Stocks covered in this issue:Platina Resources (PGM.AX, PTNUF.PK) Gabriel Resources (GBU.TO; GBRRF)ConocoPhillip (COP)  Schlumberger (SLB)Mosaic (MOS)Never mind a picture being worth a thousand words, we’ll settle for just one: Inflation. Deflation is the watchword these days, but all you have to do is look at a chart… Read More

Given our dour long-term outlook for inflation, the last thing you might expect us to recommend at this juncture would be bonds. After all, bonds typically pay a fixed rate of income, which means you lock in a nominal return at the time of purchase. That can leave investors… Read More

Oil prices have dipped below $47 a barrel. That means crude prices have fallen a full $100 from its peak last summer. It also represents a three-year low in prices.So with West Texas Intermediate changing hands at $50 a barrel, is peak oil off the table? In short,… Read More

When attempting to pinpoint the peak in gold prices in “real” or inflation-adjusted terms, most analysts cite 1980 as the top, when gold soared above $600 an ounce on a weekly basis and momentarily spiked just shy of $900 an ounce. To reach that level again in real terms,… Read More

One of the missions of this service is to sleuth out unsung investments that offer outstanding return potential. We think we’ve found just such an investment in tiny Platina Resources (PGM.AX, PTNUF.PK).Recent economic developments have clearly put stringent pressures on platinum group metals (PGMs) and prices have fallen… Read More

No area of the energy patch has been spared in the savage decline in oil prices. The same can be said of even the best and brightest energy investors. Warren Buffett is a prime example of this.Click to enlargeSource: BloombergBuffett owns 84 million shares or 5.6 percent… Read More

Stocks covered this issue:Schlumberger (SLB)Transocean (RIG)Silver Wheaton (SLW)Impala Platinum (IMPUY) For the last several weeks in these pages (and in our other publications) we’ve likened the stock market to a rubber band stretched taut. While it could stretch a bit further, we’ve felt the danger of it breaking was extremely… Read More

Two weeks ago we discussed a leaked report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) on its long-term forecast for energy demand. Last week the official report was published and we take little solace in what we read. The IEA has a long history of offering overly optimistic forecasts, so we… Read More

The weak economy and questions surrounding the availability of bank lending is causing governments and private companies alike to put energy projects on the backburner. With oil prices off some 60 percent from their highs, the list of energy projects getting shelved is rapidly expanding. This is unsettling since… Read More