Chesapeake plans to sell some $11.5 billion in assets by the end of the year as it tries to shore up its finances. The company has also said it would sell oil-rich assets in the Permian Basin of Texas and spin-off a royalty trust to develop its Mississippian Limestone deposits.

Shares of Chesapeake are up about 1% at $15.25 in a 52-week range of $13.32-$35.75.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports the US carbon emissions have fallen by a total of 450 million metric tons in the past five, the largest decrease of any country in the world. The news is not all good though. In 2011, global carbon emissions totaled 31.6 billion metric tons, about 1 billion more than were emitted in 2010. The annual increase is considerably higher than the average 600 million metric tons emitted between 2006 and 2010.

In an interview with the Financial Times, the IEA attributes the drop in US emissions to “a combination of policy and technology – policy driving greater efficiency and technology making shale gas production viable.”

Maybe, but a slow economy in the US and throughout much of the globe also contributed to the decrease. The US industrial capacity utilization rate in April 2012 was just 76.1%, compared with a 30-year average of 80.3%. In 2009, at the depths of the recession, the utilization rate was just 66.8%.

And while natural gas production has boomed in the US, global crude production has not. The following chart from Professor James Hamilton’s Econbrowser blog indicates an expected growth path for oil production (red line) versus actual production (blue line) as a function of global GDP. By last year, production should have been near 100 million barrels/day, but barely managed 86.5 million barrels.

If the dip in the red line on the chart had not occurred, production would have had to reach about 105 million barrels/day to meet demand. Assuming that level of production could have been achieved it would not have mattered how much natural gas the US burned to generate electricity. Carbon emissions would very likely not have fallen if the world economy had not tanked.

Abundant, cheap natural gas in the US was more than offset by added coal burning (and carbon emissions) in China and India. To their credit, the Chinese are working on using alternative fuels like solar and wind to keep their carbon emissions in some kind of check. But if China resumes its 10%+ GDP growth path, all the natural gas in the US won’t keep carbon emissions under control.

Paul Ausick

Chinese solar makers Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) and Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) both announced results for their first quarters. Suntech managed to beat revenue expectations, posting sales of $409.5 million versus a consensus estimate of $406 million. But the total reflects a decline of -34.9% sequentially and 53.3% year-over-year. The company posted an EPS loss of -$0.74 compared with an estimate of -$0.50. Gross margins fell to just 0.6%, down from 9.9% in the fourth quarter of 2011 and 20.8% in the same period a year ago.

Trina did even more poorly. Revenues totaled $350 million versus a consensus estimate of $398.5 million and the loss per ADR totaled -$0.42 compared with an estimated loss of -$0.29. Gross margins came in at 13.3%, but the company’s operating margin fell to -11.4%, somewhat better than the operating margin of -14.4% in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Profits and margins for both companies include reserves taken to pay the anti-dumping duties recently approved the US Department of Commerce.

Of the solar makers, only Renesola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) put up solid enough numbers for the first quarter to enjoy any kind of bump in share price. First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) posted a surprise EPS loss for the first quarter and SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) missed on revenues while coming in slightly ahead of EPS estimates. Chinese solar maker LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) posted horrible results in its fourth quarter and expected results for the first quarter don’t look good either. Neither do estimates for JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) or Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE).

Suntech said it expects shipments to increase by 20% in the second quarter and gross margins to improve to 3%-6%. The company maintained its full-year shipment guidance of 2,100-2,500 megawatts.

Trina forecast shipment growth of about 31%-37% in the second quarter and gross margins of around 10%. For the full year the company expects to ship 2,000-2,100 megawatts.

Shares of Suntech have fallen about -2.5% by early afternoon today to $1.93 in a 52-week range of $1.70-$8.50. Trina’s shares are up 0.75% at $5.37 in a 52-week range of $5.20-$23.64.

Paul Ausick

Some companies, like General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) have been expanding their US manufacturing capacity. And smaller firms, too, have been either expanding or building new capacity in the US. But numbers are a little hard to come by.

Consulting firm Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) has a report out with data that indicates that US firms are indeed moving back home. The firm surveyed 81 senior manufacturing executives at companies that average more than $2 billion in annual revenues. The report is available here.

According to those surveyed, 65% moved manufacturing operations in the past 2 years and 43% plan to move in the next 2 years, while 62% started new operations in the same period. The US led all countries in locations where plants were closed (60% of closings were in the US) and also led in locations to which operations are being moved, with 40% of plants moving to the US.

Western Europe was second in plant closings and China leads in new openings with 54% of new manufacturing plants going to China. The US is second in new plants, with 32% of new plants opening here. China is also expected to overtake Western Europe as the second largest market for US goods within three years.

The new construction in China reflects the belief that the country’s domestic demand will continue to expand and that being able to make things locally helps with meeting customer requirements and lowering costs. For manufacturers re-shoring to the US, the reasons are the same, especially for some durable goods makers.

How much the re-shoring movement means to the US economy depends to a large degree on whether the economy can create enough jobs to buy all those goods. The key is jobs and they are still scarce.

Paul Ausick

Wanda is transforming into a global cinema chain owner with this now culminating two of the world’s largest movie markets.  Wanda is private and most recently had more than $16 billion in annual sales from its commercial development and entertainment operations.  It currently owns some 86 theaters in China which was a total of about 730 movie screens.

So, here is Wanda is getting: 346 multiplex theaters located mostly in North America and a total of just over 5,000 movie screens.  This comes to a value of almost $517,000 per screen or just over $7.5 million per theater on average.

Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CNK) operates 459 theatres with 5,181 screens in the United States and in the Americas.  It has a market value today of $2.6 billion and shares are up almost 1% at $23.09 against a 52-week range of $17.10 to $24.45.  That value is roughly the same as the AMC deal today.  The value here is almost $502,000 per screen or just over $5.65 million per screen.

Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) recently said that is the largest and most geographically diverse theatre circuit in the United States: 6,580 screens in 522 theatres in 37 states and D.C. as of April 26, 2012.  Shares are up 3.3% at $14.04 against a 52-week range of $11.15 to $14.74 and its market value is listed as $2.16 billion as of now. This value is about $328,000 per screen and about $4.13 million per theater.

Carmike Cinemas Inc. (NASDAQ: CKEC) is the baby of the group with a market value of only $262 million.  As of December 31, 2011, it owned, operated, or had an interest in 237 theatres with 2,254 screens located in 35 states. Shares are up 3.4% at $14.79 against a 52-week range of $5.14 to $15.80.  The value here is down at about $116,000 per screen or about %1.1 million per theater.

Whether or not this drives up the price of feature films will only be known through time, and that may depend upon the movie studios more than the actual theaters.  Still, the value of movie screens and movie theaters just went up.

Not bad considering that the lion share of profits for theaters come from selling popcorn, food, fountain drinks, and candy.

JON C. OGG

One could be forgiven for wondering whether a foray into the Middle Kingdom would be a smart thing for Facebook to undertake any time soon. Our look at Chinese internet stocks yesterday didn’t come up with a lot of positives in the Chinese internet space. The big one — numbers — hasn’t yet driven significant revenues in China, even though revenues have been growing.

One could also be forgiven for thinking that Facebook’s best course would be to get its own advertising model sorted out in the US before it tackles the Chinese market. There is plenty of evidence that advertising that works in the US does not translate well into Chinese. Facebook might want to let some other US firms do the heavy lifting here.

Shares of Renren are down about -12% at $5.49 in a 52-week range of $3.21-$13.88.

Paul Ausick

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) has been a total disaster, but short covering and bottom-fishing traders are snapping up shares.  After an all-time low of $13.75 this week, shares recovered to $14.92 on Thursday on the most active volume in two weeks (over 10 million shares).  Shares are indicated above $15.00 for Friday but we will see if this can hold. SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR) recovered more than 10% on Thursday after a recent low of $4.94 with a close of $5.59 on over 4 million shares (most since Feb 17 at 7.3 million shares).

One potential problem to consider is that the tariffs could inadvertently impact some of the U.S. producers of solar panels as well.  The issue is that many components involved in making these PV panels also come from China.

Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) is a loser in this tariff effort.  Shares were at $2.60 just last Friday and the ADRs closed down at $2.13 on Thursday.  Shares are indicated higher on Friday but we will have to see how it pans out.  Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL) is another loser with its ADR closing at $6.08 Thursday after having been at $7.50 just last Friday.

LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) closed lower on Thursday at $2.91, but this is actually in-line with prices just last Friday and its 52-week range is $2.54 to $7.90.

GT Advanced Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: GTAT) is often lost in the shuffle as it is on the technology side of the solar PV process.  It is also in LED technology.  Shares closed down at $4.49 on Thursday against a 52-week low of $4.24.  The 12 million shares traded on Thursday was the highest trading volume seen since last August.

If you really want to know what the trend is on a global-solar basis, just follow the Guggenheim Solar (AMEX: TAN).  This ETF closed down yet again at $18.35 on Thursday after closing at $19.21 the prior day and against a $20.61 close last Friday.

Unfortunately, the solar sector has its share of woes and pain.  Austerity, expiration of tax credits, a lack of cost-effectiveness, and other issues are going to be present for the time being whether tariffs exist or not.

JON C. OGG

There are two causes, if this happens. The first is a wild run in speculation as a means to make quick money. The other is  purchases of real estate as people move to China’s cities to find manufacturing jobs. As the economy slows, so might this migration and the pay levels of many of the middle class. China could have millions of dollars of underwater mortgages if that happens and its consumers might lose much of their ability to spend money on less expensive goods and services as they struggle to keep their homes.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Dangdang said it expects second quarter revenue of about $187.5 million, substantially lower than the consensus estimate of $202.5 million. As with first quarter results, revenue continues to grow by 50% or better year-over-year, but that’s not good enough. Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN), China’s answer to Facebook, posted higher revenue in the first quarter, but costs soared 90% and the company’s forecast came in lower than the consensus estimate.

SINA Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA), which owns the country’s largest Twitter-like site Weibo, showed significant growth in its first quarter results as well, but it forecast higher costs and continued weakness in advertising as weighing down future results. Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU), China’s third largest search engine, also forecast weak advertising sales for the second quarter. China’s search engine leader, Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU), recently shuttered an e-commerce competitor to Dangdang and launched its own low-cost Android-based phone as the company continues to extend its reach beyond search. Baidu forecast lower-than-expected second quarter revenues as well.

Youku Inc. (NYSE: YOKU), a YouTube look-alike, is scheduled to announce results after markets close today. The company is expected to post an EPS loss of -$0.21 on revenue of $41.2 million. Another Internet video player, Tudou Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: TUDO) is scheduled to announce results next Monday and is expected to post an EPS loss of -$0.88 on revenue of $21.75 million.

China’s Internet users now number more than 550 million, according to a report at Mashable, but the annual growth rate has tumbled from a mind-boggling 50%+ to around 12%. And China trails only the US in the number of Internet shoppers, with 145 million people having made online purchases last year. The average number of purchases per month per customer is 8.4, well-above the second place US, where a customer averages 5.2 purchases a month.

But Chinese Internet companies have had a difficult time translating these numbers into yuan. The prevailing view among analysts appears to be that the revenue dam will burst real soon now, but not a single one of these companies has a higher share price today than it did a year ago. Dangdang is down a whopping -68% over the past 12 months and both SINA and Renren are off more than -50%. Baidu, which has lost just -9% in the past year, is the best performer. That’s a pretty sorry showing. Expecting this to change anytime soon may be wishful thinking.

Shares of Dangdang are off -15% in the early afternoon today, at $6.36 in a 52-week range of $4.11-$22.45. Shares of the other Chinese Internet players are also down this afternoon, but most by less than -3%.

Paul Ausick

As you may have expected, gold demand actually shrank in the first quarter of 2012 according to this gold data and the drop was down 5% from the high demands of the first quarter in 2011.

The decrease in gold demand was expected due to import taxes in India and high gold prices, but what is interesting is that gold’s demand value was up 16% year over year. The figure was put at $59.7 billion globally and the Council noted an average gold price up 22% year over year to $1,690.57 for the quarter.

The issue that helped support gold were increased demand in China, as well as continued central bank purchases, and inflows into exchange-traded funds.

China’s investment and jewellery demand reached 255.2 tonnes, up 10% on the previous year’s levels, and China accounted for 30% of the global jewelry demand.  Conversely, jewelry demand was down 19% in India, with Indian investment demand down a whopping 46%.  The World Gold Council predicts that China will become the largest source of demand for gold in 2012.

Central bank buying was 80.8 tonnes with purchasing gains in Russia and Kazakhstan.  Mexico was the largest addition with a single purchase of 16.8 tonnes.

Demand from ETFs and other investment products was 51.4 tonnes worth about $2.8 billion.  The SPDR Gold Shares (AMEX: GLD) site lists that it holds 1,276.6 tonnes with a total value of just over $63.5 billion as of May 17.

Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (AMEX: GDX) measures the companies which explore and mine the world’s new gold.  Shares are up almost 4% at $41.11 after bottoming out just above $39.00 over the last two days but this mining ETF was actually up at $50.00 as recently as April 2.

JON C. OGG