May 24, 2013
As Sam Sees It: Investors Building Up an Appetite for Risk After Recent Run
 Each week, we tap the insight of Sam Stovall, Chief Equity Strategist for S&P Capital IQ, for his perspective on the current market. EQ: The market is currently experiencing a rotation as the appetite for risk is returning for investors. One of the ways we’re noticing that is the acceptance of more volatile stocks as evidenced by S&P’s High Beta and Low Volatility indices. What have you noticed there? Stovall: We know how well the Low Volatility group did in the first quarter. Including dividends, it was up 13.2 percent versus 9.2 percent for High Beta index. Yet, for the first 17 days of May, the High Beta group was up 9 percent while the Low Volatility group was up only 1.3 percent. So there was a definite rotation into the higher beta stocks, and I think that was primarily (more)…
Stocks Under $10: How Kinross Gold is Way Undervalued
 Kinross Gold (KGC) – ($5.68) has a Buy rating according to ValuEngine with fair value at $15.44, which makes the stock 63.2% undervalued. The one-year price target is $6.17. ValuEngine Profile – “Kinross Gold Corporation is a gold mining company. The Company’s mines are located in the regions of South America, North America, West Africa and Russia. Kinross Gold Corporation is based in Toronto, Canada.” Analysis – The daily chart for KGC shows rising momentum with the stock above its 21-day simple moving average at $6.46, but below its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages at $6.33 and $8.51. My weekly value level is $3.76 with a monthly risky level at $7.69. Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters Ticker Company Name Mkt Price Fair Value One-Year Price Target Last 12-Mon Retn (%) 5-Yr Avg Retn (%) P/E Ratio KGC KINROSS GOLD (more)…
Doug Casey’s Primer on Internationalization
 As many of you may know, International Man has its roots in the book of the same name. It was first published in 1978 by best-selling author, speculator, and renowned world-traveler Doug Casey. The original intent of that book was to give readers a general sense of the exciting and opportunity-rich world that lay outside of their national borders, with a review of over 100 countries, valuable “opportunity intelligence,” and the resources that anyone could follow to realize these opportunities. Even though the book is now clearly out of date, the need for information on internalization is more relevant than ever, as governments the world over become more desperate. The purpose of this website is to preserve the mission of that book and be the premier location for up-to-date, highly actionable, and practical information on the topic. So why is (more)…
May 23, 2013
Planning Ahead Trading Futures
 They say that the most important read for a comedian is timing. The comedy in trading is that the market typically delivers its own punch line at the expense of the trader’s timing. Twenty years of trading has proven one thing right over and over again; traders aren’t meant to get it right. The markets constantly change and a pattern that has been developing for months may be no good on the day the trader pulls the trigger. When the trader is right, they’re lucky to price either the entry or the exit well. Typically, there’s meat left on both sides of that bone. Therefore, the psychological positive reinforcement must come from the bottom line, rather than the lines on the charts. With this in mind, let’s look at some trading opportunities on the horizon and how to prepare for (more)…
The Cold, Hard Facts Behind Funding Your Retirement
 Many folks are afraid they simply won’t be able to retire – or stay retired – when and how they planned. We can talk about retiring later, taking a part-time job, and cutting back on expenses, but those are only partial solutions. Of the seniors who are still working, very few are earning as much as they did at their peak. Their life savings still needs to make up the difference. I receive a lot of letters from very concerned baby boomers and retirees who are watching their principal erode every year, but they don’t know what to do about it. Unfortunately, some have unrealistic expectations. I received a note from a woman in her early 70s who had fired her stockbroker (for good reason), and asked if there was a basket of mutual funds she could invest in that (more)…
The Resurgence of the Nuclear Reactor
 In August 1956, the Calder Hall Power Plant in Seascale, England began generating electricity and earned the distinction of being the world’s first commercial nuclear power plant. It was a humble beginning for nuclear power; the plant only had a 50-megawatt (MW) output capacity, whereas the smallest US plant today has a 478 MW capacity. Nonetheless, Calder Hall represented the launch of a new era in energy that promised to bring electricity too cheap to meter. But early on, the promising power source had its detractors. They objected to the high initial cost of constructing nuclear plants, the problems of radioactive waste disposal, and the risks of nuclear accidents and nuclear proliferation. The detractors had an impact. The heavy regulation they pushed for and the litigation they initiated extended construction times and drove up construction costs. But despite their efforts, (more)…
S&P Economic Update: Growing Pains
 In this segment, Standard & Poor’s Deputy Chief Economist Beth Ann Bovino discusses whether we have reached end of the housing recovery or if it is just a short intermission.
May 22, 2013
Stocks Under $10: Hercules Offshore
 Hercules Offshore (HERO) – ($7.79) has been upgraded to a Buy rating according to ValuEngine with fair value at $9.39, which makes the stock 17.1% undervalued. The one-year price target is $8.28. ValuEngine Profile – “Hercules Offshore is uniquely qualified to meet operators’ needs for exploration, workover and development drilling and liftboat services in shallow water depths in the Gulf of Mexico and international markets. It is dedicated to maintaining its fleets reliability and continually improving their performance. It conducts rigorous maintenance programs on all of the rigs and liftboats on a regular basis and invest in advanced equipment and safety upgrades. And it also offers a diversified fleet with a full range of vessel classes. To meet customers’ needs, vessels operate in various water depths and provide a variety of crane capabilities based on vessel selection. And its fleet (more)…
The New Cold War: The “Putinization” of Uranium
 Like the United States, the European Union relies heavily on Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) for its uranium, as shown in the chart below: Russia is projected to produce 64 million pounds per year by 2020. The majority – 40 million pounds – will come from Russia itself, and the remainder from its foreign projects in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Mongolia. But there’s an often forgotten subsector of uranium production: the processes necessary to convert U3O8 into something that power plants can use. For that purpose, yellowcake is first converted into uranium hexafluoride (UF6) at a conversion facility, then enriched, or concentrated, at an enrichment plant. Russia’s main conversion facility is at Angarsk, with a capacity of 42 million pounds of uranium per year. A small facility near Moscow, rated at 1.54 million pounds per year, primarily (more)…
Outside the Box: Can Two Senators End “Too Big to Fail?”
 I am often on a panel or at dinner with Barry Ritholtz (The Big Picture), and he will remark, “I am going to have to rethink my position – I agree with John, and that can’t be right.” While I don’t share that bias, I do agree with Barry about his recent take on legislation – which might actually pass – that would deal with too-big-to-fail banks in the US. Barry’s latest take on that issue is this week’s Outside the Box. I have not written all that much on the topic lately, other than to say that Dodd-Frank was designed by big banks for big banks – the best legislation they could buy, I have been very critical of allowing too-big-to-fail banks to put taxpayers at risk, and I don’t think it should ever be allowed to happen again. (more)…
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