I love hard assets… like energy, agriculture and metals.   Why?  Because there is a good chance that inflation is going to devalue paper currency around the globe.

The U.S. markets soared today. News of positive earnings at embattled banking giant CITI Group (NYSE:C) indicated that there’s a spark of life remaining in the U.S. banking industry.

Solar stock Ersol rose to a new record after German engineering giant Bosch said it paid $157 a share, a premium of more than 60%, for a controlling stake in the company. This from The Guardian:

Shares in leading German solar stocks rose substantially on expectations that other big players, including oil groups, are on the prowl in a market that grew to €6.6bn last year and is forecast to top €18bn by 2020.

Companies specializing in centralized fossil fuel fired generation need to move towards energy efficiency and diversity of generation, Scottish and Southern Energy, Britain’s second largest energy supplier, said today.

“The days of meeting an unchecked demand for energy through monolithic carbon intensive power stations are coming to an end. Increasingly the emphasis will be on energy efficiency, renewables, cleaned up fossil fuel plant and micro generation,” the company said in a statement accompanying its full-year results, according to Britain’s The Guardian newspaper.

Every American who lived through the 1970s remembers that energy price controls lead to inefficient use patterns and large losses to industry. Unfortunately, the Chinese have not learned this American lesson despite large amounts of industrial espionnage within the U.S. over the past 20 years or so.