Six Tips for CFA Candidates
I just finished the third (of three) Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams. I believe I passed, (results will not be available until September.) I've taken more than my share of tests in my life, and these three exams have been the three hardest. I decided to publish my advice for others becoming CFA Candidates because 1) my partner at Alternative Energy Stocks, Charles Morand has just become a CFA Candidate (he'll take the first exam in December), and 2) there is little advice available online. VI. Buy two of your chosen model of calculator The reason for this is...
Keep Up With AltEnergyStocks.com On Twitter!
Dear Readers, You can now keep up with AltEnergyStocks.com on Twitter by visiting our Twitter page. We will post updates when we blog as well as other useful info about what we're up to and relevant news stories. Be sure to check us out! All the best, The AltEnergyStocks.com Team
Bush’s State of the Union
"America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world" Thanks to Mr. Bush's state of the union address last night, we should see some nice gains across the board in the Alternative Energy sector. Some of the big winners may be the Ethanol companies like Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (PEIX). The EnergyStockBlog.com has a nice write up on the potential for ADM. GreenCarCongress.com has a nice summary of the important parts of the speech. In his State of the Union 2006 address, President...
Ceres Petitions Mutual Fund Companies to Consider Climate Change
TreeHugger.com points out that Ceres.org has sent out petitions and letters to Fidelity, Vanguard, and American Funds asking them to begin addressing the economic risks of climate change by supporting global warming shareholder resolutions filed with U.S. companies. "In 2005, none of the three mutual fund companies supported such resolutions, which typically request that firms disclose the financial risks and opportunities of global warming and describe their strategies for managing those challenges"
The Purpose of this Site
I have been recently thinking to myself, "What is the purpose of this site." Originally I had grand plans about introducing people to this particular sector of stock investing. I think that alternative energy investing should be a part of your portfolio for several reasons. I feel we should support these companies so they can continue to grow and provide alternative ways to provide energy. I also feel that these companies are ideally poised for tremendous growth in the future as the technology matures. This growth usually means growth in the stock (and profits in your portfolio.) To...
A Climate of Injustice
For this post, a tad bit of shameless promotion for a friend. My former grad school roommate and good friend Brad Parks, who works at the Millennium Challenge Corporation in DC, co-authored a book on the asymmetry that exists between emerging countries' share of global greenhouse gas emissions and the price those countries will have to pay, not only monetarily but also in terms of health and quality of life, as the effects of climate change materialize. Brad put a tremendous amount of work into this and the few chapters that I had a chance to read...
Investing In Water Desalination
By Jeff Siegel The million-dollar manicured lawns of Montecito, CA have withered, died, and gone to seed. The polo fields are little more than dust now, and many have traded the good china for paper plates so as to avoid using the dishwasher. There’s no doubt about it Mother Nature doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, black or white, fat or skinny. When she lays the smack down, we all feel it. And there is no better example of this than the debilitating drought that’s wringing the Golden State dry. Of course, for those who can afford...
WilderHill Clean Energy Index ETF to Begin Trading on Amex March 3, 2005
This Thursday, PowerShares Capital Management LLC, will introduce a new exchange traded fund (ETF) based on the WilderHill Clean Energy Index, the first index comprised of companies focused on developing renewable sources of energy, clean energy technologies and environmentally-friendly technologies within the energy sector. The "PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio" (PBW) will begin trading on the American Stock Exchange March 3, 2005 and will replicate the WilderHill Clean Energy Index.
Skin In The Game
Specialty retailers are also joining the packaging revolution. REN Clean Skincare is a good example of a retailer that is making environmentally-friendly packaging part of its offering. The company kicked off the campaign with a splashing Earth Day celebration featuring its new partner, the Surfrider Foundation. The campaign was aimed at making REN customers aware of the need to conserve water and keep beaches clean and plastic-free.
The company is selling some of its skincare products in bottles made from plastic reclaimed from the ocean. The bottle is part of REN’s Clean to Planet initiative to become a 100% zero waste company by 2021. The bottle...
Graphene-Based Materials
The previous post “Miracle Material” acknowledged the fallout of many of the companies that a decade ago had set out to commercialize that extraordinary form of carbon called graphene. It is a single atom thick but is a couple hundred times stronger than steel, showing promise for an ultra-lightweight material that could unprecedented performance. Unfortunately, developers found out carbon atoms do not behave as well in a production process as they might on a scientist’s laboratory bench. There are several companies that with perseverance and tenacity have been successful in bringing graphene into our lives.
Off the Bench
Haydale Graphene Industries (HAYD: LSE) offers a mix...
Book Review: Investment Opportunities for a Low Carbon World (Geothermal + Efficiency)
Charles Morand Last Thursday, I reviewed two chapters from the recently published book "Investment Opportunities for a Low Carbon World"*. This post reviews two more. Geothermal Energy Alexander Richter, Glitnir Bank (now Íslandsbanki) Geothermal is one of the most interesting forms of clean power generation there is. As noted by the author, the most convincing argument for geothermal electricity is the fact that it operates at capacity factors in the upper 90s. This makes it the only renewable technology suitable for baseload power with the exception of dam-based (i.e. large-scale) hydro. However, as...
Wells Fargo Publishes Report on Alternative Energy Investing
Joel Makower points to a special report published by Wells Fargo Private Client Services "Identifying the Opportunities in Alternative Energy" (PDF.) It is a good primer on alternative energy resources (hydro, wind, solar, hydrogen, biomass, and yes nuclear), along with an analysis of their respective advantages, disadvantages, and outlooks.
Lack of Posting
You may have noticed that I have not been posting to this website very frequently for the last couple of weeks. During this time I have been working very hard at my day job launching a redesigned website. Working 12+ hour days for the last couple of weeks has put a toll on my free time. But I'm glad to say that we launched the new site yesterday and I should be able to pick backup again soon. For those of you interested, here is a link to the new site that has taken all of my time....
An X-Prize for Alternative Energy?
I read several financial sites and feeds throughout the day and I have an entire section devoted to various stock blogs in my Bloglines feed reader account. A post on Andrew Tobias's website today really caught my attention where he was talking about his $100,000 “idea� contest. In response to the $100,000 “idea� contest, Alan Q writes: “Here’s mine and it’s a damn fine idea. Building on the success of the X Prize in reusable spacecraft: Expand government funded X Prizes in areas where innovation is vital to the nation's economic future and national security. For...
G7 Rumors and Speculation
There are several newsletter editors that are floating the idea that the next G7 conference will have some significant announcements concern the requirement for its members to use alternative energy. The next scheduled meeting is on Friday with a meeting of the G7 finance ministers and central bankers. I doubt anything will be announced at this time. But any announcement by the G7 concerning alternative energy will help to propel the AltE stocks.
EnviroStar: A Clean Laundry Stock For Your Portfolio
Saj Karsan EnviroStar (EVI) is a distributor of laundry equipment that has developed a proprietary dry-wet-cleaning machine that avoids the use of perchloroethylene (Perc), a harmful chemical that the International Agency for Research on Cancer has deemed a carcinogen. Perc is also classified as a hazardous air contaminant by the US Environment Protection Agency, and its use will become illegal in the state of California in the year 2023. EnviroStar's patented Green-Jet process uses an environmentally-friendly, water-based solution that is both non-toxic and requires less energy consumption than traditional dry-cleaning methods. This is currently a tiny company, with...
