epeon

Barron's on ExxonMobil: 'What a Gusher'

I have liked big oil for some time. I have heard it stated that it takes $1 Trillion per year in investment just so that the world oil capacity remains constant. We have not been spending that money. So, I think depletion will continue to maximize oil's value over the next few years. Alternative energy is insignificant. It is just this year's ethanol. I have, however, preferred BP because of the dividend. I don't know when the next oil spike is coming, but I would rather be collecting a 6% dividend while I wait.

Senator Schumer Misses the Full Picture on A-Power's Joint Texas Wind Farm

Please document your statements. In California, the public utilities are buying back windpower generating electricity for $.18/kwhr. I also went and checked the Denmark power, too. The cost is $.18/kwhr. So, please, document to me some where the non-subsidized and fully amortised (i.e. no govenment funding) cost of windpower is $.04 to $.06/kwhr.


On Nov 06 10:48 AM jerrydd wrote:

> Ferdinand E,
>
> Sweden could have all hydro and tidal at far lower cost that nuke.
>
>
> In Denmark they are below sea level in much of the country so rather
> hard to have hydro. And their high electric cost is from taxes, not
> from wind. So learn a little before spouting off.
>
> Also most Denmark windgens are owned by the community thus make good
> money from them.
>
> In the US wind is about $.04-.06/kwhr for big wind, similar to coal
> and far cheaper than new nuke. Home size wind can be far less since
> you can now buy one for $1.5k/kw including inverter.
>
> Since they last 50 yrs and pay back in 2-5 yrs, home wind in suitable
> sites which 50% of US are, they are by far the lowest energy cost.
> If one doesn't have a good site they can buy a share in a large one,
> switch to PV which is dropping in price fast. At under $2/wt-2k/kw
> they are competitive. Now you can buy them for $2.38/wt retail so
> that time is coming soon.
>
> Facts are even with the huge subsidies oil, coal and nuke get, RE
> is about as cost effective and getting cheaper. Fossil fuels, nuke
> is getting more expensive. Which is a better investment? What will
> happen when one of those Chinese, other nukes meltdown?

Opportunities in the Wind Energy Value Chain

this generation's ethanol

Amazon and Barnes & Noble: A Tale of Two Booksellers

I have been thinking about this, too. AMZN is so highly valued that I see no way it can deliver a reasonable return to the investor. BKS, on the other hand, pays a reasonable dividend, has the cashflow to maintain it, and you can write covered calls against and make reasonable money. I kind of like BKS.

U.S. Handling of Financial Crisis - A Less Optimistic View

I must admit that I am very disappointed by Obama. Since the US government owns several banks what I don't understand is why the administration doesn't break these up into smaller pieces. Pieces that are not "too big to fail." What Obama is doing is just giving tax money away. Very disappointing.

Looking for Out-of-Favor Stocks

I have owned ARLP for some time. Granted, it has been out of favor and I have not made a lot of money. However, it has paid a steady 8% dividend and I have written covered calls against it. For example, I wrote a covered call at 40 for December. Between the covered calls and the divy I have managed to eak out a steady 12 to 14%. So, I will probably keep it and write another covered call in December. It will be at 40 and out a few months.

Is Crude Oil Headed Lower?

Two things support the price of crude. First, there is a 5% depeletion going on continously. This means that crude production is going down unless we build new oil production infrastructure. It has been estimated to maintain current capacity that the world needs to spend $1 Trillion/year. We are not doing that. Secondly, the US dollar is going down in dollar. So, a lot of the price increase is merely inflation.

Senator Schumer Misses the Full Picture on A-Power's Joint Texas Wind Farm

When windpower is described as the new ethanol, you are being generous. Windpower derived electricity is priced at $.18/kwhr. It is not competitive. For the US government to spend my money supporting this boondoggle is the heighth of stupidity. But, then again, its government money.

If windpower makes sense it would not need subsidies.

Cisco: Becoming Too Big and Too Acquisitive for Its Own Good?

I basically agree. Cisco has been "dead money" for a decade. Not only has the stock price done nothing, it pays no dividend. It is a bad investment and has been for a long time.

Buffett's BNI Purchase: Bearish Bet on the Economy?

I am a bit puzzled by Buffet's bet, too. He waited till BNI went up from March and then put on top of that another 30% premium. It seems to me, that the US economy has to come around big for him to make out well.

Buffet did this last year when he bought COP at the top. He also bought GE at 20. Of course, in the GE case he got a 10% preferred dividend to tide him over. With the Obama policies, I think we could see several years of low growth. It may take him some time for this to work out. Again, just like COP.

Riding the Rails: Why BNI Was Berkshire's Best Bet - And Vintage Buffett

I wonder about this one. Is this just another cop buy? First, he paid a substantial premium for BNI. And, he paid that premium after the stock price had risen substantially since March. Secondly, with current government macro policies, the US could be entering a "lost" decade like Japan. I am not optimistic about the US economy over the next five years. We shal see.

Hydrogen-Fueled Cars Become a Thing of the Present

I hate repeating myself, but no one apparently listens. The problem with hydrogen as a fuel supply is two fold. The first is how to generate it. The only practical approach is nuclear power but we really don't have enough nukes. However, I concede that this could be done.

Secondly, how do you store and handle it? Hydrogen is stored a cryogenic temperatures. Are you really proposing a cryogenic tank for an auto? That, frankly, is not practical nor economic. No one has solved this issue. There has been research on metal hydride technology but, as of this date, nothing has happened to make it practical or economic. Until this last problem is solved, hydrogen is a pipedream.

'Too Big to Fail' Is Too Hot to Handle

Any bank that received TARP money should be viewed as a fail institution. Therefore, as part of the "workout", the goal should be to reduce its size so that it is not "too big to fail." Thus citigroup and bank of america should be broken up into smaller banks that can be allowed to fail.

Bemused by GDP Figures

Sure doesn't seem like happy days to me. I live in Houston and we are just getting by. The big engineering firms talk about new projects, but they keep getting delayed. I just don't see a turnaround here, yet.

Cap and Trade Would Sink the U.S. Economy

On a more serious note, passing Cap and Trade would be the deathknell of the democratic party. Consider the following scenario: we pass this trash and the result is 10 to 12% unemployment for the next decade, industry does a mass migration to China and India. The democrats go to the electorate which is suffering and says, "Hey, in a century the earth might be cooler by a degree!" Yes, that will be a good sell. I don't see how a republican could loose in that scenario.