Europe's Large Banks - Are The Titans Crumbling?

Winds of confusion and despair swirl around Europe's largest banks. Bank stocks plunged sickeningly late last summer as the euro crisis worsened. Its been a skittish, rumor-driven market ever since.
Adding to the confusion Central banks (US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England, etc.), sovereign wealth funds, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have all become involved. The European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) is Europe's latest savior. Such an entanglement of financial entities. How can anyone know the truth?
Dexia (DXBGF.PK), previously Belgium's largest financial institution, has become the first (but probably not the last) casualty of the crisis. It is being nationalized.
Which institutions actually own European sovereign debt? Read more here

Investing In Small- And Mid-Cap North American Oil Producers

Light oil is the crème de la creme of crude. Why? You need look no further than your garage. It's simple: Nothing is better than high quality, low sulfur sweet oil for making gasoline.
Automobiles are everyone's favorite mode of transportation. But It's not just developed countries anymore. Newly prosperous Asian countries are quickly building roads. And, predictably, Asians are buying automobiles in droves, rapidly boosting gasoline demand. Think how the U.S. expanded auto ownership in the 1950s.
Chinese auto ownership is currently less than 2% of U.S. ownership. But, Asians can't wait to catch up - and they have plenty of U.S. dollars to do it. Read more here

7 High Yielding Stocks to Defend Against a Market Downturn

What to do? Dismal economic figures and soon to end government stimulus seems to finally have crippled the 3 year old bull market. U.S. markets are now faltering or declining and commodiites are stagnating.

A healthy cash position is warranted. I've previously written how inverse ETFs can help (see here). High yielding securities may also provide protection. The high yield (even if reduced) is a natural defense against disinflation. Consider the following: . . . Read more here

5 High Yielding Israeli Stocks

Looking for yield? Look to Israel -- a prosperous, democratic country, known for its innovative, high-tech companies.

When the Great Recession hit worldwide in 2008, Israel largely escaped. Why? Israeli banks had avoided toxic debt and the Israeli government wisely stimulated with tax cuts -- not money printing.

Yes, I know what you are thinking. Why invest in the most reviled (at least by its neighbors) country in the Middle East? Good question . . . stay with me . . . we will revisit the issue.

Consider these 5 high yielders:

Cellcom Israel Ltd. (CEL)

Israel's largest cellular communication company  . . . Read more here

Saudi Arabia Posts Major Production Decline

Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, posted an almost 10% monthly production decline in March says a Thursday Wall Street Journal Online article.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said Sunday that oil production from the kingdom was 8.292 million barrels per day in March, down about 800,000 barrels a day from 9.125 million barrels per day in February.

A Strange and Confusing Situation
Last February, with great fanfare, Saudi Arabia pledged to increase production -- making up lost Libyan exports. Now, we hear March production was actually down big time.  Read more here

Russian Oil: Investors Should Proceed With Caution

uick, which country produces more oil than any other? If you know that, can you name its largest oil and gas companies?
Odds are (unless you're an oil and gas enthusiast) you don't know.
Russia is the world's largest oil producer -- pumping 10.12 million barrels/day (mb/d) out of the ground. Saudi Arabia is second with 9.8 mb/d, the U.S. comes in third with 9.06 mb/d, and Iran a distant 4th with 4.1 mb/d (See complete list here).

The Russian company Rosneft (RNFTF.PK), producing 2.18 mb/d of Russia's 10.1 mb/d, is Russia's top producer while Lukoy (LUKOY.PK) holds the largest reserves. Russian oil flows . . . Read more here

5 Best Positive Cash-Flow Oil Companies

Millions of acres in oil shale prospects ... production continues to expand ... good times are just beginning ...
You've heard the stories. Almost every exploration and production company seems to have at least one. Here are 5 of the better ones. For this article, let's just stick with the stuff that really matters: Cash income, specifically free cash flow. I screened a dozen or more energy companies looking for those with the best market capitalization/levered free cash flow -- call it MC/LFCF -- over the last 12 months. This information is readily available in Yahoo Finance's Key Statistics. The lower the number, the more undervalued the equity.
Of the couple dozen energy companies I looked at, the following five had the best MC/LFCF -- all under 20. . .  Read more here

Japan: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Japan is reeling from a devastating 9.0 earthquake and an accompanying 30 foot tsunami (a Japanese term meaning harbor wave). The tsunami tossed cars and ships around like toys, flattening towns and cities in minutes. The death toll is expected to top 10,000.
And now engineers are struggling to control radiation from damaged reactors -- a slow-moving nightmare that just won't go away.
The Good
The People. The Japanese are a hardworking, extremely resilient people. No matter how much destruction, how much suffering, how many deaths, they will bounce back. Remember, this country rose from the ashes of World War II (including losing two cities to nuclear bombs) to become the second largest economy in the world (only recently has China claimed the number 2 spot).
The Corporations. Can you think of anyone who makes cars better than Toyota (TM) or Honda (HMC)? Complete article on SeekingAlpha here

5 Reserve Rich Energy Companys at Bargain Prices

Oil is near $105 a barrel. Is it too late to invest in oil companies? I certainly don't think so! Consider these 5 reserve rich small caps. Three are bargains at current oil prices. Two, if not now, will be bargains when natural gas prices rise.
One company has $100/share in reserves, yet is priced at only $20/share. Another has 2,400,000 acres (3,750 square miles) of mostly unexplored oil shale prospects. A third, now getting into oil, is loaded with natural gas reserves . . . but sells for 7% of what it did in 2008.
Best of all, none of these companies' reserves is in volatile North Africa  Complete article on SeekingAlpha here

Using ETFs to Profit From Rising Interest Rates

Inflationary alarms -- increasingly loud -- are sounding worldwide. Europe, Canada, Great Britain, emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil have, or are contemplating, raising interest rates.

My recent article on crisis investing noted 4 sectors you should be in: oil, real estate, gold, and inverse interest rate ETFs. Here we will look at the fourth -- and most speculative -- sector: interest rate sensitive ETFs.

Walking the Edge of the Precipice

For now, the U.S. continues to pursue an easy money policy.  Read the Full Article Here

Crisis Investing -- 4 Sectors You Must be in Now

Spring comes early in central Florida. Wrens sing, wild jasmine flowers in the woodlands. Today, as I write this, I'm in a quiet, small town cafe. Both customers and the early-morning sun are slowly filtering in -- a peaceful, idyllic scene.
But ... reality is in the headlines. North Africa aflame. Dire warnings of fiscal catastrophe here at home. Conservative governors clashing with suddenly indignant public employees. One gets the feeling that things could spin quickly out of control.
So how does one invest in this environment?  Read the Full Article Here

Collapsing Bonds? Look at the Trends Now!

Did collapsing bond markets last November signal the end of the three decade-long bond bull market? Almost all bond ETFs peaked on or near November 4 of last year. Since then some (perhaps unexpected) trends have emerged.
ETFs are useful trend indicators. Since they are composed of dozens, even hundreds, of securities, individual security movements have little effect on price. Lets look at five ETFs to see what is happening.  Read the Full Article Here

Housing's 50% Off Sale -- Time to Buy the Home Builders?

Commodities are shooting up -- 20% or more -- in just the last 3 months. The most common explanation? Accelerating inflationary expectations. No sign of this in the U.S. housing market though. That market drags along near multi-year lows. Indeed, the one asset the Fed wants to inflate, housing, shows few signs of revival.
But, is the housing market now bottoming? Well, maybe. After falling over 50% the last 3 years Zillow says my central Florida house has actually increased in value two months running now. Nothing to get too excited about -- total increase is less than 3%. Nonetheless, it is welcome news.
Why It Is So Hard to Reflate the Housing Market   . . .  Read the Full Article Here

How Former Canadian Income Trusts Can Protect Bond Investors From Dollar Debasement

Bonds, especially Treasuries and municipal bonds (munis), are a major component of American retirement portfolios, be it pensions, IRAs, annuities, or mutual funds.
The recent sharp fall in bond prices, which started last November, has sent tremors through fixed income markets. With an apparent end to the 30 year old bull market in bonds, it may be time to look at alternatives.
How Safe Are Treasury and Municipal Bonds?
Treasuries, munis, and other bonds may have hit their highs early last fall. Since then -- about the same time Quantitative Easing 2 (QE2) kicked in -- things have been mostly downhill for bonds.
Treasuries have the full backing of the U.S. government,   Read the Full Article Here

Natural Gas: The Last Undervalued Commodity

The worst commodities of 2010 just might be the best in 2011. It often works that way. So, what was the worst of 2010? Natural Gas (down some 20%) and cocoa (down some 7%) take the loser's prize! And, sure enough, both are off to a roaring start in 2011.

We all love (and maybe even dream of investing in) cocoa -- aka chocolate. But, for now, let's ignore that tempting choice and look at natural gas.

Why Is Natural Gas So Cheap?
Natural gas prices are low for good reasons.  Read the Full Article Here