Energy

(Adds that Hess shares erased a loss for the year.)

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- Now is a good time to pick up undervalued cyclical stocks as they are poised for double-digit gains this year, according to JPMorgan Chase investment analysts.

The stock market has rallied 20% in the past four months and, historically, after a run like that, it takes a breather and remains in a trading range, as it has over the past five days, said the Feb. 2 research note from the investment bank. ...

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The following commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet's guest contributor program, which is separate from the company's news coverage.

NEW YORK (Trefis) -- Exxon Mobil has announced that the gas flow from its two exploratory wells drilled in Poland did not justify bringing them into production.

Analysts have speculated that the technical challenges associated with shale exploration in the country made it commercially non-viable to explore the resources. The results could be a major setback for Exxon's plans to expand shale exploration in Europe as Poland has some the best shale prospects in the region and the government has been eager to exploit the resources to reduce dependence on Russian gas. Competitor Chevron is also drilling exploratory wells in the country. ...

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An article raises the issue of whether the Sierra Club's support of natural gas as a "bridge fuel" was influenced by donations from the gas industry.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Gasoline demand destruction appears to be in force despite signs that the economy appears to be on the road to recovery.

The latest government jobs data revealed far better-than-expected jobs additions in the U.S. economy in January.

But while the latest jobs data show that the economy added 243,000 jobs in January and that the jobless rate fell to 8.3% -- the lowest level since February 2009 -- consumer confidence, income and spending remain lackluster, points out the Conference Board. "We remain cautious," says Kathy Bostjancic, director of macroeconomic analysis with the Conference Board. "While hiring may be picking up, the paychecks that go with it are not." Indeed, with elevated gasoline prices showing no signs of reprieve, the Conference Board earlier this week reported that consumer confidence levels dropped to 61.1 in January after increasing in December. ...

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Researchers find that extreme cold induces acute stress in coral but that heat is ultimately more lethal.

NewScientist’s January 28 issue is likely to unsettle clean energy advocates — but it is worth the read. The cover article, “Power paradox: Clean might not be green forever,” posits that even renewable energy can warm the planet, and eventually change climate, if we continue to ratchet up power production to serve our ever

It's easy to think about modules as singular units of power output, but the reality is that they are a collection of diverse components, each with influence over the end system's total cost and performance. For DuPont, its focus is of course on the materials side, from metallization pastes used to form contacts on the solar cell, to backsheet materials that protect the panels themselves.

It's easy to think about modules as singular units of power output, but the reality is that they are a collection of diverse components, each with influence over the end system's total cost and performance. For DuPont, its focus is of course on the materials side, from metallization pastes used to form contacts on the solar cell, to backsheet materials that protect the panels themselves.

A new study based on research in western Australia suggests that warming seas can benefit corals -- but perhaps only to a point.

The Obama Administration's $60 billion Loan Guarantee Program (LGP) for renewable energy is considered a failure because of Solyndra, Beacon Power, and potential 2012 bankruptcies. What is not well known is that 75 percent of the program's deployed funds went to relatively low risk power plants that will catapult the U.S. to a leadership role in the utility-scale solar sector. This is hardly the hallmark of a "failed program." The program is akin to Shakespeare's King Henry V, who said as a delinquent Prince: "I'll so offend as to make offense a skill, redeeming time when men think least I will."

The Obama Administration's $60 billion Loan Guarantee Program (LGP) for renewable energy is considered a failure because of Solyndra, Beacon Power, and potential 2012 bankruptcies. What is not well known is that 75 percent of the program's deployed funds went to relatively low risk power plants that will catapult the U.S. to a leadership role in the utility-scale solar sector. This is hardly the hallmark of a "failed program." The program is akin to Shakespeare's King Henry V, who said as a delinquent Prince: "I'll so offend as to make offense a skill, redeeming time when men think least I will."

In a series of deals the investor-owned utility says is good for consumers' wallets, American Electric Power subsidiary Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) recently signed long-term power purchase agreements for a total of 358.65 MW of capacity from wind projects in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.

In a series of deals the investor-owned utility says is good for consumers' wallets, American Electric Power subsidiary Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) recently signed long-term power purchase agreements for a total of 358.65 MW of capacity from wind projects in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.

To aid defense contractors, researchers try to map how butterflies carry out an astonishing variety of flight maneuvers.

The Interior Department says that offshore wind farms pose no significant threat to the environment off the coasts of Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Delaware. Although the department is now encouraging developers to submit applications, it is unclear whether offshore wind projects make financial sense at this time.

There is insufficient data to support the common wisdom that jellyfish populations are exploding, researchers say.

Miasolé says it has created a 17.3 percent "champion" thin-film copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) solar photovoltaic device, results obtained in its own labs and not (yet) independently verified.

Miasolé says it has created a 17.3 percent "champion" thin-film copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) solar photovoltaic device, results obtained in its own labs and not (yet) independently verified.