Water Stocks: A Few of My Favorite Things, Part I

Water – I’ve been urging my subscribers to invest in water stocks for several years…and Hyflux is one of my favorites. Hyflux (HYFXF: OTC Bulletin Board) operates in China, Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East and North Africa. It is involved in a variety of water projects, from desalination to recycling. It was among the first stocks ever recommended in my investment service, Mayer’s Special Situations, when I launched the “Blue Gold Portfolio” back in the summer of 2006. Since I recommended it, Hyflux is up 75%, while the S&P 500 is down 10%.

Is Bakken Shale the New American Gold Rush?

You know the labor market is tight when the local McDonald’s starts handing out $300 signing bonuses. Workers are coming in from all over, making it tough to find housing. They might sleep in their trucks or pitch tents, but it can get 50 degrees below zero, which makes such a move dangerous.

Arrow Energy (ASX:AOE): Rising Demand in Aussie LNG

Big news: Arrow Energy (ASX:AOE), a modest energy producer, received a $3 billion takeover bid yesterday. Why was this benchwarmer story the leadoff hitter in today’s 5 Min. Forecast? Ahh, the drama’s in the details…some big trends in the making here:

Griffon Corp (NYSE:GFF): Buy Cockroaches, Get Rich

The lowly cockroach has a tough chin. It’s survived all kinds of shocks over the years. Jungles gave way to deserts. Flatlands succumbed to urban habitats. Predators came and went over many millennia. Yet there the cockroach stood, undaunted upon its six spindly legs.

Investors could learn a few things from the cockroach.

Why The SEC Sued Me – And Why You Should Care

The reason you might have heard about my Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit is because I didn’t settle the case.

When most people are sued by the SEC, they do their best to put the matter behind them – as quickly and quietly as possible.

This normally involves paying a large fine and essentially promising “not to do it again.” If you pay the fine, the chances are good most people will ignore the matter. You’re not required to admit any guilt. Thus, the damage to your reputation is largely mitigated and you can go on with your life. That’s why most people settle with the SEC when it comes to civil (noncriminal) lawsuits.

What’s More Important: Price Per Ounce or Ounces Owned?

In a recent conversation with a fellow gold analyst, he was emphatic that the price one pays for physical gold should be ignored. “What’s far more important,” he insisted, “is how many ounces I own in relation to the total value of my assets.”

Building a core position in gold bullion is a smart goal, to be sure, and a strategy Casey Research has been advising for years. However, ignoring the price you pay for gold could be seen as foolhardy; sure, it’s insurance, but isn’t price part of the consideration when you shop for insurance?

Sell Bank Stocks: The “Truth” Behind Non-Performing Loans

Whoever said, “Opposites attract,” didn’t know what they were talking about…or maybe they did know and just didn’t provide all the details.

The world around us provides ample evidence that opposites do, in fact, attract…but not always toward a favorable outcome. Sometimes opposites attract like gravity attracts a crippled airliner…or like a field mouse attracts a rattlesnake…or a bare foot attracts a rusty nail…or a Rusty Nail attracts an alcoholic…or accounting chicanery attracts a gullible investor.

Titanium Metals (NYSE:TIE): Investing in Aviation Growth

The economic center of gravity will not always reside in the United States. In fact, it’s already in the process of shifting from the US to Asia and the Middle East. Forward-looking investors cannot afford to ignore this trend.

One of my favorite ways to invest in the rapidly growing emerging markets is through the back door, so to speak. Invest in companies, wherever they are, that have what these economies need or want, but don’t have. Airliner production is a classic example.

Equities 2010: Which stocks will rock?

The outlook for equity markets in 2010 is as muddled as ever after a year that only can be described as enigmatic. Equities had one of the best runs ever off of the March 2009 low, but it sure didn’t feel bullish or that we were in the midst of a recovery. Once there were actual signs of recovery, the market corrected.

Coming Investment Boom: Curing American Obesity

Weight loss is an area we’ve been looking at for a long time now.

Obesity is a major risk factor in various diseases, from arthritis and cancer to diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Any drug that can help people lose weight safely is, therefore, going to offer true value. Moreover, obesity increases with age. As the baby boom, the wealthiest generation in history, rolls into its senior years, the demand and the need for an obesity treatment is growing dramatically.

Canadian Dollar More than Just a Commodity Currency

I like the Canadian dollar (CAD) more and more. It has some fundamentals that are definitely improving, and some other aspects that are definitely worth considering. Here’s why…

Traditionally, the loonie has been linked with the Australian (AUD) and New Zealand dollars (NZD). Now in the current market, currencies are often linked together by at least one of three elements: They either produce a high yield, they are commodity-based or they are funding currencies for a carry trade.

Emerging Markets Are Still a Buy

Oranges were once expensive luxuries in northern climes. “In 1916,” Paul Fussell writes in Abroad, “oranges, like other exotic things that had to travel by sea, were excessively rare in England. If you could find them at all, they cost the shocking sum of 5d each.”

Today, we take for granted that we can eat apples and oranges and bananas all year round if we choose. It doesn’t matter where you live. We can eat strawberries in the dead of winter. In fact, we routinely enjoy goods that come from places very far from our own doorstep.