After five rough years, we could be on the cusp of a new economic boom. Not like the mid-1980s or late 1990s, mind you. But the odds that the next five years will be markedly better than the last five years are good, and growing better by the day.
Right now, with the spread of fracking technology, America is in the midst of a natural gas boom that is keeping prices for the fuel low. But according to a key strategist at Chevron, the era of an abundance of cheap natural gas in the U.S. will be short-lived.
Investing is prone to manias and panics. Investors get excited as prices rise, and end up buying today what they should have bought years ago. The recent commodities sell-off reminded me of the rule I follow for commodities investing. Had you followed it, you'd have saved loads of money in 2008 and 2009 and made tons recently.
To most investors, today's low natural gas prices mean gas producers are to be avoided, but Paul Mecray, managing director of Tower Bridge Advisors, disagrees. He sees a long-term play for patient investors who get in now on the cheap.