Clusters of positive monthly gains in LEI above 0.5 percent typically suggest an end to recession. Given this backdrop, I’m sticking with my projection that the recession in the US will end either late in the third quarter of 2009 or early in the fourth quarter. I suspect there’s more upside to come for stocks as the market snaps back from the worst recession since at least 1982.

In good times, it’s natural to seek investments that will grow the fastest. Conversely, tough times like these bring out investors’ impulse to flee to the safest bets. The trouble is, nothing is 100 percent safe under all circumstances. And even pinpointing the highest percentage investments can be a chore when the economy is apparently shrinking and credit markets are still recovering from their deepest freeze in decades.

Nuclear power generation will play a vital role in meeting rising global demand. That nuclear power is a carbon-free source is only one factor in its rising profile; the operating economics are also highly competitive. Total global generation from nuclear sources is projected to grow close to 40 percent by 2030, with developing world countries such as China and India driving much of that growth. 

Look for buying opportunities as the markets stutter, and don't sweat the spate of capital raises among master limited partnerships.

Cost and time remain major deterrents to would-be builders of nuclear plants. Two things, however, have changed dramatically to make the economics actually worthwhile, at least for a handful of players.

Before last year’s financial meltdown, China had already replaced the US as the world’s leading consumer of steel, copper and several other major commodities. At the beginning of the decade, for example, the US economy accounted for 25 percent of global demand for the red metal, while China consumed roughly 12 percent. By mid-2008, however, it was China consuming 27 percent, the US only around 12 percent.

Oil's rally was a major topic in the financial media on Tuesday and Wednesday, and a long list of pundits have attempted to explain the recent rally in crude prices. Many analysts asserted that oil's run-up has little to do with fundamentals of supply and demand, citing murky arguments related to the weaker US dollar and speculative fervor. But fundamementals are still at the heart of oil's recent move.

The weather is an important factor for investors to consider; expectations and forecasts, even when they ultimately prove incorrect, have a meaningful impact on some key market sectors. In this regard, one of the factors I watch most closely is El Niño Southern Oscillation, more commonly known by the acronym “ENSO.”

Change is on the way. Hawaii is launching what it calls an “energy sovereignty plan,” under which it hopes to wean itself off at least most of its foreign oil needs. In a partnership with the US Dept of Energy, the goal is to obtain 70 percent of the state’s electricity from “clean energy” by 2030. That’s 40 percent renewable energy and 30 percent from energy efficiency measures that reduce demand.

China could easily surpass Europe, Japan and the US by 2010 as the world’s largest consumer of renewable energy. And that not only needs to happen  but that has to happen given China’s energy consumption has more than trebled in just over three decades. Much of the country’s rapid economic growth is fueled by cheap abundant power and low-cost labor.