If you keep up with the news at Jimvesting, you have probably heard me hinting at a new blog that I have had under wraps for about one month. This project has really been time consuming, and now that it is completed… it is going to unlock a LOT of time to doing what I do best on theNetFool.com.

Announcing the release of Bullish Bankers!

Bullish Bankers is a stock market collaboration owned by yours truly and operated with a bunch of my close friends from Penn State University. Most of these guys are also acting mutual fund managers with the Nittany Lion Fund, LLC. and really know there stuff about the stock market. We are essentially planning to be the next SeekingAlpha, TheStreet.com or TimothySykes in providing 100% free stock market analysis, opinion and research to the masses every day. Let’s have a look, shall we?

Why Bullish Bankers?
Okay so first things first, this website is basically a combination of two blogs. One that I had started, and one that my friend Santosh Sankar had planned. Since I already had the know-how to do this, we decided to collaborate and basically form one big stock market community. I am really interested in the stock market, but as you can see I am gradually shifting focus away from the markets here at theNetFool.com. Why? It simply doesn’t fit the best interests of my audience.

Now, I am going to keep with my spin on things here, informing you guys what is happening and probably still making the occasional stock market related article, but I feel that the bulk of information here is desired to be blogging tips, affiliate marketing, online entrepreneurship and making money in general… so that’s what I’m going to give you! Bullish Bankers is going to be a very large resource in my best estimates, as we already have a decent stock hold of posts. Eventually, we’ll probably be putting out 10-15 articles every single day with the sheer number of authors!

Bullish Bankers Features and Design
By now you are probably saying to yourself, wow… that is one good looking website. This one definitely took a lot of effort (like Jimvesting did), and I really wanted to make sure that everything looked as professional as possible. By the graciousness of Brian Gardener, we got a copy of his popular Revolution News theme absolutely free… which I extensively modified into what you see today. It took a LOT of editing, but it turned out great, and Brian’s theme is an awesome foundation to start from. It is fully based on the WordPress system, and even has a forum running phpBB that will go online shortly for an added level of user interaction.

Okay, so I have the website essentially divided into Equities (that’s all the stocks like Apple, Bank of America and Caterpillar that you know and love), Commodities (like crude oil, corn and gold), Market News (headlines from the economic world) and Economy (U.S. politics). Under equities, which is definitely our focus, we have it broken down neatly into each sector of the S&P 500 Index. This means that you can sort information by just Information Technology or Industrials stocks if you choose! If you are new to investing, we are throwing around investment ideas all the time here… so it would be worth your while to subscribe to our feed and get your free information.

Want To Help Spread The Word and Get A Free Text Link?
I’m looking to expand Bullish Bankers as far as I can from the get go. Knowing that a lot of you own blogs, I would be absolutely floored if you were to write up a post or review about BullishBankers.com. We are currently targeting the phrases “investing ideas,” “stock market trends,” “stock market analysis” and “stock market outlook” so if you write up a post (or blurb in another post) that is 350+ words and use one of those anchor terms to link back to http://www.bullishbankers.com, you’ll score yourself a free month long text link advertisement right here at Jimvesting. Please be sure you have at least 50 subscribers to do this!

Bottom Line: I’m really excited about the prospects behind Bullish Bankers, and I hope your are too. If you are at all interested in the stock market, I really want to encourage you to subscribe to our feed. I’m going to be running some more promotions soon to encourage you all to link to the new blog… but if you act now and offer up a post, you’ll get a free text link and some favorable feedback from me. We all like to network, so if you want to be on my good side, here’s a great way to do it! Let me know what you think of the new blog! I’d love to hear some feedback (positive or negative).

Stay Bullish (Bankers) On The Net!
-Jimvesting

Great turnout for the second question and answer session hosted here at theNetFool.com. I saw a great response from you guys (as always) and have a whopping 19 questions to answer for you today. I know that some of you had massive multi-part questions, but to be fair and conserve space… you are going to need to wait till next round (or email me!) to get all of your burning questions answered publicly.

This time around, questions ranged from personal blogging issues to my opinion on investing techniques. I’m answering everything that came my way, and giving each of you a 100% free backlink as a reward for your participation. The two winners of a 30-day text link ad will be announced at the tail end of this post, so I encourage you to read through all of the questions asked.

Ralph from ForTheLose.org asked:

“Being a PR 4 blog and having so many subscribers/visitors a day, I was wondering what strategies you use to get the word out about your website here.”

Initially, it was a big struggle getting my blog noticed in public areas. I feel that the best way to increase your subscriber base initially is to comment frequently on 15-25 other blogs in your niche, be an active member on some niche forums (webmaster forums like DigitalPoint and Bloggeries in my case) and link often to other websites. People often sleep on the fact that you can get the word out without actually marketing, but just by writing posts and linking out to other blogs/sites in your niche. People notice incoming links, and traffic is generated organically from the inside out!

Hugo from BloggerVenue.com asked:

“Based on your knowledge and experience what do you thing it would work best for making money purpose. Using usfreeads or Squidoo|Hubpages?”

As far as “bum marketing” goes, I really have never used USFreeAds (an online classifieds service) to promote my blog. So this is biased, but I would have to go with Squidoo/Hubpages on this one. I actually would prefer submitting articles to a free resource like EZineArticles as a start to getting solid Google page ranks. By submitting articles, you get targeted keyword traffic coming into multiple pages of your website through Google, so it’s a lot better than just making one Hubpage or Squidoo.

John from AffiliateObsession.com asked:

“Do you find that you have more visitors interested in the STOCK topics or the BLOGGING topics?”

I have been shying away from stock market topics (making a new blog for that purpose) because I feel that my visitors are primarily interested in blogging and making money online. The whole “entrepreneur” look is really what I am going for, and I feel like people like the stock-twist to go along with it, just not as a primary focus. I try to keep a solid balance, but I am definitely starting to favor the MMO crew here.

Movva from ContestWinner asked:

“What is affiliate marketing exactly: Is it driving traffic or selling products. I am a newbie to affiliate marketing, which program should I join?”

Affiliate Marketing can be either driving traffic or selling products, as leads alone can make you money. Essentially affiliate marketing is any time you are doing something to market someone else’s service or product. They will give you a commission to drive traffic to their site, or sell their product, which you can use to make a good amount of money. I would recommend Market Leverage or Never Blue Ads as a good start.

Yan from ThouShallBlog.com asked:

“How do you make yourself visible amongst the pros when you are just a new kid on block? What approach should a beginner take when participating in the discussion in a more recognized blog?“

Everyone’s been there. Being fresh on the scene is really a great opportunity to make a splash from the get-go. When I first started, I pretty much tried to establish the notion that I was an authority, regardless of my low subscriber count. You need to act tall to be able to get that authority and reputation on the internet in my opinion. If you are a beginner, it can be especially vital to start some constructive debate, or even poke fun at a more popular blogger. People may not like it at first, but it’s going to get you recognised and will benefit your exposure in the long term.

Trent from SellPornMakeMoney.com asked:

“How do you handle tracking for incentivized promotions?”

Tracking for incentivized promotions, such as affiliate marketing or referral programs, is typically handled automatically by the third-party provider. For example, Market Leverage or NeverBlueAds has a whole system built in so that you can see who is signing up to promotions through your links. Referral programs through websites to gain users typically track people that sign up under you by email. By comparing the emails that sign up under you to your list of feed subscribers (through FeedBurner), you can award people free prizes and digital downloads for their participation!

German from TheGermz.com asked:

“How long did it take you to get the PR you have now?”

Seeing as this blog officially started in late-October, it would have been about 6 months. However, I mark the beginning of Jimvesting as March, since that is when I saw any noticeable traffic, that is when I premiered the new design, and that is when I began actively promoting my site. Using March as a starting point, I believe it was only 2-3 months before I landed on a PR4. Nobody is quite sure how the system works itself out, so I count myself lucky of such a distinction. You can get a nice PageRank by ensuring that you publish quality work, and that people are spreading links and discussion to your blog.

Matthew from BlogAboutYourBlog.com asked:

“How important has commenting been to network and build your blog to what it is today?”

Commenting is, in my opinion, the best networking tool in the shed. There is simply no better way to form a lasting relationship with other bloggers in your niche than by participating in discussion on their blogs. I know that people appreciate the occasional comment, as it boosts the value of both websites. In addition, you get a free link back to your website every time you drop someone a note. Definitely the easiest method in increasing your exposure available. It’s been my most effective method in starting out, and has continued to provide steady traffic to this day.

Mattaw from MoneyBites.com asked:

“What is your view on conferences and you ever plan to attend any?”

Conferences in my opinion are effective for networking purposes, and not much else. I’m honestly not a fan of being dragged to some off-site hotel in order to hear speakers talk about what most people in the room already know; however, there really is no better way to form a relationship than by talking face to face. As far as my plans, I don’t have any pending interest in attending a webmaster/blogging conference. If a following ever develops around my blog, I could definitely see that happening though.

Pete from BibleMoneyMatters.com asked:

“What strategies would you use to monetize a site using affiliate income?”

My site is monetized in a unique way, in that a lot of my income comes from referrals that are strategically placed throughout my articles and website. A lot of people don’t realize that links I post are in fact referral links due to my affiliate ID cloaking method. Because of this, and the sheer placement of ads, I have been able to increase my referral commission steadily month by month on various websites… which really serves as a motivational tool.

AxioBlogger from AxioBlog.com asked:

“Which is easier to write about for you, either stock market or make money articles?”

This is actually a tough question. I really would have to say make money articles, but only because I have saturated a lot of obvious topics that are out there in the industry. Stock market articles are typically more time consuming, as I do a lot of equity research beforehand to make sure that I provide “what you need to know” and no “fluff” material. However, simply coming up with an idea for a blogging or a make money online article is a lot harder the more that you post!

Ben from RevenueReservoir.com asked:

“What is the hardest challenge you will face when starting a new blog?”

The hardest challenge you will face on a new blog is getting the initial 100 subscribers. 100 users is an important mark. I found in my own experience that once I hit around 100 subscribers, people saw Jimvesting as a lot more legitimate and a good amount of my users started coming from the inside out. It’s important that you aggressively market your website by advertising, commenting and networking to get an initial user base. Never be afraid to ask for help during that initial period!

Flimjo from Flimjo.com asked:

“Do you think that the “buy and hold” rationale for investing in stocks is really just a “buy, hold, and PRAY” mentality for the majority of stock investors and, ultimately, a recipe (for making money) that fails due to investors’ lack of knowledge about stocks and the companies in which they’re investing?”

There has been a lot of bashing of the “buy and hold” model over the past year. This is basically because we are no longer in the bull market environment that we were used to seeing, where most stocks would appreciate in value as a whole. You will be able to apply the “buy and hold” mantra once again in the first quarter of 2009 in my best estimate, sustaining growth for about five years forward. In a recessionary environment, you are literally committing suicide by buying stocks without a good amount of research and understanding. In short, the model fails in a bear market, but can actually work in a bull market. Jim Cramer says “buy and homework,” which I think is the best idea.

Hussein from Niessuh.com asked:

“What did blogging bought you (e.g. mobile phone, laptop, appliances, etc.)?”

Most of the money I make from blogging is either re-invested into Jimvesting or re-appropriated to my various web projects. There really aren’t a lot of luxury items coming in because of blogging other than perks (like the nice care package from Market Leverage). I mean, if you want to blog to afford things… that is definitely possible. I prefer to simply re-invest my earnings to increase my revenue month-over-month.

Prophet from DayTradingProphet.com asked:

“Do you believe its smarter to focus all of your attention on just one or two blogs, or is it better to own a lot of blogs?”

People who try to make 100 blogs just to flip them for $50 a piece are fools. Bottom line. The optimal earnings will come from operating 2-3 blogs, no more and no less. I am in the process of launching my second project, and will be sticking with the two for some time. It take a LOT of work to get a blog to succeed. People often overlook this, and try to do too much at once. Killing yourself with work is never a good thing, and you’ll be better off starting with one blog… before maybe making an additional to increase your earnings potential.

Marko from GnosticDesigns asked:

“How do you actually make money online? Using this blog only?”

It’s funny that you should ask, because saying that I am only using this blog to make money is a bit deceiving. Jimvesting dot com is my primary revenue stream on the internet, but this is not done through advertising and paid postings. Rather, you get a lot of great money from the referrals that sign up through your website into affiliate programs, and people buying products that you are promoting. Because you can essentially leverage a blog’s user base into making money elsewhere, it’s kind of a central hub to making money on the internet that provides for itself!

Ganesh from TeenBlogger.net asked:

“What advice can you give to a 14-Year old to get started with investing? Do you know of any affiliate programs that allow under 18’s to join?”

If you are talking about investing in the stock market, there’s really nothing you can do until you are 18 for legal purposes. In addition, being that young you will be taken advantage of in the markets 98% of the time due to a lack of understanding in my opinion. Anyone under 18 can make loads of money on the internet by fashioning a blog, offering freelancing services, and joining in with affiliate programs to make money. I’m not sure if you are going to be able to access and actual affiliate networks if you are under 18, so you will need to check the terms of service. You can, however, register a PayPal account and sign up with individual sponsors to make money through their affiliate programs.

Pweng from PwengBee.com asked:

“What can you say about the Google-Digg issue?”

Reportedly, Google is in the negotiation process to buy Digg for $200 million. This isn’t much of an issue in my mind, as $200 million isn’t much of an expense for a company the size of Google. With the amount of talk and exposure that Digg fetches on the net, Google is getting their money worth by acquiring the website. The most important issue for them here should be NOT letting Microsoft get the deal. Microsoft would be smart in bidding up the price of the deal, simply because they can afford it and get some great market penetration by making the bid. This is an interesting one.

Sherry from SherryGo asked:

“Here what I like to know if blog having many affiliate programs or links does it affect the blog Page Rank?”

A common misconception about Google’s PageRank service is that you will damage your reputation by linking often to other websites. That you can only have a good PageRank if more people link to you, then the other way around. This is completely false. Link as much as you want, it will only help. I would suggest trying out my affiliate link cloaking method (mentioned above) for ensuring that Google doesn’t look down upon the way you are linking to affiliate programs… but feel free to flood your website with reasonable amounts of link love.

---

Well, you guys have successfully gotten my fingers to burn holes through my keyboard on this post! That was a fantastic round of questions, so I want to thank all of you that participated once again. If you have any further questions or want a longer explanation, feel free to use the contact page to get a hold of me and we’ll talk further. Now, on to the winners of the text link ads!

Winner of 1 Month Text-Link: Flimjo from Flimjo.com!
Winner of 1 Month Text-Link: Matthew from BlogAboutYourBlog.com!

I’ll be contacting both of you winners to get set up, but I wanted to thank everyone for the great questions this time around. If nothing else, you got a nice link back just for dropping me a quick comment! Hopefully, I will do this again soon, as I feel it adds a new level to the blog that only a Q&A session can accomplish.

-Jimvesting

Another late link love post? No excuses here! I was out all weekend from Friday to Sunday at beautiful Penn State University for the annual Arts Fest. It was a pretty sudden move on my behalf, but any time I can get back to visit friends at college is a plus in my mind.

I try to maintain daily posting, but sometimes it’s just not in the card. Many bloggers advocate writing a stock-hold of posts and saving them as drafts so that you can fill blank days with pre-designed articles. I probably spend about twice as much time per post as your typical blogger though, so setting aside 7-8 hours for three good posts isn’t worth my while. It’s never a smart idea to post for the sake of posting, so I decided to take a break. On to a new week, fully refreshed, and ready to go. Let’s uncover some of the best posts for the week ending July 12, 2008.

• The University Kid – How To Tell When Someone Is Faking It
• Ades Blog – Firefox Plugin: Gmail Multi-Account Switcher
• Affiliate Confession – Facebook Ads are a Disappointment
• Zac Johnson – Where Top Affiliate Challenge Went Wrong
• Stephan Miller – I Wanna Be an Ass Hat SEO, Please

In all honesty, this is one of the best week of posts I have seen and I really enjoyed a lot of them. Jason from The University Kid went over how to analyze a blog to see if they are faking any stats. Affiliate Confession went over the pitfalls of Facebook ads. Zac Johnson had a smart post on the big “Top Affiliate Challenge” competition’s downturn. I caught a hysterical response post from Stephan Miller about my black hat seo techniques post, and even a cool FireFox plugin from Ades Blog.

Stock Market
The roller coaster 2008 stock market continues with the close of another week in the red. This time around, things were caused mostly by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, two firms that have faced major concern over a government bailout despite the constant assurance that they are accurately capitalized. On the breaking news front, the Federal Reserve has spelled out a Fannie-Freddie rescue net plan that would kick in liquidity in the event that things take another turn for the worse.

Pending home sales came in at 4.7% below April’s levels, which was a bit worse than expected. However, many are using this opportunity to claim that the housing market has bottomed out and is in repair mode as things improve. Other than the housing market, we had some slightly positive news regarding an improving trade deficit. This week, expect to hear about the PPI and CPI inflation report as a big week in earnings releases kicks off when we hear from the likes of Microsoft, Google and Coca Cola. This week could set an overall tempo for the rest of the summer!

Blogosphere
As I went through some of the better posts of the week, I continue to support the claim that things are improving as the summer progresses and people get more settled in to their roles as bloggers. Despite the fact that this fool keeps leaving you unexpectedly for breaks (haha), it would appear that the Top Affiliate Challenge and Blogging Idol competitions have largely blown over as people turn toward self-improvement.

Speaking of the Blogging Idol competition, have you seen my recent rant post about how the contest is unfairly biased?! Or how about my run-down of the method I used to successfully execute the classic “link bait” article. Hey, it got me tons of attention, links back, conversation, traffic and almost 70 comments. I like to see a break away from the standard tutorial posts every now and then, and I feel that a quick lesson in orderly debating can serve you well. Definitely have a look at the two when you get the chance.

The Week In Focus
This week, I’m going to be putting out a small contest. And by small, I mean that I’m giving away another Flip Mino video camera to the winner. Sound fair to you!? Not to distract from content (as I constantly protest), I intend on publishing a money making method or two that should offer you the chance to boost your stats and income. We’re in the thick of summer, so why not earn some extra spending cash to get out and about every now and then!

-Jimvesting

After a week of renewed hope that the U.S. dollar was going to rebound and oil would perhaps fall back down to $100/barrel levels, the market showed signs of decay this week and things look grim on the surface of things.

I was able to shrug off the positive sentiment from last week, where many investors were telling us that oil was done, which I felt was an over-reaction to one good week of trading. By keeping my favorite gold stock Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY) my largest holding, I wasn’t hurt too badly this week when the commodity race came back with a vengeance, up $10 a barrel on Friday.

But the million dollar question remains: “can you actually make money in a lousy stock market?” Absolutely not. Yes, you just need to know where to look! Gone are the days when you could brag and look like a genius simply because you bought a small or mid cap stock then went up more than the benchmark… despite the fact that everything was headed up anyway. It’s time to get smart on stocks.

“Unless you were long oil futures, there was nothing pretty about Friday’s session, which was governed by a relatively disappointing employment report for May and a stunning rise in oil prices.” – Briefing.com June 6, 2008

Jimvesting’s Sector Run-Down:
In the 2008 stock market, it’s not which stock you pick, it’s where the stock is from. As the saying goes, you don’t want to best looking house in a bad neighborhood, you’d be much better off holding a half-rate home in a good neighborhood. Buying the best stocks in the best sectors is how you win nowadays, so you definitely want to focus on sector more than stock for the time being. While the common saying is 50% stock / 50% sector… I think that the current conditions merit 75% sector / 25% stock. Getting a well-run company is very important, but if they are getting hit with rising input costs or slow demand… there’s just not a lot they can do.

Jimvesting Ratings (June 06, 2008):
Consumer Discretionary: Neutral
Consumer Staples: Buy
Energy: Strong Buy
Financials: Sell
Healthcare: Buy
Industrials: Buy
Information Technology: Strong Buy
Materials: Buy
Telecommunications: Neutral
Utilities: Neutral

There are gains to be had in everything except financials, a sector that I think will find trouble recovering over the next few months, despite all the ongoing headwinds that have many people smelling a bottom. Energy, namely those stocks specializing in natural gas and oil, has been soaring. I see this group continuing to work all the way to oil @ $150/barrel, where I would re-value. IT stocks were the best gainers last month, and I can see these growth prospects continuing to soar over the summer.

Hot Sub-Industries You Can Count On
While sectors may be a bubble term, you can find great growth out of companies in the same sub-industry. I have a few favorites picked out that I think will continue to fare well for the time being

Oil & Gas Drilling: Favorable industry conditions with increased capital spending overseas has the oil and gas drillers reeling from the recent run-up in the price of crude oil and natural gas. Consider Noble (NYSE: NE) and Chesapeake (NYSE: CHK)… two of my personal favorites.

Fertilizers and Ag. Chemicals: Definitely a long-term bullish prospect. The global food crisis in combination with higher demand for quality meat has these chemical and fertilizer companies pumping out seed on all cylinders. Check two of my favorites Potash (NYSE: POT) and Monsanto (NYSE: MON).

Hypermarkets & Super-Centers: This group comprises of popular recessionary winners in lower-end, bulk shopping destinations such as Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and BJ’s Wholesale (NYSE: BJ). I see sales growth continuing to be supported by a down economy, and competitive pricing initiatives present real opportunity.

Construction & Engineering: Don’t let the title scare you, the housing crisis really hasn’t been much of a turn off in 2008 for these construction companies. There is often a tie in with hot oil & gas and infrastructure markets, so this industry is ripe for the picking. Consider Jacob’s Engineering (NYSE: JEC) or Fluor (NYSE: FLR) for your portfolio.

Coal & Consumable Fuels: Coal is messy. Not doubt about it. But even with this in mind, it will probably be the cheapest and most efficient energy solution for a while… so I like to hold high-flying stars like Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) and Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) for a balanced portfolio with international exposure.

Opportunities exist in today’s market. I feel that the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 400 point down day on Friday has presented a fantastic buying opportunity for those interested in going long on some stocks. Don’t buy on Monday. My feeling is that the market will fall on Monday too, and start to recover only toward the end of the week. I recommend buying mid-week or whenever you see a rebound. But heck, even if you happen to miss it, if you nailed the sector down, you will probably have yourself a winner in the long run.

-Jimvesting

The investing environment for oil & gas producers remains bullish in 2008, as record oil prices headline the news almost daily… and analysts see a lot more coming. Since Goldman Sachs predicted a two-year move to $200 in the commodity, people have had renewed confidence in buying up companies that deal with oil, and its cleaner alternative, natural gas.

There have been many doubters out there that you need to be made aware of. With the most recent dramatic upward spiking in commodities, many investors claim that prices are artificially inflated. While this may hold true, it does not mean they won’t continue to inflate artificially… making you money along the way. Despite the fact that all of these companies look expensive as heck, I think that the trend up will continue… and it’s always better to get in on the action than be sitting on the sideline, sucking your thumb.

Jimvesting’s Stock Performance
Back in January, I advised buying four energy superstars, all of which would have made you double-digit profits by now. Transocean (NYSE: RIG) is up 15.20% since my call back at $140.10, and I am still bullish on their solid oil drilling capabilities after their fantastic first quarter results on May 07, I’m maintaining a “buy” on the stock. If you bought into Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB), you’d be sitting on a nice 10.42% profit from my original pitch at $96.57. Schlumberger is the largest oil-services company in the world, so if you like the security of a large company… you’ll love SLB, who still has a lot of upside. My best recommendation in the sector was with Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) which would have given you a 31.70% return since my buy at $37.26. I think it might be time to take profits off the table on Halliburton, moving into another energy stock. The upside is still there, but I think your money would be better off elsewhere. Finally, XTO Energy (NYSE: XTO) has absolutely torn it up since my pitch at $53.88, rising for a 25.95% profit. XTO is an oil & gas exploration company that I maintain a “buy” rating on, still very bullish with plenty of room to move.

Where To Go Now
The energy sector as a whole has been rising off the charts over the past few months. But I don’t want you in the companies that are the staple crop of energy, your Exxon Mobiles and your Chevrons… go to source! I’m talking about the guys that are drilling the oil and natural gas directly, spinning them off for profits. Now you’ve heard from the drillers… I want you in those hybrid oil/gas companies like XTO Energy to capitalize on both markets and diversify risk. Personally, I’m much more bullish on natural gas than oil. I feel that the gas is much more valuable as an energy source but has been largely undiscovered compared to oil by the media, and hasn’t seen the same value appreciation that it deserves. So here are some cream of the crop hybrids with a favorable slant toward natural gas!

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK):
Chesapeake is the number one independent producer of natural gas, but still has a lot of hedged risk to thwart the volatility factor. It’s the number one driller with 254 rigs and has beaten the market over and over again with its superior hedging strategies. You can bank on the fact that they grew production by a bigger percentage than any other large-cap competitor. Lot’s of worry over the share price is cast toward Chesapeake, but they have performed past expectations time and time again, so you can sleep soundly with the fact that they have issued stronger guidance than any competitor in my opinion. There are some huge reserves that CHK has actively pursued, and I think the best is yet to come.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC):
Well, they crushed earnings consensus of $1.22/share with $1.55/share… can’t say you couldn’t expect such stellar news from a great company that has been growing faster than the industry for a while now. This trade isn’t done yet, and after an upgrade by Lehman Brothers on May 16th, it’s clear that investors still see the upside. Following earnings, it feels like sunny skies all year long for Anadarko… a company trading at just 15.5 times earnings compared to an industry ratio of 23. APC has proven to investors that it can be the best in a high-growth industry… and I’m still buying.

Helix Energy Solutions Group (NYSE: HLX):
Helix does a lot of oil & gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, and I believe they fly largely under the radar in the energy sector because of their low market cap. Their new Danny-Noonan fields should really benefit earnings for 2009, and could even be a catalyst in 2008. But more importantly than new exploration activity, Helix has taken a hit that I feel is undeserved, essentially because of how their petroleum services unit is tied to their exploration unit. Because of this, Helix has one of the more attractive valuations in the sector. While they may not have the profit margins to beat out competition, HLX is a silent assasin with a low P/E of 11 and a chip on their shoulder.

Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA):
High operating costs and expenses were largely offset by earnings from high oil and gas prices as well as increased volume production over the first quarter. Apache has one of the best managed companies in the business, and I see them outperforming the industry in the long run… despite the fact that there are bordering target prices. Apache has benefited as well as anyone else from five major discoveries, and I feel that APA can fully explot their North American reserves to profit in a beaten-down market in 2008.

Average growth rates for natural gas drillers is 15%, so it’s really quite hard to find a loser in this environment. I see the following companies outperforming the industry in 2008: Chesapeake (CHK), XTO Energy (XTO), Anadarko (APC), Helix (HLX), Transocean (RIG), Schlumberger (SLB). I am rating these energy stocks as market-perform based on valuation: Apache (APA), Halliburton (HAL), Noble (NE), Devon Energy (DVN), Southwestern Energy (SWN).

One thing is for sure, the oil and gas explorers are outperforming nearly every corner of the market. These stocks are poised to outperform in 2008. My investment strategy would be to wait for a $5-$10 pullback in the price of oil before pulling the trigger on one of these companies, primarily because I do feel that the run-up was a bit too quick.

-Jimvesting