In this issue:
  
 When a national news show wondered whether the emperor of cleantech has been strolling naked they knew exactly where to turn, and as always Robert delivered the unvarnished truth.

The naked truth for energy stocks is that the year has started on a down note, with the price of crude and shares, especially oil service shares, under pressure in recent days.

But this is a marathon, not a sprint, and we have identified the 12 portfolio holdings fit to favor in 2014, ranked by the near-term momentum they’ve built up. Momentum to roll back the long-time ban on US crude exports is growing by the day, but perhaps not fast enough to get past the hostile refiners and gridlocked Congress in an election year.

We’re not above admitting we were wrong, though today’s wrong only concerns our failure to recommend some long-term winners here, a mistake we’re correcting today.

The market can be as fickle as media attention, but we want to do the right thing even when the right thing isn’t easy. Often that means cutting our losses before we’re willing to admit defeat, but today is more about paying up for value even if it means kicking yourself over missed opportunities. Opportunities come and go, and they never seem to announce themselves. But every now and then you’ll find one in your lap. Here’s to more of those moments this year. 

Portfolio Action Summary

• Adding Targa Resources (NYSE: TRGP) to the Growth Portfolio. Buy below $97.

• Adding Western Refining (NYSE: WNR) to the Aggressive Portfolio. Buy below $46.

• Raising the buy below target on Williams (NYSE: WMB) to $42

• Raising the buy below target on Sunoco Logistics (NYSE: SXL) to $80

• Adding Best Buy designations for Carrizo Oil & Gas (Nasdaq: CRZO), Sunoco Logistics (NYSE: SXL), Williams (NYSE:WMB), Targa Resources (NYSE: TRGP), First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) and EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG)  

• Dropping Best Buy designations for MarkWest Energy Partners (NYSE: MWE), Teekay LNG Partners (NYSE: TGP), Alliance Holdings (Nasdaq: AHGP) and Whiting Petroleum (NYSE: WLL)

Commodity Update

The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) tumbled over the past two weeks, trading Tuesday at $93.87 per barrel, down $5.27/bbl from two weeks ago. Brent fell to $107.43, a decline of $4.49/bbl from our previous issue. Natural gas prices have been in the news, as New York spot prices closed at all-time highs. But the front-month contract (for February delivery) for natural gas on the NYMEX actually traded Tuesday at $4.33/MMBtu, down a dime from two weeks ago. The Brent-WTI spread widened to $13.56/bbl from two weeks ago, a gain over the past two weeks of $0.78.

In Other News

• The coldest day in the US in almost 20 years drove spot gas prices for New York City to $90 per million British thermal units before settling at an all-time record close of $55.49

• 60 Minutes aired a critical piece on the status of cleantech in the US. The report generated responses from both the White House and the Department of Energy which touted successes in solar and wind power. Robert appeared in that segment, but his comments were focused on the advanced biofuels initiatives and were generally well-received

• The oil industry is asking the government to reconsider its decades-old ban on crude oil exports in light of the boom in US oil production. Robert will investigate the issue in more detail below 

• A year-end BNSF train derailment and subsequent crude oil fire is renewing the debate over the relative safety of rail versus transport via the Keystone XL pipeline

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