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Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy: Time for a TAN

"Renewable fuels and clean energy, a sector beaten down hard since last fall, are now primed for a major comeback," says Eric Roseman, editor of The Commodity Trend Alert. Here's his ETF play on the sector.

"With every passing day the price of crude oil rises, the secular trend to alternative energy becomes even more powerful. Consumers, companies and governments are now sick and tired of soaring energy prices.

"The long-term solution is to obviously reduce our dependence on oil and increase our consumption of renewable fuels like wind, solar, and nuclear energy.

"The bull market in alternative energy began in 2005 when a host of companies in this thriving sector went public, supported by government subsidies, especially in Germany and Spain. Interestingly, Germany and Spain have just reduced solar energy subsidies this spring.

"In my view, those subsidy cuts don't matter at this stage. When companies in the solar sector are making money, why should governments continue subsidizing them?

Continue reading Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy: Time for a TAN

Sallie Mae (SLM): At the head of the class

"Since the market started its downturn early this year, I have avoided all financial stocks and resisted the temptation of value plays," says Dave Dyer.

In his Dave Dyer's Newsletter, he explains, "Well, it is now time to violate both of those prohibitions at once." Here, he looks at a new buy for SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae, the nation's largest provider of college loans and savings programs."

"There must be some financial areas that have predictable, growing demand, willing customers who actually have low default rates, and securitization processes that do not involve the type of financial engineering that is only intended to hide risk.

"Well, there is such an area, and it even involves a product that it makes sense to finance since it will actually increase in value over time. I'm talking about student loans.

Continue reading Sallie Mae (SLM): At the head of the class

Forbes expert 'quacks' for Aflac (AFL)

Aflac (NYSE: AFL) is a new addition to the "Borderless Portfolio" maintained by global expert John Christy. Here's the latest from his industry-leading Forbes International Investment Report.

"If you own a television, chances are you're quite familiar with the infamous squawking duck in Aflac's commercials. Aflac has also been in the news lately as the first American company to give shareholders a 'say on pay', or the ability to vote on executive compensation.

"Less well known, however, is Aflac's huge presence in the Japanese insurance market. In 2007, roughly
75% of the company's pre-tax operating earnings were generated in Japan.

"Alfac has been doing business in Japan for more than 30 years, and one in four Japanese households has an Aflac insurance policy. In Japan, Aflac sells healthcare policies for certain things that aren't covered by the national healthcare system, as well as life insurance. And, yes, they have a talking duck in their ads over there too.

"At a time when many financial companies are reporting massive write-offs, Aflac reiterated its target of 15% earnings growth this year, and double-digit growth in 2009. Aflac Japan is doing its part to help drive this growth with 19% operating earnings growth in the first quarter of 2008."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

Contrarian shops at Children's Place (PLCE): No kidding!

"If you've visited a mall – or if you've ever bought clothing for toddlers – you might already be familiar with our latest Undiscovered Gem: Children's Place Retail Stores (NASDAQ: PLCE)," says Elizabeth Harrow.

In Schaeffer's Research, the technical and contrarian advisor explains, "The stock is on the ascent, but Wall Street isn't taking much notice."

"The company was founded in 1969, and is based out of Seacaucus, New Jersey. The retailing chain boasts a market cap of just under $1 billion. It is is a member of the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, as well as the S&P SuperComp 1500, which lends the shares a bit of Street cred.

"The firm recently pleasantly surprised investors with its same-store sales figures. During May, sales at stores open for at least 1 year rose by 10%, compared to analysts' expectations for a gain of 4.3%. Total sales for the month galloped 19% higher for the 4-week period ended May 31.

Continue reading Contrarian shops at Children's Place (PLCE): No kidding!

Three growth favorites in alternative energy

"To say that alternative energies are critical is a severe understatement." asserts Stephen Leeb, who looks at three plays in the sector that earn a spot in his Growth Portfolio.

The editor of The Complete Investor explains, "Readily scalable energy sources such as solar and wind account for under 1%. It's time to get serious."

Three of the stocks he has selected are holdings in his model Growth Portfolio: FPL Group (NYSE: FPL), Exelon (NYSE: EXC), and General Electric (NYSE: GE). Here's a trio of favorites.

"We have focused on those alternative energy stocks with the strongest growth profiles. None is a pie in the sky fantasy; all provide energy in the here and now and have significant and fast-growing revenue streams.

"The fact that their growth should continue to burgeon is one of the most heartening pieces of news on the energy front. We could argue that investing in these stocks not only will be good for your portfolio but is an act of patriotism as well.

Continue reading Three growth favorites in alternative energy

Breakout for BTU: Technician buys Peabody Energy

"Coal miner Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE: BTU) looks hot," says Leo Fasciocco, who focuses on stocks that have broken out from technical basing patterns.

In his The Ticker Tape Digest, he explains, "The stock rose above its break points of $81.20, hitting a new high." He adds, "With net set to surge 70% this year, we see an upside target of $105 per share."

"Peabody, based in St. Louis, is a major producer of coal with annual revenues of $4.7 billion. BTU's coal fuels more than 10% of U.S. electricity generation and 2% worldwide.

"The company has mining operations in Appalachia, the Powder River Basin, and the U.S. Southwest and Midwest, as well as Australia and Venezuela. It also markets, brokers, and trades coal, and develops electricity-generation projects.

"Technically, BTU has broken out from a six-week flat base today with expanding volume. It is part of the strong coal group, which has been one of the strongest acting sectors of the market.

Continue reading Breakout for BTU: Technician buys Peabody Energy

Four favorite funds: 'Perennial winners'

"For investors who seek superior relative performance but are unwilling to sacrifice dependability, the we offer four funds that consistently outperform their peers," says Richard Moroney.

In the mid-year forecast for his Dow Theory Forecasts, he explains, "All of these funds have outpaced category averages in each of last five years, and sometimes much longer." Here, he looks at those funds that he considers "perennial winners."

"To be sure, past returns do not guarantee future success. But, while the evidence is not conclusive, academic studies generally indicate performance tends to persist, particularly at the extremes. That is, the best funds continue to outperform their peers, while the worst funds keep lagging.

"Fidelity Export & Multinational (FEXPX), our favorite pick among large-company growth funds, is riding an impressive nine-year winning streak - the longest in its category. Among the more than 1,800 large-cap growth funds, less than 80, or roughly 4%, have outperformed the peer-group average for five straight years.

Continue reading Four favorite funds: 'Perennial winners'

Top timer's upside targets: Stocks, oil, gold & silver

Using a proprietary "volume reversal" trading strategy, Mark Leibovit has been consistently ranked among the top newsletter timers. In his VRTrader, he looks at the outlook for stocks, oil, gold & silver -- and offers his choice for exchange-traded funds for traders to play these markets.

Leibovit explains, "The stock market's decline, besides being huge, is relentless. Every rally was met with selling and fresh lows were soon hit. The Dow crashed through the March and January lows and is now trading at its lowest level since September 2006.

"Apparently, that 1500 point rally off the March low was just a giant head fake. The Dow is now down 19% since last October and the S&P is down 18%, approaching bear market territory."

"Breadth is dismal, and down volume is ten times greater than up volume. Sector action is terrible. Seven of the nine market sectors are down more than 2.5%. Ouch! Financials have done it again and have set a new five-year low. Oil spiked through previous records setting a new record high.

"The precious metals also showed strong gains today with gold up 32.80 to 915.10. We cleared the June 9th high of 907.20 touching 909.50 opening up potential to 931.00 (May 21 high).

Continue reading Top timer's upside targets: Stocks, oil, gold & silver

Goldman Sachs analyst bets on ConocoPhillips (COP)

Leading advisor Jack Adamo, editor of Insiders Plus, reports that a Goldman Sachs analyst has chosen one of the stocks on his newsletter's buy list -- ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) -- as his top pick in the energy sector.

"There was an extremely interesting piece recently in Barron's by the oil analyst at Goldman Sachs who predicted $100 oil back in late 2004. We'd been buying energy stocks for almost a year at that point, but, although I expected oil prices to rise, I had no idea they'd go this high.

"In any case, the analyst, whose name is Arjun Murti, said he expects oil to reach $150 to $200 sometime within the next 24 months. The low end of that range is only a Middle East incident away, but the high end still seems like a reach, especially given weakening economic conditions.

Continue reading Goldman Sachs analyst bets on ConocoPhillips (COP)

Sketchers (SKX): A hot idea for Peter Lynch or Ken Fisher

"Skechers USA (NYSE: SKX), a trendy California-based retailer, is a new buy recommendation on our 'hot list'," says John Reese, who selects stocks based on the criteria used by several legendary stock pickers.

In his always-fascinating Validea newsletter, the advisor explains, "Skechers gets approval from two of my guru-based strategies, those that I base on the writings of Peter Lynch and Kenneth Fisher." Here is his review.

"My Lynch-based model considers the firm to be a 'fast-grower' because of its 23.08% long-term growth rate (based on the average of the three- and five-year earnings per share figures).

"Lynch was perhaps best known for using the P/E/Growth ratio, which divides a stock's price/earnings ratio by its growth rate to identify growth stocks that are still selling at a good price.

"P/E/Gs below 1.0 are acceptable to my Lynch-based model, with those under 0.5 the best case. With a P/E of 10.99 and that 23.08 percent growth rate, Skechers has a P/E/G of 0.48, passing this critical Lynch-based test with flying colors.

Continue reading Sketchers (SKX): A hot idea for Peter Lynch or Ken Fisher

The case for India and three ways to invest

"India is one of the hottest economies on the planet and holds tremendous profit potential," says Larry Edelson in Real Wealth. Here, he looks at a trio of fund poised to "capitalize on India's boom."

"India's economy is growing at a 9% rate, ten times faster than the U.S. and only a couple of percentage points behind China. And the Indian economy is not merely outgrowing the U.S. by leaps and bounds; it's also at the very epicenter of the booming natural resource markets.

"India has the fastest-growing population in the world, expanding at the rate of some 16 million per year. At that rate, India's population will exceed 1.4 billion people and be larger than China's by 2030.

Continue reading The case for India and three ways to invest

Frontline (FRO): The 'mac daddy' of oil transports

"Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO) is the 'mac daddy' of the oil transport business," says growth and income expert Bryan Perry, who has added the shares to the model portfolio of his 25% Cash Machine.

"Frontline is doing a much better job of executing profits in the current market for transporting crude oil. FRO posted first quarter results that showed a jump in profits of 40%, with a dividend hiked to $2.75 for the quarter. That translates into a current annual yield of 18.25%. Even better, the company forecasts continued strength in operations and quarterly distributions.

"This kind of profit growth is a result of FRO being leveraged to the spot market for day charter rates for double-hull tankers. The company is by far-and-away the largest shipping company, with 76 vessels and a market cap of $4.4 billion.

Continue reading Frontline (FRO): The 'mac daddy' of oil transports

Count to yuan: New ETF banks on Chinese currency

"I've long believed that China's currency is due to appreciate notably against the buck," says currency expert Jack Crooks, upon returning from speaking at a Forex seminar in Beijing.

In his World Currency Alert he explains, "Until now, there's been no straight-forward, highly-liquid way to play it. Now there is: the WisdomTree Chinese Yuan Fund (NYSE: CYB)."

"I now think it makes sense to secure some exposure to the Chinese yuan. There's been a major U.S.-China dynamic that's drastically altered the global economic landscape over the last several years. It goes a little something like this:

  • China sends goods to the U.S.
  • The U.S. sends dollars to China.
  • China sends dollars back to U.S.
  • The U.S. sends treasuries to China.

"Ultimately, China supplies the globe with liquidity. Behind this capital flow is an artificially undervalued Chinese yuan. This exchange rate situation is why China has become a major supplier of goods and capital to the rest of the world.

Continue reading Count to yuan: New ETF banks on Chinese currency

'Persistent profits' from oil services

The need for oil drilling services will continue even if the price of oil declines, according to Richard Lehmann. Here, in his The ETF Investor, he looks at a favorite way for investors to play this trend.

"Oil prices have a triple or quadruple price boost associated with them. The first is supply/demand dynamics, the second is the weak dollar, the third is speculative fervor and the fourth inflation fears.

"A pundit said that last year it took 65 Euros to buy a barrel of oil and today it still takes 65 Euros to buy a barrel of oil. This illustrates the effect the weak dollar is having on U.S. prices and the international price of oil.

"Inflation protection used to be the province of gold, but now it seems oil is serving a similar function. We think the current oil bubble has not run its course.

"One of our past recommendations, the Oil Service Holders Trust (NYSE: OIH), was first suggested in February 2006 at a price of $101.50. We recommended it again in December 2007 at a price of $179.83.

Continue reading 'Persistent profits' from oil services

USEC (USU): 'Ben Graham value play' in uranium

"USEC (NYSE: USU) is the nation's leading supplier of enriched uranium for use in commercial nuclear power plants -- in fact, it is the only supplier," notes value investor Nathan Slaughter.

In Half-Priced Stocks newsletter, he explains, "Low-enriched uranium is commonly used as fuel in nuclear reactors, and no other company in the U.S. provides it, giving USEC a dominant position in a key niche market." Here is his review.

"Its competitive advantage? USEC has the single best competitive advantage there is: zero competition -- at least in the United States. While the firm does have a handful of rivals overseas, it has reaped the benefit of being the lone U.S. supplier.

"The company has also been awarded lucrative contracts to perform work for the U.S. Department of Defense.

"The company also benefits from the nation's longstanding nuclear non-proliferation treaty with Russia. Specifically, it participates in the salvaging of old Soviet nuclear warheads under the 'Megatons to Megawatts' program, which essentially gives the firm a sharply discounted source of uranium.

Continue reading USEC (USU): 'Ben Graham value play' in uranium

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Last updated: July 06, 2008: 03:54 PM

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