Here in early April 2008, a lot of readers are asking, “Why are my income stocks getting hammered when others are hanging in there?” Read More

Opponents of coal use are turning up the heat. This week, protests turned violent against a coal-fired plant being built in North Carolina by a unit of Duke Energy. Read More

Utility earnings, credit ratings and dividends are still resisting the unfolding US recession. The near bust of Bear Stearns last month, however, is a reminder of what happens to companies that fall prey. It’s more critical than ever to know where your picks stand. Read More

Five years ago, there weren’t many kind words for utilities on Wall Street—and for good reason. The Dow Jones Utility Average had dropped nearly 60 percent in barely two years. The highest flyer of the 1990s—Enron—had evaporated in a cloud of scandal, and regulators nationwide were hunting for scapegoats. Read More

US utilities are “screamingly expensive” and not pricing in “a number of potential risks,” asserts the chief investment strategist of near-busted Bear Stearns. Read More

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) says 20 percent of US nukes need more than basic inspections, a sign of aging. Some plants will face sharply higher cooling costs just to get licenses renewed. And the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) forecasts rising costs and long construction times for 31 new US reactors, as companies try to avoid the financial meltdowns of the 1970s building cycle. Read More

Sprint Nextel’s dividend was a mere token. But its indefinite suspension revives fears the company could be in violation of debt covenants at the end of 2008, at which point creditors could force bankruptcy. It’s still likely management will cut costs and hold enough customers to renegotiate its loans. Read More

Buy on dividend cuts: That was a time-tested utility investing strategy when I launched this letter in 1989. The rationale: Cuts create a simultaneous bottom for the company’s business—which adjusts to the setbacks it faces—and investor sentiment, which is understandably gloomy. Read More

Debt phobia: In a nutshell, that’s why investors continue to dump their limited partnerships (LP) in the face of robust distribution growth, steady credit ratings and the likelihood of more in 2008, despite the US recession. Read More

Connectivity is one of the great growth stories of the 21st century. The desire to instantaneously communicate and get information anywhere is transcending national borders, cultures and even economic ups and downs. Read More