Winners and Losers Emerge for Renewable Energy in 2012
Source: Platts  (12/27/11)
"Wind turbine makers, solar panel manufacturers, biomass pellet producers and other supply-chain companies, along with project developers, have shared in the good times, with plenty of prosperity to go around."
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Investment Forecast: Why 2012 Will Be the Year of the 'Micro Boom'
Source: William Patalon III, Money Morning  (12/27/11)
"These little-known profit machines will separate the winners from the losers in the New Year. The 'Bakken Boom' is unfolding in North Dakota, and profit-seekers are pursuing shale oil." More >

The Aristocrats! MLP Edition
Source: Hinds Howard, MLP HINDSight  (12/27/11)
"What would a list of MLP distribution aristocrats look like, and how would it have performed?" More >

How to Invest in Graphite and the Future of Graphene
Source: Jason Hamlin, GoldStockBull Investment Strategies  (12/26/11)
"High-purity large-flake graphite is essential for the production of the lithium-ion batteries, where demand is growing rapidly due to the evolution of electric cars." More >

Mining Boom in Quebec: Alain-Jean Beauregard
Source: Brian Sylvester of The Gold Report  (12/23/11)
While many jurisdictions are working hard to prevent mining or mineral exploration, the province of Quebec is encouraging it. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Alain-Jean Beauregard, founder of Geologica Inc., a geological consulting firm based in Val-d'Or, talks about the shining future of gold mining in Quebec. More >

Christmas Week Rally Spied in Gold as ECB Member Sees No Reason Not to Use QE
Source: Adrian Ash, Bullion Vault  (12/23/11)
"'We still stress the vulnerability of precious metals to a tightening of Eurozone money market liquidity,' says Standard Bank's London team, 'which might result from the region's sovereign debt problems.'" More >

Riders on the Gold and Silver Storm
Source: Jeb Handwerger, Gold Stock Trades  (12/23/11)
"Those of us who are buyers and believers in the long-term continuing secular rise in resource equities are going through a time of testing." More >

Canadian Juniors Are Playing For Results
Source: Rick Mills, Ahead of the Herd  (12/23/11)
"Juniors, not majors, own the world's future mines and juniors are the ones most adept at finding these future mines. They already own what the world's larger mining companies need to replace reserves and grow their asset bases." More >

DOE Report Finds Five Clean-Energy Related REEs at Risk in Short Term
Source: Dorothy Kosich, Mineweb  (12/23/11)
"The substantial capex required for the development of a rare earths mine, compounded by major miners' lack of interest in mining rare earths, may spell trouble in meeting future demand." More >

China Announces Discovery of Massive Coal Deposit
Source: Shivom Seth, Mineweb  (12/23/11)
"The discovery of a massive new coal reserve in Xinjiang Uygur is hoped will help meet China's coal requirements, which are set to grow to 1 gigaton during the 12th five-year plan." More >

MLP Performance Review: Is It Safe?
Source: Hinds Howard, MLP HINDSight  (12/23/11)
"The MLP index is on track to post a 2011 price change of around 5% and a total return of more than 10%. It will mark another year of MLPs outperforming the S&P 500." More >

2012: The Dow's Annus Horribilis and Gold
Source: Hubert Moolman  (12/23/11)
"The Dow's inflated value, relative to the value of gold, was brought about by this debt-based monetary system." More >

Why Gold, Why Now!
Source: Giuseppe L. Borrelli  (12/23/11)
"In spite of the momentary flashes of economic growth, the world economy continues to decline as deflationary pressures gradually increase. This is one of the reasons gold has floundered of late; that combined with the fact that it had rallied close to 50% by the time it reached the September high." More >

Hints on Due Diligence in Rare Earth Mining
Source: Anthony Alfidi, Resource Investor  (12/23/11)
"Professional investors prefer projects whose production costs are in the bottom quartile of their peer group. The problem with rare earths is that there are too few operating mines worldwide to construct statistically valid cost curves, so other factors must be considered." More >

Year in Review: Long-Term Uranium Stock Prospects Trend Higher
Source: The Energy Report Editors  (12/22/11)
At the beginning of 2011, analysts everywhere championed a "renaissance" of nuclear power. The Japanese tsunami and subsequent Fukishima nuclear accident in March challenged market sentiment; spot prices and stocks alike suffered setbacks. The Energy Report has been there for the entire wild ride, interviewing industry experts, sharing sector news and scouting out the best companies for any market. Read on for a retrospective of expert commentary on this still-promising sector. More >

Why We Remain Bullish on Small Mining Shares
Source: Gene Arensberg, Resource Investor  (12/22/11)
"'The little guys' have had little to be joyous about in 2011. That, of course, is definitely a reason for vulture speculators like me to be filled with jollity." More >

The Currency of the Elite in the Great Financial Crisis
Source: Lawrence Williams, Mineweb  (12/22/11)
"'Elements of inflation, reduced living standards and totalitarianism are already present to a greater or lesser extent,' says Paul Mylchreest in his Thunder Road December report." More >

Silver Investors Prefer to Wait It Out
Source: Shivom Seth, Mineweb   (12/22/11)
"After hitting record highs in May this year, silver prices have since fallen significantly and a number of analysts remain fairly bearish." More >

Sprott's Call for Silver Producers to Hold Back Metal Strikes Chord
Source: JT Long of The Gold Report   (12/21/11)
On November 30, Eric Sprott, chairman of Sprott Inc. and one of the largest holders of physical silver and silver equities globally, issued a call to action to 17 of the world's largest silver producers to limit the sale of the metal until prices increase. In this Gold Report exclusive, we asked the activist investor and insiders what impact such a declaration could make in one of the most volatile subsets of the resource sector. More >

Gold Does Not Offer Comfort in Liquidity Crunch
Source: Ben Traynor, BullionVault  (12/21/11)
"Despite rallying for most of this week (until the ECB announcement), the dollar price of gold bullion remains 5.6% down on the start of last week. Gold gives you comfort against currency risks, inflation, sovereign debt problems, but not against a liquidity crunch." More >

Imitating Big Money Could Hurt You
Source: Kalyan Nandy, Zacks Investment Research  (12/21/11)
"Institutional buying can boost stocks to record peaks, meaning entry prices may not be attractive. Furthermore, institutions may book profits before you realize gains." More >

Investing vs. Speculating in Gold and Silver Stocks
Source: Jordan Roy-Byrne, The Daily Gold  (12/21/11)
"You cannot just sit in your juniors and think that they will be up 50-fold by the end of this bull market. After all, you should know by now that most juniors will fall and even fail in this historic bull market." More >

Forget WTI, Play Crude with This Oil ETF
Source: Zacks Investment Research  (12/21/11)
"This type of oil, which is usually extracted from the North Sea, generally trades at a discount to its WTI counterpart." More >

What Are ECB Actions and Utility Stocks Saying About Gold?
Source: Eric McWhinnie, Wall St. Cheat Sheet  (12/21/11)
"As the financial markets around the globe continue to deteriorate and send investors running toward defensive stocks, central banks around the world will face increasing pressure to offer even more quantitative easing. Such a move will add more fuel to gold's 11-year bull market." More >

Gold and Silver on the Verge of a Big Move
Source: Chris Vermeulen, TheGoldandOilGuy  (12/21/11)
"The question everyone keeps asking is: When can I buy gold and silver? With what is unfolding across the pond and the bullish outlook for the U.S. dollar index, the next move is a coin toss. I do feel a large move brewing in the marketplace, so I am preparing for fireworks in the first quarter of 2012." More >