Natural Gas: Opportunity of the Year?

It's difficult to imagine that this energy commodity could offer a promising opportunity for profit when you observe its performance across different timeframes, including yearly, half-yearly, and even year-to-date. Below is a chart displaying its performance over the course of one year.

NG Futures 1Y Performance

Source: finviz.com

Natural gas futures have performed the worst among all commodities on the mentioned timeframes, losing 73% of their price in one year. They are almost double the percentage loss of the next worst-performing commodity, oats futures.

The chart below sheds light on the poor performance of natural gas futures. Continue reading "Natural Gas: Opportunity of the Year?"

How to Make Money with Clean Tech Energy

The Energy Report: A large number of photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing firms went bankrupt during the past year. What is the outlook for solar energy firms?

Pavel Molchanov: Most of the solar bankruptcies that took place in the U.S., Europe and China have occurred among companies that manufacture solar modules. But it's important to note that a bankrupt company does not necessarily shut down production. About 75% of these companies, as measured by production capacity, have continued to operate, either on a stand-alone basis during bankruptcy or following an acquisition by a strategic partner.

Take, for example, China's Suntech Power Holdings (STP:NYSE). It was the largest solar manufacturer in the world as recently as 2011. It declared bankruptcy in March, and continues to operate and generate revenue. Solyndra, of course, has been wiped off the face of the earth. But such liquidation is a very rare outcome for large solar companies that take temporary refuge in bankruptcy.

TER: Are bankrupt, producing solar companies attractive investments? Continue reading "How to Make Money with Clean Tech Energy"