WHY Annaly's (NLY) Quarter Could Be Off To A Good Start

As most of us are painfully aware, the mortgage real estate investment trusts (mREITs) have been among the weakest stocks of the last six month in an otherwise strong bull market. However, in this article I will provide evidence as to why I think things are starting to look better for my top holding in the sector, Annaly Capital Management (NLY). In fact, there are some signs that indeed this may be the case. At the most basic level, the last few weeks of the third quarter and the current fourth quarter have provided an environment that has been quite strong for the company, but understanding where the positives and negatives reside is key to deciding if the stock is a buy with defined upside at these levels. On the surface, things are looking.....READ MORE

Vista Gold (VGZ) is WAYYYYYYY undervalued

At 45 cents a share, and a 35-40 million market cap, the stock is trading at a 85% discount to PROVEN gold reserves. This doesnt even take into account the probable, which shoots it up to a 93% discount. BUY BUY BUY HAND OVER FIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Added more to Linn Energy at $29.75

Company is going places. Stock will move higher. Distribution of 10%. Fantastic

Jim Cramer is Wrong About Linn Energy (LINE)

Linn Energy (LINE) is primarily an oil and natural gas company, and engages in the acquisition and development of oil and natural gas properties. I have been in and out of the stock, most recently in late 2012. I still follow the headlines and read an occasional article. I recently wrote an article that gave a unique perspective in LINE's merger with Berry Petroleum (BRY) as well as the expansion of its Permian Basin properties. That article sparked a lot of discussion. I noted that there were readers clearly in the bullish camp, while others are in the bearish camp. Ultimately, I believe the company is taking the correct steps to ensure long-term stability and profitability. In the short run, there could be more pain ahead. Jim Cramer recently opined that LINE is simply too low to sell now. I couldn't disagree more with this overly simplistic view of any stock. Here is WHY.

Im Buying More Apple (AAPL)

Its WAY to cheap. Catalyst will be coming as they bring new designs and products to market. Very cheap and pays you to wait!

American Capital Agency Really Isnt that Hard To Understand, Here's Why

I recently took to social media and lambasted talking heads who claim that mortgage real estate investment trusts (mREITs) are too difficult to understand. To me, it's not that hard to understand, and it won't be for you either. Some of my institutional money management friends said they have no place in a portfolio. Really? Just going to lump them in with penny stocks? No place? Well, everyone is entitled to their opinion. However, I disagree. I not only think mREITs are not that difficult to understand but I also believe that they serve a good purpose in tax favorable accounts such as IRAs and ESAs. Now, many of you are reading this and probably thinking "ok, but hasn't this sector been crushed?" The answer is yes, it has been. My followers who own American Capital Agency (AGNC) have been most concerned. Specifically, the concern rests with a ......READ MORE

Selling my Schlumberger Position

With the recent decline in Oil, I plan to take profits in 80% of my Position in SLB.

Buy Calls on Synta Pharmaceuticals (SNTA)

This morning I bought call options on SNTA. I see it coming back to $5.00 in two weeks.

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Jim Cramer Is Just Plain Wrong About Annaly

Jim Cramer is wrong. I disagree with him entirely, at least on his recent bearish call on Annaly Capital Management (NLY). Basically, the call was somewhat benign during his lightning round of his show Mad Money. When asked about NLY at current levels, he stated: "I say no. It is too difficult to understand in this taper, no taper environment." Much of the headlines and action thereafter were predicated on the belief that "NLY is too difficult to understand." I'll admit, the mortgage real estate investment trust (mREIT) sector can really be confusing to many investors who own shares in the sector. However, unlike all of my prior articles on NLY, which have focused specifically on performance, or dividend sustainability or long-term performance of NLY, in this article I want to....READ MORE

Its a StockPickers Year!

It's been a great year for the market, with the S&P 500 (SPY) closing on November 14 at a new all-time high of 1790.62 -- the 35th time its set a new high this year (Note that from 1930 through 1953 there were no new closing highs). That puts the total return of the S&P 500 at almost 28 percent. In addition to it being a great year for the market, it should be a great year for active managers -- those stock pickers who every year are seeking alpha -- as the stars certainly appear to be aligned for them to outperform. Let's see why this is....READ MORE

Party On Ben: Gold, Silver, Copper Should Rise Into 2014, 25% Upside In Freeport-McMoRan

Thank you Federal Reserve! For anyone not paying attention, the much awaited and market priced taper of Fed purchases was supposed to be announced this week (on 9/18) to the tune of $10-$20 billion a month. To paraphrase a childhood holiday classic, but what to my wondering eyes should appear, the announcement of no taper and sudden jubilation in the market without any fear! That's right, no taper. The Fed views the market as too weak to cut purchasing. I am in full agreement with Stan Druckenmiller who just this morning on CNBC attested that "you've gotta love gold here." But why should..........................READ MORE

Halliburton And Schlumberger; Time To Take Profits?

In the long-term, a shortage in global supply is inevitable. We all know that higher supply eventually results in lower prices, and the global oil supply is heading that way very quickly. For years there has been chatter of so-called "peak oil." We probably have surpassed that mark, but did not factor in the possibility of new discoveries and better technology. Despite more cars are on the road, more drivers are on the road and more demand at the pump, the global oil supply is very strong right now and as such under normal economic pressures, prices should be lower or trending lower. They don't seem to be just yet, however a................READ MORE

Union Bankshares; An Unknown Regional Bank With Large Upside Potential Yielding 5%

Executive Summary: Trading at a significant discount to its regional competitors and yielding just under 5% annually, the little known Union Bankshares has grown its commercial and residential loan portfolio for five consecutive years. It has acquired competitors to strengthen its regional footprint and is rebalancing its portfolio to take advantage of the rising interest rate environment while simultaneously slashing expenses, setting the company up for continued growth over the next few years. Introduction Very small up and coming regional banks can deliver large profits when invested in early. The key....READ MORE

American Capital Agency: Time To Give Up?

American Capital Agency (AGNC) has plummeted in 2013 in response to two major concerns; the fact that the Federal Reserve may slow or cease its mortgage asset purchases sometime this year and the fear that rising interest rates will crush portfolio holdings of the mortgage real estate investment trusts (mREITS). The most recent unwarranted selling was just last Friday (7/5/13) which resulted from another better than expected jobs number showing that the market added 195,000 jobs in June. That day, when AGNC was trading down 7.5% at $20.21, I came out with a call to buy the panic selling. Since then the stock is up over 10%, with the first bounce coming shortly after the release of the article. Still, despite the evidence I have laid out in multiple articles and despite the fact that closer examination of the jobs number revealed a still gloomy view of the economy, I am inundated with inquiries as to whether it is time to just give up on AGNC altogether. While I would argue that despite AGNC shedding 1/3 of its share price since April, if you truly believe the sector is still doomed, then you could.....read more

Buy The Rare Earth Metals Strategic ETF Ahead Of The Announced Reverse Split

Rare earth metals and minerals have always been an interesting investment consideration. Many regular investors however, have never considered them. Rare earth metals and minerals are used as vital components in industry, and as the global economy recovers and grows, demand for these finite resources should also grow.(click to enlarge) Some rare earth metals include yttrium, cerium and scandium. A complete list of the 17 rare earth metals and minerals, along with examples of their various applications, can be found here. Figure one displays the elements considered rare earths on the periodic table. The demand for these metals is rising exponentially as they are used for smart phones and TV's, technologies which are just entering the emerging world. In today's technological society, there are more than seven screens per household in western nations. While demand has been growing, prices of these metals have .......read more

Annaly Capital: A Sinking Ship?

Ouch, a terrible selloff Tuesday (May 28, 2013) continued into the morning session yesterday (May 29, 2013) which knocked the mortgage real estate investment trusts (mREITs) down sharply on continued fears that the Federal Reserve will cease its asset purchases and interest rates will rise. By the end of the trading session yesterday, mREIT stocks had recovered most of their morning losses. Why so volatile? While the Fed has not confirmed or denied any actions yet, interest rates have been on the rise in the last few weeks, which can pressure the mREITS as I will discuss below. In fact, mortgage rates have now spiked to their highest level in a year, which has further pressured the mREITs. May has been one of the most awful and painful months in history for investors in mREITs as the entire sector has seen a selloff after poor earnings from both American Capital Agency (AGNC) and Annaly Capital (NLY). In light of the recent action, I was compelled to......................READ MORE

American Capital Agency: Time To Abandon Ship?

The pain continues. May has been an awful month for investors in the mortgage real estate investment trusts (mREITs) as the entire sector has seen a sell-off after poor earnings from both American Capital Agency (AGNC) and Annaly Capital (NLY). There was also disappointment reported from the hybrid mREIT American Capital Mortgage (MTGE). Last week, we saw a similarly depressing earnings announcement from an up and comer in the mREIT space, Western Asset Mortgage (WMC). After being inundated with inquiries regarding the future of AGNC and its main competitors, I felt compelled to.........READ MORE

The Fed To Trigger A Large Correction? Profit On The Panic

Stocks have had strong gains for six months straight after dipping in November. We are now in the longest stretch in over 7 years without a correction of 5% or more. This cannot go on forever, even with the Federal Reserve having its pedal to the medal. In fact, as soon as there is a confirmed indication that the Fed will pull its foot off the gas to reduce its massive third round of quantitative easing, aka QE3, big money will likely hit the sell button. Just this morning (5/20/13) the Dallas Fed President stated that it is not a matter of "if" they will dial back the easing, but "when" and how much. In fact, Fisher stated that halting it altogether will be "too violent for the market." I do not know how or when they will begin to dial back, but we are overdue for a correction. I think the market will ......READ MORE

After Dismal Earnings, 3 Hybrid REITs I Am Considering To Replace American Capital

Following American Capital's (AGNC) dismal quarterly performance, I have been on a hunt for a replacement for this beloved dividend paying real estate investment trust [REIT]. For my followers not familiar with a REIT, a REIT is simply any corporation, trust or association that acts as an investment agent specializing in real estate and real estate mortgages under Internal Revenue Code section 856. The rules for federal income taxation of REITs are found primarily in Part II (sections 856 through 859) of subchapter M of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code. The advantage of being a REIT is that the company is entitled to deduct dividends paid to its owners, and thus a REIT may avoid incurring all or part of its liabilities for U.S. federal income tax. To meet the qualifications, REITs are required to distribute 90% of its earnings to shareholders. Although I still like AGNC, its earnings report (links to a pdf file) was worrisome. For the first quarter, it reported comprehensive loss per common share of $1.57. This included $0.64 net income per share with a $2.21 loss per common share in other comprehensive areas (such as unrealized losses on investments). AGNC also reported a $0.78 net income spread per share (that is, the income made after cost of borrowing, expenses and interest income). The book value of the company dipped 9% to $28.93, down from $31.64 at the end of 2012. In searching for a replacement

Despite Record Physical Demand And A Short-Covering Rally, GLD Still Bleeding Assets

For anyone who has not been paying attention, gold and silver are in the grasp of the bears now. Prices of gold are now down almost 24% since hitting an all-time high of $1,920.80 an ounce in September 2011. Silver is now down 52% from its April 2011 highs of $49.51. This price action has sparked fears that the bull market in metals, particularly gold and silver, is coming to an end. Investors have been bailing out of the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV). The GLD is trading at $141.60, whereas the SLV is trading at $23.50. They are now down 125% and 22.0% in 2013, respectively. With the historic sell-off that took place last week, huge physical buyers stepped in. Much of the physical demand came from Asia and the U.S. On the silver front, physical demand is...............READ MORE

Record Demand Lifts Gold Prices, U.S. Mint Suspends Sales

The disconnect between the price of gold as determined by futures trading and ETF selling versus the demand for physical gold and silver continues to grow. Demand is now near all-time highs after a historic sell-off last week. The most popular ETFs that track gold and silver, the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV), are now at $138.69 and $22.42, respectively. With the sell-off in the metals, GLD has been forced to liquidate about $12 billion worth of gold in order to meet shareholder redemption demand as a result of the selling. This pressure on the GLD may continue due to the redemption need, however the price of gold has a tailwind in the form of near record physical bullion buying. The buying is so great that national Mints are having difficulty keeping pace with buyer demand......................READ MORE

Gold, Silver, And Copper Are In A Bear Market - What To Look For This Week

Prices of gold are now down almost 26% since hitting an all-time high of $1,920.80 an ounce in September 2011. Silver is now down 53% from its April 2011 highs of $49.51. Copper has also been very weak, plunging 25% from a recent February 2012 high of $3.98 a pound. This price action has sparked fears that the bull market in metals, particularly gold and silver, is coming to an end. Investors have been bailing out of the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV). The GLD is trading at $135.47, whereas the SLV is trading at $22.40. They are now down 16.4% and 23.8% in 2013, respectively. The Copper ETN (JJC) has lost 15% year to date, trading at $39.18. This article will.............................READ MORE

The Pain Of Lower Gold Prices: Barrick To Sell Assets

As most of us know, the only way to describe the price action in gold and silver on April 12th and April 15th is panic selling. There were several reasons for the initial bearishness on April 12th which led to technical and panic selling into April 15th in the precious metals market. We have witnessed the strongest sell-off in gold since 1980. Much of the selling seems to have subsided for now, as gold has stabilized this week, coming up each day of the past week. Gold has come back from the lows of the week and is currently at $1407, while silver is at $23.23 an ounce. The pain in the precious metals has sent the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) down considerably, trading now at $135.47 and $22.44, respectively. The pain in the metals has crushed the miners. The Gold Miners Index (GDX) is down another 6.5% this week, and down 40% year to date. The drop in gold prices is leading to one of the top gold producers, Barrick Gold (ABX), to contemplate..................................READ MORE

Gold, Silver And Bears Oh My: What Is Behind The Huge Sell-Off?

Gold was slammed on Friday (4/12/13). So was silver. The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) bled 4.70% to close at $143.95 and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) lost 5.32% to close at $25.28, both making brand new lows. The most frequently traded gold futures, the June 2013 gold contracts, fell below $1,500 an ounce for the first time in almost two whole years. This move appears to be largely technical in nature but has also been motivated by some important fundamentals. On Friday, there was no real economic news at all that should have resulted in such a volatile move, but there were some economic trends and pieces of news that fundamentalists took note of that likely started the selling. First.....READ MORE

Don't Panic Over The Silver Sell-Off

Panic. Fear. Sell now. That's what I have been hearing over and over regarding the precious metals these past few weeks. I have been inundated with personal messages and social media inquiries on what to do as gold and silver are under pressure once again this week. They have pulled back significantly from their autumn highs that were hit on October 4th this year after spiking following global central bank actions in August and September. All precious metals, especially silver are taking a beating again this week, and I view the sell-off as...........READ MORE

A Large Correction Coming? Ways To Profit On Volatility

Stocks have had strong gains for four months straight after dipping in November. However, there are some signs that this rally could be stalling. The Dow is now at 14,519 and the S&P 500 is at 1548. At the time of this writing the stock market is facing its worst week of 2013. With the Dow Jones ETF (DIA) is at 5 year highs at $144.89 and SPDR S&P500 ETF (SPY) at near its highs at $154.75, we have to question how we got here to make money......READ MORE

MIDZ: What Does The Upcoming Reverse Split Mean For Investors?

Bearish funds are an excellent way to profit from short-term panic as well as sustained selloffs and can help hedge one's portfolio. Because the Dow (DIA) and the S&P 500 (SPY) are up 12% and 10% year to date, one of the most popular emerging mid cap bear funds, the Direxion Daily Mid Cap 3X Bear Fund (MIDZ) is down a whopping 33% this year. As many mid cap stocks are up significantly in this bull market, as the DIA and SPY have been up in the last few years, MIDZ has degraded as it has been sold off because the investments made by MIDZ management led to losses. This has led to Direxion, a leader in providing popular alternative investment solutions, including other leveraged bear funds, to announce on March 1, 2013, that it will execute a reverse share split of the popular MIDZ Because....READ MORE

Silver Will Rebound

The last two years have given silver investors an excellent chance to buy on the way down as we've pulled back steadily since April 2011. This selloff has presented precious metal investors with opportunity buys for the long term. As the price has come down I have been recommending for some time to dollar cost average and/or pyramid down into silver and silver equities. My primary thesis, much of which is laid out in the background section here, is that the endless easy money policies from central banks around the globe have created a long-term tailwind for the various precious metals. Besides my favorite investment approach, physical coins and bullion, I have further recommended considering several gold plays, most notably the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the iShares Gold Trust (IAU). I believe that although these are paper investments, they can still be profitable as all precious metals will benefit from inflationary actions by central banks worldwide in the coming years. While gold is a straightforward way to benefit from the currency debasement occurring globally, I believe that silver is poised to outperform in the next decade. Bottom line - I believe it will rebound because.....READ MORE

My 2 Favorite Silver Stocks, On Sale And Delivering Results

In light of the Federal Reserve announcement to continue to accelerate its debt-buying program, I believe that currency devaluation is a goal of the US central bank which is a buy signal for the metals and miners. The worries in Cyprus, namely the fear that this country's idea of raiding citizen's bank deposit accounts could spread throughout Europe, gives investors more reason to buy the metals. Further, I believe that inflation will pick up in the next few quarters. As such, with the recent weakness in the metals, I believe it is a good time to initiate or add to existing positions in the sector, particularly for the long-term investor. Further, while the aforementioned ETFs should perform well in 2013, individual stocks can offer substantially better returns relative to the ETFs and physical assets if selected carefully. With the recent sell-off, some of the best of breed silver companies are just oversold and are now opportunity buys for the long-term investor looking to initiate or add to a silver position. The purpose of this article is to review and highlight a few of my favorite stocks in the silver space that..............READ MORE

Almaden Minerals: This Stock Is A Leveraged Buy On A Gold Rebound

AAU is a mineral and precious metal exploration company working primarilty in North America. The company has several highly interesting exploration projects. Most notably AAU has the Tuligtic and El Cobre projects in North America (figure 1). These properties are largely at early stages of development but they represent significant opportunities for the discovery of large gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc deposits. One such example is at its site at Ixtaca, Mexico where significant discoveries were made in 2010. I like AAU's two-fold business plan. It is simple. First, AAU wants to....READ MORE

Buy Beaten Down Sandstorm Gold For Significant Upside Potential

Gold and silver have been volatile over the last few weeks, and have dropped for several reasons I detailed here. Ben Bernanke came in and saved gold and silver, giving the metals a nice lift with his dovish statements reiterating that the Federal Reserve would continue its massive quantitative easing program. This bolstered prices of gold, silver, platinum and the companies that mine these metals. The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is about 3.5% off its 6 month low of $150.84 and currently trades at $155.31. While there has been back and forth between many of my readers about whether a "real bottom" is in or not for GLD and the gold miners, at $1,600 gold or even at $1,500 gold, one stock will remain highly profitable in coming quarters due to its unique business model. Sandstorm Gold (SAND), in the span of just four months, has suffered a 41% decline from its 52-week high to touch as low as $9.06 per share in recent trading sessions. In my opinion, this stock has pull backed enough for investors to........READ MORE

What's Behind The Drop In Gold And Silver? More Importantly What's To Come?

The markets' sentiment regarding gold (GLD) and silver (SLV) changed in the last two weeks or so with particularly strong selling today, leading to the metals just being crushed. In fact, gold dipped under $1,600 for the first time since the summer. The miners, which I am bullish on for the long-term, have been obliterated. There could be more downside ahead, but for the long-term investor I view this dip as an opportunity to add to physical and stock holdings as prices decline. Investors could look to bullion, the GLD or SLV (or one of the alternative ETFs I outline here) as well as the gold miners index (GDX) or the junior gold miners index (GDXJ). Finally, bargain hunters could look to individual stocks. I personally doubled my position in the best of breed gold miner, Yamana gold (AUY). The purpose of this article is to........READ MORE

Believe Silver Prices Will Rise? A Few Ways To Buy Exposure

Precious metals are opportunity buys for the long term. My primary thesis to support price appreciation in the precious metals is that the endless easy money policies from central banks around the globe have created a long-term tailwind as fiat currencies will be devalued over time and investors will seek currencies that hold their value such as gold and silver. In recent articles, I have suggested that gold prices have long-term tailwinds in the form of extensive inflationary pressures and have recommended considering several gold plays, most notably the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the iShares Gold Trust (IAU). I believe all precious metals will benefit from inflationary actions by central banks worldwide in the coming years. While gold is a straightforward way to benefit from the currency debasement occurring globally, I have opined that platinum could outperform gold but I further believe that silver is poised to outperform both of these metals for various reasons. There will always be demand for silver because aside from silver being a precious metal, it also has many industrial and technological applications. Therefore, there will always be.....READ MORE

Bullish On Gold And Silver? 2 Companies With Unique Business Models To Consider

Precious metals have been crushed since reaching highs in October 2012. The most popular precious metals ETFs, such as the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV), are still down 2% and 3% in the last three months, respectively. The ETFs that track many of the companies that mine and sell these metals are down much further. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) and the Global X Silver Miners (SIL) are down even further in the last three months compared with the metals they produce, losing 16.6%, 21.1% and 15.1%, respectively. Given recent sell-offs and the long term-tailwinds that gold and silver prices have due to central bank stimulus, I am reiterating right here that the gold and silver...............READ MORE

Blizzard Nemo Paralyzes Northeast States

The potentially historic blizzard that marched into the Northeast Friday put parts of the region in a virtual transportation lockdown, with the Massachusetts and Connecticut governors signing state orders banning cars from the road, trains ceasing service, and airlines halting flights in and out of Boston and New York. The storm picked up in intensity during the day Friday, and was expected to dump as much as 14 inches of snow on the New York City area and as much as three feet across New England before tapering off Saturday afternoon. Forecasters were warning of winds of up to 60 miles per hour, and snow drifts as high as five feet. "It definitely looks like it has the potential to be a historic event," said Lance Franck, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass. City and state officials were desperately trying to avoid the mayhem of the infamous Blizzard of 1978, which dumped three feet of snow across the Northeast, leading to dozens of deaths and scores of drivers stranded on the highways. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick took the rare step of signing an executive order outright banning motorists from all roads as of 4 p.m. Friday. Certain exceptions were being made for public-health workers, emergency vehicles, media and critical services. Violators could receive a civil fine. Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy issued a similar but less comprehensive order. To the north in New Hampshire, Gov. Maggie Hassan didn't go as far as ordering cars off state roads, but she did urge residents to stop driving by early evening. In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg encouraged people to leave work early Friday. New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo later declared a state of emergency to give local governments more flexibility in handling the anticipated snowfall, saying New York City and Long Island would be worst hit. "This is a storm of major proportions," warned Boston Mayor Thomas Menino in a public briefing, in which city officials also asked people to look out for the homeless, by alerting authorities if a homeless person was seen on the street and not in a shelter. Meteorologists were blaming the nor'easter on the collision of two storm systems: cold air traveling south from Canada bumping into a moist low pressure system heading north from the Carolinas. As conditions deteriorated in the Northeast, transportation all but ground to a halt. Boston's public commuter rail stopped operations. Amtrak canceled service between New York and Boston for Friday afternoon, and plans limited service for Saturday. A spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights at the three major New York-area airports alone on Friday. He said all operations at the airports would cease by late Friday afternoon, but that airlines could resume some flights on Saturday. At Boston Logan International Airport, officials said all operations would cease at 3 p.m. on Friday and flights may not resume until Sunday. Massachusetts General Hospital expected to have at least 200 employees sleeping on cots Friday night, and the 1,000-bed facility was making accommodations for patients who couldn't make it home because of the storm, said Paul Biddinger, medical director for the Boston hospital's emergency department. "We did try to discharge as many people who could be safely discharged, but the hospital is going to end up very, very full tonight," Dr. Biddinger said.

Silver Wheaton Just Gave You Another 2.2 Million Reasons To Buy

There are many reasons to be bullish on precious metal prices and in particular silver. Additionally, the companies that mine and/or sell the silver are great long-term buys. The endless central bank easy money policies that have been put into place worldwide will debase fiat currencies globally. This will translate into the purchasing power of those currencies diminishing, thus strengthening precious metal demand. Further, it is well known that gold, and to some degree silver and platinum, tend to have an inverse relationship with the dollar. The debt crisis in the United States that is eating the value away of the dollar over time further strengthens the case for the precious metals. I have outlined the bullish case in further detail in sections of prior work, and have also opined that silver could outperform gold in the next few years. In this article, I highlight yet one more reason to get behind Silver Wheaton (SLW), which in

Buy Yamana Gold On Its Key Metrics And Increased Production Guidance???

Stock selection in the gold mining sector can be difficult. For reasons why I am generally bullish on the precious metals, please review prior articles here and here. The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the key metrics of Yamana Gold (AUY) relative to its major competitors, provide updated production information and highlight some operational risk. The following table can help point investors in the direction of stocks in the sector to consider. Three of the most important metrics for gold companies are cash cost per ounce of production, debt to equity ratio and current dividend yield. Table 1 shows that the lowest cost gold producer is AUY, followed by Goldcorp (GG). The company with the lowest debt to equity at 1.6% but a cash cost per ounce that is 2.5 times as high as AUY is Eldorado Gold (EGO). The next lowest company displaying superb debt management is again Yamana Gold. When it comes to yield, the best company is.................READ MORE

Fortuna Silver acquires mining concessions from Pan American Silver in Mexico

Fortuna Silver Mines, emerging silver producer with mines in Peru (Caylloma) and Mexico (San Jose), announced that it has reached an agreement with Pan American Silver, Vancouver, to acquire for US$4 million, 55% of the Taviche Oeste mining concession, which surrounds the San Jose mine, in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. The transaction was conducted by the subsidiaries of both companies: Cuzcatlan S.A. de C.V., in the case of Fortuna, and Silver Pan American S.A. de C.V., for Pan American. The transaction closure period runs from January 30 to May.

Volatility On The Horizon? Take Advantage Of The Fear

Lately stocks have had strong gains for two months straight after dipping in November. The Dow is now about 50 points from 14,000, which is a major psychological barrier. The Dow Jones ETF (DIA) is at 5 year highs at $139.23. But how did we get here? The economy has not really rebounded strongly. The market seemingly has been propped up by the actions of central banks. First, in late summer of 2012, the European Central Bank announced an unlimited short-term bond-buying program with some conditions, reinforcing its position to do all it can to save the euro. Following this, Ben Bernanke and the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a massive third round of quantitative easing, aka QE3, consisting of buying $40 billion in mortgage assets monthly until unemployment improves. Even the Bank of Japan recently hopped on board the central bank stimulus train and announced its own round of easing. Then the Fed recently made a new announcement to accelerate its debt-buying program, to spend another $40 billion to $45 billion a month in balance sheet expansion to replace Operation Twist. This action has been excellent for stocks. Now that the allure of central bank action is beginning to pass and there is talk of the Fed reducing its overly accommodating stance, earnings and economics reports are returning to the focus of investors. Many professionals believe earnings estimates are too high and will not be beat frequently this quarter and in future quarters. In addition there is the looming debt ceiling debate to contend with in a few weeks, which could cause volatility in the market to spike. Coupled with the fact that the United States is addicted to debt, there is a lot of opportunity for the market to sell-off. After all the action that.......READ MORE

Twitter, Washington Post targeted by hackers

Social media giant Twitter is among the latest U.S. companies to report that it is among a growing list of victims of Internet security attacks, saying that hackers may have gained access to information on 250,000 of its more than 200 million active users. And now, The Washington Post is joining the chorus, revealing the discovery of a sophisticated cyberattack in 2011. Twitter said in a blog post on Friday it detected attempts to gain access to its user data earlier in the week. It shut down one attack moments after it was detected. But Twitter discovered that the attackers may have stolen user names, email addresses and encrypted passwords belonging to 250,000 users they describe as "a very small percentage of our users." The company reset the pilfered passwords and sent emails advising the affected users. The Twitter attack comes on the heels of recent hacks into the computer systems of U.S. companies, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Both newspapers reported this week that their computer systems had been infiltrated by China-based hackers, likely to monitor media coverage the Chinese government deems important. On Friday, The Washington Post disclosed in an article published on its website that it was also the target of a sophisticated cyberattack, which was discovered in 2011 and was first reported by an independent cybersecurity blog. Washington Post spokeswoman, Kris Coratti, didn't offer any details including the duration of the attack or the origins. But according to sources that the newspaper quoted, who it said spoke on condition of anonymity, the intruders gained access as early as 2008 or 2009. According to the sources, Chinese hackers are also suspected. Coratti couldn't be reached immediately for comment by The Associated Press. According to her comments made to the newspaper, the company worked with security company Mandiant to "detect, investigate and remediate the situation promptly at the end of 2011." China has been accused of mounting a widespread, aggressive cyber-spying campaign for several years, trying to steal classified information and corporate secrets and to intimidate critics. The Chinese foreign ministry could not be reached for comment Saturday, but the Chinese government has said those accusations are baseless and that China itself is a victim of cyberattacks. Twitter didn't provide any clues as to whether it believes that China was behind its hack. However, the blog post by the company's director of information security, Bob Lord, made clear that the hackers knew what they were doing. Lord said in the blog that the attack "was not the work of amateurs, and we do not believe it was an isolated incident." "The attackers were extremely sophisticated, and we believe other companies and organizations have also been recently similarly attacked," Lord said. "For that reason we felt that it was important to publicize this attack while we still gather information, and we are helping government and federal law enforcement in their effort to find and prosecute these attackers to make the Internet safer for all users." Reached on Saturday, Twitter spokesman Jim Prosser had no further comment. Based on the few details released about the Twitter and Washington Post attacks it's hard to say whether Chinese hackers were involved, said Rich Mogull, CEO of Securosis, an independent security research and advisory firm. There are certain pieces of malicious software that are characteristic to Chinese hackers, he said, but "the problem is not enough has been made public." One theory is that the Twitter hack happened after an employee's home or work computer was compromised through vulnerabilities in Java, a commonly used computing language whose weaknesses have been well publicized. Independent privacy and security researcher Ashkan Soltani said such a move would give attackers "a toehold" in Twitter's internal network, potentially allowing them either to sniff out user information as it traveled across the company's system or break into specific areas, such as the authentication servers that process users' passwords. The relatively small number of users affected suggests that attackers weren't on the network long or that they were only able to compromise a subset of the company's servers, Soltani said. Twitter is generally used to broadcast messages to the public, so the hack might not immediately have yielded any important secrets. But the stolen credentials could be used to eavesdrop on private messages or track which Internet address a user is posting from. That might be useful, for example, for an authoritarian regime trying to keep tabs on a journalist's movements. "More realistically, someone could use that as an entry point into another service," Soltani said, noting that since few people bother using different passwords for different services, a password stolen from Twitter might be just as handy for reading a journalist's emails.

Silver Wheaton Is A Buy On Recent Weakness

In this article I will lay out why you should consider purchasing Silver Wheaton (SLW) at current levels. Gold and silver are still down heavily since hitting highs in September and October of 2012. As such, the most popular gold and silver ETFs, such as the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) have lost 7% and 12% respectively since the highs last fall. The ETFs that track many of the companies that mine and sell these metals such as the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) and the Global X Silver Miners (SIL) are down even further in the last three months compared with the metals they produce, losing 17.9%, 20.1% and 15.4%, respectively. Given these recent sell-offs in the precious metals sector, I am reiterating that the gold and silver stocks, including those mentioned above, are now strong buys after their significant sell-offs. The reasons to be bullish on precious metal prices and subsequently on the companies that mine and/or sell them are...........READ MORE

Gold Industry Frontrunners

NEW YORK, JANUARY 30, 2013 — (Net PR News) – Kinross Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:KGC) traded with volume of 14.65 million shares and its average trading volume remained 7.26 million shares. The 5 days graph represented the negative trend of -11.23% and one month performance of KGC was also negative -10.19%. Kinross Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:KGC) has intended to unveil its financial statements, as well as operating results for the Q4 and full year 2012, on February 13, 2013, after the New York market close. Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) closed at $43.39 by scoring +1.33%, while the market capitalization of NEM was 21.54 billion. NEM traded with volume of 7.14 million shares, which was higher than the average trading volume of 5.88 million shares. The 3 months and 6 month performances showed it as a loser of -18.61% and -2.55%, respectively. Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) has reported its preface attributable gold plus copper production and costs appropriate to sales within NEM’s 2012 outlook. The company has reported Q4 Preliminary Operating results, including attributable gold and copper production, of 5.0 million ounces and 143 million pounds for 2012 and 1.3 million ounces and 35 million pounds for the fourth quarter. Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (NYSE:GG) traded with volume of 4.99 million shares, while the average trading volume remained 5.45 million shares. GG showed an upward trend on January 29, 2013 and advanced +2.27% and finally closed the trading session at $36.08. GG plunged -5.82% in its weekly performance and slipped -11.83% in its quarterly performance. GG moved negatively in its 20 days moving average -1.27% and also dropped in its 50 days moving average -3.67%. Eldorado Gold Corp (USA) (NYSE:EGO) was a volume gainer of the Gold Industry by gaining volume of 4.27 million shares, compared to average trading capacity of 2.81 million shares. EGO closed the preceding session at $11.49, by showing a downward movement of -0.42%. Eldorado Gold Corp (USA) (NYSE:EGO) will divulge its year end 2012 financial results prior to the opening of the market on February 22, 2013. EGO’s CEO, Paul N. Wright, has planned to host a conference call on February 22, at 8:30 AM PT.

Almaden Minerals Up 57% Since I Highlighted It And There's Room To Run

In the present article I follow-up on a speculative gold exploration company that I first got behind back on August 8th, 2012, Almaden Minerals (AAU). When I first highlighted the stock, it traded at $1.94. The stock has had a major run to $3.04, appreciating 56.7% since my recommendation to buy. After reviewing its 2012 summary and presentation, I think the stock....READ MORE

Royal Canadian Mint 'Managing' Silver Supply

Following the news last week that the U.S. Mint had run out of its initial production of 2013 Silver Eagles, reports were circulating on industry blogs that the Royal Canadian Mint was next-in-line, and suffering a silver shortage. Confirming this strain on physical silver supplies, just this morning the RCM went on allocation, limiting the quantity of sales of the popular Silver Maple Leaf coin. “Due to very high demand for Silver Maple Leaf bullion coins, the Royal Canadian Mint is carefully managing supply to ensure all our bullion distributors are served and we continue to take orders,” Alex Reeves, senior manager, communications for the Royal Canadian Mint, told Kitco News this morning. Peter Hug, global trading director for Kitco Metals, offered this explanation: “The Mints tend to want to be out of a specific year prior to offering the next year dated coin. I suspect in October, the Mints looked at the current demand, their stock and anticipated some year-end demand. When that demand failed to materialize in November and early December, I think they reduced their production for 2013 release assuming that the demand would continue to be lukewarm.” When the metals popped after U.S. officials reached a fiscal cliff deal, they were caught short with produced inventory, says Hug. The U.S. Mint suspended sales of its newly minted 2013 American Eagle silver bullion coins after its supplies were depleted due to soaring investor demand. “Investor concerns really have risen at the end of last year,” said Mu Li, an analyst with the New York-based research firm, CPM Group. “You can see this in the silver coin sales data from the Mint. In November 2012, the monthly sales of silver coins were more than double the previous November. In that period of time, this surge in demand was pretty much unanticipated by the Mint and there were some strains in supply of silver blanks,” she said. “In January we will probably see all-time highs of 7 million ounces of Mint silver coin sales.” Li said that it is typical to see seasonally high demand in the month of January. As of Jan. 15, Silver Eagle sales exceeded 5 million ounces and were on track to surpass the all-time monthly high of 6.1 million ounces, set in January 2012. Sales to authorized dealers are expected to resume on or about the week of Jan. 28 after the U.S. Mint has replenished its inventory, it said in an email to authorized dealers.

Gold And Silver Are Popular But Do Not Forget About Copper

have previously recommended gold, silver and platinum in prior articles. Copper is both a precious metal and an industrial metal. There are a few reasons to consider being bullish on copper as both a precious and industrial metal. As a precious metal, I think it could rise with gold, silver and platinum due to central bank actions worldwide that will debase the value of fiat currencies. Copper, in addition to the other metals, are used in currencies (or in the case of gold as a currency itself). I lay out the thesis for precious metal appreciation in several articles, most prominently in the introduction of this recent article. Copper also has uses industrially. Copper plays a vital role in many facets of our lives. People have been using copper since at least 9000 BC. One reason copper is so important is that it can be made into alloys, which are combinations with other metals to make new materials like brass and bronze. These alloys are harder, stronger and more corrosion resistant than pure copper. Copper has many unique properties which make it.........READ MORE

A Big Night For Apple: A Few Ways To Profit From Poor Earnings

All eyes are on Apple's (AAPL) earnings report tonight. There is growing chatter that AAPL, and tech's performance as a whole could dictate the entire direction of the market for the next few months. Google (GOOG) reported an earnings beat, and investors have responded favorably. Thus far, about 16% of companies in the S&P 500 have reported earnings, and in my opinion have been slightly better than expected overall, considering the economy is still weak. However, with the S&P 500 near 5 years' highs, there is a lot more risk to the downside, in my opinion. We have not seen a market correction in sometime. With all eyes on AAPL tonight, if we see some real bad news out of the company and from the remaining companies this earnings season, investors may want to consider taking some bearish action should market panic ensue. The media will be all over the report, so after hours expect the stock to move. The numbers to look for are of course the top and bottom lines, which consensus estimates are for $54.69 billion in revenue and earnings per share of $13.42. Other items to watch are the margins, which AAPL has guided to be 38% gross margin, 28.4% for operating margin and 21.5% for net profit margin. Naturally, analysts are more bullish, so beating these guided figures is paramount. Finally, look for unit sales of iPhones, iPads, Macs and iPods. A beat on all the numbers could spark the stock to....READ MORE

Bullish On Silver? Dividend Paying Companies To Consider In 2013

Aside from silver being a precious metal, it also has many industrial applications and therefore, will always have demand, especially when the global economy finally comes out of recession. Silver, as opposed to gold, has real-world everyday uses, as it's one of the most conductive metals out there and a key part of many electronics and batteries. It remains in high demand for film photography applications, even in a digital age. Silver is also an important element of surgical tools and other medical devices, and is an important component utilized in nanotechnology. With uses in electronics, nanotech and medical devices, more silver has been utilized in the past 30 years than has been mined, and inventories are now at historic lows. Silver currently trades at $30.40 an ounce and given the appreciation of silver in the last few years, some silver companies have begun to pay shareholders dividends. I believe that silver, which has yet to appreciate in value compared to gold and platinum, will eventually increase significantly in value. Thus, companies involved in mining and trading of silver will see increased revenues and higher share prices. In turn, higher profit potential could lead these companies to maintain and increase their dividends in the coming years. In this article, I highlight four companies in the silver industry that currently.....READ MORE

Solazyme A Buy At Current Levels For The Short And Long Term

Shares of Solazyme (SZYM) have taken an absolute beating in the past 6 months, down approximately 45% as of Friday January 18th's close. For those unfamiliar with the company, SZYM engages in the production of renewable oil with a focus on chemicals and fuels, nutrition, and skin and personal care markets. SZYM's proprietary technology transforms a range of plant-based sugars into oils. Its renewable products could replace or enhance oils derived from petroleum, plants, and animal fats. SZYM's industrial biotechnology platform harnesses the prolific oil-producing capability of microalgae. Its biotechnology platform also helps in the production of bioproducts, which are made from the protein, fiber, and other compounds produced by microalgae. SZYM utilizes industrial fermentation equipment to scale and accelerate microalgaes' natural oil production time to a few days. It focuses on selling renewable oil as drop-in replacements for marine, motor vehicle, and jet fuels, as well as replacements for chemicals that are traditionally derived from petroleum or other conventional oils. SZYM also........READ MORE

Why You Should Consider Selling Your Gold Company And Buying Yamana

In light of the recent Federal Reserve announcements and lack of Washington's ability to truly control the United States' debt, I believe that gold and silver stand to benefit from price appreciation, and in this article, I will further highlight why AUY is a great way to play the precious metals sector. I will show that AUY's last two quarters demonstrate that this company is strengthening and is rapidly becoming one of the best-of-breed precious metal mining companies. AUY, after its recent dip from the highs, is a strong opportunity buy that long-term investors should consider going forward as the company offers the lowest cash cost per ounce of gold produced, incredible debt management, long-term growth, and a decent dividend for the precious metals sector which it has increased every year. Unlike most of its competition, Yamana has.............READ MORE

Silver Bull? 6 Funds To Consider In Addition To Bullion

We have had a great pull-back presenting precious metal investors with opportunity buys for the long term. My primary thesis, much of which is laid out here, is that the endless easy money policies from central banks around the globe have created a long-term tailwind for the various precious metals. In recent articles, I have suggested that gold prices have long-term tailwinds in the form of extensive inflationary pressures and have recommended considering several gold plays, most notably the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the iShares Gold Trust (IAU). I believe all precious metals will benefit from inflationary actions by central banks worldwide in the coming years. While gold is a straightforward way to benefit from the currency debasement occurring globally, I have opined that platinum could outperform gold but I further believe that silver is poised to outperform both of these metals for various reasons. First, there will always be demand for silver because aside from silver being a precious metal, it also has many industrial and technological applications. Therefore, there will always be some level of demand, but such demand should pick up significantly when.......READ MORE

Platinum Is Outperforming Gold Despite A Large Deficit: Is It A Buy?

It has been my central thesis that central bank actions around the globe have essentially locked in the long-term trend of devaluation of national currencies while at the same time assuring a long-term bull market in precious metals. I have recently opined that silver could outperform gold in the next few years, and have laid out the bullish case for silver. While gold and silver are the most popular precious metals, one of the world's top precious metals is often ignored. Platinum, which is....READ MORE

Vista Gold Is Undervalued: Why Reserves At One Property Are Worth Your Consideration

I have previously laid out my thesis for gold and precious metal appreciation as a result of the United States' addiction to debt and the endless easy money policies of the central banks, and thus the recent selloff in gold and silver stocks presents a buying opportunity. The most popular gold and silver ETFs, the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) are down 4.2% and 5.5% in the last three months, respectively. The ETFs that track the miners of these metals such as the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) and the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ), are down even further in the last three months compared to the metals they produce, losing 14.3% and 15.7%, respectively, while the Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) is down slightly less, losing 10.7% in the last three months. Given this selloff and the long term-tailwinds that gold and silver prices have due to central bank stimulus, I have opined that a buying opportunity has arisen for the long-term investor in silver and silver companies, as well as the best of breed gold stocks. In the present article, I highlight........READ MORE