We've discussed recently the hot new place for natural gas is the potentially enormous Haynesville Shale [Jul 2: Petrohawk Energy and Chesapeake Energy Flying on Haynesville Shale News] (EDIT: Let me add 2 additional names) I've been hoping one of the 4 names closely associated with this space, either Petrohawk Energy (HK), Goodrich Petroleum (GDP), GMX Resources (GMXR), and Comstock Resources (CRK) would sell down to their 50 day moving average now that natural gas has finally been hit. But no mas as the charts below show. Things are going so well, that Goodrich actually placed a 3M share offering at $64 today and the stock is ...

Known to skip monthly management team meetings for her daughter’s birthday and to reschedule a board meeting so she could attend her daughter’s 4th grade play, Angela Braly at 46 is one of the youngest women CEOs, as well as the only one running a Fortune 50 company. With three children, Angela managed the family life balance through a suggestion by her husband that he become a stay at home dad.

Rather than ‘coming from nowhere’ to take the CEO position, Angela has a long history of health care involvement, first working passionately for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri, then setting up a foundation for uninsured Missourians, becoming General Council for RightChoice, the parent company for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri. RightChoice was acquired by Wellpoint, and Angela became CEO of Wellpoint’s Missouri operation. In 2005 Angela became General Counsel of Wellpoint in

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Digital Ally Inc makes electronic surveillance products. It uses cutting-edge technologies for audio and video recording inside vehicles, and through flashlights used by security personnel. The company also offers specialized software to manage recordings made by its products. Security and the collection of evidence also have multiple commercial applications. Warehouses and offices can be protected by the covert and convenient-to-operate products of this company.

Business results are nothing less than spectacular. The Most Recent Quarter has seen a continuation of profitable growth, which has been a feature of this company since its inception two years ago. Sales are expected to double annually for the calendar year 2008, with an operating margin of about 30%. The mid-term outlook should be just as exciting, given the nature of the business. It is likely that the company will develop additional applications for its novel know-how.

The stock price has climbed to $8.52 at

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The benefits are obvious, but some risks are not widely appreciated. The Utilities Sector shows a disturbing trend for the 12 months ended May 2008. The Gas Utilities Industry has fared a little better than its peers during this period. The crude oil outlook is unclear. That is why opinion is divided on how gas prices may fare in future.

This small-capital stock from Fort Worth, TX has a clear location advantage. The home base is front and center of one of the most exciting natural gas fields in all of North America. The management has been sanguine in leveraging a spatial advantage fully. It has been pro-active in securing gathering and processing rights to top natural gas resources in its neighborhood.

Stock investors wary of how the markets have behaved during June 2008 will be relieved to know that this stock

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Have you tried adventure investing? You can troll depressed sectors and industries in order to find top stocks. It is as exciting as river-rafting or trekking in Mexico. The cash inflow makes for a welcome bonus. Take the Rental & Leasing Industry, for instance. It is common knowledge that this part of the economy is in trouble. Rental & Leasing Industry stocks have declined by more than 16% during the first half of 2008.

Here is a small-capital gem stock from San Francisco, CA. The June 2008 stock price has steadily approached the 52-week high. The Price to Equity Ratio is well below 15. The Operating Margin has exceeded 60% on a Trailing Twelve Months basis. Fewer than 100 employees generate revenues of over $60 million a year. The Return on Average Equity over the last four quarters has been 25.70%. What secrets does the management team have?

The business model

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Superlattice Power Incorporated has been highlighted by otcstockalert.com as “an emerging leader in the development and marketing of the next generation lithium-powered batteries worldwide.” As gas prices continue to rise, the desire to use less oil-based transportation is really driving the hybrid and electric car markets. These factors are also causing the prices of SLAT to rise. With increasing daily volume, the stock price has risen from $0.68 a share to a recent high of $2.37 a share.

The secret to the success of Superlattice Power is the breakthrough design of their new batteries. The superlattice structure is a hexagonal structure and can accommodate more lithium and therefore more energy. The elements, and more specifically transition metals used, have been selected precisely to make superlattice cathode materials safe, environmentally friendly and less expensive. The current level of energy being

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Innovation does not relate to patented products, or to branded services alone. Indeed, some of the most productive creativity within an organization resides in its processes, away from the public eye. Even senior executives may be guilty of neglecting significant symbols of innovation during times of rapid business expansion. Acute adversity brings creativity to the surface. Stock market conditions during the first half of 2008 are the sort that foster innovation. That is why we find just a few gems of stock price advances in growing swells of declines.

Most cases of positive Beta relate to structured innovation in organizations. These movements tend to generate their own energies and become self-sustained once ignited by capable management teams. Creativity, contrary to popular misconceptions of individual brain-waves, is a continuous and team effort in professionally-run organizations. Innovation applies to all levels of hierarchy, and no extremity should escape its searching inspection. Some

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This small-capital member of the Healthcare Facilities industry from Louisville, KY has got its business model just right. Profits during the Most Recent Quarter, one of the most difficult periods in recent times for most stocks, have grown by 47%. Interestingly, gross revenues have grown by just about 20% during this period. The implied Gross Margin improvement can only be because patients and their families value the home-nursing and assisted living services very highly.

The company serves Florida, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ohio, and Illinois, apart from Kentucky. It is also present in Alabama and Missouri. Visiting nurse facilities are recognized by Medicare. Trained care-givers are available on hourly bases or as live-in professionals. The corporation operates through subsidiaries, and has judiciously used inorganic growth options to extend its operations. It manages more than 30 certified agencies. It has established an enviable reputation for quality recuperative services. The competition in this industry is

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GTX Corp. (GTXO.OB), a leader in Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking and location-transmitting technology platforms, offers patented, interchangeable GPS satellite tracking and location reporting technology. This hardware can be easily embedded into footwear, clothes, backpacks and life preservers.

Since 2002, GTX Corp. has been developing, patenting and integrating miniaturized GPS tracking and cellular location-transmitting technologies into a wide variety of consumer products and business-to-business applications to incorporate a tracking capability. The company’s patented Personal Location Services (PLS) platform consists of a matchbook-sized, location-reporting module that utilizes cellular transmission provided by its wireless carrier partner, AT&T, to deliver real-time geographic coordinates on Google Maps to subscribers via a secure Internet connection.

In addition, the PLS platform provides a solution to many critical and time sensitive social issues, including missing children, oversight of loved ones, safety of aging population and remote travel dangers. Its miniature size and interchangeable module fits easily into

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Barclays is the financial institution in the world that most scares me. Indeed it petrifies me. It is huge (currently the second biggest institution in the world and substantially larger than Citigroup). It is highly levered. And it is in all the places you don’t want to be at the moment.

Barclays may be “too big to fail” but it is also probably “too big to bail out”.

You will have to forgive me a long post but this is one of the most important stories in the world today – and I am groping a little in the dark. Wall Street is currently (correctly) obsessed by Lehman Brothers – but they should be similarly obsessed by Barclays Global Capital. Barcap is a far more interesting and important beast. Moreover the standard hypothesis these days is that Barclays will buy Lehman. See this press report for

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