I reiterate my outlook for crude oil, in addition to analyzing Iraq's failed auction of oilfield production contracts and the real prospects for alternative energy in the US. Read More

Most in the media hailed the House of Representative's passage of climate change legislation as a major victory for President Barack Obama. Clearly, the president lobbied hard for bill to clear the House before the July 4 holiday; the president is trying to push both health care and climate change legislation through Congress this year. In this issue, we'll take a look at how carbon legislation is likely to affect your energy investments and look at a handful of companies that may actually benefit from carbon cap-and-trade. Read More

The catalyst for the next upturn in global stock and commodity markets will be a realization that the US has exited the recession and the Chinese economy is reaccelerating again. I am looking for the rally to resume in the final months of the year. Read More

As commodity markets stabilize, the groups most leverage to this recovery tend to be services and contract drillers. I've written extensively about services companies in the past few issues of The Energy Strategist. In this issue, we'll take a closer look at one of the most widely watched--and poorly understood--sectors of all, the contract drillers. Read More

Oil's rally was a major topic in the financial media on Tuesday and Wednesday, and a long list of pundits have attempted to explain the recent rally in crude prices. Many analysts asserted that oil's run-up has little to do with fundamentals of supply and demand, citing murky arguments related to the weaker US dollar and speculative fervor. But fundamementals are still at the heart of oil's recent move. Read More

Because of constrained supply and reviving demand, the energy patch looks to be in the early stages of a major advance. Gains to date have been impressive, and I’m wary of the potential for a 5 to 10 percent correction at some point before fall. But such a pullback would be a buying opportunity. Valuations remain under control and, if history is any guide, there’s a lot more upside to come. Read More

If history’s any guide, we should see some impressive gains in energy-related stocks over the next 12 to 18 months. The turn in this cycle is predicated on two basic facts: Global demand is stabilizing, and global production declines are accelerating. Read More