Tar Sands: The Oil Junkie’s Last Fix, Part 1

August 24, 2007 at 11:16 am
Contributed by:

Folks,

I have done a fairly comprehensive high-level analysis of the tar sands, which is going out in two parts because it’s a bit long. You can see the first part here: Energy and Capital. I will post the whole thing to GRL when the second part goes out next week.

And with that, I’m off to Burning Man for the week. This year the theme is “Green Man,” with a focus on renewable energy, sustainability and all things green, so it should be interesting! Hopefully I’ll get some good material for future articles out of it.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend everybody!

–C

Interviewed by CNBC

August 24, 2007 at 9:45 am
Contributed by: Chris

Folks,

I was interviewed by a CNBC journalist about the markets a week ago, but wasn’t able to find the article until today. I was quoted in it along with other investing pundits. Here is the article, “Commodities Stocks Still A Good Bet Despite Market Swoon.”
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Daily Show on the history of U.S. foreign relations

August 23, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Contributed by:

Folks,

I had to pass along a tip regarding last night’s Daily Show.

Quoting SilentPatriot at Crooksandliars:

In perhaps the most brilliant segment on “The Daily Show” I’ve ever seen, last night Jon ran through the last three decades of United States intervention in the Middle East to show how incoherent, ass-backwards and counter-productive it has been.

I agree–it was brilliant. And included the 1994 Cheney video.

Find it on the Comedy Central site by scrolling down the Most Recent Videos column to “America to the Rescue,” or find it on Crooksandliars here.

–C

Frank Zappa commercial for the Portland utility

August 23, 2007 at 10:20 am
Contributed by:

Passing this along just for fun, because I’m both an energy geek and a Zappa fan. I haven’t ever come across this before, but it’s a short TV commercial that Zappa did for the Portland utility company. Gotta love it.

Download it here

–C

Don’t Fear the Reaper

August 18, 2007 at 9:08 am
Contributed by: Chris

Folks,

In this week’s Energy and Capital article, I assess the recent correction in the stock market and what it means for renewable energy investors…with a nod to Blue Oyster Cult.

–C
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Market Meltdown and Another Guest Appearance

August 15, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Contributed by: Chris

Folks,

If you follow the markets, you are more than aware that they have been melting down for the last three weeks, with the Dow crashing hundreds of points in a day. For those of us who trade stocks, it’s been a very volatile time, with fear and greed hashing it out big-time.

The cause of all this was the “sudden” realization that a huge number of adjustable rate mortgages out there were sold to people with poor credit, and that many of those mortgages are about to have their interest rates raised, leading to a large number of defaults. This in turn caused the rapid devaluation of many other investing vehicles which were levered to those loans, which in turn has sharply devalued the businesses of some of the biggest banks on Wall Street, and caused carnage in the hedge fund world (like, losing 60% of their portfolio values).

I won’t try to get into more detail than that here–there is plenty to read elsewhere on the subject written by more knowledgeable observers–but I’ll give you my bottom line, based on my research: The economy is in trouble, banks are in trouble, there’s not a whole lot that the Fed can do about it, and it is going to take a while to unwind…not days or weeks, but months or even years.

Consequently, I have unloaded almost all my long positions and gotten short via ETFs: SKF and SRS. I believe that this is a good time to be in cash or in a defensive posture. But the markets have been extremely volatile and irrational. There has already been a rally since the first selloff two weeks ago–when the Dow and oil had both reached record highs–but it has been a classic “dead cat bounce” and more than a few investors (like myself) swooped in on an apparent buying opportunity, only to get stopped out of those positions a day or a week later.

Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!

That’s about all I’ll say on the markets right now.

Moving on…I feel compelled to comment on the announced resignation of “Hot” Karl Rove, since he’s been a regular whipping boy in these pages, but I’m not sure what to say. In a sense, I think I felt safer knowing approximately where he was and what he was doing. Who knows what his next trick will be? But of this I’m sure: he’s not going anywhere. I have no doubt that he will continue to work on Republican campaigns and do everything he can to divide and conquer America by actively destroying its social fabric, pitting us against each other in order to scrape a few more votes his way. Just for grins, feel free to email me your best guess at Rove’s next gig.

Finally, I did a short (~6 minute) guest appearance at the daily online podcast The Real Story with Aaron Task today. Check it out here (“No Shelter From the Selling”). My bit starts around 27:00.

Keep your powder dry and your stops tight, and good luck everybody!

–C

Peak Oil Hits the Third World

August 10, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Contributed by: Chris

Folks,

In this week’s article for Energy and Capital, I review some recent news reports from around the world, and the toll that high fuel prices are taking on the poorer parts of the world. One of my editors called it “pretty heavy” and another said “Scary article. Wait till the poor in America’s inner cities can no longer afford heat in the winter or A/C in the summer. I’m expecting riots.”

I hope it doesn’t come to that any time soon. But there is certainly cause for vigilance. What is happening in the Third World today will likely happen in the First World in a few short years.
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Interview on the Ken Brown radio show

August 9, 2007 at 10:56 am
Contributed by: Chris

Folks,

I did another interview on Ken Brown’s show on Wednesday. We discussed recent action in the markets, the situation with oil and renewables, and the energy legislation that was recently passed in the House.

You can download it here (33 mins, 84 MB).

–C

Three Hard Truths About the World’s Energy Crisis

August 7, 2007 at 5:18 pm
Contributed by: Chris

Folks,

This recent opinion piece from the CEO of Shell deserves wider circulation, so I’m re-posting it here (boldface mine). Although van der Veer has been much more forthcoming about the reality of energy supplies than the rest of his Big Oil peers (when are the rest of the big oil majors going to own up to their own exaggerated reserve estimates, like Shell did?), this is remarkably straight-shootin’ stuff.

When the CEO of one of the world’s largest oil companies says that supply is going to have to struggle to keep up with demand, you can take it to the bank.
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The Renewables Revolution Will Not Be Televised

August 4, 2007 at 10:38 am
Contributed by: Chris

For this week’s Energy and Capital column, I adapted the famous poem by Gil Scott-Heron to discuss renewable energy.
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Brief interview on Traders Nation

August 2, 2007 at 10:02 am
Contributed by:

Folks,

I did another short (~ 5 minute) radio interview this morning on Traders Nation with Kurt Schemers in Phoenix, AZ, if you want to check it out:

Chris Nelder interview on Traders Nation

–C




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