Hawaii: Pristine black sand beaches… surfing… spectacular volcanic eruptions… and miles of pineapple plantations. If you are like me, this is what comes to mind when you imagine Hawaii.

Every country needs a few basic ingredients in order to achieve healthy, sustained economic growth.

Ten years ago, it would be hard to imagine a more stable investment than timber, or those Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) that bought millions of acres of harvestable trees.

Sometimes, all the reasons others are shunning a company are the same reasons to initiate a position in it.

Taxes are going to go up. I’m not happy about it, and I’m sure most Americans are as steamed as I am.

Flying home from our conference in Victoria, and looking out the window of the airplane taking me home, I begin to understand the vast opportunity we have by looking over the rooftops of homes and business parks alike.

Of all the people you might expect to spearhead a movement away from oil and onto alternative energy, T. Boone Pickens probably wouldn’t be at the top of the list.

“Investors who want some exposure to natural gas while at the same time mitigating some of the fluctuation in gas prices would do well to consider adding a few shares of Inergy to their portfolio.”

Back in February, I profiled a great infrastructure “pick & shovel” company. Praxair (NYSE:PX) is a global Fortune 300 company, the largest industrial gases company in the Americas, and one of the largest in the world.