June 11, 2008

How To Invest In The Oil Crisis

In 1956 a prominent geophysicist, Mr. M. King Hubbert, made a prediction at a time when the U.S. was the world's largest producer of oil and the annual production was growing larger every year. He claimed that, "U.S. oil production will peak in the late '60s or early '70s and then decline steadily thereafter." This was a startling claim which many ignored or publicly disagreed with. Oil executives laughed in Hubbert's face when he first published his idea in the mid 1950's.

Just 14 years later, in 1970, U.S. oil production peaked, and it has declined ever since (from 3.5 billion barrels annually in 1970 to 2 billion barrels annually today). Today Hubbert's proven theory is called Hubbert's Peak, or PEAK OIL. Simply put, it says that the easy half of any oil reserve is harvested first, and what remains becomes harder and harder to get, resulting in steadily declining production. Once Hubbert was proven right, his formula was applied to the world's oil supply, and now experts forecast that world oil will peak sometime before 2010. In other words, we are there. It's important to note that the world is not out of oil, but rather that the remaining half will be harder to get, so production will decline.

Today oil is up $4.30 as of 12.00 p.m. Eastern Time. There are a few good companies to put your money in at a time like this. These are safe, blue chip-style investments with a special "hidden advantage" that can give you explosive growth-style returns of 115%... 150%... even up to 700%, in a matter of a few short years. In fact, these 4 stocks could become the most powerful performers in your portfolio over the next 5, 10, even 15 years.

First up is Posco, which is up over 147% since May 2005. Posco (pkx), or the Pohang Iron and Steel Company, based in Pohang, South Korea, is the third largest steel producer in the world. Currently, Posco operates two steel mills in the country, one in Pohang and the other in Gwangyang. In addition, Posco operates a joint venture with U.S. Steel, which is located in Pittsburg, California. Along with Samsung Electronics, Posco is viewed by many Koreans as a symbol of national pride and 'can do' spirit. With the strong Korean shipbuilding and automobile industry dependent on POSCO for steel, it has been seen as the bedrock of Korea's industrial development over the past 40 years.

Next is Invesco, up more than 113% since November 2004. Invesco Ltd. (ivz) is an investment management company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It is traded on both the New York Stock Exchange and on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Invesco is a constituent of the Russell 1000 Index and the Russell MidCap Index. It has branches in 20 countries, with more than half of its business in the United States. Invesco operates under the Invesco, Invesco Aim (AIM Investments prior to March, 2008), AIM Trimark, Invesco Perpetual, Atlantic Trust, WL Ross and Powershares brand names.

Finally we come to Norsk Hydro, up about 74% since November 2006. Norsk Hydro ASA (nhy) is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Hydro is the fourth largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Norwegian state holds a 43.8 percent ownership interest in the company, which employs approximately 28,000 people. Eivind Reiten has been the CEO since 2001. The company had a significant presence in the oil and gas industry until October 2007, when these operations were merged with rival Statoil to form StatoilHydro.

Investment in these companies can provide big returns in companies that are safer than your average blue chip-type stock. Analysis of these three "better than blue" stocks points to a bright future in clean renewable energies. That is one of our goals here at Squawk On The Street. We want to provide great oportunities to invest in that are also good for the environment.


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