Kevin McElroy

Bernanke’s Apology Letter to America

Before I get in trouble - I want to make it crystal clear that I don't have a letter from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

What I do have is the letter that I would need to see him write in order to convince me to sell my gold and silver and hold dollars instead.

Seeing this letter is not the only condition under which I would sell my precious metals, of course, but since Bernanke is the dollar's Commander in Chief, he certainly has the sway to pursue the types of policies that would turn me dollar bullish.

Without further ado, here's the letter I'm waiting for:

"Dear America,

I'm sorry. I was wrong.

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Alex Alexandrov

Dynamic Materials Revisited: Business still booming

Editor’s note: This week we’re revisiting some of the companies that were profiled in this space earlier this year. This update is based on a July 16 article by Shannon Roxborough, “Dynamic Materials: Business is booming.” At the time, Dynamic Materials had just set a new 52-week high at $40.24. On Friday the stock closed at $62.87, not far from the current high of $66.30 established Nov. 30.

When we first wrote about Dynamic Materials Corp. (Nasdaq: BOOM) on July 16 we observed the maker of explosion-welded clad metal plates was experiencing strong growth and was poised for more of the same.

Five months later, the Boulder, Colo.-based company continues to expand its business and outpace Wall Street’s expectations.

During the third quarter ended Sept. 30, Dynamic Materials reported that net income increased an impressive 93% to $7.1 million, or $0.58 per share. Six analysts polled by Thomson Financial were calling for earnings of $0.50 per share. A year earlier, net income was $3.7 million, or $0.30 per share. Revenue also increased, rising 69% to $42.1 million, from $24.9 million during the third quarter of 2006.

“The widespread push for new industrial processing capacity continues to drive significant investments in capital equipment, and based on the broad spectrum of domestic and international projects we are tracking, it appears this activity could continue for the foreseeable future,” president and CEO Yvon Cariou in a statement.

Dynamic Materials, which has production facilities in United States, France and Sweden, saw growth in both its divisions – explosive metalworking and welding.

The explosive metalworking segment, which provides steel plates to a number of industries, saw third-quarter sales jump 72%, while the welding segment, which provides welding services to the ground-based turbine and jet engine sectors, reported a sales increase of 32%.

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