Crude Oil vs. Iran: Who Blinks First?
Source: ETF Daily News, EconMatters  (2/22/12)
"Crude oil fundamentals have not changed enough to warrant this spike, but the reality remains that prices get distorted whenever there's a whiff of geopolitical tension." More >

Mailbag: A Timeline for the Natural Gas Revolution
Source: James Baldwin, Money Morning  (2/22/12)
"The U.S. will likely see an increase in solar, wind, geothermal and other 'green' sources. However, these alternative sources are not enough to fully replace such an enormous amount of power. As a result, the country will turn to natural gas to fill the void." More >

Sanctions Noose Tightens Around Iran as Buyers Seek Alternative Oil
Source: Margaret McQuaile, Platts  (2/22/12)
"International sanctions aimed at slashing Iran's main economic lifeline, its oil revenues, could have an impact on the country's export volumes well beyond the 500,000 b/d of crude that a European Union ban will displace from July." More >

Biofuels Industry on Quest for Low-Cost Feedstocks
Source: Western Farm Press  (2/22/12)
"While first-generation biofuels derived from cornstarch, sugarcane, rapeseed and soy are projected to underpin growth over the next decade, the emergence of advanced conversion pathways and nonfood feedstocks will unlock considerable production potential throughout the world." More >

The Right Way to Find Growth and Value Stocks
Source: Kevin Matras, Zachs Investment Research  (2/22/12)
"While there are still plenty of them around, it's getting harder to find stocks that fit squarely into both categories." More >

Do Central Banks Care More About the Dow or Gold?
Source: Eric McWhinnie, Wall St. Cheat Sheet  (2/22/12)
"As paper assets continue to underperform, wise central banks and investors will protect themselves with precious metals, the time-tested method of preserving wealth." More >

Energy Investing in Saskatchewan: Tom MacNeill
Source: Brian Sylvester of The Energy Report  (2/21/12)
Tom MacNeill doesn't have to go far to find the most unique early-stage energy companies to invest in. The President and CEO of Saskatchewan-based investment firm 49 North Resources, MacNeill is bullish on his own backyard, and says of the province's resources, "You name it, we've got it." In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, he explains why Saskatchewan resource plays trump their Alberta or Ontario counterparts. More >

Under-the-Radar Rare Earth Elements: James Passin
Source: Zig Lambo of The Critical Metals Report  (2/21/12)
Sometimes the most exciting investment opportunities fly under the radar. James Passin of Firebird Management LLC combs the world for emerging opportunities in often overlooked areas. In this exclusive interview with The Critical Metals Report, he discusses companies producing critical materials that could revolutionize defense and aviation technology and make nuclear power safer and more efficient. He also shares some commodities growth stories currently unfolding in Mongolia and East Africa. More >

Will the Greek Bailout Make Gold and Silver Rise or Fall?
Source: Julian Phillips, Gold Forecaster  (2/21/12)
"Gold will not replace currencies in the current monetary system, but it can and will support them." More >

Buffett Mischaracterizes Gold's Bull Market
Source: Jordan Roy-Byrne, The Daily Gold  (2/21/12)
"The next breakout in the gold equities and the metals themselves will serve as a recognition move to the masses. It will be a springboard to an eventual bubble. This is a very volatile, cyclical sector so one must do Buffett-like due diligence in picking stocks." More >

Bailouts Benefitting Gold, Silver, Uranium and Rare Earth Miners
Source: Jeb Handwerger, Gold Stock Trades  (2/21/12)
"We feel that it is only a matter of time before the precious metal miners themselves participate in reflecting the burgeoning mining bull market." More >

Gold and Silver Stocks' Wild Ride Ahead: Greg McCoach
Source: Zig Lambo of The Gold Report  (2/20/12)
Greg McCoach, publisher of The Mining Speculator, feels gold is ultimately headed above $6,000/oz and silver into the hundreds of dollars and those who aren't paying attention now are missing their best opportunity to buy before the frenzy begins in earnest. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, he spells out the reasons for his optimistic projections and shares several of his favorite stories in the junior mining sector, which he believes is headed for much higher ground. More >

Gold's Consolidation Phase Continues
Source: Ben Traynor, BullionVault  (2/20/12)
"Wholesale market gold bullion prices held above $1,730/oz in Monday morning's London trading, while European stocks and commodities edged higher amid hopes that policymakers might finally approve Greece's second bailout." More >

EU Unfazed by Iran Oil Export Halts to UK, France
Source: Stuart Elliott, Platts  (2/20/12)
"Iran's announcement Feb. 19 that it had stopped exporting oil to France and Britain appears to be a largely symbolic move targeting the two strongest advocates of the European Union's ban on Iranian oil imports." More >

Biofuels Market to Double by 2021 Says Pike Research
Source: Torque News, Aaron Turpen  (2/20/12)
"Pike Research estimates that production of biologically based fuels will increase from $82.7B in 2011 to $185.3B by 2021, but will fall short of demand." More >

China's 'Mystery' Gold Buyer
Source: Adrian Ash, BullionVault  (2/20/12)
"For Asia's ravenous gold buying, state interference is perhaps the present threat, especially in a market averaging 36% compound growth by value each year since China began deregulating gold a decade ago." More >

Japan Aims to Sell Massive Floating Structures to Stockpile Oil
Source: Takeo Kumagai, Platts  (2/19/12)
"The Japanese government will partner with the private sector to promote exports of megafloats to stockpile oil products, starting with a possible deal with Vietnam in 2013." More >

The Positive Side of the WTI–Brent Spread
Source: Kent Moors, Money Morning  (2/19/12)
"In the Midwest, refinery capacity has been strained; however, there is a glut of crude coming from Canada, which is creating a discount for these companies." More >

Silver Could Double by Year-End
Source: Jason Hamlin, Gold Stock Bull  (2/18/12)
"Once fear begins to subside, look for precious metals to come roaring back to new highs by midyear. Whenever the next financial crisis finally hits, we are likely to witness a new injection of quantitative easing that is even stronger than what transpired in 2008." More >

Oil Sands Semantics: I Say Potato, You Say Po-Tar Sands
Source: Joel Chury, VantageWire  (2/18/12)
"The key descriptor falls into two categories: oil sands or tar sands. The former is the term more commonly used among industry types. To use the term 'tar sands' is to evoke the negative, to essentially tar and feather the debate." More >

MLPs Post Biggest Weekly Gain of 2012
Source: Hinds Howard, MLP HINDSight  (2/18/12)
"On the back of rising commodity prices, a reprieve from equity offerings and benign broader stock markets, MLPs had a very good week, up 2.7% compared with the S&P 500, which was up 1.4%." More >

Gold's Wild Ride Leaves Explorers Ready to Grow: Tom MacNeill
Source: Brian Sylvester of The Gold Report  (2/17/12)
Lesser resource companies have been slowly starving to death since the capital faucet was turned off in 2008. What's left? Some exciting, early-stage companies with management teams industrious enough to make it through with promising projects on the horizon. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Tom MacNeill, CEO of 49 North Resources Inc., a Saskatchewan-focused resource investment company, discusses some names his firm is excited about, including some primed to debut on the public markets soon. More >

Quiet Session Sees Gold and Silver Flat
Source: Ben Traynor, BullionVault  (2/17/12)
"Spot market prices for buying gold held just above $1,730/oz during flat trading this morning in London, as speculation continued over whether a Greek bailout will be agreed next week." More >

Record High Gold Prices Fail to Curb Global Demand
Source: Eric McWhinnie, Wall St. Cheat Sheet  (2/17/12)
"Gold prices continue to receive additional support as central banks not only devalue fiat currencies, but also purchase gold themselves." More >

Silver Eagles Soar
Source: Rick Mills, 
Ahead of the Herd  (2/17/12)
"Investors are currently risk averse and mining stocks are not well understood by the general investing public, but at least one thing is going to become very apparent to most: The best way to hedge yourself against inflation could be owning silver." More >