Bill Clinton: Build Keystone XL on New Route
Source: Bloomberg, Brian Wingfield and Kim Chipman  (2/29/12)
"'The extra cost of running it is infinitesimal compared to the revenues' the pipeline could produce, Clinton said today at an energy conference in the Washington suburbs." More >

Vote OKs Continued Potash Exploration on Sask, First Nation
Source: Leader-Post, Will Chabun  (2/29/12)
"Voters on central Saskatchewan's Muskowekwan First Nation have given their OK to a historic proposal to designate lands for exploration for potash—and a possible mine." More >

Cures for the Apathetic Investor
Source: Frank Holmes, U.S. Global Investors  (2/29/12)
"By investing in a natural resources fund, you'll have access to energy and materials stocks that should profit from rising oil prices." More >

Precious Metal ETFs Slump on Bernanke Testimony
Source: Eric Dutram, Zacks Investment Research  (2/29/12)
"In this latest round of comments to the House Financial Services Committee, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke seemed to suggest that recent trends in the unemployment rate were positive for the economy and that more stimulus might not be necessary at this time." More >

Bernanke's Attempt to Stem the Rising Tide of Gold and Silver
Source: Jeb Handwerger, Gold Stock Trades  (2/29/12)
"We can be told that stimulus is passe but the reality is it will continue to be done before our very eyes." More >

Iran Embraces Gold as Real Money
Source: Eric McWhinnie, Wall St. Cheat Sheet  (2/29/12)
"Mahmoud Bahmani, the governor of Iran's central bank, said the country is ready to receive payment for oil supplies in gold without hesitation. Furthermore, Iran recently used to gold in order to import food, since other financial assets were frozen." More >

Is Gold Backwardation Now Permanent?
Source: Keith Weiner, Casey Research  (2/29/12)
"Backwardation is typically a signal of a shortage in a commodity. Anyone holding the commodity could make a risk-free profit by delivering it and getting it back later." More >

South Korean Rare Earth Imports Hit Two-Year Low
Source: Dorothy Kosich, Mineweb  (2/29/12)
"South Korean manufacturers have been reducing their dependence on high-priced Chinese rare earth imports and have replaced them with lower-cost Japanese shipments." More >

Tap Energy Profits with Undervalued Producers: Chen Lin
Source: George S. Mack of The Energy Report  (2/28/12)
The idea of finding an undervalued stock is enticing, but how can investors distinguish between an international value tap and a bottomless money trap? Private investor and newsletter writer Chen Lin combs every continent to find junior exploration and production companies whose balance sheets outshine low stock valuations. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Lin shares some lesser-known names that offer major profit potential. More >

Rare Earth Metals Is a Stock-Pickers Market: Jason Burack and Mo Dawoud
Source: The Critical Metals Report Editors  (2/28/12)
In the wake of a 2011 roller coaster ride in the rare earth market, the sector still holds promise for astute investors, argue Wall St. for Main St. co-founders Jason Burack and Mo Dawoud. In this exclusive Critical Metals Report interview, the pair name the six major REE projects that could rocket back up out of 200-odd juniors competing in this space. More >

NMA, Nuclear Energy Institute Challenge 1M-Acre Grand Canyon Mining Ban
Source: Dorothy Kosich, Mineweb  (2/28/12)
"The National Mining Association and the National Energy Institute have sued federal agencies to try to rescind the withdrawal of lands near the Grand Canyon National Park from mining activities." More >

Is the Silver Surge Sustainable?
Source: Lawrence Williams, Mineweb  (2/28/12)
"There does seem to be some momentum building in the silver price again and, given a relatively orderly market, there is no reason for silver not to continue shining, provided gold remains firm to rising." More >

Small Cap Gold Stocks Successfully Retest 2010 Breakout
Source: Jordan Roy-Byrne, The Daily Gold  (2/28/12)
"Gold companies are generating record profits and the price of gold is near its all-time high, yet leveraged small caps are trading near a low relative to gold." More >

US Refiners Scrutinize Biodiesel Producers in Wake of Bogus Credits
Source: Meghan Gordon and Nick Juliano, Platts  (2/28/12)
"After getting burned buying fake renewable fuel credits, U.S. refiners have increased their scrutiny of biodiesel producers by visiting plants, examining feedstocks and sticking to larger, established players." More >

Biotech Platform Technologies Make Big Promises
Source: George S. Mack, The Life Sciences Report  (2/28/12)
Words to Invest By: Make sure you see a lead development product that big pharma is willing to bet on. I love the idea of a smart technology platform that could feed multiple product candidates into a biotech pipeline. The notion is exhilarating because that's where those rare 10- and 20-baggers come from. . . More >

Gold and Silver Stocks Poised to Recover in 2012: Charles Oliver and Jamie Horvat
Source: JT Long of The Gold Report  (2/27/12)
Opportunities abound across the spectrum of precious metal equities, which remain undervalued as bullion prices continue their upward trends. That's the word according to Charles Oliver and Jamie Horvat, both senior portfolio managers at Sprott Asset Management. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Oliver and Horvat express cautious optimism about the prospects for gold stocks in 2012. More >

Indian Gold ETF Investment Doubled Last Year; Set to Surge in 2012
Source: Shivom Seth, Mineweb  (2/27/12)
"Indian investors just cannot keep away from gold. If not in the physical form in terms of jewelry, gold biscuits or gold coins, small investors, corporate houses in India and small and medium enterprises have decided to go a stage further and invest in paper gold." More >

Forecasting Final Week of February for Precious Metals, Gold Stocks and the Dollar
Source: Chris Vermeulen, The Gold and Oil Guy  (2/27/12)
"Gold broke through a key resistance level and is slowly drifting back down to test the breakout level to see if it is support. If so, then gold should continue higher in the coming days." More >

Precious Metals Under Pressure as Investors and Traders Take Breather
Source: Ben Traynor, BullionVault  (2/27/12)
"Prices for buying gold dropped to $1,764/oz Monday morning London time, a 0.5% fall from Friday's close, while stocks, commodities and the euro all lost ground." More >

China Now Planning to Boost REE Exports and Output
Source: Shivom Seth, Mineweb  (2/27/12)
"China is set to double exports of rare earths in 2012 from its drastically lower 2011 levels in order to meet government quotas. Though the overseas sales quota is expected to remain more or less unchanged in 2012, the Asian powerhouse has been curbing exports since 2009." More >

Investing In Silver: How to Buy Silver Coins and Bars
Source: Larry Spears, Money Morning  (2/27/12)
"Like gold, investing in silver is a great hedge against inflation and financial turmoil alike. It's why demand for silver is increasing at an astonishing rate." More >

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve Becomes a Political Football (Yet Again)
Source: Kent Moors, Money Morning  (2/27/12)
"At some point, the rise in prices will depress demand. But there is also nothing to prevent this from recurring, in more volatile and frequent cycles. In attempting to offset the effect of oil prices on an economic recovery, the question of whether to tap the SPR may soon be the least of our worries." More >

Oil Prices and Oil Company Profits
Source: Dirk van Dijk, Zacks Investment Research  (2/27/12)
"With oil prices rising, we might expect a surge of upward earnings estimates for oil companies, but so far that is not the case. Are analysts implicitly suggesting that oil prices are going to fall back down?" More >

Do Rising Uranium Mining Stocks Forecast a Supply Shortfall?
Source: Jeb Handwerger, Gold Stock Trades  (2/27/12)
"Despite the phoenix-like rise, uranium investors should not rush to take their nuclear chips off the table—this is just the beginning." More >

Japan in a Quandary as Iran Tensions Expose Energy Vulnerability
Source: Takeo Kumagai, Platts  (2/27/12)
"Japan faces a dilemma. It has to balance its changed energy needs in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster with the more urgent matter of cutting its imports of Iranian crude oil to avoid being shut out of the U.S. financial system." More >