Investopedia: Nuclear Energy - The Emotion Trade Is In Full Swing

There are plenty of old sayings that advise investors to swim against the tide and invest into troubled sectors when pessimism is at its worst. That is all well and good, but precious few investors have the self-confidence and long-term focus to just ignore a 20% or 30% near-term loss on a new position. With that in mind, then, investors should certainly do their due diligence on now-troubled nuclear power stocks but let the dust settle a bit before taking on new positions.

Shoot First, Ask Questions Later
In the wake of the combined earthquake and tsunami disaster in northeastern Japan, and the resulting emergencies at multiple nuclear facilities in Japan, public fear about nuclear power is once again running high. With activists already jumping on their airwaves to exaggerate and misinform, it seems inevitable that the nuclear industry has lost whatever momentum and credibility it had rebuilt in the 25 years since the Chernobyl disaster.

Investors need go no further than the stocks of those companies exposed to the nuclear power industry. Go-to names like uranium miners Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) and Denison (AMEX: DNN) and engineering and construction firm Shaw (Nasdaq:SHAW) were among those that took a significant drop in the early trading after the disaster struck. Since then, even well-diversified names like General Electric (NYSE:GE) (which has some, but not a lot, of nuclear energy exposure) have come under selling pressure.

Please continue:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Nuclear-Energy---The-Emotion-Trade-Is-In-Full-Swing-CCJ-DNN-SHAW-EXC-GE-JASO-ES0317.aspx

Can Suntech Break Through The Clouds

Although there are plenty of arguments and controversies about whether solar energy can stand on its own two feet, without government subsidies and inducements, there is no credible debate that the industry is real and growing. In addition to the sizable First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR), there is a host of billion-dollar babies like Suntech Power (NYSE:STP), JA Solar (Nasdaq:JASO), Trina Solar (NYSE:TSL), and Yingli (NYSE:YGE) all vying for commercial superiority and Wall Street favor.

With this latest earnings report from Suntech, however, it may be time to wonder whether this significant player is making the best moves for the long-term interests of its shareholders.

A Partly Cloudy Third Quarter 
On one hand, Suntech clearly had a solid third quarter - revenue jumped 57% from last year, and 19% on a sequential basis. Although that number was reasonably well ahead of the average analyst estimate, it was nevertheless below the highest numbers in the range. Suntech's top line also highlights one of the primary challenges of this sector - shipments over 25% sequentially (and more than doubled from the year-ago level), but ASPs continue to head lower with some dispatch. That leaves all of these companies on a very challenging course - if they cannot continue to post strong shipment growth and keep production costs in check, they will find themselves on a gigantic hamster wheel. (For more, see Spotlight On The Solar Industry.)

Please click below for the full piece:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Can-Suntech-Break-Through-The-Clouds-STP-JASO-TSL-YGE-FSLR1119.aspx

The Good and Bad of DuPont's Strength

If no good deed goes unpunished, then maybe it is true that good news from DuPont (NYSE:DD) can often come with a catch. While DuPont is a highly diversified chemicals and materials company, the company's products are all largely inputs for other companies' products. This sets up the good news/bad news dilemma - solid volume growth at DuPont should be reasonable confirmation that economic growth really is recovering, but solid price growth also points to the risk of oncoming cost-push inflation.

DuPont's Third Quarter
DuPont disappointed no one with its sales performance in the third quarter, as revenue rose 17% and surpassed even the highest published analyst estimate. Growth was fueled both by mid-teens volume growth (14%) and mid-single digit price growth (5%).

This revenue growth was not necessarily balanced, however. Agriculture and coatings grew by single-digit amounts (and had the lowest volume-based growth), while electronics, chemicals, materials, and safety/protection all grew in excess of 20% (and all had volume growth above 15%).


Please see the link below for the full article:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/The-Good-And-Bad-Of-DuPonts-Strength-DD-HUN-MRK-ALB-STP-JASO-DOW1028.aspx