For the past week, many of the Investment U and Oxford Club editors (yours truly included) have been writing from Deep Cove, a little seaside community on the outskirts of Vancouver.

The stunning mountain and water views here are inspirations unto themselves. Much to my culinary delight, fresh wild salmon is readily available here, and costs about one-fifth of what it does back home in Pennsylvania.

One found its way onto the grill one evening, and as luck would have it, in the middle of cooking, the grill’s propane tank ran dry. I quickly switched to a spare and saved the meal.

On our next trip out, I returned the empty cylinder and picked up a fresh one at the cylinder-swap station out front of the local mini-mart.

Chances are good it’s one of over 700,000 propane or liquified petroleum gas (LPG) customers of Inergy, L.P. (Nasdaq: NRGY).

Lots of Gas, Lots of Profits

Inergy – one of the fastest growing limited partnerships in the country – distributes, markets and supplies propane at both the retail and wholesale levels. It also owns and operates two natural gas storage facilities, an LPG storage facility and a natural gas liquids business.

In addition, it manages a salt-solution mining company as well as a salt production company (U.S. Salt).

In spite of natural gas and liquid petroleum gas prices that are at seasonal lows, things couldn’t be better for Inergy.

In April, it raised its dividend for the thirtieth consecutive time and by 7% over the distribution for the same quarter of a year ago.

In May, it reported record earnings of $140.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 – an increase of 17% from the same quarter of 2008.

John Sherman, President and CEO of Inergy had this to say: “Our businesses produced outstanding results for the quarter.

“Our propane operations completed a very successful winter season, delivering solid earnings. Our natural gas business performed well and continues to execute its growth plans.

“We raised nearly $300 million of long-term growth capital. From this strong and flexible financial position, we intend to continue to execute quality growth on behalf of our investors.”

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. The partnership pays an effective 7.14% yield, and dividends will likely continue their increase from here.

Source: Inergy, L.P. (Nasdaq: NRGY): Stock of the Day

Investors saw PX climb up almost 25% before pulling back. Since our recommendation, it’s up almost 10% – and we think it can run even more.

With 27,000 employees in 30 countries, Praxair produces, sells, and distributes atmospheric, process and specialty gases to a wide array of customers around the globe.

It’s also a manufacturer of high-performance surface coatings for metals. The company’s advanced manufacturing segment designs and manufactures cryogenic and non-cryogenic gas supply systems for various manufacturing processes.

In February, the company beat analysts’ earnings estimates. In May, it beat them again. In fact, it’s beaten estimates for the last 15 quarters in a row. It’s no wonder it consistently has one of the best analyst ratings in the S&P 500.

It’s one of the most profitable companies in the industrial gases sector. How does it do it? Good management, expense control, and downsizing when necessary.

Praxair’s CEO, Stephen F. Angel, is unloading 1,600 employees to shore up the balance sheet. “Demand appears to have stabilized, but at a lower level, with overall volumes down 12% versus the prior year.”

The company tightened its estimates for the full year, but only by a few percent. It’s using this slower period to make strategic acquisitions, recently acquiring Sermatech International, a global supplier of protective coatings. In the last year, Praxair has made 15 acquisitions, mostly to strengthen its distribution network.

The real growth story, however is in China and how it’s providing a significant buffer to the effects of the global recession being felt here in the United States.

The company’s Chinese subsidiary – Praxair China Investment Co, Ltd. – is the largest industrial gas supplier in China with over 18 locations and 1,200 employees.

Praxair China is supplying liquid argon gas to the Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock Works, a subsidiary of China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corporation Ltd.

Nanjing Puzhen is the premier state-owned manufacturer of rail cars and urban metro trains in the country with the fastest growing rail system in the world. The argon gas will be used at various welding stations in its railcar manufacturing lines.

The China rail system is the fastest growing in the world, with annual track increases of over 700 miles.

The company also announced a contract with Changhong Electric Company – one of China’s largest manufacturers of consumer electronics – to supply xenon gas mixtures used in the production of plasma display panels.

There are a number of other Chinese agreements as well, but the bottom line here is that Praxair continues to buck the recession with good old fashioned growth in what is turning out to be the largest market in the world for its products.

On July 29^th, the company will announce earnings for it’s second fiscal quarter. Given its amazing track record, and an increasing growth story in China, there’s a good chance it will beat estimates again.

Farther out on the horizon, the economic stimulus plan will spur many industrial and construction projects in the second half of 2009 and 2010, further increasing the demand for the company’s products.

If you’re looking for a great company in the industrial materials sector, you need look no further than Praxair.

Source: Praxair (NYSE: PX): Stock of the Day

I’m not a biotech guy, but my fellow analyst Marc Lichtenfeld is, and he writes about them regularly.

Now that Investment U and our sister publication – Smart Profits – are combining forces, you’ll be hearing about the biotech sector from Marc on a regular basis. Nevertheless, there is something that I do know about the healthcare and biotech sector.

All biotech companies – regardless of whether or not they turn out to be a good investment – need laboratory services and equipment. Therefore, it stands to reason that any boom in the biotech sector would drag along these companies for the ride.

Becton Dickson and Company (NYSE: BDX) – a large-cap medical technology company – is one that stands to benefit from the biotech boom.

The company sells an extensive range of medical supplies and devices. It also has an extensive array of laboratory equipment and diagnostic products used by life science researchers (biotechs), healthcare institutions (hospitals and doctor’s offices), clinical laboratories and the public.

Let’s take a quick look at each division:

The BD Medical division manufactures a complete line of medical devices and other items used in just about every facet of the typical healthcare setting. Needles, catheters, syringes, scalpels and home healthcare products are just a few of the thousands of products offered by BD Medical.

The BD Diagnostics division is similarly broad.

It provides for the safe transport and collection of specimens and instruments associated with a wide range of infectious diseases. The next time you are in your doctor’s office, take notice of the “sharps” collection device mounted on the wall. Chances are it’s a BD box put there and serviced by BD Diagnostics.

The division services microbiology laboratories, physician’s offices, home patients, laboratories and clinics, biotech labs, and hospitals.

BD BioSciences manufactures tools focused squarely on the research and clinical segments of biotechnology. Its tools enable the study of cells and their components. Its products also include state-of-the-art cell imaging systems, cell culture media, reagent systems for life sciences research and other diagnostic tools.

BD Biosciences’ tools directly impacts drug discovery and development.

Moreover, any increases in biotech R&D bode well for Beckman. And as the government strives to drive down the cost of healthcare, diagnostic tests that take the place of expensive MRIs and CT Scans are on the increase.

Investors that want some exposure to the biotech space, would do well to consider a company that will do well regardless of the success or failure of any given biotech company.

Source: Becton Dickson and Company (NYSE: BDX): Stock of the Day

And I don’t know the answer more than anyone else.

However, It stands to reason that one of the best indicators that might give us an early tip on recovery is iron ore shipments.

Iron ore is the basic component of steel, which is used in bridges, buildings, ships, pipes, cars and trucks. Even concrete highways and bridges have steel rebar embedded in them for added strength. It’s perhaps the largest ingredient in the infrastructure of the industrialized world.

World production of raw iron ore averages about 1 billion tons per year, with China alone producing nearly half the total. Australia and Brazil produce nearly 20% apiece, and roughly 54 other countries make up the rest of the production.

One of the largest producers of raw ore is mining giant BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP), based in Australia. Engaged in the mining of metallurgical and energy forms of coal, oil, gas, diamonds and other base metals, Billiton also operates some of the largest iron ore mines in the world.

The company has 41,000 employees working over 100 mining and extraction operations in 25 countries around the world. Last year, the company generated revenues of nearly $60 billion, and roughly 25% of that was profit.

Rising Shipments: A Positive Sign

One of the best places to gauge iron ore shipments is Port Hedland, in western Australia. The Port Hedland Port Authority keeps track of iron ore shipped from its docks, and May’s total was 13.39 million tons, up 18% from April’s 11.33 million tons. BHP’s portion of May’s total was 11.12 million tons.

To put this in perspective, last June – at the height of the China driven boom – BHP shipped 12.26 million tons out of Port Hedland.

BHP recently put together a joint production venture with rival Rio Tinto, PLC (NYSE:RTP) that is expected to save the two companies $10 billion annually.

Both miners are trading roughly midway between their 52-week highs and lows, and are two of the best ways to gauge economic recovery from the ground up (pun intended).

Source: BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP): Stock of the Day

The same holds true for investing. Many investors who got beat up in the last “game” are still sitting on the sidelines, nursing their wounds – afraid to play.

But it’s clear – as evidenced in the markets recent 30% run-up that the best players are already back in the game. So what are they investing in?

Larger-cap healthcare stocks are often overlooked in any rally, as improving economic conditions – or the perception of them – often favor smaller cap stocks.

How do you pick a good healthcare company to invest in?

There’s no one better at investing in the healthcare sector than Venrock Associates, originally established as the venture investment firm of the Rockefeller family.

Venrock has been in the venture funding business for over 8 decades, investing over $2.3 billion in 430 companies with household names like Apple, Intel, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and countless others.

The company pioneered healthcare venture funding way back in the 1960’s, and its historical portfolio contains five of the largest biotech firms ever created.

The average retail investor can’t invest with Venrock, but you can invest like them.

And a small-cap healthcare company you might want to consider is RehabCare Group, Inc. (NYSE: RHB). RehabCare is a provider of rehabilitation program management services in more than 1,200 hospitals nursing homes, outpatient care, and other long-term care facilities.

The company also owns and operates six rehabilitation hospitals and five long-term acute care hospitals.

Since the beginning of March, shares are up nearly 64%. And for good reason: RehabCare’s services are increasingly in demand by healthcare providers.

You see, rehabilitation is one of those things that few patients want to go through. It’s often uncomfortable and sometimes accompanied by a fair amount of pain. But the end result is quicker patient recovery, and less time spent in more expensive care facilities.

RehabCare recently announced quarterly results for the period ending March 31st, and results were outstanding. The company nearly doubled profits from the same quarter of the previous year, with revenue growth across all divisions.

Company President and CEO, John H. Short, Ph.D, commented: “We were very pleased by a strong quarter of consolidated revenue and earnings growth.”

Short indicated the company was reaffirming its fiscal 2009 guidance on all its divisions for the remainder of the year, on continued expectations of strong revenue and earnings in future quarters.

In light of the current financial environment, the company is taking positive steps to strengthen its balance sheet. Outstanding debt has been cut by two-thirds in the last year, and RehabCare continues to build a strong cash position.

Bottom-line, is that RehabCare has plenty of room to run for the rest of 2009, and likely beyond. Since this is a small cap stock, investors shouldn’t chase it. Look for a moderate It’s time to get off the bench and get back in the game…

RehabCare Group, Inc. (NYSE: RHB): Stock of the Day

But occasionally, his rants actually coincide with a company worth looking at… for the right reasons, of course. And yesterday he mentioned a wireless company that’s actually worth considering.

It’s one that I’ve been following for a while in the wireless sector.

Now, if you’re going to invest in a wireless telecommunications company, it’s important to pay close attention to where its customers are located. Why?

Because the strongest growth will occur in areas of the world where wireless still hasn’t penetrated to the extent it has in the U.S. and Europe.

The U.S. has somewhere in the neighborhood of 275 million cell phone users. Growth here is relatively stagnant, with only 4-5 million new users being added per quarter.

But there’s a huge country that’s adding users at the blistering pace of nearly 50% per year. No, it’s not China, (currently with over 400 million mobile users) as most would probably guess.

It’s one of China’s Asian neighbors – India – that has the fastest growing wireless market by a wide margin. At the end of 2007, India’s mobile telecom operators had roughly 233 million connections between them.

In 2008 they added 114 million more. That’s a 49% increase in just one year.

But they’re just getting started, and there’s plenty of torrid growth still to come. In the first two months of 2009, an additional 28 million more users were added. That represents an annualized growth rate of 96%, nearly twice that of 2008.

And one company that’s taking advantage of this torrid growth is Tekelec (Nasdaq: TKLC). Tekelec is a manufacturer of network signaling and number portability equipment, text and voice messaging equipment, as well as various other monitoring systems for telecom service providers.

But here’s the best part: it counts among its customers five of the top seven wireless carriers in India.

The company has nearly $4 in cash per share on its balance sheet. Shares are currently trading for about $17 a share, and have been on the move in advance of the company’s next earnings announcement, scheduled for May 7th.

Investors could look for any pullback after the announcement as a possible entry point.

If you’re looking for entertainment, turn on the Jim Cramer show, but if you’re looking for investment ideas, stick with Investment U.

Source: Tekelec (Nasdaq: TKLC): Stock of the Day

You can easily understand that, given the number of TV’s here… more than one per person. In times of economic turmoil, people tend to stay home and hunker down in front of the “tube” instead of going out shopping… for things like TV’s.

So it was a surprise to nearly everyone that February’s LCD TV sales were 39% higher than the same period last year. This accomplishment is even more dramatic given it occurred right in the middle of the nastiest economic slowdown since the Great Depression.

And the blistering sales rise wasn’t just in the U.S., according to consumer research NPD Group. Sales in Europe were up 49%, China sales more than doubled at 109%, and even recession-ravaged Japan had a gain of 30%.

It’s all a great reversal of fortune for Corning (NYSE:GLW), the world’s largest maker of glass panels for LCD screens. Its shares have nearly doubled since last November’s lows, and the company now expects to report a first quarter profit.

Corning’s fortunes are closely tied to the world’s appetite for new LCD screens, as it supplies the glass for over 50% of them. Fully 90% of its net income now comes from LCD glass sales.

Even though overall sales of TV’s are forecast to decline 4% this year, sales of LCD sets are expected to rise nearly 9%. The reason is major advances in manufacturing techniques have resulted in set prices dropping like a stone.

By some analyst’s measures, Corning is already too expensive, trading at roughly 16 times 2009’s earnings estimates and 13.7 times those for 2010.

But these guys are ignoring the China factor. You see, China has a new subsidy program that promotes a widespread adoption of consumer electronics, particularly in rural areas of the country. And LCD TV’s are first on the list of things every Chinese wants to own.

Two of the biggest LCD panel makers in Taiwan – both Corning customers – are rapidly expanding their manufacturing capacity to meet the new demand driven by the Chinese subsidy program.

In a move to diversify its revenue stream, Corning is eyeing the possible purchase of the half of the Dow Corning venture it doesn’t already own. That venture owns 63% of Hemlock Semiconductor, an important polysilicon supplier to the semiconductor and solar panel markets.

Investors who want increased exposure to China, consumer electronics, solar and semiconductors, might want to consider a few shares of Corning. It’s shares could easily experience another double over the next several years, especially as the Chinese join the ranks of the TV watching world.

Source: Corning (NYSE:GLW): Stock of the Day

Organic farmers typically use manure from farm animals, or some other form of organic compost. Large, commercial operations typically use ground potash, a rock mined in Canada and elsewhere.

I’m not going to debate organic versus conventional farming here, but suffice it to say that all plants – regardless of how they are grown – need a good source of nitrogen and potassium.

Potash – otherwise known as potassium carbonate – is essential to commercial agriculture. It improves crop yield, taste, water retention, color, disease resistance and texture of food crops. Fruits, vegetables, rice, corn, wheat, soybeans and cotton all benefit from being grown in soil enriched with potash.

In the past few years, shareholders of the largest, profitable potash producers like Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (NYSE:POT), The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS), and Agrium, Inc. (NYSE:AGU) were very happy campers. The stocks traded at PE multiples pushing 30 during the commodity boom of last year.

Not anymore: they’re all off more than 70% from 2008 highs. The financial distress that hit the rest of the economy in the fourth quarter of 2008 hit farmers too. When times are tough, farmers hunker down and cut costs. And one of their biggest expenses is fertilizer.

Most farmers typically have a large stockpile of potash on hand, and not buying on a regular basis causes them to use up what they have. You see, they can’t just stop fertilizing: many soils are overworked, or are marginal to begin with. If they scrimp or otherwise cut back on their applications of nutrients, yields suffer, and crop prices rise.

Once their penny-pinching became obvious to Wall Street, the already jittery markets didn’t need any prompting to hammer shares down to today’s low single digit PE’s, where they’ve remained since last October.

The problem facing the three companies mentioned above is that several big financially strapped potash producers in Russia have dropped prices 25%, putting pressure on others to do the same. This would have the effect of continuing to hold prices low.

It’s all being watched closely by China – one of the world’s biggest potash customers – who’s set to begin negotiations with the industry for its 2009 purchases. In response to the Russian action, Potash has cut production in order to keep prices from dropping through the floor.

The key here is to keep a watchful eye on crop prices. As they start to rise, farmers will jump on the bandwagon and fertilize more to increase their yields and make more money. And given that most are depleting current potash inventories, buying could soon resume in a big way, driving prices up once again.

Growing economies like the BRIC’s: Brazil, Russia, India and China are big potash users, and let’s face it: the world’s growing population will always need to eat.

Source: Agrium, Inc. (NYSE:AGU): Stock of the Day

This from David:

The World’s Largest “Air” Force…

Mention “Air Force One” to someone here in the U.S. and visions of a Boeing 747-400 with the Presidential Seal on the side quickly come to mind.

But now there’s another new meaning associated with the phrase, and it’s good news for the guy that gets to ride in the jet.

In 2008 America became the global force in wind-generated electricity. President Obama can take heart in the fact that his pledge to cut imports of foreign oil is already underway, at least in the wind power arena.

According to the Global Wind Energy Council, last year America’s installed capacity of wind generator capacity totaled 25 gigawatts, edging out Germany, the previous leader.

The U.S. added 8.4 gigawatts of capacity in 2008 alone, more than any other country. Global capacity grew at 29% last year to a total of 120 gigawatts. Even with all this torrid growth, wind power provides a paltry 1% to the global energy supply, leaving lots of room for growth.

Most folks think the world’s desire to “Go Green” is the reason wind Power is gaining so much popularity and wind farms are popping up all over the place, like daffodils in the spring.

But they would be wrong. The real reason is simple: it’s the old concept of supply and demand. And without a huge ramp up in supply of alternative, clean (green) sources of energy like wind and solar provide, the world will be facing a huge energy gap in as little as fifteen years.

It’s all good news to wind turbine manufacturers, like General Electric (NYSE: GE) and Vestas Wind Systems (CPH: VWS), the world’s largest manufacturers of wind generators.

It stands to benefit companies like Americas Wind Energy Corporation (Nasdaq: AWNE), a large manufacturer and distributor of wind turbines to wind farm developers in North America.

The biggest roadblock to another banner year for wind this year is the clogged credit markets. Wind farms require lots of capital to construct, but without a properly functioning credit market, these big machines will stall, regardless of how hard the alternative energy winds are blowing.

Source: Americas Wind Energy Corporation (Nasdaq: AWNE): Stock of the Day

Recession resistant and sure to benefit from President Obama’s energy policies, David explains why this  Sleeper Stock is the way to go.

This from David:

Sleeper Stocks… Are There Any Left?

Regular Investment U readers know I’m an old propeller head (retired engineer). As such, my focus has been on the energy, infrastructure and technology sectors.

Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been on the lookout for stocks that stand to benefit as a result of President Obama’s stimulus package, and the energy policies his administration plans to enact during his term as President.

As investors – regardless of our political persuasions – we are looking at some exciting months and years ahead and some great opportunities.

Yesterday I went searching for a “sleeper” stock. You know the type: a boring company that just sits there, making money, day after day, resistant to the recession. All while no one notices – that’s the important part.

Hard to imagine I’d have any luck finding one these days. But I did.

The “Referee” of the Telecommunications Industry

I found a little-known telecommunications company that has a unique position in the industry. It provides the neutral interface between nearly every national and regional wire-line carrier, wireless carrier, cable company, and competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC).

If that sounds too much like tech-babble, let me break it down for you.

In the United States, we refer to the entire telecommunications system as the Public Switched Telephone Network or (PSTN) for short. It includes all the telephone switches and lines, regardless of which system or whether its wireless or wire-line based.

Nearly all voice, data and broadband signals travel over the PSTN at some point in their journey. The problem arises when a telephone call or a broadband signal has to go from one carrier to a competitor. In the past, these guys didn’t treat each other’s signals very well.

As signal switching and interconnections became more complicated, carriers had to deal with network blocking, network inefficiencies and expensive tolls from competitors.

All this had the net effect of stifling competition and customers bailing to competitors.

Enter Neutral Tandem, Inc. (Nasdaq: TNDM), the creator of the largest tandem switched network in the country. It currently provides tandem-switching capabilities to over 90 wireless, CLEC’s, cable and broadband providers terminating in over 391 million phone numbers.

Neutral Tandem’s network is well, neutral. Every signal gets routed, switched and delivered to its destination as fast as possible, no matter where it came from or where it’s going.

Neutral Tandem’s lack of bias is critical to fostering the vigorous competition that has spawned the cheap telecommunications services we all take for granted. It’s virtually eliminated bickering among the major carriers, since once the signal hands off to Neutral Tandem it’s as good as delivered.

It’s no wonder that Investors Business Daily gives the stock one of its highest rankings. And in the last year, when most other stocks in the telecomm space have been hammered in half or more, Neutral Tandem is up 2.5%.

That’s better than 94% of all publicly traded companies.

And management recently guided its 2009 revenues above the consensus. How many companies have you seen do that lately? President Obama’s stimulus bill has plenty of money available for broadband network expansion, and I expect Neutral Tandem will be a direct beneficiary.

Given its position in the network, Neutral Tandem’s revenue stream is all but guaranteed… to keep on increasing, that is. Think about that the next time you pickup the phone.

Source: Neutral Tandem, Inc. (Nasdaq: TNDM): Stock of the Day