It's back to economics 101 as we analyze the global market for industrial commodities...Supply and demand. Read More

Dividend investing is about buying and holding solid companies with proven records of growing their payouts. Read More

In shale oil fields, the industry has learned that the early bird gets the worm. Read More

Natural gas drilling that employs hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is under intense scrutiny because of the risk of environmental pollution. Is the benefit of cheap energy and independence from foreign energy sources worth the cost? Read More

I’ve always liked pipeline stocks. I’ve been a particularly big fan the past couple of years. Now--with a bidding war heating up for one of the largest pipeline companies after a two-month-old stock market-wide selloff--I’m more bullish than ever. Read More

Releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will provide a temporary respite from higher prices. But this move demonstrates how tight the supply-demand balance in the global oil market has become: Oil prices should hit their 2011 high by year-end. Read More

Reduced demand for Australian thermal coal from Japanese utilities caused a temporary price hiccup. But the long-term growth story for seaborne coal remains intact. Read More

Why I remain bearish on North American natural gas prices, but have a bullish outlook for international LNG prices. Read More

Apple's Ron Johnson may be a retail visionary, but Jim doubts that his addition to JC Penney's management ranks is worth the $1.2 billion in market cap that JC Penney's stock added on the news. Read More

Emerging-market investors focusing on Chinese companies that export to the West are looking in the wrong place -- if outsized capital gains are the objective. Read More