"I'm adding Bucyrus International (NSDQ: BUCY) -- a maker of mining equipment -- to our 'Wildcatters Portfolio' as a play on coal," says Elliott Gue.

In his The Energy Strategist, the advisor explains, "With commodity prices recovering and Chinese demand for coal picking up once again, Bucyrus has likely seen the trough in its new equipment business."

"Bucyrus' top end-market is coal, which accounts for more than three-quarters of the firm's business. Coal mining equipment includes draglines, a sort of giant scoop used to scrape away the overburden (rocks and dirt) that covers coal.

Continue reading Bucyrus (BUCY): Mining for value in coal sector

Bucyrus (BUCY): Mining for value in coal sector originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ: SSRI) has set a new standard for silver resources; simply put, its boasts the largest published in-ground silver resource of any publicly-traded silver company," says mining stock specialist Brien Lundin.

In The Gold Newsetter he adds, "We were fortunate over the years that the great idea behind this company was combined with a great management team, as CEO Bob Quartermain is among the best in the business."

"Silver Standard has 1.127 billion ounces in measured and indicated resources, plus another 195 million ounces in proven and probable reserves, and another 456 million ounces in inferred resources.

"Its resources come from a portfolio of properties spanning the globe from Argentina, Peru, and Mexico, to Canada, Chile, the US and Australia. Now the companyis making the transition to production with aggressive development programs on five core properties.

Continue reading Silver Standard (SSRI) sets the standard in silver mining

Silver Standard (SSRI) sets the standard in silver mining originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"When most people think of Africa, images of business and commerce don't usually spring to mind -- more like wildlife, safaris and famine," suggests Nathan Slaughter.

In The ETF Authority, he explains, "But those perceptions are beginning to change as these countries continue to industrialize. And at the vanguard of this transformation is South Africa." Here, he looks at the iShares MSCI South Africa ETF (NYSE: EZA).

Slaughter explains, "Once a backwater country shunned by most of the international community, South Africa has made great strides over the past decade and continues to evolve. Fifteen years ago the government began an aggressive overhaul of South Africa's economy.

Continue reading Out of Africa: ETF expert eyes South Africa

Out of Africa: ETF expert eyes South Africa originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Gold has yet to take off in true bull market fashion, but its chart suggests that it's coming," says Mary Anne and Pamela Aden.

In their top-notch The Aden Forecast, the resource experts discuss the outlook for gold as well as some of their favorite mining stocks for investors to consider.

"Considering that the Summer months tend to be slow months, we could still see some short-term weakness.

"More important, however, is the bigger picture as gold is poised to rise during the second half of the year." Here, they discuss their outlook and some favorite ming stocks.

Continue reading The Aden sisters: Resource experts on gold

The Aden sisters: Resource experts on gold originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Resource-rich, politically stable and increasingly prosperous, Chile is an attractive play on commodities and growing wealth in emerging markets," explains Mark Salzinger, editor of The Investor's ETF Report.

Chile is also a favorite investment position of Nicholas Vardy, editor of The Global Bull Market Alert, who notes, "Thanks to its fiscal prudence, its lack of a domestic housing bubble, and its sizeable wealth reserves, Chile has weathered the current global economic meltdown better than most countries."

Here, the two advisors assess the longer-term opportunity in iShares MSCI Chile (NYSE: ECH), an exchange-traded fund.

Continue reading Hot prospects for Chile (ECH)

Hot prospects for Chile (ECH) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 May 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a special report, A Dozen Ways to Play an Obama Building Boom.

Two advisors that specializes in income investing -- Mark Skousen and Nick Lanyi -- both turn to high-yielder, Southern Peru Copper (NYSE: PCU) as a contrarian play on building and infrastructure growth ahead.

Skousen, in his High Income Alert, he says, "Make no mistake, this is a contrarian play. But if you believe in buying straw hats in winter, PCU is an exceptional value at these levels."

"More than 2.9 billion pounds of copper are used in construction every year, primarily in plumbing and wiring, while electronic products use more than 1.9 billion pounds a year.

"Transportation equipment -- including cars, trains, planes and submarines -- uses more than 1 billion pounds a year.

"The manufacture of industrial equipment requires another 1 billion pounds annually. And consumer and general products, from cookware to church bells to pennies, require another 800 million pounds.

"Southern Peru operates the world's largest copper mine high in the Andes mountains, producing more than 800 million pounds of copper a year.

"Of course, the commodity bull market that was running at a full gallop in the first half of this year has stopped dead in its tracks. Copper prices are no exception. When building and manufacturing slow, so does the demand for the red metal.

Continue reading Southern Peru (PCU): Two income experts build gains in copper

Southern Peru (PCU): Two income experts build gains in copper originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 10:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"I think they will rush to commodity-based assets because of the serious underinvestment phase the commodity sector is involved in now. This will lead to shortages and very high prices down the road in all commodities.

"Once the dollar begins to roll over, gold will be an instant benefactor. It is already looking stronger in my technical work, and it is time that investors should have gold in their portfolios. I still recommend that you put new money into the major gold miners only.

"We are approaching an interesting seasonal period for gold. Years ago, the Stock Trader's Almanac used to specify a seasonal trade in gold.

"Their study showed that if you bought ASA Ltd. (NYSE: ASA) at its low in November and sold it at its high in the first quarter of the next year, you would have averaged a gain of 87.8%.

Continue reading Thanksgiving pattern: A seasonal low for gold?

Thanksgiving pattern: A seasonal low for gold? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Seattle-based Plum Creek Timber (NYSE: PCL), the nation's largest private landowner with more than eight million acres, has caught our eye," says Bill Martin.

In his BullMarket.com advisory, he explains, "Earnings have been stunted in recent quarters by the housing slump, but the company sports a strong balance sheet and an asset base that thanks to nature only gets larger and more valuable as time goes by."

"Plum Creek, which operates as a real estate investment trust, reported surprisingly solid Q3 profit. It posted net income of $69 million, or 40 cents per share, for the quarter ended September 30th, compared with a profit of $59 million, or 34 cents per share, for the same period a year ago.

"In the 2007 quarter, fire losses in Montana forced the company to report a $4 million non-cash expense, or two cents per share, related to fire losses experienced in Montana.

"The company's EPS results topped the expectations of Wall Street analysts by a penny a share. Revenue grew to $414 million, up 2% from $407 million last year. The sales results were a bit short of the consensus of $419.8 million.

Continue reading 'Growing' assets: Plum Creek Timber (PCL)

'Growing' assets: Plum Creek Timber (PCL) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Crude oil remains deeply oversold on an intermediate-term basis, suggesting a rally sometime in the early fall," says Dennis Slothower.

The editor of Stealth Stocks looks to Petroleo Brasileiro SA (NYSE: PBR) as his latest "stock of the month." Here's his review of the Brazilian firm that is now the world's 8th-largest oil company.

"The founding of Petrobras was authorized in October 1953, with the objective of executing, on behalf of the federal government, the activities of the oil sector in Brazil.

"Over the past five decades or so, the company has become the country's leader in the distribution of oil products, an activity not covered by the government monopoly, and today it is internationally acknowledged as the eighth-largest oil company in the world.

"Leading the sector in the development of one of the most advanced deepwater and ultra-deepwater technologies for oil production, PBR was twice (in 1992 and 2001) awarded the Offshore Technology Company (OTC) prize, the most important award in the sector.

Continue reading Brazilian drilling with Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR)

Brazilian drilling with Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"People want to own more gold when there's a perception of growing global economic and political turmoil," explain resource experts Roger Conrad and Yiannis Mostrous.

In their Vital Resource Investor, the advisor offer their long-term bullish assessment for gold as well their favorite gold mining stock: "Goldcorp (NYSE: GG).

"Every commodity bull market eventually ends when consumers permanently reduce demand with conservation and switch to alternatives, and the producers ultimately over-expand. This, however, only happens over a period of many years.

"To be sure, we've seen demand in the US drop for many vital resources, from copper to energy, as the economy has slowed. Demand from developing nations, however, remains entrenched by necessity, as these suddenly more affluent nations struggle to upgrade their vital infrastructure.

"And although we may see Chinese economic growth slow from its current off-the-chart 10% rate, that country will still face critical needs to build out its cities to meet the millions of new migrants that come every year. And that's a huge call on raw materials.

Continue reading GoldCorp (GG): 'Our favorite major'

GoldCorp (GG): 'Our favorite major' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Rio de Janiero-based Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR) is in the heart of the global growth story," says Daniel Frishberg, BizRadio host and editor of The MoneyMan Market Newsletter.

"In general, investors are still seeing selloffs as buying opportunities even though the majority of stocks are in a bear market. We are not sure how long this can continue.

"Our 'Crazy Investor Index' does not yet show the type of extreme fear that is typical at a bottom, so it will probably mill around in short-term rallies and selloffs until something motivates them to panic simultaneously.

"In the meantime, we prefer to buy excellent companies just as the herd decides to stampede. And while our portfolio is now slightly net short we are adding one new long position: Petroleo Brasileiro S.A., often referred to as Petrobras.

Continue reading Petrobras (PBR): At the 'heart of the global growth story'

Petrobras (PBR): At the 'heart of the global growth story' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Leading advisor Jack Adamo, editor of Insiders Plus, reports that a Goldman Sachs analyst has chosen one of the stocks on his newsletter's buy list -- ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) -- as his top pick in the energy sector.

"There was an extremely interesting piece recently in Barron's by the oil analyst at Goldman Sachs who predicted $100 oil back in late 2004. We'd been buying energy stocks for almost a year at that point, but, although I expected oil prices to rise, I had no idea they'd go this high.

"In any case, the analyst, whose name is Arjun Murti, said he expects oil to reach $150 to $200 sometime within the next 24 months. The low end of that range is only a Middle East incident away, but the high end still seems like a reach, especially given weakening economic conditions.

Continue reading Goldman Sachs analyst bets on ConocoPhillips (COP)

Goldman Sachs analyst bets on ConocoPhillips (COP) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Recent weakness in commodities is just a pause to breathe , not the beginning of the end," says Yiannis Mostrous in Vital Resource Investor. His favorite copper play? Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX).

"Most investors aren't able to grasp this commodities cycle's massive potential. The main reason is that few investors are willing to accept the big transformation that's taking place in several emerging market economies, led by China and India.

"We've been advocating this change for quite some time. And after several years of doing so, investors are more receptive. However, they're not totally convinced yet.

"This is the main reason this bull market in emerging markets and commodities has another strong leg up before it reaches all-time highs. But we're far from that point. Meanwhile, copper remains one of our favorite metals.

"Our long-standing recommendation to take advantage of copper's strength is Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold. Copper suffered from supply challenges along with investors' underestimation of its potential early in the year.

Continue reading Freeport McMoRan (FCX): Top play in copper

Freeport McMoRan (FCX): Top play in copper originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"One of my favorite indicators for the energy markets is the quarterly conference calls and earnings releases from Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB)," says energy sector expert Elliott Gue.

In his The Energy Strategist, he explains, "In this quarter's call, Schlumberger's management team was notably upbeat, the most positive on industry growth expectations in more than a year. This is a key shift in sentiment that has broader implications for the energy patch at large."

"Schlumberger's reports and conference calls have proved extraordinarily useful in the past for determining the most profitable trends and investment themes. The reason for that is simple: Schlumberger is the largest oilfield services company and has its hand in just about every imaginable market all over the world.

"In addition, the company has traditionally offered long, detailed conference calls; CEO Andrew Gould often relates far more than the outlook for Schlumberger and offers considerable color and detail concerning trends for the industry in general.

"This quarter's conference call was no exception. Schlumberger's outlook this quarter was far more upbeat than in its third and fourth quarter 2007 earnings calls.

Continue reading Schlumberger (SLB): A 'deepwater' buy

Schlumberger (SLB): A 'deepwater' buy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 May 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"You must own some gold in this economic environment," emphasizes natural resources authority Larry Edelson who sees the recent setback in gold prices as "an ideal time to buy."

The editor of Real Wealth offers two "core" favorites for those seeking to invest in the sector: streetTRACKS Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD) and Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY). Here is his review.

"Gold represents the epitome of the natural resource boom. It is the world's best barometer of inflation and financial crises. When inflation is on the rise, as it is now all over the world, gold thrives.

"And when there are financial crises, as we now have with the plunging dollar and the meltdown in the mortgage markets in the U.S. - gold gets an extra boost. Savvy investors flock to the safety of the precious metal, pushing its price even higher.

"In addition, there's more to the bull market in gold than just inflation and financial problems in the United States. Three billion new consumers in Asia are buying gold hand over fist! Previously in China, investors were not allowed to own gold. Now they can, and they are buying up gold like crazy.

Continue reading Pullback creates 'ideal opportunity' in gold

Pullback creates 'ideal opportunity' in gold originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"A once in a lifetime super bull market in commodities is underway," note resource experts Mary Anne and Pamela Aden. Here, the advisors look at some favorite commodity stocks in their The Aden Forecast.

"Commodities are in a mega super rise is because of the dramatic changes in the global economy. The rise that started in commodities in 2001 has continued to expand over the years and we believe the upmove is just warming up and it has years to run.

"There are several reasons for this. The weakening dollar and low interest rates have certainly helped push up the whole sector while investment demand grew as an inflation hedge. But the key reason why the commodities are in a mega super rise is because of the dramatic changes in the global economy.

Continue reading Resource favorites from the Aden sisters

Resource favorites from the Aden sisters originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.

"My top conservative play for 2008 is a repeat of my top pick from last year, StreetTracks Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD)," says Mark Leibovit, editor of VRYTrader and last year's #1 rated market timer by Timer Digest.

"StreetTracks Gold seeks to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion, less the trust's expenses. The trust holds gold, and is expected to issue baskets in exchange for deposits of gold, and to distribute gold in connection with redemption of baskets.

"The gold held by the trust will only be sold on an as-needed basis to pay trust expenses, in the event the trust terminates and liquidates its assets, or as otherwise required by law or regulation. The trust is not managed like an active investment vehicle, and it's not registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

Continue reading Best Stocks for 2008: Top timer goes for StreetTracks Gold Trust (GLD)

Best Stocks for 2008: Top timer goes for StreetTracks Gold Trust (GLD) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.