webmaster

(From Stockhouse, an interesting comment...

about why Oil, Gas , and Coal stocks are under such pressure.

We saw it in May also... for Gold and Gold shares):

SUBJECT: Massive hedge-fund debacle the culprit imho Posted By: BOOMTIME

Post Time: 9/20/2006 18:47

Trust me,those losers should be out-lawed.....period......they over-shot the markets on the upside and now they are likely mostly responsible for massive losses in share prices of a good many commodity related companies like Fording,all imho,margin-calls left right and center to boot.......the company is also responsible for being over-exuberant with the distributions and then insider-selling shortly afterwards,of only omce insiders sold all their shares....lol......bums.... .........honey suckered indeed......

Imo,a distribution cut is almost in the cards i'll bet,hope not,frig,that'll hurt if that happens now at this low share price,make take the stock down even further possibly.....a good many natural gas income trusts have been dessimated also,,,,,not just old Fording here......later....bt

The debacle at Amaranth and problems at other hedge funds has spread across to other commodity markets,'' said Antoine Halff, an energy analyst with Fimat USA in New York. ``They've been liquidating positions because of margin calls. We're also seeing a lot of the index-based funds leave the market.''

@: http://www.stockhouse.com/bullboards/viewm...0&TableID=0

i havent traded them yet. but i reckon they are possible.

however, USO in the US may be more liquid, with lower transaction costs

= = =

Front Street Energy and Power Hedge Fund: +.5% August Return 4.6% YTD Return AUM for Fund: $335,000,000 U.S.

Front Street Energy and Power continued to provide a positive return, despite the troubles within the oil and natural gas market. The fund continued its bearish stance on oil companies which led to an increasing short position within this segment. The short position allowed the fund to remain flat on its exploration and production investments. The fund continues to load up on natural gas orientated companies which are at lows. The believe is that with winter coming inventory levels should be reduced bringing the gas market more into balance. From an equity risk perspective, we see the risk downside as minimal, based on the lows of where gas equities are currently priced.

Coal terminal to get capacity boost.

Posted: 20-SEP-06 // excerpt

JOHANNESBURG (Mineweb.com) --Richards Bay Coal Terminal, the world's largest coal export port facility, will soon begin a R1.1 billion ($150 million) expansion project that will increase its annual capacity to 91 million tons from the current level of 72 million tons.

When the terminal began operating 30 years ago, it had capacity for handling just 12 million tons a year.

The private terminal is owned by Anglo Coal, Xstrata Coal, Eyesizwe, Ingwe, Kangra Coal, Sasol and Total Coal South Africa.

@: http://www.mineweb.net/energy/190958.htm

Living viruses create flexible battery film

In an MIT lab, polyelectrolyte coated with anode nanowires eyes next-generation energy

By R. Colin Johnson

Portland, Ore. -- Battery technology has historically lagged far behind semiconductor technology. While chips double their capacity every 18 months or so, batteries are lucky to double capacities in a decade.

But now, say materials scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, bioengineering has broken the bottleneck. Almost half the materials in today's batteries do not contribute to electricity storage, whereas MIT's bioengineered batteries aim to put more than 90 percent of their materials to work storing energy. To do that, the scientists--professors Angela Belcher, Paula Hammond and Yet-Ming Chiang--employ genetically engineered living viruses to assemble thin-film nanowires as the anodes and cathodes of a flexible "battery wrap." At 100 nanometers thick, the next-generation battery wrap can conform to any shape, they said.

"We are using biology to template electrode materials and have them self-assemble into structures for batteries," said Belcher. "These batteries are like Saran wrap--they are thin, flexible and can be bent into any shape, making them good for lightweight conformable applications."

Genetic engineering

The battery wrap invented at MIT is based on a genetically engineered derivative of the M13 bacteriophage--a virus parasite that infects a bacterium and reproduces inside it. By altering the genetic dispositions of this well-understood laboratory virus, which cannot infect humans, the materials scientists have been able to persuade the virus to extract cobalt-oxide and gold ions from solution and assemble them into a monolayer of nanowires functioning as a battery anode atop a polyelectrolyte substrate.

"M13 is a virus that has very specific host bacteria," said Belcher. "But our lab has had quite a few years' experience genetically altering this organism to grow many different types of materials.

. . .

What's next?

So far, the scientists have demonstrated the ability to stack sheets of batteries atop each other in a comb structure that can be wired in parallel to increase current-carrying capabilities. In addition, they are wiring groups of combs in series to raise the voltage output and to recharge. Currently, their highest voltage battery is a 3-V version.

"Our next step will be to experiment with growing different electrode materials plus self-assemble an entire battery, including both the cobalt anode and the lithium cathode," said Belcher.

...MORE: http://www.powermanagementdesignline.com/s...cleID=185303552

Wow!

Some of those stocks really moved today

Very Good idea.

We will add one such a section eventually. Please post suggested links on this thread