Smart Grid ETF Launched by First Trust Advisors

Amid the flurry of new ETFs coming to market this week, it appears I missed the launch of First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund (GRID) on Tuesday (11/17/09). This ETF focuses on stocks in the electric energy infrastructure and distribution grid subsector. The fund will typically invest in companies engaged in electric grid, metering equipment and devices, networks, energy storage and management, and enabling software used within the smart grid infrastructure.

The underlying index uses a modified capitalization weighting with “pure play” companies receiving an 80% allocation and “diversified” companies receiving just a 20% allocation. The expense ratio…

The Untapped Energy Riches of Uzbekistan

While many Western investors remain fixated on somehow acquiring a slice of Turkmenistan’s natural gas riches, despite a recent scandal over the country’s actual reserves, there is another country further east whose energy and mineralogical reserves have been overlooked – Uzbekistan.

While a number of factors are responsible for this oversight, including relative geographical isolation (Uzbekistan, along with Liechtenstein, is one of the world’s doubly landlocked nations, requiring crossing two other nations to gain access to the oceans), which currently limits energy exports available for the global market, there are a number of pluses that the country has for investors willing…

Matt Badiali: Using CO2 to Expand Low-Carbon Oil Production…and Other Developments

Source: The Energy Report

S&A Resource Report editor Matt Badiali covers a broad expanse of ideas as well as geography in this exclusive interview with The Energy Report. He discusses the immense potential of Iraqi oil, and the smaller but surer resurrection of old oil fields in Illinois. In addition to sharing views about areas within the oil industry worthy of investors’ attention, he talks about the promise—and problems—associated with major oil finds that have been making the news. These discoveries may postpone peak oil by a decade or two, but they will take a long time to bring to production, too.…

The Ultimate Buy and Holders are Betting Big Here

We’re entering earnings season once again and most investors are on edge.

Will companies be able to top estimates again? Earnings estimates are low, but they’re not as low as they were last quarter when 70% of the S&P 500 beat estimates.

Will the $3.5 trillion parked in money market funds continue to make its way back into the market? Once cash and bank deposits are added in, there’s $9.55 trillion ready to be spent once consumer confidence returns or that could go chasing after stocks.

Will the Fed put an end to the party and start raising interest rates sooner than later?…

Better than Oil

Is there an investment better than oil?

It seems to many, oil has it all.

Oil is a popular way to protect against inflation.

It’s truly a liquid asset. Someone, somewhere, always needs oil. It can be bought and sold very easily.

Also, oil is tough not to keep track of. The financial media gives us daily updates on gasoline prices.

On top of that, even slight increases in demand can send oil prices soaring. For instance, world oil consumption increased from 76 million barrels per day in 2000 to 87 million barrels per day in 2008. Meanwhile, oil prices climbed from around…