[Alternative Energy] Ethonal Stocks

I was watching one of my favorite show The Amazing Race, a reality show featuring contestants racing countries from contries performing unique tasks and the episode with racers in Brazil are told to do a interesting task - turning suger cane into fuel. Not only that the suger cane fuel they made were to be dump into the oil tank of the cars they drove. Wow, what a magic.. but wait!! You probably may wonder, if such thing exist in Brazil, why not in US, the should-be technology advanced nation. Well, guess what, we probably have something not exactly the same but with similar idea.

Yes, we are still probably the leading nation in technology, even in alternative energy technology. But without the mass supply of suger canes, the green energy companies turn instead to something we have a lot in the central state such as Iowa - the corns. So instead of performing the alchemy on suger canes, Green Corporate America turns corns into biofuels or what we known as ethanol fuel.

The recent surge in gasoline price have turn investors attention to alternative energy fuel such as hydrogen. However many says ethanol is probably the most ready green fuel. In addition with President Bush's signing of the comprehensive energy bill which would increase the production of ethanol from 4 to 7.5 billion US gallon, this is probably a good time to take a look at the ethanol related stocks.

Here are the companies working on ethonal fuel:

• Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM): the Decatur, IL, based company is the leading agricultural processors of soybeans, corn wheat and cocoa. The company then turns these crops into oil, sweetners, chocolate, ethanol and biodiesel. ADM is probably so far the nation's largest ethanol producer, claiming it has one fourth of the U.S. ethanol capacity. Currently the company has 5% revenue coming from ethanol and is hoping to lift annual product about 50% into 1.5 billion gallons. The company is $27.95 billion in market cap and generates $36.47 billion of revenue and $1.1 billion of net income annually. The stock has been doing well for the past 52 weeks rising from $20 per share last June to $42.71 per share last Friday, gaining more than 100% in a year.
• Andersons Inc (ANDE): the Maumee, Ohio based company engages in diversified agricultural business in grain & ethanol, turf, plant nutrient, rail and retail. In September 2005 the company invested $13.1 in The Andersons Albion Ethanol which is in the process of building a 55 million gallon-per-year ethanol production facility. In addition the company also invested $2.0 in anther company who's also constructing ethanol plant in Rensselaer, Indiana. Another major ethanol investment came in February of 2006 with $21 million in The Andersons Clymer's Ethanol which is building a 110 million gallon-per-year ethanol production facility. The company has $766.97 million in market cap and generates $1.32 billion in revenue and $28.89 million in net income. The stock has been doing well in 2006, rising from $43 in January to $100.93 on Friday, almost 150% in just six month.
• Pacific Ethanol Inc. (PEIX): the Fresno, CA based renewable fuel company is currently building or planning to build five ethanol plant in the west coast. Due to the high demand of ethanol in California, the company currently rely on shipping ethanol from the Midweat and is currently constructing ethanol plant in Madera County, CA. The ethanol hype has helped the stock performance for this year, rising from $11 in January to as high as $44 in May, gaining 300% in four month. The softening margin of ethanol and new share dilution have drove the stock down recently to $29.5 on Friday. However with gas price still high, this is still a good company to own for the long term.

Smart Sectors Of The Day - Brazil, Russia

• Brazil Stocks +8.1%: after two weeks of profit taking the Brazil stocks finally got a big lift today by surging 8.1%. This is a huge gain considering there are total of 10 stocks in the sector. The major advancers today are NETC(+15.54%), ITU(+10.06%), SID(+9.93%), RIO(+8.27%), BBD(+8%) and GGB(+8.02%). Even the index tracking stock EWZ, has gained 6.65%.
• Russia Stocks +7.36%: another big winner today is the Russia sector in which four stocks have gained on average 7.36%. The stock leading the way is the cable company MOCC, gaining 9.54% to overall gain of 53.69% since end of January.

[Foreign] Peru Stocks

The Pride of Inca Empire After looking at red hot Latin American countries such as Brazil and Mexico, let's take a look at another Latin American country south of the equator - Peru. The Spanish speaking country with population of 28 million not only is rich in History as it contains ancient ruins of Inca Empire but also has abundant mineral deposits such as gold and copper. With the world in high demand of the previous metals such as gold, silver and copper, Peru, similar to Brazil is getting attention from investors with its rich precious metals. In addition as Peru's economy grew 6 percent last year, the best perfornace since 1998 and would probably grow for another 5% this year, this is probably a great time to look at the Peru stock. Although the investors are still waiting as Peru is going to have the presidential election next month, after the election is over we should see buyers back as uncertainty of election clears.

Here are the Peruvian companies traded in the US stock exchanges:

• Credicorp Ltd. (BAP): the Lima, Peru based financial service company provides commercial banking services in Peru. This 117 year old company currently operates 309 branches. The company recently gave a bullish forecast seeing a stronger earning for 2006. In addition the company also recently reported a strong first-quarter earning with increase of 17.4% on strong loan growth. However the stock has been decling since the announcement as the investors are probably sitting on the sideline until the presidential election is over. Nevertheless the stock still has been doing well for the past 52 weeks rising from $18 last may to $27.05 on Friday, rising 50% for the year.
• Compania de Minas Buenaventura SA (BVN): the Lima, Peru based gold and silver mining company operates three mines and has interest in three other mining companies in Peru. The stock hasn't done well this month on negative news saying Peru is still not a friendly place for mining company due to instability despite rich minerals. In addition with gold price beginning to fall, the investors are staying away from any gold related stocks. The stock is back to where it was at half year ago at $25.24 per share.
• Peru Copper Inc. (CUP): the Vancouver, Canada based company involves in copper mining operations in Peru. The stock had been doing well for the past 52 weeks due increase in copper price. However the stock has been under pressure recently as metal price such as gold, silver and copper had topped out and were beginning to fall. As the result the stock has fall from 52 weeks high of $5.53 per share on May 10 down to $4.03 on Friday, May 19, dropping more than 20% in two weeks. Nevertheless the stock still has been doing well this year, gaining 35% so far in about five months and almost 150% since last May.

Smart Sector Of The Day - China

• China Stocks +3.65%: the red hot country of dragon saw its stocks went higher today by surgin 3.65% to overall gain of 8.97%. Although some of the stocks in the sector finished lower today, shares of the Internet search giant BIDU skyrocketted 36.81% to $83.976 per share on strong first quarter profit and analysts upgrade on strong second quarter guidance. Since coverage on the stock began on November 29 at $76.39 per share, the stock is right back into positive territory. The leading stock in the sector is SOHU, gaining 47.68% since covering on November 29 at $19.17 per share.

Scoreboard - May 7

Here are this week's top five portfolio as well as the top five individual stocks. Please note that the overall amount is shows how much the portfolio is worth as if you invested $1000 for each stock:

Taiwan
Stock / Current / Start / Change(%)
ASX / 5.99 / 3.9 / +53.59%
AUO / 17.49 / 13.43 / +30.23%
EWT / 14.73 / 12.21 / +20.64%
GIGM / 9.46 / 2.7 / +250.37%
MXICY / 1.5 / 1.29 / +16.28%
TMIC / 41.25 / 33.74 / +22.26%
TSM / 11.26 / 9.94 / +13.28%
UMC / 3.9 / 3.33 / +17.12%
Overall $12,243.02 +$4,235.69 +52.9%

Brazil (Brazil1/Brazil2/Brazil3)
Stock / Current / Start / Change(%)
BBD / 39.52/ 29.41 / +34.38%
ERJ / 37.46 / 40.57 / -7.67%
EWZ / 46.45 / 33.17 / +40.04%
GGB / 16.55 / 10.65 / +55.4% **(re-adjusted after 3:2 stock split)
ITU / 34.85 / 23.49 / +48.36%
NTEC / 6.21 / 5.41 / +14.79%
PBR / 105.2 / 68.77 / +52.97%
RIO / 55.96 / 40.3 / +38.86%
SID / 37.24 / 21.36 / +74.34%
TNE / 18.54 / 18.03 / +2.83%
Overall $13,623.76 +$3,567.83 +35.48%

Russia
Stock / Current / Start / Change(%)
GLDN/ 32 / 28.98 / +10.42%
MOCC / 9 / 6.5 / +38.46
TRF / 92.5 / 66.16 / +39.81%
VIP / 49.56 / 46.8 / +5.9%
Overall $4,934.26 +$943.76 +23.65%

India
Stock / Current / Start / Change(%)
TTM / 21.8 / 13.34 / +63.42%
IBN / 29.95 / 27.82 / +7.66%
WIT / 14.7 / 11.43 / +28.61%
INFY / 82.17 / 77.99 / +5.36%
REDF / 20.67 / 20.83 / -0.77%
SIFY / 12.24 / 9.47 / +29.25%
Overall $7,349.91 +1335.95 +22.21%

Golf
Stock / Current / Start / Change(%)
ELY / 16.45 / 14.35 / +14.63%
IDR / 37.6 / 27.89 / +34.82%
GGXY / 24.68 / 17.04 / +44.84%
CTO / 62.3 / 66.17 / -5.85%
Overall $4,895.72 +$889.27 +22.2%

Smart Sectors Of The Day - Golf, Hydrogen, India, Russia

• India Stocks +2.95%: the red hot emerging market of India got big boost from its internet companies Rediff.com(REDF) and Sify Ltd(SIFY) with REDF surging 10.36% to $20.67 and SIFY adding 6.81% to $12.24. As a result the sector got lifted by 2.95% to overall gains of 22.21%. The only India stock declining was ICICI Bank Ltd.(IBN), losing 0.5% to $29.95 per share.
• Russia Stocks +4.01%: the R of the BRIC powerhouses are the biggest winner of the day by soaring 4.01% to overall gain of 23.65%, climbing to the third best sector overall since coverage began on January 31 of this year. The best stock of the sector was the cable tv operator Moscow CableCom Corp. (MOCC) which jumped 9.49% or 78 cents to $9 per share, about 38.46% higher than coverage price of $6.5. The other winner was wireless communication service provider Vimpel-Communications(VIP) which advanced 3.49% or $1.67 to $49.56 per share on upgrade from MOrgan Stanley.

Smart Sectors of the Day - India, Online Travel

• India Stocks +2.24%: the I of BRIC countries sector rose 2.24% to overall gains of 18.71% on broad rally from all the stocks in the sector. The stocks leading the way are SIFY, up 3.24% to overall gain of 21.01% from coverage price of $9.47 per share and WIT, up 4.18% to overall gain of 26.42% from coverage price of $11.43 per share.
• Online Travel Stocks +4.48%: the online travel industry got a big lift today from "name-your-price" specialist Priceline.com(PCLN) which surged 15.45% to $29.21 per share, up 26.94% from coverage price of $23.01 per share. Since the coverage began on the on January 5, the sector has gained 16.14% overall with Travelzoo(TZOO) leading the way with 67.47% gain overall, up from coverage price of $22.69 per share.

Smart Sectors Of The Day - Taiwan, GPS

• Taiwan Stocks +2.28%: the red hot sector continues to climb by adding another 2.28% to overall gains of 54.86% - a very juicy return for a index. Today's surge is again fueld by GIGM which rose another 6.24% to $10.39 per share. The stock has now gained 284.81% since coverage began on December 6 of last year at $2.7 per share.
• GPS Stocks +4.48%: the special technology sector becomes the third leading sector overall for the first time by adding 4.48% to overall gain of 21.16%. Today's surge is helped by GPS maker GRMN which surged 9.68% or $8.51 to new 52 weeks high of $96.43 after the company posted a strong first quarter and also issued a 2 for 1 stock split and a dividend of 50 cents per share after split. Since the coverage began on the sector on March 7, the stock has gained 30.59%, up from coverage price of $73.84 per share.

Smart Sector Of The Day - Taiwan, Hydrogen

• Taiwan Stocks +5.12%: the leading stock sector has surged another 5.12% to overall gains of 49.87% as the leading stock GIGM soared 17.53% or $1.45 to $9.72 per share on new strategic alliance with T2CN Holding, the largest online sports game operator in China. Since the coverage began on December 6 of last year, the stock has jumped 260% from coverage price of $2.7 per share. So far every stock in the sector is up with the worst performer TSM up 5.43% and second best performer ASX up 50.51% so far.
• Hydrogen Stocks +3.33%: investors have turned the attention to this sector hoping the stocks will be helped by more investment into alternative energy due to high gasoline price. Today all stocks in the sector are up evenly with MCEL adding 3.98% to overall gain of 24.49% from $1.47 per share and HYGS up 3.05% to overall gain of 51.69% from $2.67 per share on new order from General Motors Corp. for its fuel cell test services. The sector overall has gained 19.41%.