“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Justice Litle thinks Dickens’ classic line  provides an apt description of today’s markets. Sure, this year has been hell. But it has also created some amazing opportunities for contrarian investors. Justice says this is most apparent in the oil and natural gas market, where irrational risk aversion has made most people forget the fundamentals.

This from Taipan Daily:

Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking.

— Vice–President-Elect Joe Biden

Just a few weeks ago, Vice–President-elect Joe Biden (back when he was plain old Senator Joe Biden) promised the world that Barack Obama will be “tested” by America’s enemies.

“Remember I said it standing here,” Biden told his Seattle audience, “if you don’t remember

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Bald Eagle Energy is a relatively new company with one simple goal: To decrease America’s dependency on foreign oil through the development of domestic sources. Based out of Houston Texas, and with its primary operations in oil-rich Alaska, Bald Eagle is poised to become a significant player in the American oil and gas industry.

In the spring of 2008, the company entered into an agreement to purchase a 100 percent interest in six leases in Alaska’s North Slope Basin, a region famed for the vast stores of oil contained therein. The exploration areas that Bald Eagle have acquired, totaling more than 18,000 acres, are in close proximity to the largest oil field in North America; The Prudhoe Bay Field.

Alaska’s North Slope is excellent evidence of the untapped resources at America’s disposal. In fact, the region accounts for approximately twenty percent of all domestic oil

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Capital City Energy Group Inc. (CETG.OB) is a rapidly expanding energy company. The company’s strategy is to continue to grow a portfolio of core areas which provide growth opportunities through grass-roots drilling, operating, service companies, acquisitions and fund management. The company has named their strategy the “Triad” business model which consists of: fund management, principal investments, and strategic acquisitions of energy related companies.

Capital City Energy recently announced results from an independent reserve report conducted by a leading petroleum engineering company, James Engineering, Inc. The aim of the report was to value the company’s proven oil and gas reserves. The report concluded that the value of the company’s reserves increased by nearly 50% during the 2nd quarter of 2008. The evaluation was conducted on the company’s 178 producing properties located in 14 states.

Capital City Energy CEO Timothy W. Crawford said, ” are pleased that

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Striker Oil & Gas (SOIS) develops, explores and acquires crude oil and natural gas reserves, operating along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana, as well as in East Texas and Mississippi. It is speculated that Striker has potential oil and gas reserves of $400 million in Texas and Louisiana. That equates to 32.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 973,000 barrels of crude oil. Striker also recently an agreement with Indonesia’s GEO Corporation to find oil offshore of the Asian country.

Texas-based Striker Oil & Gas was founded in 2004 and is already producing oil, a rarity among newly found energy companies. Striker’s revenue performance since inception is staggering with a one-year growth of more than 232 percent and three-year growth of almost 1200 percent. The company is forecasting 2008 revenue of $5 million.

Striker uses revolutionary technology to find new oil reserves, including sophisticated satellites that orbit

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Capital City Energy Group Incorporated is an American oil and natural gas company that employs a vertical integration strategy to become a leader in the industry. They call their business model a “Triad” which is composed of three parts: Fund Management, Principal Investments and Strategic Acquisitions of energy related companies. Through this business model Capital City Energy Group is ensuring their current income stream and an eventual income growth that is sustainable well into the future.

The company hopes to grow shareholder value by meeting the investment community’s need for energy opportunities. One of the main sources for this is through Capital City’s Principal Investment (PI) division. The PI division is how Capital City invests; through the deployment of their own capital in energy properties through joint ventures and partnerships with other oil and natural gas companies. Their partnerships

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Index Oil and Gas, Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, appraisal, development, production, and sale of oil and gas properties, primarily in the prolific petroleum regions of Kansas and the onshore Gulf Coast, mainly in Texas and Louisiana. As of March 31, 2008, the company’s estimated total proved oil and gas reserves were approximately 219.469 thousands of barrels of oil equivalent. Index Oil and Gas was founded in 2003 and has offices in Houston, Texas and Bath, England.

Index is focused on working with partners to efficiently build a broad portfolio of producing properties, whose risk characteristics are carefully analyzed and managed. Because of careful risk management, the company has an enviable drilling record with excellent upside potential. The management team is particularly strong, drawing on worldwide and local area experience. Index intends to grow its existing asset base and revenues through further selective investment in the

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The Independent Tuesday, 1 July 2008 Bankers were thought to be facing tough times after the credit crunch. But in Moscow, where business is booming, Brits are being attracted by soaring salaries. By Jason Corcoran and Nick ClarkIt has been a very good year to be Russian. The national football team sparkled at Euro 2008, it secured the unrivalled musical accolade of winning the Eurovision Song Contest, and while the markets around the world disintegrate, its own economy has continued to boom.Soaring consumer spending, oil past $140 a barrel, record numbers of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and a high growth rate means the financial focus is firmly on Russia in 2008.Investment bankers in the West are charging to Moscow to cash in on the rise of lucrative takeover deals, as London and New York have increasingly become graveyards for the ...