A Presidential Order That Could Save Energy Drillers

Posted on by admin

By: Joseph Hogue of Street Authority

In his six years in office, President Obama has stressed his support for strict environmental regulation. He has expanded powers for the Environmental Protection Agency and has repeatedly deferred approval for the Keystone XL Pipeline System.

One key stat: The number of oil and gas leases approved during the first three years fell by more than 40%, compared to the final three years of President Bush’s administration. Drilling permit approvals on federal lands fell by a similar amount.

In addition to the regulatory headwind, falling oil prices are also impeding drilling permit activity. Against this one-two punch, some analysts are questioning the emergent theme of U.S. energy independence and shale production.

But is an unlikely supporter about to throw the sector a lifeline? Continue reading "A Presidential Order That Could Save Energy Drillers" →

All Eyes On Crude Oil

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Has crude oil bottomed out? That's the question on investors minds today as this market has moved up close to 10% in just the past few days. I have been warning of a rally based on the positive divergences I saw on the daily charts and the fact that the end of January marked the seventh month in a row that crude oil had closed lower.

Whether this is a dead cat bounce or a reversal of major proportions in the oil patch sector remains to be seen. Certainly, the market is getting close to making some major technical reversal signals and should they kick in I will, of course, follow them. What often happens with prolonged market trends whether they are on the upside or downside they tend to lull traders and investors to sleep who are expecting to see more of the same.

In today's video, I'll be looking at crude oil (CL.H15.E) and sharing with you the exact point where crude will reverse its downward trend and start a new bull trend. Whether this will be a dead cat bounce, meaning just a short covering rally or a true reversal to the upside remains to be seen. I'll be examining both scenarios in today. Continue reading "All Eyes On Crude Oil" →

Metal Tactics: Short Silver and Palladium With A Tight Stop

Posted on by Aibek Burabayev

Aibek Burabayev - INO.com Contributor - Metals


Dear INO.com Readers,

The end of January brought worrisome signals to the metals' bulls and I want to show you where Silver and Palladium failed to sustain growth and why.

Silver Is In A Downtrend

Let's start with Silver, as it's more liquid and therefore more interesting. Below is a weekly candle chart. I started my metals posts from an overview of a monthly time frame and now I am digging deeper into details using a weekly period.

Weekly Silver Candlestick Chart

The medium term trend is bearish. At the end of 2014, Silver managed to stop a free fall that started above the $21 level. Price sculpted a double bottom figure (highlighted in the blue semicircle) in the $15-18 range. Continue reading "Metal Tactics: Short Silver and Palladium With A Tight Stop" →

Get me to the Greek

Posted on by George Yacik

George Yacik - INO.com Contributor - Fed & Interest Rates


OK, so it’s not the most original headline. But it reveals the thinking of some savvy investors, and I think they have a good point.

Baron Rothschild, the 18th century British nobleman and member of the Rothschild banking family, is credited with saying, “The time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets.”

I haven’t heard that there is actual blood running in the streets of Athens or other Greek cities, but it’s pretty close, financially speaking, which means it may be time to be buying Greek bonds.

We all know by now that after taking the most seats in the January 25 parliamentary election, the left-wing Syriza party formed a coalition government with the small right-wing Greek Independence Party. The one thing the two have in common is opposition to anti-austerity measures imposed on Greece by the European Central Bank and European Union as conditions for earlier financial bailouts and more in the future. There is also the fear that the Syriza-led government wants to secede from the EU, although that seems unlikely to happen.

Not surprisingly, investors have fled from Greek assets in droves and pulled their money out of Greek banks.
The Athens Stock Exchange General Index, or ASE, has tanked more than 40% since last March, nearly 13% since the election. Government bond prices have likewise plummeted, sending yields soaring. The yield on the 10-year bond jumped more than 200 basis points after the Syriza win and now yields more than 11% as of Friday. Continue reading "Get me to the Greek" →

Do You Have Discipline In Your Corner?

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Congratulations go to the New England Patriots for winning this year's Super Bowl. It is perhaps a mixed blessing for investors, as any time a team from the American Football Conference (AFC) wins the Super Bowl, the stock market closes lower for the year. Although, I think investing on the outcome of a football game is not going to get you to where you want to be financially.

Of all the tools available to the trader, none is more important than his or her own mind! Lack of mental discipline has to be a significant cause of losses in the marketplace. Why else would traders with years of experience and reliable systems fail to be consistent winners? Show a 6-year-old child a chart and he will tell you if a market is going up or down by simple observation. Yet, 80% or 90% of all traders end up as losers. The market doesn't beat you, you beat yourself! You are your own worst enemy!

Challenges To Your Mental Discipline

Challenges of a trader's mental discipline exist in many areas of the marketplace and appear in many different forms. Virtually every trader who has spent any amount of time in the commodity business has experienced one or more of the following upsets to his mentality: Continue reading "Do You Have Discipline In Your Corner?" →