As U.S. Refiners Recover, This Company Aims to Jump to the Next Level

by Sheena Martin, Contributing Editor

Even as U.S gas prices climb, petroleum traders still have no interest in buying right now.

And why would they? The summer driving season is at an end. Consumers are still trying to save cash, especially with the holidays approaching. And inventories are still bearish.

Last week, the Department of Energy (DOE) said gasoline demand is at 8.844 million barrels per day – the lowest number since late January 2009. And with practically no demand, refiners are still running at only 80% capacity, on average.

So with refinery woes persisting, it might seem odd to devote attention to investments in the industry. However, that’s precisely why you should. A contrarian strategy often pays dividends – and the recent challenges have shaken out

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Overvalued Stocks: Don’t Touch These Bloated Investments With a 10-Foot Pole

by Marc Lichtenfeld, Healthcare Expert Wednesday, November 18, 2009: Issue #1140

To celebrate my parents’ anniversary, I took the family to see Grease last weekend. As musical theater buffs, I figured that they’d love the seeing the show, especially with my kids who had never seen a Broadway quality production.

Unfortunately, they still haven’t. The show stunk. The “actor” who played Danny Zuko couldn’t act. And American Idol winner Taylor Hicks was so bad as Teen Angel, it was laughable. It was one of the worst productions I’ve ever seen – and I should know, as I’ve been in some pretty awful shows (if you saw Last Exit to Brooklyn in San Francisco in 1995, I apologize).

But the purpose of this column is not a theater review, but

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Two Investments to Add to Your “Green” Portfolio

by Louise Harris, Investment U Research

Green investing can be tricky.

That was evidenced after oil prices dropped last year and alternative energy companies saw their profits fall just as quickly.

Naturally, investor enthusiasm followed, as green ETFs like Claymore/Mac Global Solar Energy Index (NYSE: TAN) and Market Vectors Solar Energy (NYSE: KWT) have tumbled 45% over the past 12 months.

Similarly, the broad alternative energy portfolio PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy (NYSE: PBW), has declined by an average of 13.5% annually for the last three years.

But despite those woes, the alternative energy sector still has a few things going for it…

Popularity: The more scientists talk about climate change and how to prevent greenhouse emissions, the more popular alternative energies become. This is especially true in Europe, ...

ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) Has the Eye of the Tiger

Tony Daltorio, Investment U Research

ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) is one of those companies people love to hate.

The firm racks up billions in profits each year, yet it’s been sluggish to develop green technologies (although that’s slowly changing now), despite a $600 million investment into an algae-based biofuels project.

Some critics, including major shareholders, also criticize the company’s overly conservative management. They say that Exxon has a poor strategy for future growth and is too slow to replace its reserves.

With limited investment into finding new sources of oil and gas, ExxonMobil has instead spent $109 million to buy back shares and increase dividends by 58% over the past five years.

Last year alone, Exxon returned $40.1 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividends, amounting to 154% of its capital

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Harry Dent: Bold Predictions of the Great Depression Ahead

by Alexander Green, Chief Investment Strategist Monday, October 6, 2009: Issue #1108

As they said in the movie “Poltergeist”: “They’re baaa-aaack.”

Who’s back? Harry Dent, the self-styled “economic futurist,” who presumes to tell us about the great economic booms and busts that lie ahead.

How can he possibly know these things?

According to Dent, an analysis of the “highly predictable” nature of consumer spending based on demographic trends – increasing spending during child-rearing years, peak spending as the kids leave home and slower spending during late work and retirement – reveals what lies ahead for the economy and the stock market…

Harry Dent: Dow 44,000 & Other Flimsy Forecasts

Harry Dent is a man worth listening to. After all, he has a near perfect track record – as a contrary indicator…

For example:

With less than auspicious timing, Dent ...

London Calling: FTSE-100 Racks Up its Best Quarter in History

by Martin Denholm, Senior Editor Wednesday, October 1, 2009

As September concluded, so too did the third quarter of 2009.

And what a quarter it was for London’s FTSE-100 (^FTSE) stock market. In fact, it was the Index’s best three-month period in its 25-year history.

As global stock markets scoffed at the traditional “sell in May and go away” adage and sizzled throughout the summer, the “Footsie” notched up a 21% gain.

The positive vibes weren’t just restricted to Britain either. Stocks across Europe enjoyed a strong summer, with the FTSEurofirst 300 Index of top European shares posting its best quarter in 10 years, with a gain of 16%.

The question is: How long can the markets – both in the U.S. and overseas – walk the tightrope between bull and bear? As

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hhgregg, Inc. (NYSE: HGG): The Only Retail Stock Worth Buying Right Now

by Louis Basenese, Advisory Panelist

For the first time in six months, retail sales ticked higher in August.

Granted, it wasn’t by much – a scant 0.7% higher than July. But it’s inevitable that consumers will eventually get back to their spending ways as this recession subsides.

And if you’re looking for a way to play it, consider hhgregg, Inc. (NYSE: HGG). Here’s why…

hhgregg, Inc: This Retailer is Bucking the Industry Trend

Based in Indianapolis, the hhgregg operates 111 retail stores selling consumer electronics and home appliances. Yes, I know that’s the same stuff you can get at your typical Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Home Depot (NYSE: HD), or Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW).

But this company is hardly typical.

While most retailers are focused on

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America’s Smart Grid: Four Companies Set to Profit from a Federal Cash Injection

by David Fessler, Advisory Panelist

What do Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), IBM (NYSE: IBM), AT&T (NYSE: T) and Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) all have in common?

The obvious answer is that they’re four of the most successful technology companies on the planet.

But they’re also heavily involved in the modernization plans for America’s “Smart Grid” – a topic I introduced in a previous column.

Make no mistake, with a decade-long project as monumental as modernizing the country’s “Smart Grid,” the devil is truly in the details. And the Commerce Department released the finer details of the initiative last week.

Until now, one of the big problems with the “Smart Grid” was the lack of set standards. Without them, each power company would be free to do

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Five Ways To Profit From The Commodity Nobody Likes

Tony Daltorio, Investment U Research

Forget Superman… the real man of steel is Lakshmi Mittal, chairman of the world’s biggest steelmaker, Arcelor Mittal ADR (NYSE: MT).

Mittal has built an empire – and a personal fortune – by being optimistic when it comes to the global steel industry. And he still maintains that confidence today, recently going on record to say that global demand could rise by more than 10% in 2010.

Meanwhile, many of his peers in the industry sport trembling lower lips over their present and future.

Believe it or not, that ongoing debate matters to everybody, not just those investing directly in the commodity. Steel demand feeds into a huge range of sectors, so much so that many regard it as an important bellwether of industrial trends.

The Half-Empty, Steel Glass

Other than

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Medidata Solutions: The One Healthcare Stock That’s Not Sucking Up to Washington

by Louis Basenese, Advisory Panelist

When it comes to the healthcare debate, let’s keep one obvious fact in mind: Expenses are out of control and must be reined in. That’s true with or without a massive reform bill.

And that plays right into the hands of Medidata Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq: MDSO).

The company is a leading provider of electronic data capture (EDC) and clinical data management systems (CDMS). In laymen’s terms, it helps drug companies go from the Dark Age into the Digital Age.

And it’s a transformation that we desperately need. Here’s why…

Anyone For a Tedious, Time-Consuming Paper Trail?

Roughly 75% of all clinical trials – the most critical function of drug companies, yet also the biggest drain on resources ($45 billion, annually) – are done

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