General Electric (GE) has been busy in the oil and gas sector as of late. The division was also being touted by CEO Jeffrey Immelt and he was very encouraging in the future contribution’s of the Oil and Gas division going forward during GE’S annual outlook meeting in December 2011. GE has been developing revolutionary ways to transport and store LNG as well as compressed natural gas (CNG). GE’s oil and gas division has grown from $1 billion in the early 1990s to almost $16 billion in 2011 and GE has been on the hunt to acquire smaller companies with inventive technologies with regards to LNG and CNG.

New Contracts

GE’s Oil and Gas division announced that the GE will assist explorers in developing and implementing new technologies in order to further deepwater and unconventional drilling for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in more remote locations in Australia and for rapidly expanding Asian markets. Vice President Prady Iyyanki of GE’s oil and gas unit wants to increase growth of the unit’s book orders by 5-10% by providing innovative machinery and maintenance services, he explained “In South America, it’s offshore and if you look at the U.S., it’s the unconventionals, in Asia, it’s just the GDP growth and in the Middle East, we see aging units which need upgrade.”

Australia is good business for GE oil and gas, where the unit has been supplying turbines and newer technology for several LNG plants. Australia is believed to be the #1 exporter of LNG surpassing Qatar in as early as 2017-18. To continue reading, click here.

Chesapeake (CHK) is struggling. The company is planning to sell $4 billion in pipeline assets to Global Infrastructure Partners in order to buffer a $10 billion cash shortfall this year, which could have a significant impact on the viability of this stock option.

There are two major reasons for this funding shortfall. The price of natural gas has declined dramatically, which has affected a number of companies, including Chesapeake. In addition to this, Chesapeake’s heavy spending has finally begun to have a negative impact on the company. It experienced a boom in production, which added to the mild winter in causing a significant drop in gas prices. The company also faces investor discontent related to corporate governance issues. Chesapeake became “vulnerable to the sharp drop in natural gas prices” by closing natural gas hedges last fall. This is yet another factor that is influencing the stock for the worse.

Analysts estimate that the shortfall will be almost $6 billion in 2013. In order to avoid breaching a loan covenant, analysts estimate that the company will have to sell about $7 billion in assets if it wants to stay afloat. To top it off, it seems that $7 billion may not even be enough. The company will still experience a funding shortfall, even with this money, and it will also raise doubts about its revolving credit system. The solution to this problem seems to be to sell an additional $10 billion in assets this year. In that way, the company will be in a better position financially and will have more headroom.To continue reading, click here.

The number of homes refinanced under the new and improved Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) nearly doubled in the first quarter of 2012. That should benefit mortgage REITS that invest in government guaranteed mortgages, such as AG Mortgage Management (MITT), Hatteras Financial (HTS), American Capital Agency (AGNC), and Annaly Capital Management (NLY).

Stocks from mREITs like these should see a small boost in profits from this news. Even though the volume of refinances under HARP 2.0 has nearly doubled, the number is still very low. Around 180,000 mortgages were refinanced under the program in the first quarter, compared with around 93,000 in the last quarter of 2011.

The number of refinances does seem to be refinancing dramatically – around 80,000 HARP refinances were completed in March. The reason for this increase appears to be new mortgage refinancing software written expressly for HARP. The New York Times reported that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHA) only made the program fully available at that time.

These numbers show that the refinancing business is getting a dramatic boost, which should increase the volume of business at mREITs. This should also increase their cash flow and profits. Also increased will be the amounts that those companies can leverage.

The major factor holding the number of HARP refinances down is the requirement that homeowners be current on their mortgage payments. Many underwater homeowners have had a hard time meeting mortgage payments because of the dismal economy.To continue reading, click here.

Shares of Facebook (FB) have been trading around $27 recently, leading many investors to wonder about the long-term viability of the social network company. While its May 17th IPO was valued it at $38 per share, the stock has already lost over 30% of its value. While it is still early in the game for Facebook, this is far from the beginning envisioned by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. This is a volatile time for the company, and investors would be wise to tread lightly.

The latest news on the company that has divided investors is rumors of Facebook looking to acquire Norwegian web browser Opera for over $1 billion. This could be an attempt by Facebook to blunt criticism that it has already peaked. Opera, while far less successful than browsers such as Chrome, created by Google (GOOG), and Firefox (created by non-profit Mozilla), is seen as a valuable commodity that could potentially be targeted by Google as well.

Google, with far deeper pockets than Facebook, could likely price Facebook out of the market for Opera. If Google views Facebook acquiring Opera as a threat, it may also attempt to acquire it if for no other reason than to stop Facebook from doing so. Opera isn’t exactly a well-known company right now, but one securities firm said “a takeover by Facebook will likely send cold water down Google’s spine.” However, others disagree, and since Facebook just spent over $1 billion on acquiring photo software Instagram, some question whether it is attempting to spread itself too thin, too soon. To continue reading, click here.

It is really bad news for a company of Micron Technology’s (MU) stature when you hear that one of its products, the DRAM, is on the way down due to low demand. Not to mention that it has just announced a new module of the product for release later this year (companies can thank the smart phone and tablet PC demand for the lesser need for huge HDDs and the sort) and was only saved by a company going bankrupt. However, Micron has much to gain from Elpida Memory’s bankruptcy aside from taking out one of the more active competitors on the market (more on that in a few paragraphs).

So, how is Micron coping with one of its prime products going down the drain and becoming untenable within the next few quarters? Surprisingly well. One investment firm recently rated the stock as “outperform”. Another firm even went as far as to give it a “buy” rating in its research report (having to do with Elpida). This does not seem to be the overall sentiment, as several analysts have had different opinions about this company, though. That could be your warning signal right there – several experts can’t seem to agree on what exactly the stock is worth.

However, this flux for Micron does not seem to be the case for rival companies. Integrated Silicon Solution (ISSI) just had a “buy” rating reaffirmed by another rating company.To continue reading, click here.

The ten years have been known as the “lost decade,” with many large-cap blue chips hovering around even over the past ten years. Consensus on the Street: now is a great time to invest.

Here are a few market buys that can lead your portfolio performance in the 2012. Natural gas assets have decreased in value, hurting the energy sector, but Hess (HES), Chevron (CVX), and Conoco Phillips (COP) are well poised to bounce back in 2012. Intel (INTC) is putting up record profits, Bank of America (BAC) has a better capital ratio than ever with a positive outlook in all business operations, and Altria Group (MO) holds a lot of potential with a consistent cash flow and great margins.

Intel reported a record year in 2011: full-year revenue of $54 billion, operating income of $17.5 billion, net income of $12.9 billion and EPS of $2.39 – all records. “2011 was an exceptional year for Intel,” said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. “With outstanding execution the company performed superbly, growing revenue by more than $10 billion and eclipsing all annual revenue and earnings records. With a tremendous product and technology pipeline for 2012, we’re excited about the global growth opportunities presented by Ultrabook systems, the data center, security and the introduction of Intel-powered smartphones and tablets.”

A company with the experienced track record of Intel is still breaking records? Don’t underestimate Intel, particularly with, as I’ve noted, the demand for touchscreen products.To continue reading, click here.