New York - December 16, 2010 - The headline looks good yet underlying the relative optimism are the hard realities of tepid job creation, weak customer activity, and mild deflationary pressures. The confidence index for small companies is trending higher, though it's still below pre-recession levels.

Here are the key numbers from The National Federation of Independent Business: NFIB's optimism index increased to 93.2, the highest since December 2007, from an October reading of 91.7. Seven of the index's 10 components rose and three declined. The measure averaged 100.7 during the previous expansion.

Read more: Josh Levine MicroCap Blog Update : Confidence at Three-Year High for Small Firms

Clean-Tech Value Chains

This week we attended the US-China Low Carbon Economy Conference hosted by the New York Stock Exchange. While the hyperbolic debate surrounding climate change is one we try to avoid in these Notes, we think there is value creation to be found in companies leading the charge against this phenomenon. We’re firm believers in the clean-tech sector as a new cold war, this time between the US and China. The central idea being that whoever develops the next generation low carbon energy systems in the future will own that intellectual property (IP), while cleaning up the environment, and building new profitable industrial value chains to create high-tech jobs. We attended the conference with these goals in mind.

Written by Michael A. Berry, Ph.D. - [ Discovery Investing Web Site ]

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Inflation: China and the US

There is an old saying. “Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.”

In the United States, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has been singing his inflation song for 8 years1. It's very clear that Chairman Bernanke fears deflation, first and foremost. The reason for this is that deflation is a force difficult to stop once its spiral begins. But many people think US inflation is beginning to show its impact. What does Chairman Bernanke know and fear about deflation (the experience of the Great Depression) that we do not?

Written by Michael A. Berry, Ph.D. - [ Discovery Investing Web Site ]

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Updates on recent announcements by Antioquia Gold and Stans Energy

Antioquia Gold (AGD: TSXV) issued a release yesterday where they announced they have completed an Induced Polarization ground geophysical program at their flagship Cisneros property north of Medellin. More than 20 new drill targets were identified from the two grids that were constructed. The structures extend from surface 300 vertical meters and show interpreted strike lengths of up to 600 meters according to the press release.

Written by Michael A. Berry, Ph.D. - [ Discovery Investing Web Site ]

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Murdock Capital - Hallgarten Co. Uranium Symposium

The Clark Griswold Effect

•The world is on the verge of an electrification effort that will require 5 decades; critical infrastructure components are in development.

•Domestic Supply Chain: Uranium mining, fuel fabrication, reprocessing, Gen III / IV nuclear technology plus MODULAR nuclear reactors are all essential components.

Written by Michael A. Berry, Ph.D. - [ Discovery Investing Web Site ]

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