Natural gas – and the rapidly-developing sector of shale gas – will likely play a larger role in the U.S.'s future energy needs, which is why I'm reiterating my buy rating for Enterprise Products Partners (EPD), first recommended on April 29, 2009 at a price of $24.24.

Enterprise Products Partners is an integrated provider of natural gas pipeline and processing services and natural gas liquids, fractionation, storage, transportation and terminal services. EPD also is a major developer of midstream infrastructure in the deepwater of the Gulf of Mexico.

The plunge in natural gas prices has hurt natural gas and related energy support plays, but just look on that as a buy opportunity, given natural gas's likely large role in the U.S.'s energy future.

Hence, I'm Reiterating my Buy rating for Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD), first recommended on April 29, 2009 at a price of $24.24.

Dan Duncan, who is a billionaire, understands the importance of patience (especially in creating lots of wealth). An example of this is his latest deal; that is, his company, Enterprise Products Partners LP (NYSE: EPD), has been pursuing Teppco Partners LP (NYSE: TPP) since March. At that time, Duncan offered about $2.8 billion for the company. And yes, according to the senior management at Teppco, it was too low.

Well, after some wrangling, there is now a deal. Of course, the price tag is higher -- at $3.3 billion (it's a stock-for-stock swap).

It's an energy-intensive world, and even though the U.S. and global recessions have led to real declines in aggregate energy usage, don't look for that trend to continue. The energy infrastructure in the U.S. was barely adequate for the last economic expansion. The next one will require a substantially expanded and improved network, which is why it makes sense for moderate-risk investors to consider Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD).

Enterprise Products Partners is a provider of natural gas pipeline and processing services and natural gas liquids fractionation, storage, transportation and terminal services. EPD also is a major developer of midstream infrastructure in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico region.

This post is part of our feature on Money Losers of 2008. See all 20.

There's no doubt about it -- times are tough. People are struggling to find work and to pay the bills as the value of their homes and savings dwindle. The poor get poorer, and the rich get richer.

Or do they? It's all relative, of course, but world's billionaires have been taking some big hits too. We take a look at Sheldon Adelson, Kirk Kerkorian, and Lakshmi Mittal in their own separate posts, but here are some other billionaires who have lost billions this year (courtesy of Forbes and Business Sheet).

• Brothers Anil and Mukesh Ambani of India's private conglomerate Reliance lost $32.5 billion and $28.2 billion, respectively.
• Warren Buffett, the Sage of Omaha, lost $16.5 billion. Shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A) are down about 32% since the beginning of the year.
• Microsoft (NYSE: MSFT) founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen lost $12.3 billion and $2.6 billion, respectively, while CEO Steve Balmer lost $6.5 billion. Shares of Microsoft are down 46% since the beginning of the year.
• Larry Page and Sergey Brin, cofounders of Google Inc. (NYSE: GOOG), lost $11.9 billion and $11.7 billion, respectively, and CEO Eric Schmidt lost $3.8 billion. The share price of Google has fallen 55% since the beginning of the year.
• Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL), lost $8.2 billion. Shares of Oracle are down 21% since the beginning of the year.
• Media maven Sumner Redstone lost $7.2 billion. Shares of his private investment firm National Amusements fell 70% this year.

"In recoveries from panic selloffs in the past, the energy patch has tended to outperform the S&P 500," notes energy sector specialist Elliott Gue.

In his The Energy Strategist, the advisor offers his outlook for the sector as well as a package of five favorite energy-related stocks, including ideas in the drilling, infrastructure. oil services and exploration areas.

"This has undoubtedly been the most challenging and unsettled market in recent history for the stock, bond, currency and credit markets. Not surprisingly, the energy sector hasn't been immune to the selling pressure.

"However, I would note that the selloff in most energy stocks I cover has little or nothing to do with fundamentals and everything to do with market sentiment and a pervasive sense of panic.

"Institutions are dumping stocks to raise cash and the primary fear infecting the energy markets is that a dramatic global economic slowdown coupled with a seizing up of credit markets will destroy demand for energy commodities..

Robert Phillips is a veteran of the energy world. He was the CEO of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD), a major natural gas player. Before this, he was a chairman of GulfTerra and the CEO of Eastex Energy, Inc.

Now, Phillips has a new venture: Crestwood Midstream Partners LLC. In fact, he arranged a cool $500 million investment from the Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) and GSO Capital Partners, an affiliate of Blackstone.

Basically, Phillips will use his extensive background to build a pipeline operation through internal development and acquisitions (the entity got its start in November 2007, with the help of Kayne Anderson). And, of course, in light of the energy problems in the US, the timing looks spot-on.

With its strong backing, Phillips should have little trouble attracting top-notch talent. He has already hired Joel Moxley, who was senior vice president of gas processing at Crosstex Energy Services, L.P., and Brad Graves, who was the executive vice president of business development at Genesis Energy, L.P.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says lots of companies now thrive with crude up here.

Oil's not a tax on everything -- it's a tax on the consumer. That's what I come down to when I see the charts this weekend and ponder what's happening in so much of industrial America.

Company after company that I examine -- the new techs, as I call them -- actually benefit from higher oil prices. Or they can pass them on with ease, because of the worldwide demand being so strong.

Take all of the companies involved with making a Boeing (NYSE: BA) (Cramer's Take): Boeing itself, Alcoa (NYSE: AA) (Cramer's Take), Honeywell (NYSE: HON) (Cramer's Take) and Precision Castparts (NYSE: PCP) (Cramer's Take) being good examples. Each of these is necessary because the new Dreamliner burns lots less fuel, and with fuel the biggest airline cost, it stands to reason that higher energy prices make the plane more desirable even at a higher price point.

Or how about all of the companies involved with process and flow control and efficient motors: Parker-Hannifin (NYSE: PH) (Cramer's Take), Emerson (NYSE: EMR) (Cramer's Take), Eaton (NYSE: ETN) (Cramer's Take) and Flowserve (NYSE: FLS) (Cramer's Take). Those work higher with higher energy prices. CSX (NYSE: CSX) (Cramer's Take), Burlington Northern (NYSE: BNI) (Cramer's Take), Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) (Cramer's Take), Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) (Cramer's Take) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) (Cramer's Take) are smaller energy users than trucks, and they ship plenty of ethanol and fertilizer.

Readers of this space know that the preferred sectors include natural gas / oil services and infrastructure stocks, and when one can combine the two, well, it's like a double header at Yankee Stadium (or two chamber concerts at Lincoln Center). Enterprise Products Partners fits the aforementioned bill.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD), a publicly traded limited partnership, is an integrated provider of natural gas pipeline and processing services and natural gas liquids fractionation, storage, transportation and terminalling services.

Analysts expect record pipeline volumes to generate earnings growth for the next few years. Cash flow should be strong as well. Further, EPD has a stable of projects featuring likely high returns with low risk. In addition, Enterprise will continue to benefit from its fee-based assets, including its offshore pipeline infrastructure, such as its Gulf of Mexico assets.

Further, with size, economies of scale, and ample cash, EPD is better-positioned than many peers in that it can expand without acquisitions. The Reuters F2008/F2009 EPS consensus estimates for EPD are $1.43/$1.62.

The risks? A sustained U.S. economic slowdown would hurt EPD's results. Analysts are also keeping an eye on EPD's skilled labor costs.

The First Call mean rating for EPD is: Buy. [14 firms.] Mean 2008 target: $35. [high: $36, low: $35.]

Stock Analysis: Enterprise Products Partners is a moderate-risk stock not suitable for low-risk investors. Investors with an investment horizon longer than 2 years should be rewarded from EPD's shares. Sell / Stop Loss if you were to purchase shares in this company: $22.

Disclosure: Lazzaro has no positions in stocks. In addition to private real estate holdings, he owns corporate and municipal bonds, and cash certificates of deposit.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says they'll soon become much more important.

So far, dividends haven't done the job. Last night I recommended Weyerhaeuser (NYSE: WY) (Cramer's Take) because I liked the transaction they made with International Paper (NYSE: IP) (Cramer's Take) where they became much more of a pure timber play than before. They got rid of a commodity division with no growth for $6 billion, which they needed to pay down debt and fix up the balance sheet.

Once they did that this week, they became, in my eyes, the best play on a housing recovery with a great deal less risk because they pay almost a 4% dividend.

But I caveated the segment because I didn't want anyone to think that a 4% dividend would stop it from coming down. It didn't for AT&T (NYSE: T) (Cramer's Take) and it didn't for Verizon (NYSE: VZ) (Cramer's Take) -- those had to go to 5% to stop -- and it hasn't for BP (NYSE: BP) (Cramer's Take) which blitzed right through the 5% level to 5.5%. I know BP is challenged when it comes to management. I know that BP is in the ETFs that could force it, on short-selling alone, to go to $55 before someone would say, "An oil company yielding more than 6%, let me at it."

"I am adding Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD) to my 'Deep-Discount' portfolio," says Nathan Slaughter, editor of Half-Priced Stocks.

The advisor explains, "Enterprise is among the nation's largest pipeline operators, owning nearly 900 miles of crude oil pipelines and 33,000 miles of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL), and petrochemical pipelines." Here is his review.

"Following a series of acquisitions, Enterprise is now one of the nation's largest publicly-traded energy partnerships. As a master limited partnership (MLP), the company is generally exempt from federal income taxes, provided it distributes the lion's share of its cash flows to shareholders (technically referred to as unitholders.)

"This special status allows MLPs to shell out generous payments, although these distributions typically don't qualify for the reduced 15% dividend tax rate.

"As opposed to the 'upstream' business of exploration and production, Enterprise is a 'midstream' energy player -- a sector coveted for its steady cash generation potential. Much of Enterprise's diverse revenue stream comes from pipeline charges, which are influenced more by volume flow than by volatile commodity prices.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer highlights the latest example of how people were scared out of the market at exactly the wrong time so you won't get spooked next time.

When Sowood and the Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) (Cramer's Take) leveraged investment funds blew up this summer we were supposed to get ready for a wave of redemptions that would buckle the market.

"Just wait until October" became a familiar refrain as hedge funds were expected to get shelled, causing tons of stocks not to trade the way they should as unnatural margined selling took its toll.

But here we are in the first week of October and spreads for arbitrage, a pure tell for fund redemptions, are tightening, not loosening. The averages are at or are close to hitting new highs and we haven't heard of any funds about to go belly-up. The only ones that would fail, I believe, would be short funds.

I bring up this sore but positive topic because when things were really bad at the end of August yet redemptions hadn't overwhelmed the market, we figured it might just be a September phenomenon. Making things a little more likely, too, were the funds that were exposed to all of these exotic instruments based on mortgages.

So far it looks like the huge hedge fund redemptions and failures aren't going to happen, perhaps courtesy of the Fed's rate cuts that now do seem to have bailed out a lot of managers who have made wrong moves. That's the "moral hazard" that everyone was fretting about so much before the Fed acted.

But I think that instead, you should let this memory of "redemption worry" be a reminder of the phantoms that freak people out and make them leave the market at what now represents 1,000 points on the Dow.

Oddly, there are still some stocks that seem pressured down more by fear than by fundamentals. Genesis Lease (NYSE: GLS) (Cramer's Take) and Aircastle (NYSE: AYR) (Cramer's Take) both have terrific yields, a function of the decline in the stocks of aircraft lessors. Some of these are owned from hedge funds believed to be struggling. The other is Enterprise Product Partners (NYSE: EPD) (Cramer's Take), also with a good yield, that is in the energy transport business.

Neither industry is hurting but the stocks had some really weak hedge fund hands as shareholders.

These could be payoffs from the distressed period and redemption fears that drove them down.

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• What All Women Should Know About Retirement
• Top Rocket Stocks for the Week of Oct. 1

Jim Cramer is a director and co-founder of TheStreet.com. He contributes daily market commentary for TheStreet.com's sites and serves as an adviser to the company's CEO. At the time of publication, Cramer was long Citigroup.

Copano Energy (NASDAQ: CPNO) - Volatility Elevated into EPS & lower energy prices. CPNO is an energy company with natural gas gathering and intrastate transmission pipeline assets and natural gas processing facilities Oklahoma & Texas Gulf coast region. WTI Crude futures are down 3.56% to $72.79 according to Track Data. CPNO will announce EPS on 8/8. CPNO August option implied volatility of 41 is above its 12-week average of 20 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Enterprise Products (NYSE: EPD) - Implied volatility of 40 above 26-week average of 17. EPD transports natural gas, NGL's and crude oil through more than 35,000 miles of onshore and offshore pipelines. EPD September put implied volatility of 40 is above its 26-week average of 17 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP) - September volatility Elevated. KMP owns or operates 26,000 miles of pipelines and approximately 150 terminals. KMP September option implied volatility of 50 is above its 26-week average of 14 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Each year, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Stocks Report.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD), a master limited partnership (MLP), is the top conservative pick for 2007 from energy expert Elliott Gue, editor of The Energy Strategist.

"MLPs trade on the major exchanges just like any stock. But there are some big tax benefits to owning MLPs, offering a combination of high current income and the potential for that income to grow rapidly over time.

"Enterprise Products is the largest MLP in the U.S. Unlike most other big MLPs, Enterprise hasn't slowed its distribution growth substantially in recent years. In fact, the MLP has maintained an impressive 9%+ annualized growth rate in distributions during the past five years. .