CNOOC Ltd (NYSE: CEO) closed at $134.02. WTI Crude Futures are recently up 2.35% to $67.87, above a level of $49 in late April according to Bloomberg. CEO June option implied volatility is at 49, July is at 47; below its 26-week average of 64, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) closed at $116.29. PTR June option implied volatility is at 47, July is at 44; below its 26-week average 60, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Options Update: CNOOC and PetroChina volatility low; oil above $67 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a 12 articles feature on the best bets for investing in China. To see all the other recommendations in this special report, click here.

"Amidst all the concern about the U.S. economy and stock market, investors may gain some solace, as well as profits, by looking east-to China, where there are signs the huge government stimulus is bearing fruit," explains Stephen Leeb.

In The Complete Investor, he adds, "For income investors, it makes good sense to own carefully selected dividend-generating Chinese securities such as PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) and China National Offshore Oil Corp. (NYSE: CEO).

Here, the growth and income advisor reviews the two Asian energy plays.

Continue reading Leeb looks east to find energy favorites

Leeb looks east to find energy favorites originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 May 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Those surprised by the market's strength in recent weeks should be even more impressed with the rebound in China, where both their market and economy have proven among the most resilient in the world.

Global specialist Nicholas Vardy adds, "While the US markets are rising, Asian stocks are on fire." ETF expert Paul Tracy adds, "China funds have screamed to the top of the performance charts."

In large part, this strength is due to the country's stimulus program. Tracy points out, "To combat the sagging global economy, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao orchestrated a massive 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package.

Continue reading Investing in China: 12 experts pick their best bets

Investing in China: 12 experts pick their best bets originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 May 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Citigroup upgraded Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) to Buy from Hold and added the stock to its Top Picks Live List. The firm believes RIMM's outlook is more secure given its unit growth trajectory and stabilizing margins. Citi raised its target on the stock to $100 from $65.
  
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to Overweight from Equal Weight following the company's Q3 results it believes growth is accelerating and expectations are low. The firm raised its target on the stock to $24 from $21.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Huron (NYSE: HURN) to Buy from Hold as it believes bad news is already priced in and FY09 expectations are achievable. The firm keeps a $46 target on the stock.
• Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
  
• Quicksilver (NYSE: KWK) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Banc of America/Merrill.
  
• EIG Resources (NYSE: EOG) was lifted at Goldman to Conviction Buy from Neutral.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: RIMM, MSFT, TOL, MAR, VZ, T ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: RIMM, MSFT, TOL, MAR, VZ, T ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With all the media buildup leading up to the Olympic Games in Beijing this past summer, just about everyone and their brother was bullish on the China/India emerging market theme.

"Chindia," as it was coined, was supposed to be the next great economic wonder.

The belief that these markets did not need American demand swept international investment circles. Forecasts of double-digit GDP growth continuing for the next several years became the mantra of emerging market funds, and Wall Street analysts got caught up in the commodity bubble, which burst a month before the Olympic torch was lit.

The widely held belief of global economists was that these two sleeping giant economies would lap America in a matter of a few years, as per all the economic extrapolations and white papers published leading up to the Summer Games.

Stocks like Baidu.com (NASDAQ: BIDU), China Mobil (NYSE: CHL), China Life (NYSE: LFC), Huaneng Power (NYSE: HNP), PetroChina (NYSE: PTR), Infosys (NASDAQ: INFY) and Reliance Industries (not listed) seemed bulletproof given the revenue and earnings models being floated by the Chindia bulls.

Continue reading Best Trades of 2008: #1 Shorting 'Chindia' the day after New Year's

Best Trades of 2008: #1 Shorting 'Chindia' the day after New Year's originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"We sense a turn for the better coming in the oil sector," says Peter Way who tracks 'big money' investors for his Block Trader Oil & Gas Report. Here's his look at the "big block" traders.

"When we use the hedging analysis employed in our stock price forecasts, there are significant differences between some adjacent futures expirations. Here's the current picture:

"Front month (November) hedging suggests likely near-term higher prices. But the December contracts are likely to continue the past 3-month price decline - briefly.

"After that we could see crude rise over a few months into the $115-125 area or even higher, providing a bullish backdrop for most energy stocks. We sense a turn for the better coming in this sector.

"Several issues are selling at attractive prices now. Among major integrated producers, the standout prospect among the big oils is Petrochina (NYSE: PTR).

Continue reading Big block traders bet on oil sector favorites

Big block traders bet on oil sector favorites originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

China Petroleum (NYSE: SNP) has already announced that its profits were down 71% in the first half. Now PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) is getting ready to report a drop in its profits.

The culprit is China's energy policy, which is hurting investors in the Chinese oil industry. According to the AP, "While other global oil giants are reporting record profits, Chinese government price controls prevent PetroChina and other domestic refiners from passing on higher costs for crude oil to consumers." It is an excellent reason for investors to avoid these stocks.

The central government control of oil profits is a fine example of why China should not have taken many of its large companies private. China needs to keep gas and diesel prices down to control inflation and offer cheap fuel to maintain transportation costs of exports at low levels.

With oil trading around $120 a barrel, the oil refiners in China could actually swing to losses in the second half. China is driving investors out of its most important corporations. PetroChina already trades near a 52-week low. That is likely to get worse.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

China policies kill oil company profits in SNP, PTR originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Aug 2008 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Considering Berkshire Hathaway... again

Chasing Value: Considering Berkshire Hathaway... again originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The stock market was down yesterday and it is down again today. Bearish sentiment is roaming through Wall Street right now, so I thought I would look back on another occasion when the market was going through similar turmoil and I wrote about the following eight stocks, which I thought would be "safe havens" in such a storm.

Six of the eight did well and two did not, and of course one of those two was a disaster. Among the losers, I do not think anyone is fretting about UPS, which is still one of the few triple-A rated companies along with Berkshire Hathaway. It has been well reported that the slowing economy and higher fuel prices have been the major culprits affecting UPS's earnings. In the case of WaMu, it's demise has also been well reported, but at the time I recommended it WaMu had a stellar reputation of growth and high yield for over two decades. There is no hiding, it turned out to be a lousy pick and an ANTI-SAFE Haven

NOT SAFE:

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) closed Monday at $65.30 down from $78.40; a 16.71% loss

Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) closed Monday at $4.21 down from $45.50; a 98% loss.

Fortunately the remaining six picks have done very, very well. If you had bought the pool, the average gain over the last two years would have been 7.14%. Adding the dividends over the two years would have raised this to 13.14%.

Continue reading Serious Money: How safe were BRK, BUD, PG, SO, & UPS?

Serious Money: How safe were BRK, BUD, PG, SO, & UPS? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) closed at $132.04 Friday. WTI Crude Futures are recently up 1.03% to $116.39 according to Bloomberg. PTR over all option implied volatility of 40 is below its 26-week average of 46 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing movement.

CNOOC Ltd (NYSE: CEO) closed at $133.78 Friday. CEO overall option implied volatility of 43 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional risk.

Canadian Natural (NYSE: CNQ), an oil and natural gas production company, closed at $72.72 Friday. CNQ September option implied volatility of 54 is above its 26-week average of 45, suggesting larger price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Option Update: Oil pullback affecting international oil companies' volatilities originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chinese markets: The truth will set you free -- maybe

Chinese markets: The truth will set you free -- maybe originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) closed at $142.29 Thursday.

WTI Crude Futures are recently up 1.71% to $129.98 according to Bloomberg.

China's longest fuel pipeline, operated by PTR, is at risk of damage from an earthquake lake that's threatening to burst its banks, said PTR.

PTR overall option implied volatility of 41 is below its 26-week average of 50 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Option Update: PetroChina volatility at low end of range on $129 oil originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Jun 2008 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rising commodities prices hurt markets in Asia.

The Nikkei fell 2.3% to 13,690;. Sony (NYSE: SNE) fell 2.6% to 2910 yen. Toyota (NYE: TM) fell 2.5% to 5010. Yahoo Japan rose 4.6% to 45850.

The Hang Seng sold off 2.1% to 24,196. China Mobile (NYSE: CHL) fell 8% to 115.80 yuan. PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) dropped 2.7% to 10.66.

The Shanghai Composite fell 3.1% to 3,385.

Data from Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntrye is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Markets in Asia have big sell-off (CHL) (PTR) (SNE) (TM) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 May 2008 03:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Georgia Gulf, Sohu.com and I-flow were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Citigroup downgraded Georgia Gulf (NYSE: GGC) to Sell from Hold to reflect the deteriorating fundamentals in North American housing, and their belief that the company is increasingly likely to break its debt covenant ratio.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Sohu.com (NASDAQ: SOHU) to Hold from Buy on valuation and expects 2009 growth to be modest.
  
• Piper cut I-Flow (NASDAQ: IFLO) to Sell from Neutral following the weak Q1 report and guidance.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Morgan Stanley downgraded Coca-Cola Femsa (NYSE: KOF) to Equal Weight from Overweight.
  
• Goldman removed Teva Pharma (NASDAQ: TEVA) from its Conviction Buy List.
  
• Aqua America (NYSE: WTR) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia.
  
• JP Morgan lowered PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) to Underweight from Neutral.

Analyst downgrades: Georgia Gulf, Sohu.com, I-Flow originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 May 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• JP Morgan downgraded Sunoco (NYSE: SUN) to Underweight from Neutral citing expected margin pressure due to high leverage to sweet crude. Goldman also downgraded shares of Sunoco to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY) to Sell from Hold as they believe the European airlines sector will trade well below book value until the companies deal with higher oil prices.
  
• UBS cut HSBC (NYSE: HBC) to Neutral from Buy to reflect the potential for higher losses at the company's household unit and weak performance at its U.S. bank.

• Broadpoint lowered MTS Medication (NYSE: MPP) to Neutral from Strong Buy.
  
• HSBC cut Southern Peru Copper (NYSE: PCU) to Neutral from Overweight.
  
• Goldman downgraded CNH Global (NYSE: CNH) to Neutral from Buy and PetroChina (PTR) to Sell from Buy.

Analyst downgrades: SUN, RYAAY, HBC, MPP, PCU, CNH and HBC originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 May 2008 11:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Markets in Asia were down sharply.

The Nikkei fell 3.1% to 12,918. Canon fell 5% to 4610 yen. KDDI fell 7.8% to 641000. Sony (NYSE:SNE) fell 4.5% to 4050.

The Hang Seng dropped 3.3% to 23,854. China Life (NYSE:LFC) fell 4.8% to 28.9 yuan. PetroChina (NYSE:PTR) fell 4.5% to 9.89.

The Shanghai Composite was of 5.6% to 3,297.

Data from Reuters. .

Douglas A. McIntyre

Asia plunges, Shanghai down 5.6% (SNE) (LFC) (PTR) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Apr 2008 03:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bank of America upgraded Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) to "buy" from "neutral" according to Briefing.com. The news service also reports that Citigroup downgraded PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) from "hold" to "sell."

Bank of America upgraded Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI) to "buy" from "neutral," according to MarketWatch.

ADC Telecom (NASDAQ: ADCT) was raised to "buy" at Deutsche Bank, according to 24/7 Wall St. The financial website also reports that Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ: CRUS) was cut to "perform" from "outperform" at Oppenheimer.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Early analyst calls: Intel, PetroChina, Analog Devices originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While the difference between the two companies remains slim, Exxon Mobil can now claim its position at the top thanks to a market cap of an amazing $455.8 billion, compared to PetroChina's market cap of "only" $453.1 billion. Since going public last November, shares of PetroChina have been in free fall, giving back 58% of its value.

The fall from grace for PetroChina is being linked to record high oil prices which put a squeeze on profit margins for the eight year old Chinese company. It has been a tough year for all Chinese stocks, which on average have dropped 25% so far in 2008. The recent run up in oil prices has also led to a slight drop in Exxon Mobil stock, but only a 3% pullback since the time of PetroChina's listing in November.

Continue reading Exxon Mobil (XOM) is top dog once more

Exxon Mobil (XOM) is top dog once more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Before the bell: F, TTM, MOT, S, CLWR, YHOO, XOM ...

Before the bell: F, TTM, MOT, S, CLWR, YHOO, XOM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 Mar 2008 08:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Markets in Asia fell sharply

The Nikkei was off 3.3% to 12,433. Honda (NYSE: HMC) was off 4.2% to 2940 yen. Mazda was off 5.8% to 377.

The Hang Seng was down 4.1% to 22,458. China Life (NYSE: LFC) was down 4.9% to 28.05 yuan. China Mobile (NYSE: CHL) was down 4.5% to 107.7. PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) was off 6.6% to 10.22.

The Shanghai Composite fell 2.4% to 3,971.

Data from Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.,com.

Big drops in Asia markets: LFC, PTR, CHL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Mar 2008 04:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.