Archives for June 2013

June 2013 - Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From

The Misunderstood Link Between Oil, Natural Gas and Inflation

by

According to conventional wisdom, there can't be a significant rise in inflation without a corresponding, and usually preceding, jump in energy prices.

In fact, the correlation between energy prices and inflation has become almost a mantra among some market pundits.

Unfortunately, the reality is somewhat different than what's portrayed by talking heads in thirty- second sound bites.

As with most complicated problems, the answer just isn't that simple.  

While the energy sector stretches from hydrocarbons, through alternatives, to the renewed interest in solar, wind, geothermal and biofuels, it is the dominant force in the sector that tends to drive the markets.

That means crude oil and natural gas.

How to Invest in Hot Travel Stocks this Summer

by

Ah, summertime, and the virtual traveling is easy.

Indeed, booking your getaway has never been easier: It's just a few clicks away, what with all the travel websites competing for your business.

But there's also money to be made from travel websites if you know how to invest in them.

With fierce competition for U.S. travelers, travel websites have increasingly taken on a more global approach, expanding their businesses or establishing partnerships in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, where eMarketer says online travel sales are expected to increase 15% to $91 billion this year and per-capita consumer spending is expected to increase about 37% in the next seven years.

Internet penetration remains low in Asia compared with Europe and the United States, but is growing rapidly, paving the way for travel sites' push into the region.

How to Invest in Online Travel Stocks

</em

Read More…

Student Loan Debtors Bamboozled Again

by

I know a lot of you out there don't have sympathy for student loan debtors who complain about their debt.

You see it as a matter of personal responsibility – they chose to sign a contract and so should suck it up and uphold their end of the deal.

Money Morning's Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani says it best, though:

"You're not wrong. But there are other forces exerting outside influence on the inner intentions of a lot of 'students' susceptible to being sold a bill of goods. Sometimes we're stupid for being conned, and sometimes the con is just so cleverly concealed."

Think of all the branding, marketing, and pressure swirling around the heads of these young folks.

And many don't have parents or educators taking the time to sit down and weigh the options with them.

If I haven't conjured any sympathy out of you yet, a report recently issued by the National Consumer Law Center identifies a new abuse of student loan debtors:

They are being deceived into paying up to $1,600 in initial fees, and monthly fees as high as $50, to private "debt relief firms" for help that they could otherwise get for free.

To continue reading, please click here...

Stock Market Today: Expect "Insane" Trading as Second Quarter Ends

by

The stock market today fell more than 50 points in the first 10 minutes of trading, with the Dow dipping below 15,000.

June has been a volatile month for U.S. equities with the Dow experiencing 15 triple-digit moves out of 18 sessions.

As we start the final trading day of the month, which is also the last of the second quarter, expect heavy volume and wild swings.

As Business Insider pointed out yesterday, in the last five seconds of the trading day at the end of the month, or quarter, traders brace for what can best be described as intensely insane trading.

The following chart, with blue diamonds representing the end of the month and red ones representing the end of a quarter, shows the dramatic increase in E-mini trades (S&P futures contracts) that transpire at the close of trading at the end of the month, or quarter, compared to E-mini trades at the close of a regular trading session.

To continue reading, please click here...

The Best Investments for the Next Phase of the U.S. Oil Revolution

by

The U.S. oil industry has been reborn, with oil flowing from new fields like North Dakota's Bakken at rates not dreamed of just a few years ago – and it has created a new crop of best investments for those hunting for energy profits.

U.S. oil production climbed from a low of 5 million barrels a day in 2008 to 7.2 million barrels per day in February of this year.

To continue reading, please click here…

Fight Club: Is Healthcare (aka Obamacare) a Right?

by

The always vocal, usually incorrect and always extremely left Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Leerecently said:

"Healthcare is a right! It should be in the Constitution. Although it was not listed per se in the Constitution, it should be!"

Many who support Obamacare think socialized medicine is a right.

I tuned in to a national television show to see how she would defend her silly dribble, not surprisingly she was a no show!

My short answer to her and my opponent this week: "What a load of crap!I don't believe anything tangible can be a right." And neither should you!

Healthcare is a tangible item, like a house, a car or a wide screen TV.

Just to clear up any doubt: You are invited to read my cliff notes on the Constitution below but it would be better if you took the time to read them in their entirety.

It had been awhile since I read the Bill of Rights, I had forgotten how rich with human spirit they are!

To continue reading, please click here…

Another Obama Outrage: Why Did Billionaire Penny Pritzker Get a Free Pass?

by

On Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Chicago billionaire Penny Pritzker as Commerce Secretary in a baffling 97-1 sweep.

Why was she so easily confirmed?

Read on…and we'd love to hear your comments below.

Pritzker is a longtime friend of President Obama and steered his record-setting fundraising committee in 2008.

The Hyatt Hotel heiress and businesswoman is one of the wealthiest members of a presidential cabinet in history. She's part of the Washington elite, who live by their own rules, and taxpayers end up paying for their mistakes.

These 4 examples of our new Commerce Secretary's bad track record speak for themselves:

The Benefits of Investing in Master Limited Partnerships

by

Income-oriented investors looking for an alternative to dividend stocks and bonds have a great solution: investing in master limited partnerships. You see, MLPs combine the tax benefits of a traditional limited partnership with the liquidity of a publicly traded company. MLPs have a partnership structure, but they issue units that trade on an exchange like […]

Read More…

What's Really reducing Carbon Emissions in America? (Hint: It's Not Obama)

by

President Obama this week declared war on coal when he announced that he'll sidestep Congress and address the "manufactured" climate change crisis through regulatory fiat. He wants to establish himself as the eco-warrior to appease his left-wing environmental base.

His global warming crusade will cost the U.S. thousands of jobs and impose higher electricity bills across the land. All in the name of pandering to junk climate science.

Obama also sent the decision to build the Keystone Pipeline back to the State Department for yet another round of assessments. He ordered State Department not to approve the pipeline, which transmits Canadian Oil Sands to U.S. refineries, if it adds to net carbon emissions.

While the President is currently writing new rules that will make it harder for existing coal-fired power plants to operate, adding significant costs and effectively destroying tens of thousands of jobs in the coal sector and its supply chains, these plans are being sold as effective government action to address rising carbon emissions in the United States.

To continue reading, please click here…

Natural Gas Stocks are About to Reprise an All-Star Performance

by

Everyone likes a good comeback story where large obstacles are overcome on the way to a favorable outcome.

And we're about to see one in the investment world…

The shale gas boom seemed to be a disaster for the natural gas industry as the price of natural gas plummeted over a five-tear period to reach a multi-year low below $2 per million BTU in April 2012.