FirstSolar (FSLR – Last trade $80.82) is arguably the brightest solar stock of 2007. The stock has skyrocketed from a January 3 low of $28.20 to a June 19 high of $79.88. Banc of America, Lazard Capital, Piper Jaffray, Cowen & Co and First Albany all have buy ratings on the stock. Jim Cramer, who…
Photo:pingnews, Creative Commons, Flickr Congress is considering moving funding from Big Oil to alternative energy.
It may make your heart feel good, but the Sierra Club Stock Fund charges a high price for that feeling.
It has been a crazy week in stock markets, with U.S. yields pushing higher and stocks trading sharply lower. The Fed's Geithner feels that volatility in U.S. Treasuries, at the highest in almost two years, may be returning to "normal." What's going on here, and how can solar investors position themselves for higher volatility?
Now that News Corp. is going green, should you invest?
The Evergreen Solar (ESLR – Last trade $8.51) stock price has done nothing over the last few months, unlike many of its peers in the solar sector. As we have pointed out before, ESLR's trump card technology – the ability to use less polysilicon to make solar cells – could become less valuable if the…
Big Oil is losing allies in the White House.
Ever since I started writing about solar investments, I’ve had an uneasy feeling about the sky-high valuations on some of the solar stocks covered in this blog. When considering that the solar industry is growing at 30-40% annually, it would appear that some of the valuations are justified. It is an unrealistic assumption that we’re…
Previous Photo:xeni, Creative Commons, Flickr It is apparent that fears of overcapacity in the ethanol sector are worsening, stalling the progress of major US ethanol players such as Aventine Renewable Energy (AVR), VeraSun (VSE), and US Bioenergy (USBE). An April 27 report issued by Lehman Brothers (LEH) indicated that supply could start to outstrip demand…
Big Oil is hungry for Canadian Oil sand. But it is an environmentally ethical decision?
As we pointed out last week, the emerging consensus seems to be that solar is a commodity and that the only thing that matters is cost per watt. Many feel that solar will ultimately be based in China for all the same reasons that cellphones and computers are made there. Too many cooks spoil the…
Big Oil's alternative energy track record doesn't look good.
Big Oil is getting more money from your pocket that you might imagine — in the form of your tax dollars.
What will happen to Big Oil stocks as the world's oil supply moves toward greater instability?
I am intrigued by Citigroup (C) and its recent pledge to commit $50 billion over the next ten years to address climate change. So far, this is hands-down the largest commitment to global warming that any company worldwide has put forth. This amount includes the $10 billion that the company has already committed to reducing…
Socially responsible investors might concern themselves with issues such the environment or social justice. Take a look at Social Responsible Funds or in Wikipedia to find a concise history of this movement. I find it interesting that, according to Wikipedia, this whole SRI movement might have been started by Quakers in 1758 when they prohibited…
There’s a new Chinese solar stock in town, with Nanjing-based China Sunergy (CSUN – Last trade $13.71) rising 51% on its first trading day on May 17. And there is more to come: China-based LDK Solar and Yingli Green Energy will also make their debuts on the New York Stock Exchange during the next few…
Summer driving season will drive Big Oil stocks higher. Now is the time to buy.
Big Oil is buying the good reputations associated with many prestigious universities in the hopes that it will "green wash" company images, get the public and Congress off their backs and increase sales.
Photo: bear69designs' , Creative Commons, Flickr How does ExxonMobil (XOM) do it? How does the company continue to boost its share prices?
Last week I attended a presentation with Andy Savitz, author of The Triple Bottom Line. As a veteran in the field of sustainability, Mr. Savitz has made a career out of assisting corporations in the design, development, and implementation of sustainability programs. With more pressure on today's corporate world in the "Age of Accountability," the…
I’ll never forget the first time I saw Jim Cramer’s MAD MONEY. I arrived in Los Angeles, checked into my dirty hotel (after a 24 hour flight) and turned on the TV while I tried to fall asleep. While flicking through the channels, I came across a wide-eyed, over-the-top madman throwing chairs around while discussing…
Higher oil prices affect more than just the cost of gasoline. Oil prices also weigh on the stock market in general. Even though Big Oil stocks may gain from higher oil prices, sometimes the costs associated with higher oil prices weigh on other stocks.
I like to catch up on my reading while on the subway on the way to work (Warren Buffet once said that Wall Street is the only place that people ride to work in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway). I came across an interesting article discussing the polysilicon…
Just as Ford (F) started to make some headway in its extensive rebuilding program, the Dearborn automaker incurred a noteworthy legal headache from an important engine supplier. Illinois-based holding company Navistar (NAVZ.PK) filed a $2 billion suit against Ford alleging breach of contract by the automaker for trying to develop its own diesel engine despite an agreement to buy Navistar's Power…