Even the sunniest bellwethers are turning stormy on oil’s long-term prospects.   Late last year the International Energy Agency (IEA) offered a revised outlook for the long-term decline in oil production. The Paris-based agency, which assesses energy supplies at the behest of the OECD countries, conducted a survey of more than 800 oil fields (three-quarters of global reserves) and concluded the decline in the rate of oil production from existing fields was running at 6.7 percent per year, nearly double its 3.7 percent estimate of 2007.     As a result, the IEA offered a significant downward revision from its prior annual forecast of likely oil production in the years ahead. But true to form the organization, which has a history of providing overly optimistic assessments, stopped short of offering a dire warning that was evident from reading its findings. That appears to be changing, however.   Read More

The stock market’s surge during the past several months has been one for the record books. You have to go back to 1938 to find another 5-month period in which shares gained as much. But what’s really remarkable is that the rally has occurred in the context of an equally… Read More

Recommendations this issue: Gamesa (GCTAF) Schlumberger (SLB) Transocean (RIG)   July marked the 19th month of the recession, making it the longest U.S. economic contraction since the Great Depression. So it’s not… Read More

As the world surges toward increasing use of alternative energy, one power source in particular enjoys a strong tailwind. Harnessing the air that swirls above Earth’s surface provides a perpetual source of energy. The Obama Administration has made developing wind (and solar) power a priority, with proposals for these energies… Read More

Although Transocean (RIG) and Schlumberger (SLB) are separate companies, they can be thought of as a tag team crucial to oil production, contracting essential equipment and services to oil and gas companies. Transocean provides the rigs and drilling equipment and personnel (as needed), while Schlumberger supplies the facilitative… Read More

Stocks are surging on expectations that the recession is now—or at least very soon will be—a matter of history. While we generally prefer to see equities advancing, we have serious misgiving about the current advance, and the domestic economy, for that matter. We are seeing some encouraging signs on the… Read More

We’ve discussed at length in recent months how growth in China, India and other emerging nations is critical for the world economy. With the United States, Japan and the European Union mired in a deep recession, the one bright spot on the world economic stage has been the… Read More

Gold and gold stocks have been under pressure in recent weeks, although they’ve rebounded somewhat in the last several sessions. A couple of our more speculative mining stocks have suffered temporary setbacks lately, causing their share prices to dip. Consider this a good time to add to positions… Read More

Seeking to take advantage of the recent dip in gold prices, we turned to Yamana Gold (AUY) last week. But rather than buying the equity, we opted for a more leveraged play in the form of the Yamana Gold January 10 call option (AUY + AB). Read More

We’ve put a fair amount of emphasis in these pages on junior minors such as the ones discussed above. After all, these companies are much more likely to significantly add to their reserves in the coming years. After all, it’s far easier, to double your output if you’re… Read More