Maybe you already are. Good for you. Most investors aren't. They're still waiting for the big pay off. The problem is that most of them don't understand that there are several ways to be rich. Here are three ways to get yours.

For most people it takes a long time to gather enough wealth to feel comfortable, a great way to define rich. It takes years of saving, investing, and sacrificing for future rewards. It's not easily done, but if done correctly, it will pay off.

Continue reading Comfort Zone Investing: Why Aren't You Rich?

Comfort Zone Investing: Why Aren't You Rich? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 09 Oct 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: A Jobs and Trade Deficit Victory (AIG, C, TEAR, SNV, CLNE)

Closing Bell: A Jobs and Trade Deficit Victory (AIG, C, TEAR, SNV, CLNE) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: When gold starts paying dividends (AIG, NTRI, MOS, TM, GDX)

Closing Bell: When gold starts paying dividends (AIG, NTRI, MOS, TM, GDX) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading T. Boone Pickens sees average oil price above $80 in 2010

T. Boone Pickens sees average oil price above $80 in 2010 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Under the radar: Study says U.S. natural gas reserves are 35% higher

Under the radar: Study says U.S. natural gas reserves are 35% higher originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading T. Boone Pickens still bullish on oil: Sees $200-300 oil in 10 years

T. Boone Pickens still bullish on oil: Sees $200-300 oil in 10 years originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This oil trade takes the cake.

At the zenith of the speculative bubble in the oil patch -- when crude hit $147 per barrel in July -- you had everyone from T. Boone Pickens to Prince Alaweed touting $200-per-barrel oil by the end of the year.

Crude is now trading around $40 -- down $107 per barrel in less than six months. Unbelievable!

And this latest drop comes after OPEC voted to cut daily production by an eye-popping 4.2 billion barrels per day.

Looks like the world is awash in crude oil.

Needless to say, those euphoric longs in the oil stocks got destroyed. Most energy stocks lost 50% to 70% of their value during the course of the sell-off in crude.

And remember those television commercials with T. Boone and Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) CEO Aubrey McClendon pushing for the expansion of natural gas?

Well, natural gas prices are down 60% from their mid-year highs.

If you put money into T. Boone's Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) as recently as September, when the stock was trading at $20, you now own Mr. Pickens' vision for $5.

Continue reading 2008 Trades Gone Bad #5: The peak oil trade

2008 Trades Gone Bad #5: The peak oil trade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a series featuring bargain stocks that are worth a look now. See more Cheap Stocks.

In addition to old standbys like consumer staples, utility stocks are a proven favorite during times when your portfolio needs a defensive touch. Among utilities, Virginia-based Dominion Resources (NYSE: D) stands out for its solid price action, its exposure to natural gas, and its heavy potential for future upgrades.

While natural gas might not seem terribly thrilling, many analysts expect it to be a hot commodity in the coming years. It's a plentiful resource in North America, and no less an energy tycoon than T. Boone Pickens is banking on a natural-gas boom. With 1.1 trillion cubic feet of oil and natural gas reserves, Dominion looks poised to capitalize on a shift toward this source of energy.

The utility firm already seems to be thriving, in fact. In its October 30 earnings report, the company exceeded analysts' profit expectations by 4 cents per share, and offered upbeat guidance for fiscal 2008 and 2009.

For value investors, though, the third-quarter report contained even more good news. Thomas Farrell II, Dominion's president, chairman, and CEO, stated, "Given its confidence in the strength of our company's earnings and business model, the board of directors recently declared our fourth-quarter dividend and reconfirmed our dividend policy to sustain increases in 2009 and 2010 that will allow us to reach our targeted 2010 payout ratio of 55%."

Continue reading Cheap Stocks: Dominion Resources

Cheap Stocks: Dominion Resources originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Should Congress invest $50 billion in T. Boone Pickens' Plan to expand wind power?

Should Congress invest $50 billion in T. Boone Pickens' Plan to expand wind power? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

T. Boone Pickens faces investor withdrawals originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With deregulation, globalization, and the emergence of junk bond financing, the 1980s turned into the era of dealmaking. It seemed like no company was immune from hostile takeovers. And, one of the key players in this era was George Keller, who died this week. He was 84 years old.

Of course, his marquee deal happened in 1984, when he was the chairman of Standard Oil Co. of California. At the time, rival Gulf Oil was involved in a nasty hostile takeover with T. Boone Pickens (who had the support of Mike Milken's junk bonds). Gulf thought such a deal would be harmful for the long-term and result in massive layoffs. So, why not find a white knight?

Enter Keller.

Basically, he saw an opportunity to boost Socal's reserves significantly. What's more, the price tag looked fairly good (when crunching the numbers): $13.3 billion. The end result was a company called Chevron (NYSE: CVX).

Yes, it was considered a staggering deal. But it was forward-looking. Since then the oil industry has undergone tremendous consolidation -- and the Gulf deal became a model on how to do it.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website.

George Keller: The innovator of the mega deal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 19 Oct 2008 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The large hedge fund run by Texas energy king T. Boone Pickens has lost $1 billion this year. He bet that oil would go up. Instead, it went down. That makes his push for wind power and the use of natural gas to run cars look a little silly.

According to The Wall Street Journal," the downturn in energy has blindsided the industry veteran, leaving one of his hedge funds that focuses on energy stocks down almost 30% through August." Pickens says that oil will move back up unless the global economy goes into a very deep recession.

The loss make Pickens look like a fool. He has been lobbying both in Congress and in public that high oil prices are killing the U.S. economy. The U.S., he says, needs to move its energy consumption to natural gas and wind energy. His big push is to cut America's dependence on foreign oil.

His plan relies on converting the auto industry's manufacturing process to one that builds cars that use natural gas. The industry is moving toward electric power. He also wants to set up windmill farms all over the U.S. How these will connect into the current electricity power grid still has to be worked out. In other words, it may not work at all.

If oil prices keep going down, oil may still be the least expensive way to power cars and industry. The huge cost of turning the nation's infrastructure to operating on other energy sources is simply too great. And Pickens is losing his credibility as an energy expert if he can't even forecast the price of crude.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

T. Boone Pickens loses $1 billion on wrong oil bet originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"We've looked at several ways to play anticipated growth in wind energy; we've also considered titanium makers for that industry's ties to the production of lightweight, modern aircraft," notes Bill Martin.

In his BullMarket.com, he explains, "While the two trends might not appear to have much in common at first glance, Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL) offers a way to play both the aircraft and wind markets.

"The connection is the lightweight, composite materials Hexcel makes that are used by producers in both sectors. Hexcel develops and manufactures advanced structural materials.

"It is the largest U.S. producer of carbon fiber; the world's largest weaver of reinforcement fabrics; and the number-one producer of composite materials.

"Its product was initially developed for the aerospace industry, but is now used in a wide range of applications -- from golf clubs to satellite arrays, and from the rotor blades of wind turbines to life-saving monocoques for Formula 1 race cars.

"It's been a rollercoaster ride for Hexcel's stock in the past 12 months. The shares hit their one-year peak of $27.19 in December 2007; by January 22nd they had plummeted to $17.. The shares rebounded through May, only to fade again. Year to date, HXL is off about 15%.

Continue reading Hexcel (HXL): Composite gains?

Hexcel (HXL): Composite gains? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

T. Boone Pickens does not care if the price of oil is falling. His opinion is that most of the drop is over and that his plan for wind energy is still viable and necessary for future U.S. independence from crude imports.

Pickens could not be described as faint-hearted. Rumors are that his $7 billion BP Capital hedge fund took a 35% haircut in July by betting the wrong way on oil and gas. It is a paper loss, but must sting nonetheless.

Some argue that Pickens is old and monumentally rich so gambles on wind and oil don't mean much for his own fortune. That could indicate that his conviction about wind-powered energy is not based on greed. Since he has spent his life aggressively accumulating wealth, that is not likely.

What is likely is that he thinks oil prices may stay very high and that his alternative energy will do remarkably well because it is infinitely renewable. If so, it is too bad his hedge fund cannot invest a few billions into wind technology. He can't afford another 35% loss. At some point his convictions may put him in the poor house. At least as it would be viewed by a billionaire.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com

Pickens sticks with alternative energy plan despite headwinds originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Pickens Plan: One piece in U.S. transportation energy puzzle

Pickens Plan: One piece in U.S. transportation energy puzzle originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Book review: Joe Nocera's Good Guys & Bad Guys originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yahoo deserves every shareholder lawsuit it gets originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday was a tough day in the markets, with the Dow falling 199 points. But, if you follow some of the legends of finance - such as Carl Icahn, T. Boone Pickens and The Blackstone Group's (NYSE: BX) Steven Schwarzman - you will notice that they are getting aggressive.

Keep in mind that these guys have been through multiple market cycles. And, if history is any worthy benchmark, it's during times of instability where the big money is made.

Pickens is focusing on the energy industry. He sees major demand/supply imbalances and is buying various stocks. He is also interested in natural gas and alternative fuels.

As for Icahn, he's doing what he does best - shareholder activism. He senses when companies are vulnerable and seems to relish an attack on corporate managements and boards. Of course, he's gearing up for a fight with Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO). Interestingly enough, he persuaded Pickens to buy 10 million shares.

And, with Schwarzman, he's buying up the bank debt of companies that went private. Because Blackstone sees many deals, it has an extensive database of opportunities.

In other words, the legends of finance are confident in the long-term. They are making some big bets -- based on lots of experience and due diligence -- and not listening to the short-term noise. All in all, these are some valuable lessons for investors.

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.

Icahn, Pickens & Schwarzman: Time to listen to the pros originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 May 2008 10:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Barnes & Noble Inc (NYSE: BKS) is considering a bid for rival bookseller Borders Group Inc (NYSE: BGP), the Wall Street Journal reported, a move which would allow Barnes & Noble to improve profits and reduce costs. Antitrust issues could prevent a deal.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that Carl Icahn's effort to remove Yahoo! Inc's (NASDAQ: YHOO) board has picked up new supporters, including T. Boone Pickens, who acquired a 0.75% stake. Some Yahoo shareholders believe it is still too early to predict whether Icahn will be able to carry July 3's shareholder vote.
• A Financial Times investigation discovered that Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO) incorrectly awarded top ratings to billions of dollars to debt products due to an error in its computer models. Moody's said it is in the process of "conducting a thorough review" of the rating of the constant proportion debt obligations, which should have been up to four notches lower.

• According to the people briefed on the matter, the New York Times reported that the buyout of Penn National Gaming Inc (NASDAQ: PENN) by Fortress Investment Group (FIG) and Centerbridge Parters may involve revised terms. The sources said the negotiations may "delay or even imperil" the deal.

Newspaper wrap-up: Barnes & Noble may bid for Borders originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 May 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Oil crosses $129; Pickens says oil may hit $150 on falling supplies

Oil crosses $129; Pickens says oil may hit $150 on falling supplies originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 May 2008 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.