Pennsylvania is in a desperate financial situation. While politicians figure out how to dig themselves out of this hole, a handful of companies will prosper. Here’s your chance to get in on the action.

The commodities markets have been kicked into high gear. As America’s lenders change their mind, the world’s mining companies are on a surefire path to riches.

Natural gas prices are dropping like a rock today, but the bearishness is not preventing a few bulls from taking million-dollar stands. As winter approaches, things are going to get very interesting.

On June 10, 2008, Alexei Miller, CEO of Russia’s Gazprom, told a French audience that crude oil prices would reach $250 a barrel in 2009. His former Gazprom cohort and then freshly minted Russian prime minister Medvedev did him one better… pegging crude oil prices at $500. Was it wishful thinking? Did the gentlemen overdose on “hard-money” investment newsletters and Peak Oil Theory? We may never know.

In an odd bit of capitalist irony, the U.S. banking crisis could end up as the catalyst that finally jump-starts the long-moribund market for initial public stock offerings (IPOs).  In fact, it already appears to be happening.

I promise. Alexander Green and I are not in cahoots about the coming boom in corporate takeovers… We both researched the possibility separately. Unprompted, I might add. And yet, armed with different evidence, we arrived at the same conclusion. If you ask me, such a convergence of analysis in a narrow space of time shouldn’t be ignored. So today, let’s move on from why a takeover boom is imminent and focus exclusively on three takeover targets you can profit from…

Natural gas could have a bright future as a clean and cheap alternative to fossil fuels in the auto industry, says David Fessler. Government efforts to promote the use of autos powered on natural gas could see gas production soar in the coming years. David says investors can play this ‘gas game’ with these six major producers and distributors.

“Some things leave a mark, some leave a welt and some leave a scar. You can safely put the US Department of Interior’s Mineral Management Service into the scar category,” says Andy Carpenter. “As in hee hee hee, ha ha ha… from now on, the words mineral, management and service strung together in series will always evoke a hearty laugh from me.”

China and Iraq will sign a deal next week to develop the Ahdab oil field, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad. The move comes at time when political gridlock and security concerns have cast doubt over several pending short-term contracts, says Jason Simpkins in Money Morning.

Exactly 12 months ago, West Texas Intermediate crude oil was trading at just under $63 a barrel.