EPS of $1.07 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $1.8B (-14.5%) in-line. Sees "a slight loss" in Q4 vs. consensus of +$0.04. "Like many other travel companies, we saw more strength than we expected during our peak season but have been experiencing more pricing pressure on some of our traditionally softer fall season sailings." Shares -3.2% premarket. (PR)
• St. Joe Company (JOE): Q3 EPS of -$0.08 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $43.2M (+30.1%) vs. $28.9M. (PR)
• Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA): Q3 EPS of $0.89 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $3.55B (-7.6%) vs. $3.63B. Shares -2% premarket. (PR)
• Viacom (VIA): Q3 EPS of $0.69 beats by $0.12. Revenue of $3.32B (-2.7%) in-line. Shares +0.7% premarket. (PR)
• Vornado (VNO): Q3 FFO of $1.25 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $671M (-0.7%) vs. $637M. Shares -0.5% premarket. (PR)

Earnings: Mon. After Close

• Anadarko (APC): Q3 EPS ex-items of $0.40 may not compare to estimate of -$0.33. Gains that may affect comparability, including reversed accrual and unrealized derivatives loss, of $0.51/share. Revenue of $2.7B (-55%) vs. $2B. Shares +0.7% AH. (PR)
• Avis Budget Group (CAR): Q3 EPS of $0.54 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $1.5B (-14%) vs. $1.6B. Shares +6.5% AH. (PR)
• Axis Capital (AXS): Q3 EPS of $1.05 beats by $0.33. Revenue of $452M (-29%) vs. $581M. (PR)
• Chesapeake Energy (CHK): Q3 EPS of $0.70 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $1.8B (-76%) vs. $2B. Shares -1.1% AH. (PR)
• Forest Oil (FST): Q3 EPS of $0.48 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $177M (-50%) vs. $252M. Shares -1.8% AH. (PR)
• Hecla Mining (HL): Q3 EPS of $0.09 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $95.2M (+39%) vs. $68.7M. Shares +2.4% premarket. (PR)
• Kinross Gold (KGC): Q3 EPS of $0.00 misses by $0.12. Revenue of $582M (+16%) vs. $578M. Shares +0.4% AH. (PR)
• MannKind (MNKD): Q3 EPS of -$0.42 beats by $0.06, on no revenues. "While we continue to be fully engaged in the task of navigating our NDA through the FDA review process, we are continuing to run additional studies of AFRESA." Shares +4.5% AH. (PR)
• Republic Services (RSG): Q3 EPS of $0.32 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $2.07B (+149%) in-line. Sees full-year EPS of $1.46-1.48 vs. $1.46. Shares -0.2% AH. (PR)
• Principal Financial Group (PFG): Q3 EPS of $0.74 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $2.3B (-9%) vs. $2.5B. Shares +2.4% AH. (PR)
• St. Mary Land (SM): Q3 EPS of $0.23 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $186M (-43%) vs. $187M. (PR)

Today's Markets

China was the lone gainer on an otherwise dismal Tuesday in Asia. Europe shares are getting pummeled. Stock futures are under severe pressure. Treasurys and the dollar are up strongly.

Cummins (CMI), Caterpillar (CAT), 3M (MMM), Goldman Sachs (GS), Wells Fargo (WFC), IBM (IBM), Intel (INTC), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Macy's (M), Home Depot (HD), Family Dollar (FDO), J.C. Penney (JCP), J.Crew (JCG)

OOK Advisors LLC has launched a new ETF that consists of companies based in the Sooner State of Oklahoma. The ETF, which will trade under the symbol OOK, is the first fund for OOK Advisors. A second ETF (TXF) focusing exclusively on Texas companies is expected soon. The new ETF, which is the first to focus on an individual state, consists of 29 companies and has an expense ratio of 0.85%.

Oklahoma, besides being the home state of OOK Advisors, LLC, is often considered one of the more business friendly states in the Union. With an economy based on energy but expanding in other sectors as well, Oklahoma has seen tremendous growth in recent years. Between 2000 and 2008, GDP grew by a whopping 63%, one of the highest rates in the United States. In addition, three Oklahoma-based firms made Fortune magazine’s 2008 list of the 25 fastest growing companies in the U.S. (and six made the Fortune 500).

With the oil-and-gas price link weaker than it's been in over a decade and with natural gas too dependent on a fierce winter to fuel demand and drive pricing up, CRT Capital Group Senior VP Duane Grubert likes oil better than gas. Consistent with that stance, he also prefers producers that are leaning more toward oil than gas. In the gas arena, he tells The Energy Report in this exclusive interview, he's sticking with players who are diversifying and tends to choose those that are involved in exploration as well as production.

The Energy Report: Basically, Duane, we'd appreciate a top-down overview of where you see natural gas and oil going in the short run and then long term, and where you see the markets both domestically and internationally.

By Patrick Watson

Today the Oklahoma ETF began trading on NYSE Arca under the symbol OOK. This is the first state-based ETF. If ETF investors had been asked a year ago which state would be first to have its own ETF, I doubt that Oklahoma would have been a popular guess. The Oklahoma based sponsors have plans for a similar Texas fund. Both will feature a portfolio of companies headquartered in their respective states.

10/28/09

The “Oklahoma Fund”, an exchange traded fund comprised of a basket of the Oklahoma state stocks, is set to be released tomorrow on the NYSE under the symbol (OOK). It will be interesting to see how well an ETF based primarily on state pride will be digested by the investment community.

New York City has a problem.

In addition to other hazards, the threat of another terrorist attack is an obvious, ongoing danger to one of the most populated cities in the world. But that’s not what I’m talking about here.

Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), Marvel (MRVL), Intel (INTC)

Dr. Arthur Berman, of Labyrinth Consulting Services has taken a hard look at actual production data from Barnett Shale in 2007. What he found should worry anyone expecting this abundant, relatively clean, domestic energy resource to be cheap. It should especially worry investors in shale gas companies, such as CHK, DVN, and XTO.

In a panel entitled "Natural Gas Game Changers?" at the 2009 International Peak Oil Conference, Dr. Breman presented some results from his research into the actual production from the nearly 2000 horizontal gas wells drilled in the Barnett Shale in 2007. The Oil Drum has some interesting background and comments here. Here are a few of my take-aways from his presentation:

National Oilwell Varco (NOV), Schlumberger (SLB), Chesapeake (CHK), Halliburton (HAL), Google (GOOG), Apple (AAPL)

According to the recent TIM (Trade Ideas Monitor) report for the week of October 9-15, 2009, market sentiment in the U.S. became even more bullish. The TIM Sentiment Index (TSI) was up 3.87 points in North America to 59.32 (see the youDevise website for additional information on the TIM report). The TSI Worldwide Index was down 0.96, but remained bullish at 53.60 (a reading above 50 is bullish). Six sectors were bullish, while three were bearish and one was neutral. Total new long ideas as a percentage of all new ideas sent to investment managers by way of the TIM increased 2.69 points to 71.22%.

As for individual securities in the U.S. and North America, WW Grainer Inc (GWW), O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY), and Pfizer (PFE) were stocks with long broker sentiment, while Chesapeake Energy (CHK) and Safeway (SWY) had short broker sentiment. In general, the information technology, financial, and energy sectors had long broker sentiment, while the utilities had short broker sentiment.

The title of this article is of course borrowed from the brilliant book of the same name written in 1841 by Charles Mackay. The book deals with 3 “delusions”: "National Delusions", "Peculiar Follies", and "Philosophical Delusions". While dealing with The Crusades, alchemy, witch-hunts and other follies, the parts that interest us most today are the economic bubbles he discussed -- in 1841 -- and the national delusions he chronicled.

Mackay devoted a chapter each to the Dutch tulip mania of the early seventeenth century, the South Sea Company bubble of 1711–1720, and the Mississippi Company bubble of 1719–1720.

With the October options expiration approaching us in just 3 days, I thought I would outline some trade ideas on stocks I wouldn't mind going long on, that would return good percentages by Friday (as of market close Tuesday). When using the buy/write option strategy, it is important that you are willing to hold the security in case it is below the strike price at options expiration. I have put together a list of stocks which will return a nice percentage gain if they are above the strike price as of October options expiration, but will also protect (lower cost basis) to the downside in case the stock sells off slightly and expires below the strike price. The list below is a very tall one, and for your convenience I have ranked the securities in order from the largest potential % return to the least. To learn more about the buy/write option strategy, risks, pricing, calculations, other strategies, and options in general, click here.

Note that higher beta securities return higher percentages due to their levels of implied volatility, and because they are riskier.

X-Ray Marks the Spot: American Science and Engineering (ASEI)