The price of gasoline in the U.S. is on the rise again.
Futures prices for RBOB ("Reformulated Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending"), the NYMEX futures contract for gasoline, are up over 11% for the year, and a full 6.6% of that increase has come in the past month.
In fact, gas is up 2.4% over the past week alone. Today, the average retail price is 4 cents higher per gallon than a year ago.
And you can bet that as we move into the "official" start of the summer driving season, the worst is yet to come. Prices will be headed even higher.
So with all the hoopla surrounding our newfound oil wealth and our legitimate move to become energy self-sufficient in as little as a decade, why are gas prices still climbing?
Let me explain...
More Oil Doesn't Necessarily Mean Lower PricesBut first I need to clear the record about what this new largess in unconventional oil actually means. Then I'll identify the two primary causes of higher gas prices, along with a third catalyst that is waiting in the wings.
Top 10 Electric Utility Companies For 2015: Cache Inc.(CACH)
Cache, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mall and Web based specialty retailer of women?s lifestyle sportswear and dresses in the United States. It offers eveningwear; casual and daytime sportswear, including tops, bottoms, and dresses; and accessories, such as jewelry, belts, and handbags under the Cache brand name. The company also provides its products online through its Web site, cache.com. As of March 22, 2012, it operated 267 stores in 43 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Cache, Inc. was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
As we head into Black Friday and the holiday shopping season, small cap apparel retail stocks Cache, Inc (NASDAQ: CACH), Stein Mart, Inc (NASDAQ: SMRT), Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc (NASDAQ: PSUN) and Destination XL Group Inc (NASDAQ: DXLG) have the distinction of being the best performing small cap apparel retail stocks for this year (according to Finviz.com) with gains of 111.6%, 92.7%, 88.7% and 65.7%, respectively. What are these high flying small caps doing right in the apparel retail space and will they continue delivering a stellar performance for Black Friday and the all important holiday season for�investors? Here is what new and existing investors and traders alike need to know or consider:
Top 10 Electric Utility Companies For 2015: Investors Title Company(ITIC)
Investors Title Company, through its subsidiaries, provides title insurance to residential, institutional, commercial, and industrial properties. It underwrites land title insurance for owners and mortgagees as a primary insurer; and offers the reinsurance of title insurance risks to other title insurance companies. The company also provides tax-deferred real property exchange services, as well as serves as an exchange accommodation titleholder and holds property for exchangers in reverse exchange transactions; offers investment management and trust services to individuals, companies, banks, and trusts; and provides consulting services to title insurance agencies. Investors Title Company serves various customers in the residential and commercial market sectors of the real estate industry. It issues title insurance policies primarily through approved attorneys from underwriting offices, as well as through independent issuing agents in 24 states and the District of Columbia, the United States. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By CRWE]
Investors Title Company (NASDAQ:ITIC), reported its results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012. Net income increased 110.0% to $3,349,488, or $1.57 per diluted share, compared with $1,594,805, or $0.74 per diluted share, for the prior year quarter.
Top 10 Chemical Companies To Watch In Right Now: Progress Software Corporation(PRGS)
Progress Software Corporation operates as an enterprise software company worldwide. Its products include Progress OpenEdge platform, which offers development tools, application servers, application management tools, and an embedded database; Progress Orbix to address enterprise integration problems with standards-based solutions; and Progress ObjectStore, an object data management system to store data faster than relational database management system or file-based storage system. The company?s products also comprise Progress Responsiveness Process Management suite for business users; Progress Control Tower, an interactive business control panel; Progress Sonic, which comprises an enterprise messaging system and the enterprise service buses; Progress Actional that provides operational and business visibility, root cause analysis, and policy-based security and control of services; Progress Apama, which offers tools for creating, testing, and deploying strategies for applicat ions, including algorithmic trading, market aggregation, smart order routing, market surveillance and monitoring, and risk management; Progress Savvion BusinessManager, a business process management software; and Fuse products that provide customers with access to professional open source integration and messaging software. In addition, it offers Progress DataDirect Connect products, which provide data connectivity components; Progress DataDirect Shadow to provide foundation architecture for standards-based mainframe integration; and Progress Data Services product set that offers data integration for distributed applications. Further, the company provides maintenance, consulting, training, and customer support services. Progress Software Corporation sells its products to independent software vendors, original equipment manufacturers, and system integrators through direct sales force and independent distributors. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in Bedford, Massac husetts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Kell and Lauren Pollock var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); ]
Progress Software Corp.'s(PRGS) fiscal first-quarter profit fell 64% as the business-software provider’s revenue slipped due to the timing of certain deal closures.
- [By Rich Duprey]
Believing it should have a single, cohesive platform for the development of�cloud and mobile application development technologies, Progress Software (NASDAQ: PRGS ) announced this morning it was selling its�Apama�complex event processing solution to Software AG for an undisclosed sum.
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Progress Software (NASDAQ: PRGS) shares tumbled 11.15 percent to $22.82 after the company issued a weak Q1 forecast.
FireEye (NASDAQ: FEYE) was also down, falling 9.35 percent to $81.20 after the company's secondary offering lead to fear on the street.
Top 10 Electric Utility Companies For 2015: China Fund Inc (CHN)
The China Fund, Inc. (the Fund), incorporated on April 28, 1992, is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Fund�� investment objective is to achieve long-term capital appreciation through investment in companies and other entities with significant assets, investments, production activities, trading or other business interests in the People�� Republic of China, or which derive a significant part of their revenue from the People�� Republic of China.
The China Fund, Inc. may invest in equity-linked securities, such as linked participation notes, equity swaps and zero-strike options, and securities warrants collectively referred to as Access Products. The Fund invests various sectors, including industrials, consumer discretionary, energy, information technology, financials, consumer staples, materials, utilities, healthcare and telecommunications. Martin Currie Inc. serves as the investment manager for the Fund's listed assets. Asian Direct Capital Management is the investment manager for the Fund's assets allocated to direct investments.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Stephen Leeb, Founder and Research Chairman, Leeb Group]
Healthy economic data, coupled with low inflation, make Chinese stocks attractive as well. Our first choice here is the China Fund (CHN). It holds a diverse portfolio of stocks primarily focused on the Chinese domestic market.
Top 10 Electric Utility Companies For 2015: Tesla Motors Inc.(TSLA)
Tesla Motors, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and sells electric vehicles and advanced electric vehicle powertrain components. It offers Tesla Roadster, an electric sports car. The company markets and sells its vehicles directly to consumers through the phone and Internet, as well as through its network of Tesla stores. It operates 18 Tesla stores located in Boulder, Chicago, Los Angeles, Menlo Park, Miami, New York, Newport Beach, San Jose, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Copenhagen, London, Milan, Monaco, Munich, Paris, Tokyo, and Zurich. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Daniel Miller]
Investors would be hard pressed to find a hotter topic under discussion out there today than the bull versus bear case on Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA ) . If you were savvy enough to invest in Tesla six months ago, you're sitting pretty with a 223% increase in that time frame. Some investments never have that type of success before the companies close the doors and file for Chapter 11, so pat yourself on the back Tesla and Tesla-savvy investors. I cover the auto industry for The Motley Fool and I call it like I see it, always ��that's what has me a little perplexed with Tesla as an investment. Here's why.
Top 10 Electric Utility Companies For 2015: SolarCity Corp (SCTY)
SolarCity Corporation (SolarCity), incorporated on June 21, 2006, is engaged in the design, installation and sale or lease of solar energy systems to residential and commercial customers, or sale of electricity generated by solar energy systems to customers. The Company sells renewable energy to its customers. As of December 12, 2012, the Company served customers in 14 states. The Company�� residential customers are individual homeowners and homeowners. The Company�� commercial customers represent several business sectors, including technology, retail, manufacturing, agriculture, nonprofit and houses of worship. The Company has installed solar energy systems for several government entities, including the the United States Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy, and the Department of Homeland Security. The Company purchases major components, such as solar panels and inverters directly from multiple manufacturers. As of September 30, 2012, its primary solar panel suppliers were Trina Solar Limited, Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited and Kyocera Solar, Inc., among others, and its primary inverter suppliers were Power-One, Inc., SMA Solar Technology, AG, Schneider Electric SA, Fronius International GmbH and SolarEdge Technologies, among others.
Solar Energy Products
The Company�� solar energy products include Solar Energy Systems, and SolarLease and power purchase agreement finance products. The major components of its solar energy systems include solar panels that convert sunlight into electrical current. Most of its solar energy customers choose to purchase energy from the Company pursuant to one of two payment structures: a SolarLease or a power purchase agreement. In both structures, the Company charges customers a monthly fee for the power produced by its solar energy systems. In the lease structure, this monthly payment is pre-determined and includes a production guarantee. In the power purchase agreement structure, the Company charges customers a fee per kilowatt! hour based on the amount of electricity actually produced by the solar energy system.
Energy Efficiency Products and Services
The Company�� energy efficiency products and services include home energy evaluation and energy efficiency upgrades. The Company sells home energy efficiency evaluations to new solar energy system customers and existing customers. The Company�� energy efficiency upgrade products and services address heating and cooling, air sealing, duct sealing, water heating, insulation, furnaces, weatherization, pool pumps and lighting. As of December 12, 2012, the Company had completed over 13,000 home energy evaluations and performed more than 2,000 energy efficiency upgrades.
Other Energy Products and Services
The Company�� other energy products and services include electric vehicle charging and energy storage. The Company installs electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment that it sources from third parties. SolarCity markets EV equipment to residential and commercial customers through retail partnerships with companies, such as The Home Depot, and through EV manufacturers and dealerships, such as its partnership with Tesla Motors, Inc. The Company is developing a battery management system built on its solar energy monitoring communications backbone. As of December 12, 2012, the Company had over 100 energy storage pilot projects under contract. As of December 12, 2012, the Company had sold over 750 charging stations.
Enabling Technologies
The Company�� enabling technologies include SolarBid Sales Management Platform, SolarWorks Customer Management Software, Energy Designer, Home Performance Pro and SolarGuard and PowerGuide Proactive Monitoring Solutions. SolarBid is a sales management platform, which incorporates a database of rate information by utility, sun exposure, roof orientation and a range of other factors to enable a detailed analysis and customized graphical presentation of each customer� �s savin! gs.
SolarWorks is the software platform the Company uses to track and manage project. Energy Designer is a software application its field engineering auditors use to collect pertinent site-specific design details on a tablet computer. Home Performance Pro is its energy efficiency evaluation platform that incorporates the United States Department of Energy�� Energy Plus simulation engine. Home Performance Pro collects and stores details of a building�� construction and energy use. SolarGuard and PowerGuide provide its customers a view of their home�� or business�� energy generation and consumption.
The Company competes with American Solar Electric, Inc., Astrum Solar, Inc., Petersen Dean, Inc., Real Goods Solar, Inc., REC Solar, Inc., Sungevity, Inc., Trinity Solar, Inc., Verengo, Inc., SunRun Inc. and Ameresco, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
That good news and Musk’s 60-minutes face-time–where Musk got to answer questions like “What is it about you that seems to invite skepticism?”–hasn’t been greeted with a higher stock price for Tesla today, however, after Barron’s Bill Alpert panned Tesla’s gigafactory. SolarCity (SCTY), though, has gained 1.8% to $62.58.
- [By Tyler Crowe and Aimee Duffy]
There is no better way to get people to make big purchases than to offer a product with no money down. That is exactly what SolarCity (NASDAQ: SCTY ) is planning to do. The company just announced that it will be extending its no-money-down offer to homebuilders and developers. It should come as so surprise that SolarCity is extending this deal, which was previously only available to homeowners, because the company recently signed a financing deal with�Goldman Sachs� (NYSE: GS ) �for this very kind of move,�
- [By Paul Ausick]
Source: ThinkstockSolarCity Corp. (NASDAQ: SCTY) reported third quarter 2013 earnings after markets closed Wednesday. For the quarter, the solar PV installer posted an adjusted earnings per share (EPS) loss of $0.43 on revenues of $48.6 million. In the same period a year ago, the company reported an unadjusted EPS loss of $3.41 on revenues of $31.97 million. Third-quarter results compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for an adjusted EPS loss of $0.44 and $42.52 million in revenues.
Top 10 Electric Utility Companies For 2015: Hecla Mining Co (HL)
Hecla Mining Company, incorporated on August 7, 2006, is engaged in discovering, acquiring, developing, producing, and marketing silver, gold, lead and zinc. The Company operates in two segments: the Greens Creek unit and the Lucky Friday unit. Its wholly-owned subsidiary is Hecla Alaska LLC. The Company produces zinc, lead and bulk concentrates at its Greens Creek unit and lead and zinc concentrates at its Lucky Friday unit, which it sells to custom smelters on contract, and unrefined gold and silver bullion bars (dore) at Greens Creek, which are sold directly to customers or further refined before sale to precious metals traders. The concentrates produced at its Greens Creek and Lucky Friday units contain payable silver, zinc and lead, and the concentrates produced at Greens Creek also contain payable gold. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company produced 6,394,235 ounces of silver, 55,496 ounces of gold, 21,074 tons of lead and 64,249 tons of Zinc. Effective February 26, 2013, Hecla Mining Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, acquired a 24.73% stake in Brixton Metals Corp. In June 2013, the Company announced that its acquisition of Aurizon Mines Ltd is complete.
The Greens Creek Unit
Greens Creek is located on Admiralty Island, near Juneau, Alaska. The Greens Creek unit is 100% owned. During the year ended December 31, 2012, Greens Creek contributed 100%, of its consolidated revenue.
The Lucky Friday unit
The Lucky Friday unit is located in northern Idaho. Lucky Friday is 100% owned by the company.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Silver miner Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL ) has completed the acquisition of Aurizon Mines, for which it paid approximately $760 million, the company announced today.
Top 10 Electric Utility Companies For 2015: ATAC Resources Ltd (ATC)
ATAC Resources Ltd. (ATAC) is a Canada-based exploration-stage company. ATAC is in the business of exploring for metals and minerals with a particular emphasis on gold. The Company holds interests in a number of other mineral properties outside of the Rackla Gold project area, which is located in the Mayo Mining District of central Yukon. ATAC�� wholly owned Rackla Gold project consists of an approximate center of the project area is 100 kilometers northeast of Keno City. The Rackla Gold project area is comprised of over 8,000 mineral claims. The claims cover an area of 1,700 square kilometers. The Rackla Gold project area includes Rau Trend and the Nadaleen Trend. Joint venture properties include the Connaught property. ATAC and Klondike Silver Corp. each hold a 50% interest in the Connaught property. Property interests under option include the Rosy Property, Green Gulch, Touleary, Dan Man and Shamrock Properties. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Patricio Kehoe]
Management�� efficiency is also evidenced by its decision to reduce its non-core assets in order to concentrate on its most profitable businesses. Consequently, almost nine months after its initial tender, Orange divested its Dominican unit to Luxemburg-based Altice SA (ATC) for $1.4 billion last week.
Top 10 Electric Utility Companies For 2015: Endeavour International Corp (END)
Endeavour International Corporation (Endeavour), incorporated on January 13, 2000, is an independent oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and acquisition of energy reserves in the United States and United Kingdom. The Company has three producing fields in the United Kingdom, including Alba, Bacchus and Bittern, as well as a number of development projects including Rochelle and Columbus. In the United States, the Company has production in the Haynesville and Marcellus, as well as two oil frontier plays in Colorado and Montana. As of December 31, 2012, Endeavour had proved reserves of 71,591 million cubic feet (MMcf) of natural gas and 13,739 thousands of barrels (Mbbls) of crude oil for a combined 25.7 million barrels of oil equivalent (MBOE).
The North Sea is a resource area where it has a development project, producing properties and additional exploration licenses. During 2012, Alba production volumes were impacted by water handling issues. As of December 31, 2012, it held a 30% working interest in its Bacchus field asset, which is operated by Apache Corporation, who owns a 50% working interest. In April and July 2012, it achieved production from the first and second development wells, respectively, on the Bacchus field. The Company�� working interest in the Rochelle area is 44% and it is the operator of the field, which is comprised of Blocks 15/26b, 15/26c and 15/27. Its United States activity has targeted reserve and production growth in shale gas plays, including the Louisiana Haynesville and Pennsylvania Marcellus areas.
The Company is also targeting emerging oil-prone and liquids-rich plays, including the Montana Heath oil play and its new interests in the Colorado Niobrara area. The Company operates and controls the Marcellus assets while retaining a 50% position in its remaining producing Haynesville acreage. The Company has 19 Haynesville Units which held by production with an estimated over 80 remaining gross locations to be developed, dep! ending on development well spacing. The Company has interests in approximately 88,900 net acres in the emerging Heath Shale oil play in Montana, primarily in Rosebud and Garfield Counties.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Wednesday morning, the financial sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from SouFun Holdings (NYSE: SFUN) and E-House (China) Holdings (NYSE: EJ). In trading on Wednesday, energy shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.67 percent. Among the energy stocks, Endeavour International (NYSE: END)was down more than 22 percent, while TransGlobe Energy (NASDAQ: TGA) tumbled around 6 percent.
Top 10 Electric Utility Companies For 2015: Valmont Industries Inc.(VMI)
Valmont Industries, Inc. produces and sells fabricated metal products, pole and tower structures, and mechanized irrigation systems in the United States and internationally. The company?s Engineered Infrastructure Products segment offers steel and aluminum poles and structures, to which lighting and traffic control fixtures are attached for applications in streets, highways, parking lots, sports stadiums, and commercial and residential developments; and roadway safety systems, including guard rail barrier systems, wire rope safety barriers, and crash attenuation barriers to redirect vehicles and to prevent collisions between vehicles. This segment also provides structures and components for the wireless communication market, as well as for the erection of infrastructure, industrial, and commercial access systems. Its Utility Support Structures segment offers tapered steel and pre-stressed concrete poles for high-voltage transmission lines, substations, and electrical dist ribution, as well as produces hybrid structures, which are structures with a concrete base section and steel upper sections. The company?s Coatings segment provides metal coating services, such as hot-dipped galvanizing, anodizing, powder coating, and e-coating. Its Irrigation segment offers mechanical irrigation equipment and related service parts under the Valley brand. The company also manufactures forged steel grinding media for the mining industry, tubular products for industrial customers, and electrolytic manganese dioxide for disposable batteries; and distributes industrial fasteners. It serves state and federal governments, contractors, utility and telecommunications companies, commercial lighting fixtures manufacturers, and large farms, as well as the general manufacturing sector. The company sells its products through direct sales force, independent and commissioned sales agents, and independent dealers. Valmont Industries, Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headqua rtered in Omaha, Nebraska.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Valmont Industries (NYSE: VMI ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
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