Universal Huckleberry

Precious Metals: Some Recent Developments

Mark, Implats' projected palladium deficit is 295,000 toz on supply of 8,215,000 toz, or about 3.6%. If all of your optimistic scenarios come true, then palladium does indeed look "bullish" for 2009. Otherwise I'd have to say that 2009 just looks "better".

Keep up the great work!

Chinese Government Offers Incentive for Solar Mergers

frflyer, the amount of tax revenue generated from the "fossil fuel industry" dwarfs the subsidy they receive.

For example, it is widely known that Exxon Mobil alone paid $30b in taxes in 2007, and it is estimated they will pay $41.5b in 2008. Also, the national average for combined local, state and federal taxes on a gallon of gas is 45.9 cents, which equates to another $65b of tax revenue annually.

I'm not sure the same could be said of the "renewable energy industry", in fact I'd be surprised if this fledgling industry generated much tax revenue at all. Don't get me wrong- I think the $17b we sink into renewables is important, and money well spent. And hopefully someday renewables will be able to replace that tax revenue. But the mature "fossil fuel industry" is a cash cow for governments at all levels, and to compare their subsidies vs renewables' at this stage is not an equal comparison.

Cowen: Solar Estimates Too Bright

Ummmm, is he talkin' about tomatoes?

Obama Provides More Tailwinds for LED Lighting Manufacturers

Obama? Obama gives a speech and his name leads the headlines... but he can't really DO anything, yet. Meanwhile, it's the current Administration that actually implemented the energy efficiency measure at the Pentagon- the more accurate title to this article should be "Bush Provides More Tailwinds For LED Lighting Manufacturers"! I know about 500 liberal investors probably just fought back a gag reflex, but let's give credit where it's due.

It's a tough world for Green Conservatives!

Someone Has to Lend in 2009: Ideas to Profit

NLR is an ETF also...

Tata Motors Facing the Perfect Storm?

Excellent article, Asif! I have no interest whatsoever in Tata Motors, but I read your piece to it's conclusion. Keep up the great work!

10 Solid, Clean Companies Ready for Stimulus, And 5 That Aren't

I can suggest a few more companies likely to benefit from the "stimulus spending": HR Block, Jackson Hewitt, Liberty Tax, Intuit (makers of Turbo Tax) and any other company who benefits by assisting the roughly 52% of us who pay taxes and will have to foot this bill for decades...

Suburban Propane: Attractive Ahead of Earnings

Great article, Asif, particularly the primer on MLPs. It's not easy to take a subject like that and condense it into four paragraphs that "read well" and make sense. SPH offers the consistency and stability that investors are looking for these days...

Seven Highest Yielding Stocks Going Ex Dividend in November

Those of you who are attracted to the strategy of "buying dividends", but who don't have the time to pursue it, might consider one of the professionally managed CLEFs whose investment objective is essentially the same thing.

SunPower, Solar Stocks Hit By Panel Price Prediction

I don't know as much as you guys, but recently the price of lemons dropped by 5 cents each at the local grocery store, so my kids dropped the price per cup of lemonade at their Lemonade Stand from 25 cents to 20 cents. Revenues increased by 15%, adding about $3 per week to their bottom line. They said they wanted to use the extra profit to buy another blender...

Six Reasons To Buy China Soon

Reason #7b: The "Free Market Economy" in that Communist country is, in most respects, freer than ours...

K-Tron: Boring Niche Company Chugs to New Highs

Nice article, Jae. I like the way you think. I'll take "Main Street" over "Wall Street" and "Pennsylvania Avenue" any day of the week!

Seven High Yielding Defense and Aerospace Stocks

notsosmart, you should take some of your tanker stock dividends and invest in a remedial grammar, spelling, and punctuation class. (Also, it wouldn't hurt to get your "shift" key fixed.) And for future reference, you're going to have to prepare a little more than by just watching Cramer before trying to smack-talk with Stockerblog...

Tom Konrad on Alternative Energy ETFs

Mr. Konrad, I enjoy your articles, and as the old ad slogan goes "when you speak, I listen". But for you to suggest that Mr. Obama would be the best Presidential Candidate for alternative energy stocks is almost ludicrous.

Barack Obama may understand the issue of alternative energy, but he does not understand capitalism, economics, and the market forces which will be necessary to make a transformation from fossil fuels to renewable fuels possible in the US. Obama will raise capital gains taxes, depressing the entire market including much needed investment in alternative energy. Obama will raise corporate income taxes, forcing companies to reduce R & D, reduce hiring, and possibly even push some of our brightest minds (and the venture capitalists who fund them) outside our borders to set up shop in more "business friendly" nations. And, Obama will raise personal income taxes, further reducing the amount of free capital available to invest in innovation, manufacture and job creation within the alternative energy sector.

Somewhere within the range of 50-100 years we will be a very "green" and "renewable" and "alternative" energy nation. (We still have some major hurdles, not the least of which is to find economically viable replacements for plastic, styrofoam, vinyl, and other petroleum distillate products- like the one you're all staring at right now!) We all want alternative energy, we all "get it". The question is: Will America lead the way? Like we did with the incandescent lightbulb, the automobile, the telephone, the personal computer, and dozens of other innovations we introduced to the world? Or, will we just copy or buy the technology from other nations? Barack Obama understands the problem, but does he understand that the solution is to release the forces of capitalism and freedom?

3 Portfolios for a Steady Cash Flow

Mr. Kosnett, you just made my "Favorite Authors" list (there are two of you now...) Great article!