This Left for Dead Sector is About to Explode Higher

By Justin Spittler 

A revolution has begun. It’s going to change America in ways you can’t possibly imagine. 

No, I’m not talking about a political revolution. I’m talking about an energy revolution. Rick Perry, President Trump’s energy secretary, explained this revolution in a press conference last week:

For years, Washington stood in the way of our energy dominance. That changes now.
We are now looking to help, not hinder, energy producers and job creators.

Perry makes a good point. From 2009 to 2016, the Obama administration held back America’s energy sector. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) alone enacted nearly 4,000 regulations during Obama’s tenure. These measures severely handicapped the energy sector. They even killed some companies. Of course, Obama’s no longer running the show. Trump is. And he wants to put American energy companies first.

This might sound like an empty promise. But if there’s one thing Trump’s done consistently since taking office, it’s support the energy sector. This is great news for oil and gas companies. But it’s even better news for an industry that many investors have left for dead.

I’m talking about the coal industry.…
The coal business is what Doug Casey likes to call a “choo-choo train” industry. It’s a dirty, dangerous, and downright difficult industry. It hasn’t changed much since the Industrial Revolution, either. That’s why environmentalists hate it. It’s also why the EPA passed more than 33,000 pages of regulations under Obama. These measures have cost coal companies $312 billion since 2009. That’s nearly $40 billion per year.

Obama basically tried to regulate the coal industry out of existence.…
He nearly succeeded, too. Just look at all these coal companies that have gone bankrupt in the last few years.

• Patriot Coal
  
• James River Coal
  
• New World Resources
  
• Walter Energy
  
• Alpha Natural Resources
  
• Arch Coal
  
• Peabody Energy
  

Just so you know, these aren’t second or third tier companies. They’re some of the biggest U.S. coal producers.

U.S. coal production fell almost 35% between 2009 and 2016.…
It’s also why the percentage of U.S. electricity fueled by coal plunged from more than 35% in late 2014 to less than 25% a year later. When most people see these statistics, they write off coal completely. They assume it’s finished. But coal isn’t going anywhere…at least not anytime soon. This dislocation between fact and fantasy has created a huge investing opportunity. Here’s why…

Trump wants to help coal companies.…
Everyone knows this. It was one of his biggest pledges during his campaign. But unlike many other things Trump’s promised, he’s actually delivered on this. In fact, one of the first things Trump did as president was roll back the Stream Protection Rule in February. A month later, he called for a review of Obama's Clean Power Plan. He also wants to make it easier for U.S. coal companies to export coal and build coal plants overseas. So far, Trump’s efforts have worked.

U.S. coal production is up 19% this year.…
Coal companies have also added 1,300 jobs since December. This tells us that Trump is breathing life back into the coal industry. Still, you should understand something important. The coal industry will never make a full recovery. That’s because natural gas and renewables have become much cheaper in recent years. Because of this, more and more U.S. power plants are using less coal.

That’s the bad news for the industry. The good news is that coal doesn’t have to return to its glory days for you to make a fortune. It just has to go from “terrible” to “not so bad.”

Here’s why that will happen.…

The rest of the world still needs coal.…
Right now, 1.2 billion people on the planet lack access to electricity. That’s 16% of the world’s population. That’s also 3.5 times more people than there are living in the United States right now. Most of these people live in China and India. These are two of the world’s fastest-growing economies. But these countries can’t keep growing like this without a lot of electricity. And that means huge demand for coal.

Why, you ask? Simple. Coal is still one of the cheapest, most abundant, and most dependable forms of energy. It’s also easy to store and transport. It’s the natural choice for emerging markets with massive energy needs. Just look at what China’s doing. It already burns 4 billion tons of coal every year. That’s four times as much as we burn in the States. And its appetite for coal is only going to get bigger.

This is a huge opportunity for the United States.…
After all, the U.S. has more than a quarter of the world’s coal reserves. Not only that, we have the desire and infrastructure in place to export coal. But don’t take my word for it. Take it from Corsa Coal, a major U.S. coal producer. Their CEO recently said that they plan to export 85% of the coal they produce this year. Most investors don’t realize this. They think the U.S. has to burn more coal for coal stocks to soar. But the industry just needs the government to leave it alone and for the rest of the world to keep burning coal.

Sooner or later, the masses will figure this out. When they do, money will pour into coal stocks. You’ll want to be ready for that. Here’s how you can set yourself up for big gains today….Buy the VanEck Vectors Coal ETF (KOL). This fund invests in 27 different coal and coal-related stocks. It’s a way to bet on a rebound in coal without gambling on one stock. That said, you could still make a killing in KOL. To understand why, look at the chart below. It shows the performance of KOL since it went public in 2008.

Two things jump off the screen here. Number one, KOL’s up 116% since the start of 2016. That tells us the bottom in coal stocks is already in. Number two, KOL is still down 74% from its 2011 highs. This means KOL could more than triple from here and still be cheaper than it was six years ago.

In short, there’s still plenty of upside in KOL. Still, you should understand that this is a speculation. Don’t put more money into them than you can afford to lose. Have an exit strategy. And use stop losses. This will allow you to capture coal’s massive upside while limiting your downside.

The article This Left-for-Dead Sector Is About to Explode Higher was originally published at caseyresearch.com

This Unique Oil Stock is Offering A Huge Dividend Yield

By Justin Spittler

One of Casey Research's biggest calls this year is paying off.....…
In early August, E.B. Tucker, editor of The Casey Report, told subscribers how to profit from the world’s oversupply of oil. If you read financial newspapers for more than a week, you’ll notice that global oil production is near record highs. Last year, global oil output reached its highest level in at least twenty five years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

High oil prices were a big reason for the surge in production. Between 2011 and mid 2014, the price of oil hovered around $90/barrel. But oil peaked at $106 last June, and it’s been falling ever since. Today, a barrel of oil goes for about $45. Even though the price of oil has been cut in half, global oil production is still near all time highs. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), a cartel of 12 oil producing nations, is still pumping a record amount of oil. And it plans to increase production next year. In the U.S., oil supplies are still about 100 million barrels above their five year average.

E.B. explains why some countries have no choice but to keep pumping oil.....

Oil is the foundation of many countries’ economies. Take Venezuela, for example. Venezuela produces over 2.5 million barrels per day (BPD) of oil. Oil exports make up half of the country’s economic output. The country is so dependent on oil that cutting production would be economic suicide. This is happening across the globe. Giant state run oil companies continue to pump because it’s the only way for these countries to make money. This is why global oil production has not fallen even though the price of oil has been cut in half. In many areas, production has actually increased.

The extra oil has weighed on oil prices......
Weak oil prices have hammered virtually all oil companies…including the biggest oil companies on the planet. Profits for ExxonMobil (XOM), the largest U.S. oil company, fell 52% during the second quarter due to weak oil prices. Its stock is now down 24% since oil peaked last summer. Chevron (CVX), America’s second biggest oil company, earned its lowest profit in twelve years during the second quarter. Its stock price is down 34% since last summer’s peak. The entire industry is struggling. XOP, an ETF that holds the largest oil explorers and producers, has dropped 52% over the same period.

But oil tanker companies are making more money than they have in seven years...…
Unlike oil producers, oil tanker companies don’t need high oil prices to make big profits. That’s because they make money based on how much oil they move. Their revenues aren’t directly tied to the price of oil.
On Monday, Bloomberg Business explained why oil tankers are making the most money they’ve made in years. The world’s biggest crude oil tankers earned more than $100,000 a day for the first time since 2008. Ships hauling two million barrel cargoes of Saudi Arabian crude to Japan, a benchmark route, earned $104,256 a day, a level last seen in July 2008, according to data on Friday from the Baltic Exchange in London. The rate was a 13 percent gain from Thursday.

Casey Research’s favorite oil tanker company is cashing in on higher shipping rates...…
On August 13, E.B. Tucker told readers of The Casey Report about a company called Euronav (EURN).
According to E.B., Euronav is the best oil tanker company in the world. The company has one of the newest and largest fleets on the planet. Euronav’s sales more than doubled during the first half of the year.

The company’s EBITDA (earnings before taxes, interest, and accounting charges) quadrupled. And because Euronav’s policy is to pay out at least 80% of its profits as dividends, the company doubled its dividend payment last quarter.

Investors who acted on E.B.’s recommendation have already pocketed a 5% quarterly dividend. Based on its last two dividends, Euronav is paying an annualized yield of 12%. That’s not bad considering 10 Treasuries pay just 2.07% right now. Euronav’s stock is up big too. It has gained 15% in the past month alone...while the S&P just gained 1%.

E.B. thinks Euronav is just getting started.....

Euronav’s stock price has rocketed in recent weeks, but it’s going to go much higher. Euronav is a great business and the economics of shipping oil are improving. The market hasn’t fully caught on to how good things are in the industry right now. Shipping rates are ripping higher, but the supply of ships can’t keep up with demand. The largest supertankers can carry 2 million barrels of oil at a time. They measure three football fields long. These ships take years to build and cost about $100 million each. Shipping rates should stay high as the world works through this huge oil glut.

It’s a great time to own shipping companies. And Euronav is the best of the bunch. Euronav has shot up since E.B. recommended it, but the buying window hasn’t closed. In fact, Euronav is still below E.B.’s “buy under” price of $17.50. You can learn more about Euronav by taking The Casey Report for a risk free spin today. You’ll also learn about E.B.’s other top investment ideas, including a unique way to profit from the “digital revolution” in money. Click here to get started.

The article This Unique Oil Stock is Offering A Huge Dividend Yield was originally published at caseyresearch.com.

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January 2013 Crude Oil Export to China was a Rare Event

The United States exported 9,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of foreign- rigin crude oil to China in January 2013, according to data EIA released on March 28. Many media outlets picked up this information, noting that the United States had not exported crude oil to China since 2005. However, the United States does export small amounts of crude oil on a regular basis, mostly to Canada, which is not shown on the graph. From 2003 to 2012, the United States exported an average of 35,000 bbl/d of crude oil — 98% of those exports were delivered to Canada. By comparison, in January 2013, the United States imported nearly 8 million barrels per day, while producing about 7 million barrels per day.





To export crude oil, a company must obtain a license from the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and which relies on the Code of Federal Regulations Title 15 Part 754.2. According to the regulations, "BIS will approve applications to export crude oil for the following kinds of transactions if BIS determines that the export is consistent with the specific requirements pertinent to that export:"

*    From Alaska's Cook Inlet
*   To Canada for consumption or use therein
*   In connection with refining or exchange of Strategic Petroleum Reserve oil
*   Of up to an average of 25,000 bbl/d of California heavy crude oil
*   That are consistent with findings made by the president under an applicable statute
*   Of foreign-origin crude oil where, based on written documentation satisfactory to BIS, the exporter can demonstrate that the oil is not of U.S. origin and has not been commingled with oil of U.S. origin


As noted above, the vast majority of U.S. crude exports go to Canada. Most of the other exports of crude oil are those that fall into the last category, exports of foreign-origin crude, imported into the United States but not comingled with U.S., origin crude oil. These exports typically occur because the owner of the imported crude oil cannot process or resell it in the United States. The license allows the imported crude to be exported.

EIA does not collect data on crude oil (or petroleum product) exports, but rather publishes data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. The Census data show that since 2003, there have been only a handful of crude oil exports from the United States to a country other than Canada. These exports include small volumes to China, Costa Rica, France, South Korea and Mexico.

The 9,000 bbl/d of oil that the United States exported to China in January 2013 was a rare event. For confidentiality reasons, the U.S. Census Bureau is not allowed to publish specifics about particular shipments, but data available from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate this crude oil was not listed as a domestic export, implying that the crude oil was foreign-origin crude oil that was imported into the United States and then exported from the United States to China.

The 2 Energy Sectors You Should Invest in This Year

Trading Tips from John D. Rockefeller

John D. Rockefeller was America's first billionaire. After the civil war Rockefeller had a good amount of money with which to invest. He (correctly) believed railroads would become the primary means to transport agricultural products and would open up the vast western lands to eastern markets, trends that didn't bode well for his own produce shipping. He began to look for other business ventures that could be profitable and found a fledgling sector poised to take off.....the oil industry.

However, where he and his partners entered was not in oil production, but its refining. The same railroads that would eclipse his shipping business would help launch his refining venture, as Cleveland enjoyed not the usual one rail line, but two. Transportation costs would be lower and thus his refinery products more competitive.

By the late 1860s, only five years after getting into the oil business, Rockefeller's refining company was the largest in the world. A major reason for his success was a business model that today we call vertical integration. Rockefeller knew that in order to keep costs down, he would have to control both the upstream and the downstream. For example, he even bought his own woodlands for lumber to make his own oil barrels, and built kilns on site to dry the lumber and save shipping weight on its way to (his own) cooperage. His attention to cost cutting was painstaking.

So, can we learn from Rockefeller and put the lessons he learned to work for us in our modern day trading?

Let's try.

Trading like Rockefeller.....

1. Lower your costs. Lower costs mean higher margins and much more resilience during bad times. Rockefeller famously reduced from 40 to 39 the number of drops of solder to close the lids of kerosene cans, saving the company hundreds of thousands of dollars in the long run. He'd also ask for financial statements down to three decimal places, the better to spot inefficiencies in his supply chain and fix them.As investors, follow in Rockefeller's footsteps by investing in companies with low costs, but also reduce the cost basis in the stocks you own.

2. Have you checked lately whether you're getting the best deal from your brokerage? Don't be afraid to take your business somewhere else. Every advantage counts in this fast moving world.

3. Also, are you making the most out of your portfolio? Could you do more with it? It's a good idea to invest a portion (and we do mean just a portion) of your portfolio in equities that can offer higher reward for higher risk. This is especially true if your portfolio is heavy in capital.

4. When the market is turning against you, move on. Had Rockefeller stuck to his grain shipping business, he'd likely not even made a ripple on the pages of financial history. When he spotted opportunity in the up and coming oil industry, he wasn't afraid to abandon what had been a good thing and to take the leap.For us, this advice means sometimes selling companies that are under performing. Knowing when it's time to cut our losses and to turn our capital toward more profitable ventures. The tricky part is knowing when to be patient and hold and when to recognize a true shift in the marketplace....and that comes from reading the signs from Mr. Market.

5. Vertical integration is a hallmark among many strong companies. Part of the reason Rockefeller could edge out his competitors was the fact that he controlled his own supply chain. He noticed very early on that if he did not control many aspects of his production, he would be at a disadvantage when it came to negotiations. And as he expanded his business, he purchased companies that could make the entire refinery process smoother, including pipelines, railroads, and even those woodlands we mentioned.Thus, if we want blue chip companies that will perform well for us over the long term, we should look for firms that are vertically integrated within their own sectors.

6. Patience is key. Rockefeller kept his discipline when he landed in a tough job market after school. As investors, we're looking for companies that can pay good dividends in the long run. However, we must be wary of overpaying for stocks. Being patient, letting the market come to us rather than chase it ourselves, will give us the best bang for our buck.

Check out our Top 50 Stocks List

Salazar Threatens To Dropkick The Natural Gas Revolution

It might just be tough talk, but Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has warned the energy industry that expansion could be much harder than under the Bush administration.

Americans should be amply rewarded when companies win exploration and production rights, but let's hope this doesn't mean that new exploration will be significantly restricted.

Especially when it comes to natural gas, which could provide the U.S. with an enormous source of relatively cheap energy.....Read the entire article.

Just click here for your FREE trend analysis of UNG


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