The Best of The Panelist
by The Panelist, USA on 05.30.07
In a program on NPR, Innovest Group analyst Greg Larkin mentions that Citigroup, among others, are undertaking sizable plans to assess the opportunities and risks associated with addressing climate change, and that this is more than just good public relations that a large-cap company would typically want to establish. There is money to be made in this space, and with Citigroup's share price performance languishing over the past five years, improved share price appreciation won't come a moment too soon.
The emerging consensus seems to be that solar energy is a commodity and that the only thing that matters is cost per watt. Many feel that solar will ultimately be based in China for all the same reasons that cellphones and computers are made there. But Chinese solar stocks are sensitive to movements on Chinese stock markets, and investors could be burnt badly if the Chinese asset bubble has to pop.
Will the prices of Big Oil stocks fall? Not likely. Exxon, Chevron and BP are already on the move, and peak summer driving season hasn't even started yet. With BP cutting back production in Prudhoe Bay for a few days and Americans preferring to cut other spending rather than stop driving, gas prices really have nowhere to go but up. And that means Big Oil has nothing to do but sit back and enjoy the gains. Now is probably the ideal time to add oil stocks to your investment portfolio. The prices aren't as good as they were earlier in the month, but you can still get in now, before the stock prices rise further, thanks to summer driving season.
The Panelists heard Al Gore being interviewed by Charlie Rose at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan on Thursday (5/24). Most of the interview was not about Gore's global warming concerns, but rather "the assault on reason" (also the name of Gore's new book) that causes the government to abuse and manipulate democracy. In comparing Gore's 2008 shtick with his 2000 shtick, Rose blurted out "Did you get smart recently or have you always been smart?" to which Gore replied, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and maybe I've gotten stronger in the last six years."
The Panelist is a socially conscious investing site that believes that investing and expressing one's personal values do not have to be mutually exclusive ideals. Here are some recent green highlights from the ethical investing world.
