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 >

Long Term, North American Gas Stocks Might Be Worth It
Source: Bill Holland, Platts  (2/27/12)
"The recent crop of earnings reports from exploration and production companies indicate long-term promise for the sector." More >

Biofuel Flights: Will 'Green' Air Travel Be Cheaper?
Source: CNN GO, Hiufu Wong  (2/27/12)
"Airlines traveling through Europe have to pay for their carbon emissions, so there is a financial incentive for using alternative jet fuels. This is seeing real results." More >

Will Another Round of LTRO Send Gold and Silver Higher?
Source: Eric McWhinnie, Wall St. Cheat Sheet  (2/27/12)
"If Wednesday's LTRO satisfies the market and sends the euro higher, gold and silver are also likely to climb higher." More >

The Financial System Is Sick: Are Precious Metals the Cure?
Source: Vin Maru, TDV Golden Trader  (2/27/12)
"History has show us over and over again that owning gold and silver is the best way of protecting yourself when currencies become devalued or inflated away to nothing." More >

Too Quiet. . .Expect Equity
Source: Hinds Howard, MLP HINDSight  (2/26/12)
"The MLP Index benefited from solid earnings announcements, rising oil prices and a lack of equity issuance. As a result of a sort of no-catalyst week for MLPs, the index largely tracked the S&P 500." More >

Gold, Silver Juniors Should Shine in 2012: Mark Raguz
Source: Brian Sylvester of The Gold Report  (2/24/12)
After a tough 2011, Mark Raguz and his colleagues at Pinetree Capital are looking at the junior resource sector with renewed optimism. In this exclusive Gold Report interview, he names some of the plays that are fueling that sentiment, from gold names in Northern Ontario to silver names in Mexico. More >

Gold Stocks Nearing End of Wall-of-Worry Stage
Source: Jordan Roy-Byrne, The Daily Gold  (2/24/12)
"Increased dividends will attract more mainstream investors who can achieve income, inflation protection and exposure to a bull market. However, the real gains will be in juniors who can grow their production or juniors that outline significant discoveries." More >

Silver and Gold Looking at Gains on Week
Source: Ben Traynor, BullionVault  (2/24/12)
"Heading into the weekend, gold bullion at lunchtime Friday looked set for a weekly gain of over 3%, with silver looking at a gain of over 6% on last Friday's close."

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Will Gold be Paulson's Next 'Greatest Trade Ever'?
Source: Peter Krauth, Money Morning  (2/24/12)
"As the demand for gold continues to climb, its scarcity will become a major factor. Those who want exposure to gold will look progressively toward gold stocks." More >

London Metal Exchange Reviews Bids, Changes Fees
Source: Reuters, Maytaal Angel and Harpreet Bhal  (2/24/12)
"The London Metal Exchange board examined non-binding bids for the world's biggest marketplace for industrial metals on Thursday, but a partial climbdown on plans to charge a controversial new trading fee could threaten the sale." More >

Spanish Treasure to be Flown Home from US Military Base
Source: Reuters, Robert Green  (2/24/12)
"A treasure trove of gold and silver coins worth $500M and recovered from the wreckage of Spanish ship sunk during colonial times will be returned to Spain from Florida on Friday aboard military aircraft." More >

Rare Earth Investment Update
Source: Jeff Clark, Casey Research  (2/24/12)
"It's hard to miss the steep rise in prices from mid-2010 to April 2011. Should we expect similar price spikes in the future? And what's the long-term trend?" More >

Will Gold Miners Finally Get Some Respect?
Source: Eric McWhinnie, Wall St. Cheat Sheet  (2/24/12)
"Although miners have underperformed bullion, recent earnings may finally cause a shift in sentiment and share prices." More >

The Companies Looking to Solve Fracking's Water Issues
Source: Oil & Gas Investments Bulletin Research Team  (2/24/12)
"These wells use anywhere from 2-13M gallons per well, leaving parched states like Texas scrambling to encourage water conservation in the energy sector. Which technologies will get adopted by this multibillion dollar industry?" More >

Biotech Stocks Start Strong in 2012: John McCamant
Source: George S. Mack of The Life Sciences Report  (2/23/12)
After a three-and-one-half year slide, biotechnology stocks started 2012 with a powerful move to the upside. Is this an arms-acquisition race for products in development, or is it about excellent fundamentals that are just getting noticed? Medical Technology Stock Letter Editor John McCamant sees a bit of both, and in this exclusive interview with The Life Sciences Report, he has selected a few names that he believes will rise to the top. More >

The Who, What and Where of Energy Investing: James West
Source: Brian Sylvester of The Energy Report  (2/23/12)
James West, publisher of the Midas Letter, asks himself three questions when considering energy investment opportunities: Who is the management? What is the asset mix? Where is the project located? He shares the names of companies in the oil, gas, uranium and lithium sectors that have all the right answers in this exclusive interview with The Energy Report. More >

South African Project May Host Highest Grade Rare Earths Deposit Outside China
Source: John Chadwick, Mineweb  (2/23/12)
"One of the largest known rare earth resources outside of China classified under international resource reporting standards could well be in production by mid-2015." More >