Justin Kuepper is an experienced financial writer, web developer and active trader specializing in global macro situations. In addition to Mitre Media, he writes for About.com's International Investing section, Investopedia.com, Emerging Growth Corp., and other select publications on a freelance basis.
Posts By Justin
The oil and gas industry has been dramatically expanding over the past few years, particularly in the United States and emerging markets. In fact, the U.S. is expected to overtake Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the world’s largest oil producer by the second half of this decade, according to the International Energy Agency. One of the leading names on the oil front has long been Chevron (CVX), which is one of the largest crude producers in the U.S. [for more oil & gas news subscribe to our free newsletter].
Many energy companies have assets that generate a consistent income over time. For instance, a natural gas pipeline will transport a predictable amount of gas through it each year, generating very stable revenues. These stable revenues often lead to a distribution of earnings to shareholders in the form of a dividend. Unfortunately, investors are double taxed when standard corporations issue dividends – once when the company earns the revenue (corporate income tax) and once when the dividends are paid out (personal income tax). Master limited partnerships (MLPs) solve this problem by eliminating double taxation for revenues derived from qualified sources – as determined by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. These sources include almost all activities associated with the production, processing or transportation of oil, natural gas and coal assets in the U.S. [for more MLP news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
The agricultural industry has not been the best performer as of late, but many popular investors have been buying into the sector during the downturn, including billionaire investor George Soros and his former partner Jim Rogers, among others. With the drought sending corn, wheat and soybean to modern-era highs last year and early this year, many analysts expect these trends to continue into the first half of 2013. Below, we outline three agriculture stocks that have outperformed the rest and may be setting up for a big 2013 [for more agricultural news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
The planned 1,897-kilometer Keystone XL Pipeline would transport up to 830,000 barrels of tar sands oil per day from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Hardisty, Alberta to the existing Keystone Pipeline system in Steele City, Nebraska. By building this pipeline, the goal is to increase crude oil delivery to existing refinery markets in the Texas Gulf Coast region [for more commodity news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
There’s little question that commodities trading is a risky endeavor. From margin calls to extreme volatility, there are countless ways that traders can quickly lose money trading a variety of different instruments. In this article, we’ll take a look at five commodities trading mistakes that traders commonly make and explore the best ways to avoid them [for more commodity news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
The commodities markets are known for their high volatility, driven by a combination of market rumors and factual reports. While many day traders base their decisions on technical trends, savvy commodity traders also incorporate factual fundamental reports into their research to ensure that they are on the right side of the trade at all times. In this article, we’ll take a look at the three most important reports that every commodity trader should know. We will show traders where to find each report, outline what the reports contain, and demonstrate the best ways to use these reports to maximize risk-adjusted returns [for more commodity news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
It’s not a secret that commercial hedgers and institutional traders account for the majority of trading in the commodities markets. But, many individual traders fail to realize that they can take a behind-the-scenes look at these trades each and every week, thanks to reporting requirements imposed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) [for more market news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
Options on futures–otherwise called futures options or commodity options–may seem like a complex topic for these relatively new to derivatives and somewhat unnecessary for those with experience. But combining futures with options provides traders with a number of benefits, like the ability to hedge existing futures options, trade around the clock, or enhance leverage [for more commodity futures news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
