This year I attended the New Orleans Investment Conference for the first time. One of the major themes at this year’s investment conference was the extreme volatility the festered throughout the markets. Many top money managers and brokers believe that this type of volatility will become a hallmark of future markets–especially precious metals markets. Certainly we have seen this type of volatility play out in the precious metals market over the past six months as gold and silver have sharply risen and sharply fallen.  Despite the fear of extreme volatility, many at this years conference were especially bullish on the mining sector. Mining bulls argue that most gold and silver mining stocks are drastically undervalued. Furthermore, they also point out that many of these mining stocks are trading at the same levels when gold was 1000 and ounce; now the metal is 70% move valuable. These proponents argue that when you purchase gold and silver mining stocks, it’s like leveraging the metal.

Some other interesting ideas that came out of the investment conference surrounded the energy sector. A big debate broke out concerning the next viable energy source for the future. While the consensus among the panel was that future energy will involve a variety of sources from oil to natural gas to nuclear energy, many believe that energy sources will differ by geographical location. Most financial experts point to abundant natural gas deposits in the united states, in addition to arguing that the current infrastructure is already in place to make an easy transition from petroleum to natural gas. On the other end of the planet, the Chinese government has been massively subsidizing the country’s solar and wind technologies. Several at the conference believe that the Chinese are far ahead of the rest of the planet in wind and solar technologies, and that they will lead the 21st century in the alternative energy sectors. Nobody can no for sure what the future holds concerning the world’s next major energy source…only time will tell.