Oil is hanging in above the $90/barrel level, but with supplies at highs here in the states and the price action looking abysmal, many are calling for the mid-80s to be the next stop. That may be the case, especially with the situation in Europe and China, but there are some great plays out there where production in increasing and with that so too can the company's top and bottom lines. Positioning for growth during pullbacks has always been beneficial for us, and now seems like a prudent time to do so - but in moderation, one should not get carried away and use up all of their available firepower.

Coal

With volume of 9.85 million, Patriot Coal (PCX) closed at $2.42 down $0.24 (9.02%) in trading yesterday. The stock was settling down after a big move upwards from the sell-off which resulted from the bankruptcy rumors this week. The

Too often, investors get burned by putting their money into energy stocks that are too closely levered to the price of commodities. When the price of the underlying commodity plunges, the stock plunges as well. However, there are energy-related companies that are not levered to commodity prices. These companies are the pipeline MLPs. These partnerships benefit from inelastic demand, high barriers to entry, and stable cash flows.

One standout among the MLPs is Energy Transfer Partners (ETP). ETP makes money from fees collected for the use of its oil and gas pipelines. It has a nice yield of 7.9%. ETP offers a DRIP plan so that these high distributions can be automatically reinvested.

Click to enlarge

Just a few weeks ago, ETP announced that it will acquire Sunoco (SUN) for $5.3 billion. This acquisition diversifies ETP into crude oil and refined products logistics that will be added to its existing

We Are DIY Investors ... Just Like You

By way of background, Parsimony Investment Research is a group of Do-It-Yourself investors that whole-heartedly believe that individuals can and should educate themselves and manage their own money. That is, of course, if you are willing to dedicate the time and patience necessary to do so. In today's low interest rate environment, paying even modest fees to a financial advisor can significantly eat into your profits. At the end of the day, it's YOUR money and you alone are the best shepherd of your capital.

We started Parsimony to share our experiences, strategies and research with fellow DIY investors. At the end of the day, we are all in the same boat … so let's set sail and preserve and grow our wealth together!

Building A DIY Dividend Portfolio

Over the course of the next few weeks, we are going to highlight

After a stellar run from the beginning of the year to about late April, semiconductor stocks have given up a good portion of their gains during May. Intel (INTC), in particular, was interesting because it was finally setting new multi-year highs after trading in a fairly narrow range.

Analysts upped their price targets to the low to mid $30s and all of a sudden people began to view Intel as a serious competitor to companies that dominate the ARM (ARMH) ecosystem such as Qualcomm (QCOM) and NVIDIA (NVDA). So, with the recent tech sector pullback, is now the time to go in and snag Intel shares at a discount? I believe the answer is a resounding yes!

First and foremost, Intel has an excellent dividend track record. It recently increased its dividend by 7 percent to 22.5¢ per share. As of the last close, this represents a 3.27% yield -

What a disappointment Friday's Facebook (FB) IPO was. How anticlimactic after all the build up and hype. What a debacle for Morgan Stanley (MS) and Nasdaq in what should have been their moment of triumph. Where to begin in this comedy of errors?

It starts with Morgan Stanley's decision to increase the size and price of the offering. An IPO that was originally targeted at $10 billion ballooned to $16 billion. Gauging the seemingly limitless demand for shares, Morgan Stanley must have thought the market could bear the increased size. In retrospect, they dumped too many shares at too high a price into the market resulting in the IPO being dead on arrival.

As if that wasn't enough, Nasdaq's computerized system botched the transaction process. The 30 minute delay in opening shares was the result of their trying to resolve a bug that prevented traders from modifying and cancelling orders.

In my short stint as a Seeking Alpha contributor, I have found that writing is a continual improvement process, and believe that the work done to produce my articles has helped me develop as a writer and an investor. Over the last couple of weeks, I have produced what I believed were thought-provoking articles on a host of varied topics including the outperformance of low-volatility strategies, the appearance of an increase in structural volatility in equity markets, and the demographic influences on future economic performance of the BRIC economies. All of the interest in these articles paled in comparison to the leading question I have received from friends, family, and colleagues over this period: "Should I buy Facebook (FB)?" I have also learned over my brief time producing Seeking Alpha content that you have to give your readers what they want, so here is a look at Facebook's valuation through

The next part of this dividend growth extrapolation series pits two of the most popular packaged and processed food stocks Kellogg (K) and General Mills (GIS). Let us take a look at the dividend basics of these two stocks:

• Both stocks yield almost the same: K's current yield is a tad higher at 3.4%, compared to GIS' 3.2%.
• Surprisingly, the payout ratio is very similar as well: K's is 50%, while GIS's is 52%. The numbers aren't too high to be alarmed about.
• K's average dividend increase over the past 5 years has been 8.13 %, while GIS' last 5 increases (not strictly 5 years in this case) have an average of 8.97%. Again very similar numbers.

As in the earlier exercises let us take a look at the expected returns for an investor who can set aside his/her money in these two stocks for a 10 year period.

• Assume

Zynga (ZNGA) has been under pressure lately, falling to new lows and closing Thursday at $6.80. The disastrous Facebook (FB) IPO last Friday, as well as next week's ending of the lockup period for Zynga insiders to sell have been cited as the reasons the decline in Zynga's stock. Zynga's active monthly users have also fallen 12% over the past 30 days. Zynga has already said new games are weighted towards the back half of this year, so I would look current trends of declining monthly active users to reverse soon.

I believed the Facebook IPO would lift Zynga's stock. This IPO however was poorly managed, I believe the pricing range should have never been upped and more shares should not have been added to the IPO. Had the Facebook IPO created excitement in Facebook stock, it could have also created interest in Zynga as the companies are closely tied.

Fears related to recent economic conditions in Europe have caused somewhat erratic market behavior in which stock prices are falling independently of company performance. This sort of event has a tendency to create opportunity as stock prices fall below their stabilized values. Using simple logical techniques, we can find that a particularly attractive opportunity is Agree Realty (ADC). At the heart of any deduction is a series of premises which logically lead to a necessary conclusion, the premises I will use relating to ADC are listed here and will be demonstrated below:

1) The European economic instability created market conditions which have led to price drops.

2) The price of ADC fell significantly more than that of its sector peers.

3) ADC was not more adversely affected by the external event (European economy).

4) The price drops in both the sector and in ADC were largely NOT due to individual

If you were one of the many small investors clamoring to get a piece of the Facebook (FB) IPO, then, I am sorry to say this, you deserve to lose your money. Twelve years after a Wall Street promoted, media hyped tech bubble ravished the portfolios of millions of investors and five years after a Wall Street promoted, media hyped housing bubble caused "The Great Recession," you would think that already skeptical investors, weary of Wall Street and financial markets, would see the Wall Street promoted, media hyped FB IPO and turn the other way. Granted, it was difficult to turn away considering that the IPO was mentioned on all financial and non-financial media outlets from here to Timbuktu. However, I do recall similar coverage of the 2000 tech bubble as well as numerous stories on how housing would make all of us rich so maybe it was best just

Since REITs are required to pay 90 percent of their taxable income to shareholders in the form of dividends, the decision to slash or suspend dividends is a sign that a REIT's core business is suffering. A dividend increase or reinstatement, however, can be viewed as a signal of strength. As many real estate sectors are improving, REITs are showing a better outlook for 2012 and 2013. The following REITs are showing strength in improving earnings and/or increased dividends in 2012.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (ARI) operates as a commercial real estate finance company in the United States. It originates, acquires, invests in, and manages performing commercial first mortgage loans, commercial mortgage-backed securities, mezzanine financings, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments.

Apollo Commercial is a commercial real estate finance company that is managed and advised by ACREFI Management, LLC

Do you prefer the largest and established stocks? Do you prefer companies with strong profits? Company liquidity is an important consideration in any stock analysis. Liquidity gives a company the ability to make big acquisitions if it sees investment opportunities, a cushion for future lulls in demand, and most importantly, it keeps a company's doors open. Are these the types of stocks that you're looking for? We ran a screen you might find helpful.

The Operating Profit Margin is a profitability ratio that measures the effectiveness of the company's operating efficiency. This metric allows investors to see how much profit is left after all variable costs are covered. If the company's margin is increasing over time this means that it's earning more per dollar of sales. Finding trends in the Operating Profit Margin helps investors identify companies that are improving profitability over time and managing the economic landscape better than

This monthly report series began applying dog dividend methodology to each of eight major market sectors in December. The sectors were, in alphabetical order: basic materials; consumer goods; financial; healthcare; industrial goods; services; technology; utilities.

A ninth sector, conglomerates, according to Yahoo Finance, contained just eight firms, five of which paid dividends. The editorial decision was not to apply dogs of the index metrics to a sector containing fewer than ten dividend paying equities.

Dogs of the Index Metrics Selected Ten Top Industrial Goods Stocks by Yield

Two key metrics determined the yields that ranked these sector dog stocks: (1) stock price; (2) annual dividend. Dividing the annual dividend by the price of the stock declared the percentage yield by which each dog stock was ranked.

Historically, dividend dog investors utilized this ranking system to select portfolios of five or ten stocks in any one index, sector, or survey to

Top Stories
Tim Cook forgoes $75M. While some top executives have taken huge payments despite failing on a grand scale, Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook is giving up $75M by excluding himself from a program that enables staff to accumulate dividends on their restricted stock units that are still vesting. Cook has 1.125M such units that are due to vest over the next 10 years. Opinion: Protected covered call for Apple.

Dell eyes Quest Software. Dell (DELL) is in talks to buy Quest Software (QSFT), Bloomberg reports, as the PC maker continues its strategy of shifting its focus to higher-end business customers, a task made more acute by its weak PC sales in FQ1. In March, Quest agreed to sell itself to P-E firm Insight for $2B although it then received other offers during a "go-shop" period. Opinion: The real problem with Dell's earnings miss.

Japanese core inflation inches up.

For what was supposed to be a quiet finish to the week before Friday's early bond market close preceding the Memorial Day holiday, the one corporate bond deal that was printed Thursday proved noteworthy. United Technologies (UTX), a multinational manufacturer producing products as diverse as Carrier air conditioners, Pratt & Whitney engines, Otis elevators, and Black Hawk helicopters, issued $9.8 billion of bonds to finance the company's $16.5 billion purchase of Goodrich. The six-part deal featured four fixed rate tranches consisting of $1 billion of three-year notes at a credit spread of 80 basis points, $1.5 billion of five-year notes at a spread of 105 basis points, $2.3 billion of ten-year notes at a spread of 135 basis points, and $3.5 billion of thirty-year notes at a spread of 173 basis points over comparable maturity Treasury securities. The company also sold two floating rate tranches with the eighteen month and

In the past year average selling prices("ASP") for solar products fell dramatically across the board. As pricing dropped by as much as 70% in some verticals, higher cost business models became exposed. While the early bankruptcy victims have been Western companies such as Solyndra, Evergreen Solar, Solar Millenium, and once industry leading solar cell manufacturer Q-Cells, some once labeled low cost Chinese manufacturers have also dipped into negative gross margin territory. Hanwha SolarOne (HSOL) was never a low cost leader among US listed Chinese module manufacturers, but its cost structure was low enough to generate respectable earnings in the past. Lower industry pricing has accelerated sector wide consolidation which could potentially marginalize HSOL unless it can lower its cost structure quickly.

While fourth quarter 2011 was generally bad for most solar companies, it was especially a messy quarter for Hanwha SolarOne. HSOL's Q4 2011 earnings report raised serious warning flags

by Lisa Barr

Dennis Gartman is the man behind The Gartman Letter, a daily newsletter discussing global capital markets. For more than 20 years, The Gartman Letter has tackled the political, economic and social trends shaping the world's markets, and Gartman himself is a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg and other financial media outlets. HAI Managing Editor Drew Voros spoke with Gartman from his Virgina offices about gold’s recent moves, emerging markets and the closing the Brent-WTI price spread.

Hard Assets Investor: What’s your take on what gold is doing right now?

Dennis Gartman: A lot of people have been taken out of their positions. You can see the change in the makeup of open interest. Speculators have reduced their positions by more than 100,000, 125,000 contracts. Their long positions have been reduced to minimal levels. On the other hand, institutions that tend to be naturally short have reduced their

Stocks discussed on the Lightning Round session of Jim Cramer's Mad Money TV Program, Thursday May 24.

Bullish Stocks:

Visa (V): "It is terrific. Every time the stock goes down, we say 'buy, buy, buy.' It is a financial with little financial risk. Great management."

Kodiak Oil & Gas (KOG): "I think oil is going to $85...that makes Kodiak a spec. It is very inexpensive. If oil bounces, it will bounce."

Bearish Stocks:

Corning (GLW): "Is a challenged company...TV sales are weak. I'm going to say 'don't buy'."

NYSE Euronext (NYX): "I don't like to own NYSE, because business is soft. Stay away."

Facebook (FB): "It is an overvalued stock. The numbers are going to come down. It should trade in the $30-35 range."

VelocityShares Daily 2x VIX Short-Term ETN (TVIX): "I don't like to trade that stuff. It is too emotional. I have no edge."

Gamestop (GME): I think

Exploration Seminar Call

May 24, 2012 07:00 ET

Executives

Hilde Nafstad – Head of Investor Relations

Tim Dodson – Executive Vice President, Exploration

Pal Haremo – Senior Vice President, Global New Ventures

Nick Alan Maden – Senior Vice President, Exploration International

Gro Gunleiksrud Haatvedt – Senior Vice President, Exploration Norway

Erik Finnstrom – Senior Vice President, Exploration North America

Analysts

Marc Kofler – Macquarie

Teodor Nilsen – Swedbank First

Trond Omdal – Arctic Securities

Haythem Rashed – Morgan Stanley

David Mirzai – SG

Nick Coleman – Argus Media

Neill Morton – Berenberg

Jason Kenney – Santander

Nitin Sharma – JPMorgan

Hootan Yazhari – Bank of America/Merrill Lynch

Andrew Stuttaford – ABG Sundal Collier

Peter Hutton – RBC

Presentation

Hilde Nafstad – Head of Investor Relations

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to today’s Exploration Seminar arranged by Statoil. Before we start, let me say that there

Stocks discussed on the in-depth session of Jim Cramer's Mad Money TV Program, Thursday, May 24.

Sell Block: Best Buy (BBBY), First Solar (FSLR), Mako Surgical (MAKO), Deckers (DECK), Fossil (FOSL), J.C. Penney (JCP)

Cramer discussed 6 value traps to avoid:

Best Buy (BBBY) sells at only 5 times next year's earnings and has come down 13%. The company has been upgraded, but its latest quarter told a sorry tale; same store sales declined by 5.3% and margins were low. Cramer, who had recommended the stock prior to the quarter, says this new data is reason enough to stay away.

First Solar (FSLR) is in a tough industry which is suffering from cuts in government subsidies, particularly in Europe. Some investors are attracted to the stock because it is cheap, but it is cheap for good reason. The company reported a "hideous" earnings miss, and the stock should not be

In my original September 30, 2010 Just One Stock interview regarding Reading, and several other Seeking Alpha articles I

During SiriusXM's (SIRI) Q1 earnings conference call, CEO Mel Karmazin was asked about Liberty Media (LMCA) seeking de facto control of the Sirius FCC licenses. Part of his response was:

There are 13 members of our Board, and Liberty has 5 participants of that 13. Liberty's 40% is significant influence but not control. As we said in our filings, 40 is not the new 50.

...So we believe that the FCC will conclude based on their precedent that a 40% shareholder, even one with influence, is not in de facto control, and that's how they will rule, but we're waiting to hear from them.

Karmazin was proven to be correct shortly after making that statement when on May 4th the FCC dismissed Liberty's petition. Liberty has said they will file an appeal within the 30 day window. Are there reasonable grounds for an appeal? It would certainly seem so.

In

Stock markets have endured an up-down week thanks to looming Euro zone debt woes plaguing investors' confidence. Volatility levels remain elevated as the threat of Greece exiting the euro appears to have intensified. On the home front, economic data releases have been largely positive; new home sales data beat expectations, along with stronger-than-expected durable goods orders in April. Major equity indexes appear to be stabilizing, although lingering Euro zone drama may very easily steal the headlines next week [see ETF Technical Trading FAQ].

Investors will turn their attention to the latest University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment report later today to gain more insights into the health of the domestic consumer. As such, the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) is on our radar screen for the day as it may see an increase in trading volumes following this release. Analysts are largely expecting for the sentiment reading to come

Every investor wants to earn more. It is how we define "more" and how we go about earning it that defines the type of investor we are. Income investors want more income. Yield is a significant determinate of income. Instead of buying a current high-yield stock, investors in dividend growth stocks prefer to build their own. Granted, the current yield may never be classified as high-yield, but over time the yield-on

Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) operates as a diversified technology company worldwide. It engages in designing and supplying products and technology, and delivering engineering services and solutions to industrial, commercial, and consumer markets. This dividend aristocrat has paid uninterrupted dividends on its common stock since 1947 and increased payments to common shareholders every for 55 consecutive years. There are only twelve companies which have managed to raise distributions for over 50 years in a row.

The company's last dividend increase was in November 2011 when the Board of Directors approved a 15.90% increase to 40 cents/share. Emerson Electric 's largest competitors include Roper Industries (ROP), Cooper Industries (CBE) and Ametek (AME).

Over the past decade this dividend growth stock has delivered an annualized total return of 8% to its shareholders.

The company has managed to deliver 11.10% in annual EPS growth since 2002. Analysts expect Emerson Electric to earn $3.49 per

Colombia's history of a near failed state wracked by violence, ultra-violent narco-traffickers and left-wing terrorism has left an indelible mark on popular culture. It seems many investors still perceive Colombia in this light as a high risk frontier market that only represents investment opportunities for the exceptionally risk tolerant or the foolish. However, the Colombia I know is far removed from how it is perceived in developed countries and portrayed by the media. Perhaps the most apt description of Colombia is to borrow a quote from Sir Winston Churchill, who in the Second World War described Russia as; "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma", but this description could easily be applied to modern Colombia.

Colombia is a country of immeasurable beauty, with soaring mountain peaks, glistening sandy beaches, luxuriant tropical jungles, boundless biodiversity and most importantly for investors a liberal business environment and booming economy. The country,

As part of our process, we perform a rigorous discounted cash-flow methodology that dives into the true intrinsic worth of companies. In Royal Dutch Shell's (RDS.A) case, we think the firm is fairly valued at $86 per share, significantly higher than where it is currently trading.

For some background, we think a comprehensive analysis of a firm's discounted cash-flow valuation, relative valuation versus industry peers, as well as an assessment of technical and momentum indicators is the best way to identify the most attractive stocks at the best time to buy. This process culminates in what we call our Valuentum Buying Index (click here for an in-depth, hour-long presentation on our methodology with President Brian Nelson). The VBI ranks stocks on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best. In the spirit of transparency, we show how the performance of our VBI has stacked up per underlying

On Thursday, as the NYSE Composite Index advanced fractionally to close at 7,552.36, the number of stocks on the Big Board making new 52-week highs (at 21) slightly outnumbered the number making new 52-week lows (at 18).

One of the stocks on the new high list was US Airways Group, Inc. (LCC). In a recent article, we quoted Bloomberg anchor Adam Johnson on how declining oil prices were bullish for refiners to the extent that they reduce refiners' costs. Lower oil prices, of course, reduce costs

As part of our process, we perform a rigorous discounted cash-flow methodology that dives into the true intrinsic worth of companies. In Diebold's (DBD) case, we think the firm is fairly valued at $49 per share, slightly higher than where it is currently trading.

For some background, we think a comprehensive analysis of a firm's discounted cash-flow valuation, relative valuation versus industry peers, as well as an assessment of technical and momentum indicators is the best way to identify the most attractive stocks at the best time to buy. This process culminates in what we call our Valuentum Buying Index (click here for an in-depth, hour-long presentation on our methodology with President Brian Nelson). The VBI ranks stocks on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best. In the spirit of transparency, we show how the performance of our VBI has stacked up per underlying score:

If