I want to talk about the challenge of exponential growth in a finite world. This is a concept that while on its surface seems easy to get, most people don’t fully grasp it. Any growth rate that is positive will lead to a doubling in size eventually -- the higher the growth rate, the quicker the doubling. A quick "back of the envelope" method of figuring it out is known as the rule of 70. If you divide a growth rate into 70, it will roughly give you the time for something to double. Thus if something is growing at 2% a year, then it will double in about 35 years, at 5% only 14 years, etc. If you want to be more precise, you can always use your Y^x button on your calculator, but the rule of 70 will do for this discussion. Clearly, exponential growth ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 19, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the latest Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks featured in this week’s analysis include B.P. Prudhoe Bay Trust (BPT), San Juan Basin (SJT), Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Petrobras (PBR).

Zacks Industry Rank Analysis is written by Dirk Van Dijk, CFA, Chief Equity Strategist for Zacks.com.

This week: Some Improvements in Energy

A good example of an industry that is showing both a very good overall rank and substantial improvement is Oil Royalty Trusts, which with a industry rank of 2.00 is tied for 4th place with several other industries. What sets it apart is that it improved 21 spots in its ranking as the average ranking of its components, up from 2.43 last week. Every one of the seven firms in the industry has a Zacks Rank of 2.

These are great vehicles for

...

Industry Rank Analysis 11-17-09 Normally, the focus of this article has been on the industries that have the best overall Zacks ranks, with an occasional mention of the industries that rank particularly badly and thus should be avoided. This week, however, I want to look at some of the industries that are showing sharp improvements in rank, even if they are still far from the top of the list. Ideally, you would want to focus on the industries that are both near the top of the list and rising fast, but that rarely happens, especially for industries with a large number of participants. The Zacks Industry Rank is an un-weighted average of the Zacks ranks of the firms in the industry, so it is much easier for a small industry with only tow or three firms in it to rise quickly and have a very good-looking rank ...

I have a trick question for you, especially if you’re interested in emerging markets: Among the four BRIC countries — Brazil, Russia, India and China — which offers the best stock market performance for American investors? Be careful how you answer, because appearances can be deceiving, especially if you focus strictly on one year. Looking at year-to-date results, for example, it might seem that the answer is Russia. From the close of trading at the end of last year through the closing price this past Friday … FXI, the exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking China’s blue chips, is up 45.87 percent … PIN, representing India’s major stocks, is up 64.16 percent, and … EWZ, the leading Brazil ETF, is up 104.25 percent. But …...

International stocks continue to gain popularity as investors look to align their portfolios with emerging market economies and creditor nations. Brazilian stocks have been at the top of the list, with the South American juggernaut being fueled by a pro-growth government, booming exports and the modernization of its infrastructure.

Pro-Growth Government

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, otherwise known as "Lula", has led the country's pro-growth strategy, appointing the market oriented economist and former CEO of Bank Boston Henrique Meirelles as head of the Brazilian Central Bank. Lula and his administration quickly strengthened the country's relationship with the IMF by renewing agreements and paying off its debt early.

Next up was the Growth Acceleration Program, an initiative designed to free the country's economy from growth constraints. By 2008 Brazil had became a creditor nation, with its debt recently getting the nod from Standard & Poors

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Cameron International Corporation (CAM) is expected to release its third quarter results before the market opens on November 3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this stock is 53 cents per share. In the prior-year period, the company had reported earnings of 73 cents per share.  The Houston-based oilfield service firm reported earnings of 60 cents per share in the second quarter of 2009. This was above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 47 cents per share despite slowdown in orders across all business lines. The company believed wider margins at its Drilling & Production Systems (DPS) segment helped it to top expectations.   The pace of new capital equipment orders for Cameron has remained sluggish over the last few quarters due to reduced exploration and development activity in the oil and gas industry. However, we believe that the company’s existing order backlog ($5 billion at the end of the ...

• China Unicom also advised iPhones will be sold in China beginning in October.  Meanwhile, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) said iTunes' application downloads exceeded the 2 billion mark

• MBIA's (NYSE:MBI) main bond insurance unit was downgraded by S&P to non-investment grade status

• Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) revealed a new, high-end, ultra thin PC

• Cameron International (NYSE:CAM) reported a $500 million subsea equipment deal with Petrobras

• Howard Shultz, CEO of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX), offered high hopes for its Via Ready Brew instant coffee product, claiming it "perhaps the biggest opportunity" in the company's history, amid today's North American launch

• Walgreens' (NYSE:WAG) reported fiscal fourth quarter results of 47 cents ex-items, topping estimates of 39 cents, on sales of $15.7 billion

• Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) lifted price targets on several retailers, including conviction buys on Target (NYSE:TGT) and Macy's (NYSE:M)

• Citigroup (NYSE:C) started coverage of Dr. Pepper Snapple (NYSE:DPS) and Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) with "buy" recommendations

• Bank of America

...

Peak Oil and Petrobras

Tony Daltorio, Investment U Research

Back on Wednesday, September 9, I wrote on how to profit from British Petroleum ADR (NYSE: BP)’s huge discovery in the Gulf of Mexico, and how to profit from peak oil.

And while I stand by the profitability of both that find and stock, I think I should clarify that “peak oil” really doesn’t exist anymore. So instead, let’s call it peak-cheap-and-easily-recoverable-oil instead, since that seems much more appropriate.

The days of cheap and accessible oil are long gone, but that very fact opens up rich opportunities for investors who face up to the realities of today’s oil market.

Possibly the biggest reality comes down to this: Giant oil fields are the industry’s lifeblood. Out of the world’s 70,000 oil fields, the largest twenty account for a quarter of global production.

That’s

...

The emerging positive narrative of a favorable outlook for the U.S. economy has done wonders for the markets, particularly equities and commodities. The broad equity markets as well as most commodity groups are up smartly from their early-March lows.

Crude oil's gains have been even more impressive, given its heavy leverage to the health of the global economy. Our view is that oil should be able to hold onto its recent gains and consolidate around current levels, provided this favorable economic view remains in place.

While we have greater confidence in the staying power of the current oil rally, this does not mean that we will not see any short-term pullbacks. On the whole, we expect oil prices in 2010 to be higher than the 2009 levels, but remain significantly below the 2008 peak levels.

Crude oil's near-term fundamentals remain dismal, to say the least. Inventories in the U.S. are at multi-year highs

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The emerging positive narrative of a favorable outlook for the U.S. economy has done wonders for the markets, particularly equities and commodities. The broad equity markets as well as most commodity groups are up smartly from their early-March lows. Crude oil’s gains have been even more impressive, given its heavy leverage to the health of the global economy. Our view is that oil should be able to hold onto its recent gains and consolidate around current levels, provided this favorable economic view remains in place. While we have greater confidence in the staying power of the current oil rally, this does not mean that we will not see any short-term pullbacks. On the whole, we expect oil prices in 2010 to be higher than the 2009 levels, but remain significantly below the 2008 peak levels. Crude oil’s near-term fundamentals remain dismal, to say the least. Inventories ...