Lee Lowell at The Smart Profits Report says commodities are continuing their late summer swoon. Crude oil, natural gas, gold and silver have all taken heavy losses since mid-July, when the dollar began to rally. But like a lot of the contrarian investment experts we have published here on Contrarian Profits Lee says these commodities are oversold right now. A sharp rebound could be just around the corner…

Energy and oil expert Byron King recently spent three weeks crossing North America as part of his “2008 Energy and Geology Tour.” The purpose of the journey was to search for new ideas and resource opportunities that can benefit investors. In the following extract from The Daily Reckoning, Byron tells readers what he learned first hand about the Bakken Formation and the Marcellus Shale…

To say that trading energy stocks has been difficult in recent months is a major understatement. And when you see that even an industry giant like Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) lost money in its hedging activities, you know that trading activity during that quarter was extremely wild. But Chesapeake is still a great buy, says Money Morning’s Horacio  Marquez…

Byron King says energy is the single most important topic for the incoming U.S. president to deal with. Capital costs for energy projects are soaring, and the future of fossil fuels is uncertain given the ongoing climate change debate. Meanwhile, renewable energy is fast growing, but incapable of coming close to meeting demand in the foreseeable future. Byron says America has some tough decisions ahead, and if they get it wrong, nothing else will matter…

Smart Commodities UK editor Garry White says talk of a new cold war with Russia is madness. A provoked Russia may be saber rattling, but escalating beyond that would not be in its own financial interests. Russia needs the West’s custom as much as the West needs its hydrocarbons. Garry says Russia is a competitor, not an opponent, and its growth potential makes it a great investment play right now…

1-2-3 Trader editor Jim Stanton says commodity ETFs are riding the three-point waves of a downturn. After the first trough, the stock stages a small rally, before heading back down. This pattern provides good buy and sell signals for resource investors. Jim says ETFs United States Oil Fund (AMEX: USO) and United States Natural Gas Fund (AMEX: UNG) have further short-term corrections ahead, meaning an opportunity to go short.

Charles Delvalle at Investor’s Daily Edge says forecasts for a cold winter should drive up natural gas prices. This makes natural gas producer and explorer Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) a top investment play this fall…

It’s a difficult time for commodities bulls. Crude oil is off more than 20% from its July peak. Gold is going for about $830 an ounce, way off its Spring highs. And the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index is down 19% from its June high.

Energy expert Byron King says investors shouldn’t panic over the drop in prices. For a start, August is a notoriously poor month for commodities. It tends to be a month of net selling.

Despite some demand issues caused by the global slowdown, Byron says commodities are in a short-term correction. And that means plenty of great bargains on offer…

The balmy summer months have brought some much needed relief from fuel and energy bills. It’s easier to open windows and ditch the SUV when the sun is shining. But, says Adam Lass over at Taipan Publishing Group, after summer comes fall, and then winter. It won’t be long before the cold and rain set back in, and families crank the thermostat up again.

Russia is in badass mode. After crushing neighboring Georgia, it is now taking aim at Poland.

The New York Times reports that “a senior Russian defense official, Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, suggested that Poland was making itself a target by agreeing to serve as host for the anti-missile system.”

Russia looks intent on kicking off a new cold war, says Taipan Daily editor Justice Litle. However, unlike the 20th-century cold war, Justice says “this cold war will revolve around energy instead of nukes… and that could have major long-term implications for oil and gas (particularly liquid natural gas, or LNG).