Archives for August 2013

August 2013 - Page 10 of 14 - Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From

How to Invest in the Global Race to Export LNG

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As Money Morning Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors told us yesterday, the United States on Aug. 7 finally approved its third application to export LNG (liquefied natural gas).

The delays in the U.S. LNG export approval process have been frustrating an industry that's ready to capitalize on the price differences between North American and Asian natural gas prices. Asia LNG sells for about $16 per million BTU versus less than $4 per million BTU in the United States.

While the U.S. Department of Energy streamlines this lengthy approval process, our neighbor to the north is also using its abundance of shale gas to race into LNG exports.

You see, Canada has a lot of natural gas.

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The Best New Companies In a White-Hot Sector

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Each of the companies you'll see today is just a few weeks old. That's why you need to know about them right now.

You see, the market for all biotech shares is heating up.

IPO action is proof of the big bucks coming into biotech, igniting a strong rally in the entire sector for the rest of the year. So far this year, we've seen the most biotech IPOs in 13 years.

And the gains are beginning to add up…

The best-performing stock in this space, as you're about to see, is up 130% in little more than a month. And three other brand-new firms are roaring.

But there's a better way to make money here…

Biotech IPOs are Soaring in Only a Matter of Days

I'm astounded by the success of biotech IPOs that have been rolling into the markets in recent weeks. These companies are teaming up with bigger pharma companies, which guarantees the capital and distribution heft for their new innovative drugs.

How SEC "Revolving Doors" Protect Wall Street's Fraudsters

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A funny thing happened on Robert Khuzami's way to a $5 million-a-year job.

By funny I mean sickening; by sickening I mean a travesty of a mockery of a sham; by a travesty of a mockery of a sham I mean how the operatives at the SEC sometimes operate.

Robert Khuzami, the recent former head of enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission, just signed with powerhouse law firm Kirkland & Ellis, one of the nation's biggest corporate firms, for a deal that guarantees him $5 million a year for at least the next two years.

After that, who knows? He might work his way up to join the top slot prestidigitators, I mean professionals, at the firm, who are paid about $8 million a year.

Why Millions of Americans are Still "Trapped" in Their Homes

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For millions of Americans who were underwater on their mortgages, the tide is finally receding.

That's good news for the housing market, of course, and for the U.S. economy as a whole, as housing is a major engine of the economy.

Housing not only generates construction jobs, one of the hottest job sectors in the country right now, it also sparks spending on home furnishings and appliances. And as home prices increase, people feel more wealthy and tend to spend more.

The number of homeowners underwater – those who owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth – dropped in the first quarter to 25.4% percent of all mortgages, or 13 million homeowners, from 31.4 % a year earlier, real estate researcher Zillow reports.

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The "Part Time-ification" of America: How We've Been Conned Again

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By now, you've had a few days to digest the "wonderful" jobs numbers reported from Washington last Friday.

Well, don't get too excited about the economy. We've been conned again.

First off, 59% of all jobs created this year are in 3 sectors: Leisure/Hospitality, Retail Trade and Administrative/Waste Services. Wages in those sectors have fallen by 0.7%. These jobs pay an average of $15.80 per hour versus the $23.98 average hourly wage. Which means "jobs creation" just equals cheaper labor.

The American jobs participation rate is at 34-year lows and falling, as people give up and leave the workforce.

Underemployment is between 14% and 15% and rising.

Is the U.S. Oil Boom Out of Balance?

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It's boom time in Texas. From the Eagle Ford shale to the Permian Basin, it's practically raining money.

Now you would think that would be a positive for the local economies. But as this boom unfolds, it is not without its own share of problems.

Intellectual Property: How to Invest in America's Strongest Game

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It's hard to overstate the importance of intellectual property, the creative side of industry, to the United States economy – especially in an era when there is a (mistaken) perception that the United States can no longer compete.

It's a complex, interwoven subset of the economy, and it consists of more than just royalties for music and television – although that's part of it. Software, hardware, entertainment, medicine, science, technology – all of these generate immense quantities of intellectual property revenue.

A Hugely Important Segment

You must consider that…

…More than 50% of the world's total intellectual property revenue flows directly into the United States. …Intellectual property rights touch nearly every facet of our immense economy.

…Employment, either direct or indirect, in 313 IP-intensive industries account for some 40 million jobs, nearly 28% of all jobs in our economy.

…And those are good jobs; they pay on average 42% more than non-IP-intensive work.

…IP-intensive industries add $5.06 trillion in value, nearly 35% of the United States' GDP in 2010.

…Nearly 61% of American exports, $775 billion, come from IP-intensive industries.

The figures, from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, more or less speak for themselves.

They point to the United States as possibly the most creative and innovative society on Earth. Even as the overall economy wheezes along, intellectual property continues to grow, playing an ever more vital role.

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Buy, Sell or Hold: SAIC's Two-for-One Sale

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SAIC, Inc. (NYSE:SAI), the 7th largest government contractor, primarily provides both national and cyber security to the federal government. The company also implements and runs complex software and technological solutions for the health care and energy industries.

SAIC has a market capitalization of over $5 billion and has more than 38,000 employees. Its clientele includes the Department of Defense, Homeland Security and rest of the intelligence community.

These previously free-spending customers are under pressure to lower expenditures due to issues surrounding budget sequestration. But, even with the sequestration issue at the forefront, SAIC is managing to thrive.

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The IPO Market Is Back Big-Time

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As we move deeper into the second half of the year, we're seeing a robust IPO market that has been able to shake off 2012's Facebook IPO shame.

So far this year there have been 116 debut offerings, the strongest pace since 2007.

As Money Morning Executive Editor Bill Patalon explained earlier this week in his Private Briefing investment service column, the IPO market in 2013 is "white hot."

From Bill's analysis: The market has locked and loaded on about $4 billion in U.S. IPOs so far this year, Bloomberg News reports. At that pace, companies "going public" would raise the most this year since at least 1999, the financial news service says.

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