It's not very often that Congress passes new legislation that helps the oil and gas industry, but recent legislation could be a step in the right direction to help build out the much needed pipeline infrastructure for natural gas. The new bill proposes to expedite the permitting process for natural gas pipelines and would force the hand of regulatory agencies to make decisions in a timely manner.
For oil- and gas-rich parts of the country, this could be very helpful. Some of the fast-growing unconventional shale plays in the U.S. have a large lack of natural gas pipeline infrastructure. In the state of North Dakota, a lack of gas takeaway capacity has led to wells flaring off as much as one-third of extracted gas. In this video, Fool.com contributor Tyler Crowe looks at some of the regions in the country, and some of the companies, that could benefit from this legislation.
Top 10 Companies To Own In Right Now: USEC Inc (USU)
USEC Inc. (USEC) is a global energy company, is a supplier of low enriched uranium (LEU) for commercial nuclear power plants. The Company operates in two segments: the low enriched uranium (LEU) segment with two components, separative work units (SWU) and uranium, and the contract services segment. The LEU segment is its primary business focus and includes sales of the SWU component of LEU, sales of both SWU and uranium components of LEU, and sales of uranium. The contract services segment includes work performed for Department of Energy (DOE) and its contractors at Portsmouth and Paducah, as well as nuclear energy services and technologies provided by NAC International Inc. (NAC). The Company supply LEU to both domestic and international utilities for use in about 150 nuclear reactors worldwide. The Company enriches uranium at the Paducah gaseous diffusion plant (GDP) that it leases from the United States DOE.
The Company is deploying advanced uranium enrichment technology, known as the American Centrifuge. USEC provide transportation and storage systems for spent nuclear fuel and provide nuclear and energy consulting services. It also performs contract work for DOE and its contractors at the Paducah and Portsmouth sites.
Low Enriched Uranium
The majority of the Company's customers are domestic and international utilities that operate nuclear power plants. During the year ended December 31, 2011, LEU segment�� international sales constituting 23% of revenue. Its agreements with electric utilities are primarily long-term, fixed-commitment contracts under which the Company's customers are obligated to purchase a specified quantity of SWU from the Company or long-term requirements contracts under which its customers are obligated to purchase a percentage of their SWU requirements from the Company.
Contract Services
The Company performs and earns revenue from contracts work through its subsidiary NAC and from contract work for DOE and DOE! contractors at the Paducah GDP and the site of the former Portsmouth GDP in Piketon, Ohio. NAC provides nuclear energy services and technologies, specializing in design, fabrication and implementation of spent nuclear fuel technologies including the high capacity MAGNASTOR system; nuclear materials transportation, and nuclear fuel cycle consulting services.
The Company competes with Urenco, Areva, State Atomic Energy Corporation and GE Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment (GLE).
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
Usec (USU) is a global energy company, which is a supplier of low enriched uranium for commercial nuclear power plants. This stock closed up 8.3% at $13.75 in Monday's trading session.
Monday's Volume: 1.57 million
Three-Month Average Volume: 651,161
Volume % Change: 227%From a technical perspective, USU bounced sharply higher here right off its 200-day moving average of $11.77 and back above its 50-day moving average of $13.36 with heavy upside volume. This stock has been downtrending badly for the last month, with shares moving lower from its high of $22.73 to its recent low of $12.12. During that move, shares of USU have been making mostly lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, the downside volatility might be over in the short-term for USU, since the stock has now started to bounce off key moving averages with volume.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in USU as long as it's trending above Monday's low of $12.12 and then once it sustains a move or close above Monday's intraday high of $14.66 with volume that hits near or above 651,161 shares. If we get that move soon, then USU will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $17 to $19.
Top 10 Companies To Own In Right Now: Dragon Mining NL (DRA.AX)
Dragon Mining Limited engages in the exploration, evaluation, and development of gold projects in Europe. It holds interests in Svartliden gold deposit located in Sweden; and Hanhimaa gold project, Jokisivu gold mine, Kaapelinkulma gold project, Kuusamo gold project, Orivesi gold mine, Ritakallio gold project, and Sukseton copper-gold project situated in Finland. The company also owns interests in Weld Range project that explores for iron, chromium, nickel, and PGM resources located in Australia. Dragon Mining Limited is based in Perth, Australia.
Hot Gold Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Sequenom Inc.(SQNM)
Sequenom, Inc. provides products, services, diagnostic testing, applications, and genetic analysis products that translate the results of genomic science into solutions for biomedical research, translational research, molecular medicine applications, and agricultural and livestock research. The company operates in two segments, Molecular Diagnostics and Genetic Analysis. The Molecular Diagnostics segment researches, develops, and commercializes noninvasive molecular diagnostic tests for prenatal genetic disorders and diseases, women?s health related disorders and diseases, ophthalmology, oncology, infectious diseases, and autoimmunity. This segment markets diagnostic technology for prenatal diagnostics under the trademark SEQureDx. The Genetic Analysis segment designs and markets MassARRAY system, a nucleic acid analysis platform that comprises hardware, software applications, consumable chips, and reagents to measure genetic target material and variations. This segment o ffers its MassARRAY system for various DNA/RNA analysis applications, including single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), genotyping, detection of mutations, analysis of copy number variants, and other structural genome variations, as well as quantitative gene expression analysis, quantitative methylation marker analysis, comparative sequence analysis of haploid organisms, SNP discovery, and oligonucleotide quality control. It also provides iPLEX multiplexing assay, which permits multiplexed SNP analysis and somatic mutation analysis. The company offers its products through direct sales, and sales and distribution partners to clinical research laboratories, bio-agriculture, bio-technology and pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, and various government agencies worldwide. Sequenom, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
On Monday, small cap molecular diagnostic stock Myriad Genetics, Inc (NASDAQ: MYGN) suddenly sank 9.34% to $23.50 just before the market closed���meaning its probably a good idea to take a closer look at what happened yesterday plus compare the stock�� performance verses small cap peer Sequenom, Inc (NASDAQ: SQNM) and mid cap peer Hologic, Inc (NASDAQ: HOLX).�
- [By Keith Speights]
2. Sequenom (NASDAQ: SQNM )
Sequenom and Lexicon have similar stories in one respect. Sequenom also started off roaring in 2000 only to fizzle out in subsequent years. Over the last decade, the genetic analysis company has seen shares decline by 54%. - [By Paul Ausick]
Stocks on the Move: ARIAD Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA) is down 44.4% at $2.20 after suspending sales of a cancer drug. Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) is up 16.4% at $3.84 as investors remain patient with the company�� turnaround plan. 58.com Inc. (NYSE: WUBA) is up 43.1% at $24.32 after today�� IPO. Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) is down 22.6% at $1.92 after court rules a patent invalid.
- [By Keith Speights]
That kind of potential could be attractive for investors -- and possibly for a larger company. In 2009, Sequenom (NASDAQ: SQNM ) attempted to acquire Exact Sciences but ultimately�no deal happened. Of course, back then Exact Sciences was a penny stock. Now, it has a bigger market cap than Sequenom does.
Top 10 Companies To Own In Right Now: Teekay Lng Partners L.P.(TGP)
Teekay LNG Partners L.P. provides marine transportation services for liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, and crude oil worldwide. It transports liquid petroleum gases, including propane, butane, and methane; petrochemical gases comprising ethylene, propylene, and butadiene; and ammonia. The company provides its services through a time-charter or bareboat charter contract basis. As of August 16, 2011, it operated a fleet of 21 LNG carriers, including 1 LNG regasification unit; 5 LPG/multigas carriers; and 11 conventional tankers. Teekay GP L.L.C. serves as the general partner of Teekay LNG Partners L.P. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Teekay LNG Partners L.P. is a subsidiary of Teekay Corporation.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Robert Hsu]
Name Type of Security� Recommendation� Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: KMP) � MLP August 15, 2013� TeeKay LNG Partners L.P.� (NYSE: TGP) � MLP September 16, 2013� PowerShares S&P 500 BuyWrite Portfol ETF� (NYSE Arca: PBP)� Buy-Write ETF September 30, 2013� Madison Covered Call Equity Strtgy Fd (NYSE: MCN)� Buy-Write ETF September 30, 2013� Nuveen Equity Premium Opportunity Fund (NYSE: JSN)� Buy-Write ETF September 30, 2013� BlackRockEnhanced Dividend Achievers Tr (NYSE: BDJ)� Buy-Write ETF September 30, 2013� Vornado Realty Trust � (NYSE: VNO)� Real Estate
Investment
Trust September 26, 2013�Robert Hsu is the editor of Permanent Wealth Investor and a former hedge fund portfolio manager at Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs. He retired from Goldman at age 31. He since has come out of retirement to establish and preside over his money management firm, Absolute Return Capital Advisors. His retirement experience has given him his current mission: helping investors like you achieve their goal of comfortable retirement through profitable income strategies.
- [By Tyler Crowe]
Another element to consider as well is a sustained period where the Suez Canal is shut down. If this were the case, it could be a temporary boost for tanker fleets. LNG carriers like�Teekay LNG Partners� (NYSE: TGP ) , the third-largest liquefied natural gas fleet, would be well positioned to benefit from the increased ship times. Day rates for LNG carriers are about $100,000 per day, and the extra eight to 15 days of shipping time could be a nice pad to revenue.
- [By WWW.STANSBERRYRESEARCH.COM]
There are few things in life I know with certainty... But I know this: Barring the end of the world, the price of oil is going to fall and the price of natural gas is going to rise. In my mind, you ought to buy all the natural gas you can afford because these energy resources will not be cheap forever.
There were other signs that natural gas was at a very significant low. First and foremost, Wall Street had gone from being massively long natural gas in 2005 and 2006 to being almost uniformly short. Trading volume on natural gas futures had soared – up 31% in a year, with almost all the financial firms being short. But the most important factor in my analysis was that from a physical, arbitrage perspective, natural gas couldn't get any cheaper. Natural gas is just one form of energy. In theory, as an energy source, it's totally interchangeable with other fossil fuels. Think of it this way: A barrel of oil has 5.825 million British thermal units (Btu) of energy. One thousand cubic feet of gas contains just a little more than 1 million Btu of energy. Thus, on an energy-equivalent basis, you might expect natural gas to trade for one-sixth the price of oil. That doesn't actually happen very often, though... In the real world, oil has vastly more utility. It's far more widely used in transportation, and it's much easier to transport. (It doesn't have to be frozen first, like natural gas does.) So in the real world, historically, oil has carried a 10x premium in price to natural gas on an energy equivalent basis. But last April... the price of oil was trading at over a 50x multiple to the price of natural gas. This enormous premium simply couldn't last – it was impossible. That's why I was telling you to be a pig in natural gas. First, I had studied the investment carefully for a long period of time. Second, I knew that Wall Str
Top 10 Companies To Own In Right Now: Uran Ltd(URA.AX)
Kaboko Mining Limited engages in the exploration, development, and production of manganese assets in Zambia. It also has interests in uranium projects in New Mexico. The company was formerly known as Uran Limited and changed its name to Kaboko Mining Limited in November 2011. Kaboko Mining Limited is based in West Perth, Australia.
Top 10 Companies To Own In Right Now: Zale Corp (ZLC)
Zale Corporation, incorporated on April 26, 1991, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, is a retailer of fine jewelry in North America. The Company operates in three segments: fine jewelry, kiosk jewelry and all other. As of July 31, 2012, the Company operated 1,124 specialty retail jewelry stores and 654 kiosks located mainly in shopping malls throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. The Company�� fine jewelry segment consists of five brands: Zales Jewelers, Peoples Jewellers, Zales Outlet, Mappins Jewellers, and Gordon's Jewelers The Company�� kiosk jewelry operates under the brand names Piercing Pagoda, Plumb Gold, and Silver and Gold Connection (collectively, Piercing Pagoda) through mall-based kiosks. The Company provides insurance and reinsurance services for various types of insurance coverage, which is marketed primarily to its private label credit card guests, through Zale Indemnity Company, Zale Life Insurance Company and Jewel Re-Insurance Ltd.
Fine Jewelry
Each brand specializes in fine jewelry and watches, with merchandise and marketing emphasis focused on diamond products. Zales Jewelers is the Company's national brand in the United States providing moderately priced jewelry to a range of guests. Zales Outlet operates in outlet malls and neighborhood power centers and capitalizes on Zales Jewelers' national advertising and brand recognition. Gordon's Jewelers is a value-oriented regional jeweler. Peoples Jewellers, Canada's fine jewelry retailer, provides guests with shopping experience. Mappins Jewellers offers Canadian guests a selection of merchandise from engagement rings to fashionable and contemporary fine jewelry.
The Company has extended its reach of certain brands through the use of its Webstores, mobile devices and social media to provide its guests access to its brands wherever and whenever they choose. In addition, the Company offers its guests the option to purchase warranty coverage on substantially all of its mercha! ndise in Fine Jewelry. The Company also offers repair services to guests who do not purchase warranty coverage. Zales Jewelers (Zales), the Company's United States based flagship, is a brand name in jewelry retailing in the United States, operating 639 stores in 50 states and Puerto Rico with an average store size of 1,681 square feet. Gordon's Jewelers (Gordon's) operates 147 stores in 27 states and Puerto Rico with an average store size of 1,534 square feet.
The Company�� Zales brand is positioned as the Diamond Store emphasizing on diamond jewelry, especially in the bridal and fashion segments. Zales and Gordon's combined revenues accounted for 60% of the Company's total revenues during the fiscal year ended July 31, 2012 (fiscal 2012). Both brands operate as multi-channel retailers and serve Internet guests through the e-commerce sites www.zales.com and www.gordonsjewelers.com, which accounted for approximately 5% of the Company's total revenues in fiscal 2012.
In Canada, the Company operates 206stores in nine provinces. The Company's Canadian operations consist of two brands, Peoples Jewellers (Peoples) and Mappins Jewellers (Mappins), and accounted for 17% of the Company's total revenues in fiscal 2012. The average store size is 1,605 square feet with an average transaction value of $332 in fiscal year 2012. Peoples serves Internet guests through the e-commerce site, www.peoplesjewellers.com. The Company operates 132 Zales Outlet (Outlet) stores in 35 states and Puerto Rico, sales from which accounted for 10% of its total revenues in fiscal 2012. The average store size is 2,362 square feet in fiscal 2012.
Kiosk Jewelry
The Company�� kiosk jewelry segment is focused on the opening price point jewelry guest. The Company's presence in Kiosk Jewelry has been expanded through the e-commerce site, www.pagoda.com. The Company also offers its guests the option to purchase warranty coverage on certain products. As of July 31, 2012, Piercing Pagoda op! erated 65! 4 locations in 41 states and Puerto Rico, sales from which accounted for 13% of the Company's total revenues in fiscal. Piercing Pagoda offers collection of bracelets, earrings, charms, rings, non-precious metal products and 14 karat and 10 karat gold chains, as well as a selection of silver and diamond jewelry, all in basic styles at moderate prices. Kiosk locations average 188 square feet in size in fiscal 2012.
All Other
The Company insurance companies are the insurers (either through direct written or reinsurance contracts) of the Company's guests' credit insurance coverage. In addition to providing merchandise replacement coverage for certain perils, credit insurance coverage provides protection to the creditor and cardholder for losses associated with the disability, involuntary unemployment, leave of absence or death of the cardholder. Zale Life Insurance Company also provides group life insurance coverage for the Company's eligible employees. In fiscal year 2012, 36% of the Company's private label credit card purchasers purchased some form of credit insurance. In fiscal year 2012, all other accounted for approximately 1% of the Company's total revenues.
The Company competes with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., .C. Penney Company, Inc., Signet Jewelers Limited, and QVC, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]
Steve Mack/FilmMagic There was no shortage of wonders of blunders even in this holiday-shortened market week. From a retailer's gadget going cold to some jewelers just starting to heat up, here's a rundown of the week's smartest moves and biggest errors in the business world. Men's Wearhouse (MW) -- Loser Jos. A. Bank (JOSB) tried to acquire the larger Men's Wearhouse a few weeks ago. It didn't pan out, and now Men's Wearhouse has made an offer to buy Jos. A. Bank. This is technically a smart move, especially since the two companies should be able to realize some serious cost savings as a combined entity. However, this still is being scored as a blunder because Men's Wearhouse originally balked at Jos. A. Bank's buyout at least partially on the grounds that antitrust regulators would not allow it to take place. Now it has to eat its words. Yahoo! (YHOO) -- Winner Yahoo! announced on Monday that Katie Couric will be joining the meandering dot-com giant as its global anchor next year. She will help develop the coverage at Yahoo News, giving the Web giant some welcome street cred in reporting circles. Couric won't be leaving TV. She plans to continue hosing her syndicated daytime take show -- Katie -- that runs through ABC News. Yahoo! has struggled with online advertising growth lately, and Couric's presence should help increase what it can milk out of advertisers. The Nook -- Loser Barnes & Noble (BKS) posted disappointing quarterly results, but the real culprit here was a sharp drop in sales for the struggling bookseller's Nook e-reader and tablet lines. Shares of Barnes & Noble slipped after reporting a 32 percent plunge in Nook sales. The slide over the past year consists of a 41 percent decline in device and accessories and an even more problematic 21 percent drop in digital content. After all, it's one thing if no one's buying new Nooks, but it's even more troublesome if the wider usage base is buying less digital content. Jewelry -- Winne
- [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]
AP Photo/Burger King Companies can make brilliant moves, but there are also times when things don't work out quite as planned. From a Japanese gaming pioneer finally cutting prices on its poor selling devices to a burger chain introducing a burger for a buck, here's a rundown of the week's smartest moves and biggest blunders in the business world. Walmart (WMT) -- Winner The country's biggest retailer was singled out in this column last week for the way that it's bringing back its layaway plan for the holiday shopping season. And this week it earns another shout out. In a memo to its associates this week, Walmart revealed that its health insurance policies for 2014 will cover "any spouse or domestic partner" regardless of gender. Walmart knows that this is still a polarizing topic. However, by opening up health coverage to domestic partners -- gay or straight -- Walmart is likely to score points with many who have been critical of the company's practices in the past. Sure, we can lament that just half of Walmart's 1.3 million associates have elected health coverage through the company. No one's saying the giant discounter is perfect. However, this move will help improve its image with a lot of its detractors. Burger King (BKW) -- Loser Burger chains are bucking the trend these days, beefing up their dollar menus at a time when the economy is showing signs of life. There's a reason for that. Customers are moving up to higher quality "fast casual" establishments that offer better food at slightly higher price points with the convenience of counter service. Burger King's latest push was announced this week. It will add a French fry-topped hamburger -- for a buck -- to its menu in September. There's nothing inherently wrong with the new sandwich. Who hasn't placed fries inside their burger from time to time? However, this seems like a bad play for franchisees: They may see fry sales slip at the hands of penny-pinching diners believing that they can knock of
- [By Lauren Pollock]
Zale Corp.'s(ZLC) fiscal first-quarter loss narrowed as the jewelry retailer reported higher same-store sales across nearly all stores it operates and overall margin growth.
Top 10 Companies To Own In Right Now: Hornby(HRN.L)
Hornby Plc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the development, design, production, sourcing, and distribution of hobby and interactive home entertainment products primarily in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, Italy, and Europe. Its products include train sets, train packs, steam locomotives, diesel and electric locomotives, controllers, railroads, live steams, freight rolling stock, passenger coaches, resin buildings, vehicles, lighting accessories, power supplies, wheels and couplings, tracks, landscaping materials, and layouts. The company markets its products under the Hornby, Scalextric, Electrotren, Lima, Jouef, Rivarossi, Arnold, Airfix, Humbrol, and Corgi brand names through a network of specialist and multiple retailers. Hornby Plc is based in Margate, the United Kingdom.
Top 10 Companies To Own In Right Now: Nautilus Minerals Com Npv (NUS.TO)
Nautilus Minerals Inc., an exploration stage company, engages in the exploration and development of the ocean floor for copper, gold, silver, and zinc deposits in Australasia. The company holds interest in Solwara 1, a seafloor copper-gold project located at 1600 meters water depth in the Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea. As of March 26, 2012, it had approximately 600,000 square kilometers of prospective exploration acreage in the western Pacific; and in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu, and Tonga, as well as in the eastern Pacific. The company has a strategic partnership agreement with Harren & Partner to own and operate a production support vessel that would serve as the operational base to extract copper and gold in the Solwara 1 project. Minerals Inc. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
Top 10 Companies To Own In Right Now: United Overseas Insurance Ltd (U13.SI)
United Overseas Insurance Limited engages in the underwriting of general insurance and reinsurance in Singapore, ASEAN countries, and internationally. The company offers personal insurance products that include travel, personal accident, home protection, foreign domestic worker, and motor insurance products. It also provides risk management solutions for the protection of business assets, including fire and extra perils, business interruption, machinery/equipment, burglary and theft, money, fidelity guarantee, plate glass, public liability, work injury compensation, group personal accident, and marine cargo insurance. In addition, United Overseas Insurance offers directors� and officers� insurance, and contractors� all risks/erection all risks insurance; and provides Takaful, a financial assurance to address misfortunes, accidents, or disasters. The company was founded in 1971 and is based in Singapore. United Overseas Insurance Limited is a subsidiary of United Oversea s Bank Limited.
Top 10 Companies To Own In Right Now: Hi Crush Partners LP (HCLP)
Hi Crush Partners LP, formerly Hi-Crush Partners LP, is a domestic producer of monocrystalline sand, a specialized mineral that is used as a proppant to enhance the recovery rates of hydrocarbons from oil and natural gas wells. The Company reserves consist of Northern White sand, a resource existing in Wisconsin and limited portions of the upper Midwest region of the United States. It owns, operates and develops sand reserves and related excavation and processing facilities and will seek to acquire or develop additional facilities. The Company's 561-acre facility with integrated rail infrastructure, located near Wyeville, Wisconsin, enables it to process and deliver approximately 1,600,000 tons of frac sand per year. In June 2013, Hi Crush Partners LP announced the completion of its acquisition of D&I Silica, LLC (D&I).
The Company�� frac sand production is sold to investment grade-rated pressure pumping service providers under long-term, contracts that require its customers to pay a specified price for a specified volume of frac sand each month. The Company owns and operates the Wyeville facility, which is located in Monroe County, Wisconsin and, as of December 31, 2011, contained 48.4 million tons of proven recoverable sand reserves of mesh sizes it has contracted to sell. From the Wyeville in-service date to March 31, 2012, it had processed and sold 555,250 tons of frac sand.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Alex Planes]
Hi-Crush Partners (NYSE: HCLP ) and U.S. Silica Holdings (NYSE: SLCA ) could also pose a threat to CARBO's higher-end products. CARBO has worked feverishly to convince drillers that ceramic proppants are much stronger than sand, and can withstand the high temperatures and pressures of deep, fractured wells. Since Hi-Crush's IPO, however, it does appear that the tide has shifted to sand, as Carbo's revenues have declined�while Hi-Crush and U.S. Silica have gained. Increased competition from a number of Chinese companies that have flooded the domestic market with cheap ceramic proppants is also a danger to CARBO's higher-quality products, provided that the cut-rate ceramics are actually up to the task.
- [By Dan Burrows]
It sounds like a soft-drink company, but Hi-Crush Partners (HCLP) is racking up profits through the revolution in oil extraction.
This tiny company with a market cap of just $917 million makes the sand used in fracking — and as anyone in an oil-boom state like North Dakota can tell you, business is good.
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