The company’s problems have not been overlooked by investors. The company posted a new 52-week low of $1.17 in early October and is hovering around $1.20-$1.25. The shares hit an all-time high of around $25 in mid-2007, but since mid-2008 shares have never gone above about $6.50. Shares traded at a high of $6.35 in early January of this year, but the delay in the federal loan guarantee and the soon-to-expire contracts combined with an EPS loss so far this year of -$0.37 weighs too heavily to bring shares back to anything approaching the January levels.

The answer to a simple question is likely to determine USEC’s future: does the US need its own state-of-the-art uranium enrichment facility, and if so should the government provide the loan guarantee to build it? The debacle with Solyndra and its $535 million loan would be almost small change if the $2 billion USEC loan is approved and then the company folded.

According to The New York Times, the Obama administration is considering a $300 million loan guarantee that would allow the company to prove that its centrifuges work as a pre-condition to the full loan amount to build the plant. But that’s one of those “in for a penny, in for a pound” deals. If the government guarantees even some fraction of the $2 billion, shares in USEC will rebound on the expectation that the rest will be forthcoming at some future date.

Once again, the Great Yogi gets the final word: it ain’t over till it’s over.

Paul Ausick

The impact on uranium mining companies large and small could be dramatic if more countries follow Germany’s lead and reject nuclear generation completely. Even China has adopted a more ‘slow-go’ approach to nuclear generation. Mining companies include Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ), Denison Mines Corp. (AMEX: DNN), Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE), Uranerz Energy Corp. (AMEX: URZ), Uranium Energy Corp. (AMEX: UEC), UR-Energy, Inc. and (AMEX: URG). USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) processes uranium into a low-enriched form, and General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and Shaw Group, Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) are leading builders and servicers of nuclear power plants. France’s Areva (OTC: ARVCY), and Japan’s Toshiba Corp. (OTC: TOSBF) are also among the world’s leading builders of nuclear power plants but are excluded because comparable information for the companies is not available.

One interesting sideshow that could impact all the uranium miners is the current bidding war between Cameco and Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RIO) for Canadian junior mining company Hathor Exploration Ltd. Hathor is expected to take the Rio Tinto offer, leaving Cameco to shop for other uranium assets, most likely among the small miners we’re looked at here.

All data from Yahoo! Finance and MarketWatch, and current price quotes were gathered just before noon today.

Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ) has a median target price of $31.10 from 8 brokers. Shares are trading today at $20.34, for an implied gain of $10.76, or 53%. Cameco’s forward P/E is 14.97 and the company pays a dividend yield of 1.8%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $16.68-$44.81, and at today’s price that’s about 22% above its 52-week low and 55% below the 52-week high. Cameco is the world’s largest uranium miner, and falling uranium prices have hit the company hard since prices hit a peak in January of around $72/pound. Uranium now sells for about $52/pound, a drop of -28%, and that drop has been exacerbated by lower demand. Falling demand and price have had even harsher impacts on the smaller uranium miners. At this time, Cameco does not expect the rest of the world to follow the Japanese and German governments’ restrictions on nuclear energy.

Denison Mines Corp. (AMEX: DNN) has a median target price of $2.21 from 7 brokers. Shares are trading today at $1.49, for an implied gain of $0.72, or 48%. Denison’s forward P/E is negative and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $0.81-$4.52, and at today’s price that’s about 84% above its 52-week low and 67% below the 52-week high. Denison sold just 167,000 pounds of uranium in the third quarter, compared with 706,000 pounds in the same period a year ago. That cost the company nearly $3 million in revenues, and total revenues were less than half those of a year ago.

Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE) has a median target price of $5.00 from a single broker. Shares are trading today at $1.10, for an implied gain of $3.90, or 355%. Uranium Resources’ forward P/E is negative and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $0.52-$3.98, and at today’s price that’s about 112% above its 52-week low and 72% below the 52-week high. The company reports earnings on Monday, but even the single broker with a target price can’t be bothered to offer estimated results for the company. The implied gains here are strictly fantasy.

Uranerz Energy Corp. (AMEX: URZ) has a median target price of $5.49 from 3 brokers. Shares are trading today at $2.04, for an implied gain of $3.45, or 169%. Uranerz’s forward P/E is 12.22 and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $1.17-$5.93, and at today’s price that’s about 74% above its 52-week low and 66% below the 52-week high. Uranerz, like Uranium Resources, sports a stupendously high implied gain because it is so weak. These two might be prime candidates for the loser in the bidding war over Hathor.

Uranium Energy Corp. (AMEX: UEC) has a median target price of $4.98 from 6 brokers. Shares are trading today at $3.14, for an implied gain of $1.84, or 59%. Uranium Energy’s forward P/E is 2.78 and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $2.20-$7.48, and at today’s price that’s about 43% above its 52-week low and 58% below the 52-week high. Uranium Energy just committed to pay about $85,000 in cash and about $940,000 in restricted stock at today’s price for a uranium mining project in Arizona. That sent the share price down slightly, which is probably less than should have happened.

UR-Energy, Inc. and (AMEX: URG) has a median target price of $2.37 from a single broker. Shares are trading today at $1.10, for an implied gain of $1.27, or 115%. UR-Energy’s forward P/E is negative and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $0.75-$3.37, and at today’s price that’s about 47% above its 52-week low and 67% below the 52-week high. UR-Energy does not yet produce anything, as its Wyoming mine is still in development. The company has spent a total of about $116 million since 2004, and is looking to begin production in the second quarter of 2013. It’s anyone’s guess what the price of uranium will be then.

USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) has a median target price of $3.38 from 2 brokers. Shares are trading today at $1.91, for an implied gain of $1.47, or 77%. USEC’s forward P/E is 10.11 and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $1.17-$6.35, and at today’s price that’s about 63% above its 52-week low and 70% below the 52-week high. USEC mailed notices to its 450 centrifuge workers in late October informing them that the company may begin laying off workers in the first two weeks of November. When it released third-quarter earnings last week, the company posted a smaller-than-expected EPS loss, but missed revenues by a mile.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) has a median target price of $20.00 from 14 brokers. Shares are trading today at $16.32, for an implied gain of $3.68, or 23%. GE’s forward P/E is 10.39 and the company pays a dividend yield of 3.7%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $14.02-$21.65, and at today’s price that’s about 16% above its 52-week low and 25% below the 52-week high. GE doesn’t specify exactly what part of its revenues come from nuclear plants, but it maintains partnerships with Japan’s Hitachi and Toshiba for building and servicing nuclear plants around the world.

Shaw Group, Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) has a median target price of $27.00 from 13 brokers. Shares are trading today at $24.21, for an implied gain of $2.79, or 12%. Shaw’s forward P/E is 9.46 and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $18.98-$41.62, and at today’s price that’s about 28% above its 52-week low and 42% below the 52-week high. Known primarily as a heavy construction company, Shaw owns a piece of Toshiba’s nuclear operations in both the US and the UK, as well as a 20% stake in Toshiba’s Westinghouse nuclear operations. The company is building  four nuclear units in the US and holds a services contract on four more new plants in China. For the fiscal year ended in October, Shaw’s nuclear work helped cover revenue shortfalls in coal plants.

Paul Ausick

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up triple digits with a gain of 178 points to 11,575.46, the NASDAQ rose more than 42 (1.6%) to 2,657.43, and the S&P 500 rose 2% or 24 points to 1,225.28.  Today’s top analyst upgrade and downgrade calls were numerous and included Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR), Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL), and more than a dozen other companies.

There has been a turnaround from the indicated loss in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) after its earnings showed that book value managed to actually grow and the stock was up almost 10% at $6.63 late in the session.

Some food for thought… Now the MLP and pipeline sector may look cheap on the heels of the El Paso Corporation (NYSE: EP) buyout.

As far as the other big earnings report reactions today (prices within 20 minutes of the closing bell): The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) was down 0.3% at $66.79; International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) was a huge drag on teh DJIA with shares still down 4.5% at $178.30; Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was up 1.2% at $64.54; State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) was up 9% at $36.97.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

American Public Education Inc. (NASDAQ: APEI) lost more than 20% of its value to $30.05 after the American Military University will see far lower tuition assistance from the U.S. Marine Corps.

Badger Meter Inc. (NYSE: BMI) was a loser even if it is supposed to be a water winner after missing earnings estimates.  Shares were down 13% at $29.08 in the final minutes of the day.

Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) was a disaster after an earnings warning that would not have been so bad had the stock not been up 100% from its 52-week lows before the report.  The stock was down a massive 39% at $16.20 right before the close on more than 8-times normal volume of 25 million shares.

Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO) was such a winner that it should be called “Master Chief” for its stock ticker.  Its subcutaneous Herceptin trial met the study goals and the stock was up over 18% at $7.34 right before the close.  This was not even a 52-week high.

Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) was about 4% shy of sales targets in its earnings report and that had the stock down 7% to $34.56 right before the close.  With a 52-week high of $46.88, it seemed a bit harsh of a reaction even with slightly lower margin guidance.

Human Genome Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) was up over 15% at $12.95 on reports that a $25.00 per share buyout could be headed its way.  We gave a handicap on the odds of a deal happening.

USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) broke a major run higher today and still no news exists.  The belief is that the loan approval from the DOE may get a better review now that solar loan fraud seems to be prevailing after Solyndra.  Shares were down 4% at $2.10 right before the close.  Still, this was a $1.30 stock just last Thursday.

Stay tuned for Wednesday.  We have speeches to watch from Rosengren and Lockhart on the docket as well as a hearing about ETFs.  Here are some economic releases due in the morning and throughout the day:

• 8:30 September CPI
• 8:30 Housing Starts
• 10:30 Weekly Oil Inventories
• 2:00 PM Beige Book

JON C. OGG

No money was injured while filming

The US Department of Energy has announced that it will offer a loan guarantee for $105 million to expand an Iowa plant that makes ethanol from the cellulosic waste matter, called stover, of corn production. The plant, owned by privately held POET LLC, is a major producer of corn-based ethanol. The Iowa plant received a US DoE grant of $80 million in 2007 to aid with early-stage construction. POET intends to produce cellulosic ethanol on a commercial scale, but that day is still years away.

The US DoE is announcing new loan guarantees at a furious pace now as it strives to beat its September 30th deadline for making the awards supporting the development of alternative energy. Solar PV makers First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) and SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWRA) have already received conditional loan guarantees worth more than $6 billion. US nuclear fuel processor USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) is still seeking its own guarantee.

In order to make ethanol from stover and other woody material the cellulose, which is a starch, must first be converted to sugar. Once that’s accomplished, the conversion to ethanol is similar to the process that has been used for corn-based ethanol. Ethanol producers Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) and Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO), along with POET, are the largest corn-based ethanol producers in the US.

POET’s cellulosic ethanol plant is a pilot project that currently processes one ton of stover a day. The goal is reach 700 tons a day, the point at which cellulosic ethanol becomes competitive with corn-based ethanol.

The idea behind cellulosic ethanol is obvious: rather than use the food crop for feedstock, the ethanol producer will use the waste material. The assumption is that since the material is waste, it will be either very cheap, free, or the maker will actually get paid to haul it away. None of these wishes could come true. As soon as cellulosic waste is perceived to have value, a price will get attached it. A related issue is whether or not there’s enough cellulosic waste available at all.

The process of converting cellulose to ethanol is about 40% efficient. Creating ethanol from corn or sugar cane is about 90% efficient, although it does cost more for the energy inputs.

Cane-based ethanol uses the waste material, called bagasse, as fuel to generate electricity to run the ethanol-making plants. Using stover or other wood waste to generate electricity may be more cost effective than converting it to ethanol.

In the past four or five years proponents of cellulosic ethanol have over-promised and under-delivered. The poster child for that is Range Fuels, a start-up founded by Vinod Khosla who also is the driving force behind biofuel maker Kior Corp. (NASDAQ: KIOR). Range got a $76 million grant in 2007 and another $130 million in private investment to fund the first US commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant. The plant closed earlier this year after producing just 4 million gallons of methanol (not ethanol).

To its credit, POET is not making big promises, but that doesn’t mean that the expectations are big. We’ll get the results in a few more years.

Paul Ausick

The loan guarantee program for USEC has been nothing short of a mess and this has been an ongoing issues for far too long.  USEC was also a victim of the nuclear backlash after the quake and subsequent tsunami in Japan that took out the nuclear reactor and sent governments scrambling over how they would treat their existing nuclear policies.

USEC said in the press release that it “expects to work with DOE to complete the loan guarantee review process and obtain a decision from DOE on the conditional commitment by the end of July 2011.”  It is trying to conclude the review process for its loan guarantee application, but so far it has not been able to conclude the conditional commitment process.  Today, June 30, was supposed to be the outside date for the next stage of the Toshiba and B&W investment and the standstill agreement provides some additional time needed for the Department of Energy to complete its review and to finally reach a decision during July.

Toshiba, B&W and USEC each had the right to terminate its obligations under the agreement if the $50 million second phase of the strategic investment by Toshiba and B&W did not close by June 30, 2011. This conditional commitment for the loan guarantee by the Department of Energy is called “the key remaining condition to closing of the second phase of the Toshiba and B&W investment.”  The companies have agreed not to exercise its right to terminate the Securities Purchase Agreement prior to August 15, 2011. This standstill provides a limited additional period of time to finalize and enter into the DOE conditional commitment and then close the second phase of the strategic investment.

We noted earlier that this has been going for too long.  USEC applied back in 2008 for a $2 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy so that it could construct the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio.  The company now says this will support approximately 8,000 U.S. jobs during the construction phase and will ultimately provide low enriched uranium to fuel nuclear power reactors in the United States and internationally.  USEC has already invested somewhere around $2 billion to date in this project alone.

USEC shares are currently up about 10% at $3.50 and the 52-week trading range is $2.97 to $6.35.

JON C. OGG

After 10 years of booming growth, solar generation in Italy is hitting a speed bump this year. The drop in incentives has been a topic of debate in Italy for at least a year now, but the most recent decree appears to be the final word.

Italy will cap incentives on new solar plants at $446 million between June and December 2011, equal to new capacity of about 1,200 megawatts, according to Reuters. In the 2012, incentive spending will be capped at about $416 million, equal to about 2,700 megawatts. These caps are lower than earlier proposals of about $660 million for the second half of 2011 and about $550 million in 2012.

These incentives are paid in the form of feed-in tariffs, and are given in addition to annual subsidy payments for construction. Subsidies will be capped at roughly $9-10.4 billion by 2016. Italy officially claims installed solar capacity of 3,700 megawatts with a target of 8,000 megawatts before all feed-in tariffs are eliminated. But the official numbers could be way off.

Solar companies with exposure in Italy include Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP), Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL), Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE), and First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR).

Germany, too, expects to cut solar PV installations from about 7,000 megawatts in 2010 to 5,00-6,000 megawatts in 2011, with an expectation of annual new capacity of 3,000-5,000 megawatts by 2020. The government is planning for total solar PV generation of 52,000 megawatts by 2020, from about 17,000 megawatts today.

The governor of Massachusetts has proposed new rules governing biomass electricity generation in the state. Three large-scale plants would likely not be built under the proposed rules because they would no longer qualify for the renewable energy credits that had originally made them cost competitive. Smaller, distributed heat-and-power plants would still be eligible for the credits.

The turn-about is the result of a state study that concluded that biomass burning was not carbon-neutral. That is, the amount of carbon dioxide released from burning biomass exceeds the ability of forests to absorb the greenhouse gas. The government expects wind and solar projects to replace the biomass projects as the state aims to produce 15% of its electricity supply from clean energy by 2020.

The founder of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) told a conference audience that small-scale energy projects are cute, but they won’t solve the world’s energy problems. For than, said Bill Gates, big projects are called for.

Gates doesn’t believe that improving energy efficiency will make enough of a difference in carbon emissions to cut those emissions by the 90% or so necessary to have an effect on climate warming. Utility-scale solar and wind projects get the nod from Gates, as do new nuclear generation technologies like the traveling-wave reactor being designed by TerraPower, a company Gates has invested in, which could run for 50 years without needing to be refueled.

Last year Gates called for a carbon tax of 1% or 2%, the proceeds of which would fund basic R&D in energy.  Gates is believer in big ideas and big projects with big risks that offer big rewards. Energy efficiency projects don’t make the cut for him.  This week was saw that USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) posted a slightly wider loss as the US centrifuge player reported earnings, but it also added that it and B&W are adding more parts and services in The American Centrifuge Project as the nuclear build out continues.

Paul Ausick

We have compiled previews and added in appropriate color for investors and traders alike in the following: Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK); Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE: CIM); Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN); Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG); Jinkosolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: JKS); Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX); USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU); Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM); Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA); First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR); Las Vegas Sands Corporation (NYSE: LVS); Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA); OpenTable Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN); Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE); Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI); and Youku.com Inc. (NASDAQ: YOKU).

This is actually just the first list and only the reports due early in the week on Monday and Tuesday.  The full detailed previews are below…

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) is due to report earnings on Monday and will set the tone for how natural gas properties get treated. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.70 EPS and $2.68 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.71 EPS and $2.66 billion in revenues.  Shares are trading around $33.20 and the 52-week trading range is $19.62 to $35.95.

Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE: CIM) is not a market mover nor a sector mover, but this real estate investment trust is a vulture bond investing fund and it has one of the highest dividends in Wall Street at about 14%.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.15 EPS and $174.51 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.16 EPS and $180.51 million in revenues.  Shares are trading around $4.03 and its 52-week range $3.50 to $4.36.

Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) is due Monday and this is still a story around guidance for late-2011 and into 2012 than it is an earnings story.  Provenge sales are just getting going and Thomson Reuters has estimates of -$0.70 EPS and $28.86 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are -$0.69 EPS and $58.3 million in revenues. The 2011 estimates are -$2.24 EPS and $369.7 million in revenues, but the 2012 estimates are $0.30 EPS and about $860.5 million in revenues. Shares are trading around $42.50 and the 52-week trading range is $25.78 to $57.67.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG) is due Monday for its insurance and financial services earnings.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.95 EPS and $2.47 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.95 EPS and $2.45 billion in revenues.  Shares are trading around $28.50 and the 52-week range is $18.81 to $31.08, and keep in mind that this is trading at just under 8-times expected earnings for 2011.

Jinkosolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) is also due Monday and we have not seen much from solar earnings yet.  This one is also up from the Total-SunPower majority stake deal and it was one we gave a Vale Stock Alert in earlier this month when shares were around $26.50 or so. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $1.50 EPS and $289.78 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $1.81 EPS and $346.29 million in revenues.  Shares are trading around $26.85 and the 52-week range is $8.23 to $41.75.

Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX) is due Monday and we’ll get one more cloud related earnings story and it held up fine during the Akamai blowup this week.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.12 EPS and $226.41 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.13 EPS and $238.8 million in revenues.  Shares are trading around $46.23 and the 52-week range is $15.15 to $46.28.

USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) is another one that is not a market mover.  It is, however a nuclear mover and this uranium enrichment outfit may offer more insight into what the REAl impact on  nuclear power will be for the next two years or so after the Japan incident. Thomson Reuters has estimates of -$0.12 EPS and $403.4 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are -$0.07 EPS and $399.5 million in revenues.  Shares are trading around $4.45 and the 52-week range is $3.90 to $6.35.

To show just how bad the market has been even to utilities, the leading ETF is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLU) and its shares have fallen 4.6% since Friday closing Wednesday at $30.99 with a 52-week range of $25.76 to $32.89.  We did of course not cover every single utility with nuclear power, but our coverage below accounts for a combined market capitalization rate of more than $100 billion.  Our review focused on Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE), Constellation Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE: CEG), Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR), Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), Progress Energy Inc. (NYSE: PGN) and Southern Company (NYSE: SO).

We broke out how much each of the partial US nuclear energy complex has fallen since Friday, what the 52-week range is, what the market caps are, and which are some of the listed nuclear properties which we took from the U.S. Nuclear Energy Institute.

Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) is down only about 3.5% since Friday with shares at $26.79; 52-week range is $23.09 to $29.89 and its market cap is $6.4 billion. Nuclear properties include Callaway.

Constellation Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE: CEG) is down about 6% since Friday with shares at $30.30; 52-week trading range is $27.64 to $38.73 and its market cap is roughly $6 billion.  Nuclear properties include Calvert Cliffs, Ginna, and Nine Mile Point.

Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) is down almost 9.5% since Friday with shares at $66.65; its 52-week trading range is $66.31 (hit today) to $84.33 and its market cap is about $12 billion.  Nuclear properties include Arkansas Nuke 1 & 2, Grand Gulf, Indian Point, James A. Fitzpatrick, Palisades, and River Bend.

Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC) is down almost 7% since Friday with shares at $39.95; its 52-week trading range is $16.78 to $45.56 and its market cap is $26.5 billion. Nuclear properties include Braidwood, Bryon, Clinton, Dresden, La Salle, Limerick, Oyster Creek, Peach Bottom, Quad Cities, Salem, and Three Mile Island.

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) down almost 6% since Friday with shares at $36.59; 52-week range is $33.57 to $40.80 and its market cap is $11.2 billion.  Nuclear properties include Beaver Valley and Perry.

Progress Energy Inc. (NYSE: PGN) is down ‘only’ almost 4% since Friday with shares at $44.55; 52-week trading range is $37.13 to $46.83 and the market cap is about $13.1 billion.  Nuclear properties include Brunswick, Crystal River, H.B. Robinson, and Shearon Harris.

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is down close to 4% since Friday with shares at $36.80; 52-week range is $32.04 to $38.79 and its market cap is close to $31 billion.  Nuclear properties include E.I. Hatch, J.M. Farley and Vogtle.

Many of these plants have switch-over capabilities, but there is one thing to consider here.  Despite these plants being old, shutting these plants down in any short order is just not likely in the cards barring maintenance or other disasters.  Switching to fossil fuels is also a much more costly initiative for consumers.

What seems to be at issue is that newer regulations would come with a higher cost of securing and operating “safe nukes” if there is such a real term.  Our take is that nuclear expenses will rise as a result, but the future demand damage of uranium may make the fuel cheaper ahead and any higher regulatory and security costs that the plants take on will probably be passed down to Joe America.

JON C. OGG

PowerShares Global Nuclear Energy (NYSE: PKN) fell 11.5% yesterday and the ETF is indicated down around $18.35 this morning.  iShares S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index (NASDAQ: NUCL) saw an 8% drop yesterday and is also indicated lower.  The Global X Uranium ETF (NYSE: URA) is down another 10% at $14.15 this morning.

US-based centrifuge player USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) was also down 11% Monday and shares are indicated down 9.8% this morning.

Canadian uranium miner Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ) was down 12.7% Monday and shares are indicated down another 12% at $28.65 this morning.

Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) is a manufacturer of nuclear and other power plants, and its shares were down 9.2% Monday. The stock is getting another fire sale with shares indicated down 9% more at $31.70 in pre-market trading.

Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE) fell a whopping 25% on Monday and shares are getting clipped by another 17% at $1.45 in early Tuesday pre-market trading.

Even the great General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) was hit on Monday and is down another 4.6% at $18.99 this morning because it also helps in building nuclear plants and is involved in the Japan incident.

JON C. OGG

All you have to do is look at PowerShares Global Nuclear Energy (NYSE: PKN) with its 11.5% drop and the iShares S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index (NASDAQ: NUCL) with its 8% drop.  If that is not enough pain, the centrifuge player USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) was also down 11% and the Canadian uranium miner Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ) was down 12.7% today.  Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) is a manufacturer of nuclear and other power plants, and its shares were down 9.2%.  All five of these ‘honorable mentions’ were at one point down much more than where they closed.

If you go through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission press briefing that was detailed word by word and blow-by-blow on the White House website, Press Secretary Jay Carney, Chairman Greg Jaczko, and Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Poneman, it is very obvious that nuclear power in America is not going get scrapped here in America.  Will there be more scrutiny?  Yes.  Will new unapproved projects get rubber-stamped?  Unlikely.  Will newly approved and pending projects get to proceed?  Most likely, even if on a slower scale.  However, the Obama Administration is not dumping nuclear power even if it says that it is going to offer more scrutiny and reviews.

Deputy Secretary Poneman was quoted as saying, “Nuclear power has been a critical component to the U.S. energy portfolio. We have 104 operating reactors — that’s 20 percent of the electricity of this country; 70 percent of the carbon-free electricity in this country comes from nuclear power. So we do see nuclear power as continuing to play an important role in building a low-carbon future. But be assured that we will take the safety aspect of that as our paramount concern.”  Continuity, with the token safety comment.

Here is a current location map of the existing plants currently in service followed by the new projected nuclear power reactors:

Nuclear Power is not without controversy and is not without at least some safety issues.  There is just one problem in killing nuclear power. The world wants cleaner power with less and less fossil fuel.  Coal is dirty and clean coal is just less-dirty.  Natural gas is plentiful and works.  Wind and solar cannot currently come anywhere close to powering the entire grid today nor in a decade.  Hydroelectric power is already being used where possible.  Unless we are willing to turn off our computers and TVs and go back to reading by candle light, there is just no other alternative but to not proceed with nuclear power.

There is a risk to the assumption here.  Media reports of people running with who are getting severely ill from radiation levels will slow this down further.  A total meltdown might not ultimately kill the growth of nuclear power, but politicians “taking the line of prudence” by demanding a halt and rethinking of the entire nuclear power arsenal will ultimately delay nuclear projects to the point that nuclear power will feel as though it died.

Today was a marked delay and one that will not go away easily.  Before thinking that sell-off in these stocks is just entirely unjustified, consider that it is now likely that every single nuclear power provider and company involved in and around uranium is certainly going to face delays or cancellations in orders.  Expect an earnings warning from every one of these companies.  European nations are reconsidering nuclear power entirely now, although they still have the dilemma of deciding what other choices there really are.

Our take is that nuclear power just took a hard right hook on the chin and just lost this fight.  Still, the fighter was knocked out only temporarily and will likely get to fight in many more matches ahead.  Going back only to fossil fuel carries too large of a price.

The caveat is a total meltdown scenario… If that happens, all bets are off.

JON C. OGG