Ethical Investing: The Biodiesel Conundrum
Biodiesels offer an interesting conundrum for ethical investors.
Palm Oil: What is it Used For?
Photo:raysto, Creative Commons, Flickr Palm oil is raising environmentally-friendly investing questions.
Politicians Take Solar’s Sexy Back
Good ol' Jay Leno once said that "politics is just show business for ugly people". And thanks to the politicians the sexy solar sector just got ugly. Solar investors have been driving up valuations as if solar was going to take over the world tomorrow, and these investors have now been forced to wake up…
Will Big Companies Support Ban on Palm Oil?
Will Greenpeace cripple the palm oil industry?
New Energy Bill: Fight Ensues over Renewable Electricity
Will the energy bill help renewable energy investing?
Will Brazilian Oil Discovery Give Big Oil a Boost?
Will a new Brazilian oil discovery save Big Oil?
WFR Uber Allies
The world’s largest solar system integrator, Germany’s Conergy Energy (CGY.DE – Last trade €27.24), recently pre-announced that they will miss their earnings estimates due to delays in receiving solar modules. It therefore comes as no surprise that the company plans an assertive shift to more in-house production, and MEMC Electronic (WFR – Last trade $71.16)…
Oil Spill Raises Questions About Using “Dirty” Energy
Will the oil spill in San Francisco affect Big Oil's image?
PetroChina (PTR) Surpasses ExxonMobile (XOM)
PetroChina doubles its stock value in Shanghai debut, surpasses ExxonMobile in capitalization.
Is the United States Ready to Join the Carbon Reduction Revolution?
In sharp contrast to just two years ago, concerns about climate change have now become a household topic. What caused this epidemic to tip (apologies to Malcolm Gladwell)? Was it the Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth? Was it G.W. Bush mentioning those two magic words in his 2007 State of the Union address just six months later?…
Will Vegans Buy Chinese Solar?
Photo:lynnieb, Creative Commons, Flickr Is the solar industry about to sell its soul? The emerging consensus is that solar is a commodity, and the only thing that matters is cost per watt. The quicker the industry can reduce costs, the quicker solar technology can be introduced to the masses, and the more valuable your solar…
Exxon (XOM) Falling on the Stock Market
ExxonMobile leads the stock market bears.
Oil Prices Help Solar Stocks
As oil prices rise, so do solar stocks.
Time for a Shift in Energy Investing?
How long will Big Oil remain a solid investment?
Tesoro, Rest of Big Oil, Get Stock Market Boost
After languishing in energy stock hell on the market for this past week (in which time Exxon – XOM – actually briefly dipped below $90 a share), Big Oil seems to be getting a break. While it seemed that the rising oil prices might actually result in lower profits (and hence lower stock prices) for…
Sun Microsystems: A Cheap Tech Stock that Lives Up to Its Name with Ambitious Eco-Initiatives
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (JAVA), whose stock price has been beaten down in recent years, may have found some answers to turn the tide. The company has recently been concentrating on taking the lead in many eco-friendly initiatives related to IT infrastructure, and has itself shown dramatic reductions in its own energy use.
SPWR Earnings: Talking Heads Will Take You on the Road to Nowhere
Photo:Peter Duhon, Creative Commons, Flickr I stumbled out of bed last week, made a cup of coffee and turned on CNBC to get up to speed with the latest earnings results before heading out to work. The first thing I saw was a panel of talking heads discussing whether the Fed was going to cut…
Is Corn Ethanol Really the Way to Go?
Is corn ethanol really environmentally-friendly investing?
How to Turn the Polysilicon Supply Problem Into a Profitable Solution (Part 2)
As an alcoholic, the first step to recovery is to admit that you are an alcoholic. The same principle applies to Wall Street banks in the aftermath of the recent credit crunch: the first step to recovery is to disclose the size of losses during the recent market turmoil. At the start of October, several…
Fuel Cell Race Heats Up for Hybrid Vehicles: United Technologies Powers Ahead
Dow Jones Industrial’s component and multinational conglomerate United Technologies (UTX NYSE) offers investors diversification, as well as a solid track record of growth. But for those seeking a solid green investment pick when it comes to fuel cell technology, pay close attention to what one of their units, UTC Power, has accomplished in the race…
L-D-K, L-D-K, How Many Wafers Were Killed Today?
No, I am not about to embark on some anti-war propaganda, nor am I implying that LDK Solar (LDK) has anything to do with the messy conflict in the Middle East. What I am commenting on is the excessive growth of the solar industry that we are witnessing, and how this same prosperity could very…
PetroChina (PTR) Moving Up: Is Now the Time to Buy?
PetroChina overtakes GE on the list of highest valued companies.
How to Turn The Polysilicon Supply Problem Into a Profitable Solution (Part 1)
Photo:bibliogrrl, Creative Commons, Flickr It looks like the glass is always half full at chip equipment giant Applied Materials (AMAT – Last trade $21.04). The company’s Chief Technology Officer, Winfried Hoffmann, said in a recent Reuters interview that he expects tight supplies of polysilicon, a key component in solar cell production, to ease from this…
Big Oil’s Big Quest
Big Oil companies continue to try to find the next big thing in fossil fuel energy.
Chevron (CVX) Illustrates Point Regarding the Future of Oil
CVX, and Big Oil in general, could be approaching the end of an era.