We can’t forget about the other implications of $105+ oil.
Sure, it sends oil drillers and service companies higher. And most of our recent coverage has been dedicated to that end.
But it also heats up the search for and the attractiveness of alternatives.
Of course, not all alternatives are created equal…
We’ve seen what can happen when energy technologies are chosen based on cronyism, and not solely on their economic merits.
No less than 80% of the stimulus loans and grants given by the Department of Energy to alternative energy companies has gone to companies either run by or primarily owned by Obama’s financial backers — individuals who were bundlers, members of Obama’s National Finance Committee, or large donors to the Democratic Party.
That’s a large chunk: about $16.4 billion out of $20.5 billion in issued loans.
A CBS News report in January found that at least 12 companies that received billions in Federal assistance were now in financial trouble.
Five have already gone bankrupt: Beacon Power, Evergreen Solar, SpectraWatt, Eastern Energy, and Solyndra.
Last week, Abound Solar announced it was laying off 280 workers (70% of its staff) and delaying a new factory in Indiana. Abound got $400 million of your tax dollars.
That’s a far cry from July 2010, when Obama said Abound would use the money to “manufacture advanced solar panels at two new plants, creating more than 2,000 construction jobs and 1,500 permanent jobs” at plants in Indiana and Colorado.
But that’s what you get when you pick energy investments based on the Buddy System…
That’s not how we do things around here.
We know energy alternatives will be successful because of market factors: higher conventional energy prices, less easy-to get oil, a leapfrogging Third World, and efficiency.
We’ve delivered you numerous winners in the space, and there will be plenty more to come — not because it’s trendy, or green, or the right thing to do, or because the companies will help us get reelected…
But because we’ve evaluated the opportunities and find them to be good investments given current market conditions.
In other words, we invest in companies that are going to be successful no matter which political party its executives support.
That’s how it’s supposed to be.
Call it like you see it,
Nick Hodge
Editor, Energy and Capital
Obama Gives Fracturing the Green Light: Fed’s Official Attitude on Fracturing
Everyone leaning strongly against fossil fuel exploration has been sounding off on the topic of hydraulic fracturing, known now to popular culture simply as fracking. But it seems the Federal Government’s own environmental watchdog, the EPA, has turned its back on the picket signs…
Nuclear Fuels Development: I Personally Have a Position in this Stock
Editor Jeff Siegel reveals an under-the-radar play in nuclear development.
Ron Paul’s Silver: Two Ways to Profit from Silver
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East Africa, the New Oil Frontier: Smart Investors are Catching On…
Analyst Ian Cooper uncovers the next hot spot for oil, and offers a few ideas on how to invest.
Presidential Oil Lies: Politicians Lie, the Market Doesn’t
No matter which side you lean toward personally, distortion of the truth from either side is detrimental to your bottom line. Here are some of the falsehoods I’ve heard… and how you can sidestep them to maximize your energy investments.
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Keith Kohl digs deeper into an Asian trade war taking place.
Bull Market: Warren Buffett Predicts Good Times Ahead for America
This past Saturday, Buffett released his Annual Letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. Many investors consider this to be the stock market equivalent of the Farmers’ Almanac. His letter was quite upbeat and bullish.
UK’s Secret Oil Deal with Somalia: The Iron Lady Would Approve
A few years ago, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted their own analysis of East Africa and the area just off the coast of the Indian Ocean. Their conclusion: Over 71 billion barrels of crude lay untouched in shallow pockets dotting the East Africa region.
Buffett’s Billion-Dollar BTU Blunder: Lost $2 Billion Betting on Natural Gas Prices
Unlike Buffett and Energy Future Holdings, which bet on price and lost it all, this story has an interesting twist… The gas generated in British Columbia will be exported to Asia via a new pipeline and export facilities in Canada. Because of political ineptitude, we don’t have that luxury in the U.S.
The Lowdown on High Gas Prices: Behind the Oil Curtain
Oil speculators may not be the reason oil is back over $100 per barrel…
