Zacks.com Announces That Gregory Spear Highlights the Following Stocks: Dynamic Materials and KFX Inc.

CHICAGO -- Gregory Spear, editor of Spear's Security Industry Analyst, says that the dominant trend driving the market, and geopolitics, right now appears to be an awareness of global resource scarcity. Discover how long this trend could last and learn about Dynamic Materials (NASDAQ:BOOM) and KFX Inc. (AMEX:KFX). Click here for the full story exclusively on Zacks.com: http://at.zacks.com/?id=84

Highlights from the March 2nd Featured Expert column by Gregory Spear include:

Gregory Spear and his team are witnessing modest investor interest in certain niche technologies, such as nanotech and RFID, but the dominant trend driving the market, and geopolitics, right now appears to be an awareness of global resource scarcity. This leads to two related macro-themes: The Global Competition for Resources and, secondly, Efficient, Environmentally Friendly Energy. Because Spear and his team will not idealize human nature, or underestimate our capacity for shortsightedness, denial, inertia and greed, they believe this trend will produce a squeeze play that will last a generation.

Two Profiled Stocks

Dynamic Materials (NASDAQ:BOOM) is engaged in the high-energy metal working business, which means the company uses explosives to perform metallurgical bonding, shaping and metal cladding. BOOM is organized in two segments: the Explosive Metalworking Group and the Aerospace Group.

Fourth quarter sales increased 126% to $20 million, producing net income of $2.3 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, versus a net loss of $0.11 per diluted share, in the comparable period of 2003. For the year, sales advanced 51% to $54 million. Income from continuing operations increased 243% to $4.4 million, or $0.81 per diluted share, while net income came in at $2.8 million, or $0.53 per diluted share, versus a year ago loss, after charges for the divestiture of several marginal operations.

KFX Inc. (AMEX:KFX) has a patent on a process that turns cheap $6/ton coal into the equivalent of high-BTU coal that now costs upwards of $60/ton, and the K-Fuel treatment process happens to reduce the mercury, sulfur and nitrous oxide emissions significantly. The KFX process not only reduces the pollutants but also lowers the water content so that this cheaper coal can be burned in existing plants without retrofits.

KFX is completing its first commercial processor in Gillette, Wyoming, which is expected to start production in the fall of this year. Estimated capacity is 750,000 tons per year. That is just a drop in the proverbial bucket, but this facility is intended to serve as a demonstration project that will spawn company owned and company-licensed operations all over the US.

Should this dream be realized it will mark the end of a long-term struggle by CEO Ted Venners to get this technology commercialized (with two previous failures). The timing has never been better. With the 50% rise in low sulfur, high BTU Eastern coal in the last seven months, it is expected that the K-Fuel product will have a $25-$35.per ton advantage delivered into the mid-west utility market, rather than the $17/ton advantage estimated last year. Congress has also passed a tax credit bill for the use of thermally modified coal, which will add another $6 to the mix. Arch Coal has a $2 million investment in the company and is doing a feasibility study with KFX for siting a plant at one of its nearby mines.

Read Gregory Spear's complete commentary and receive more information on the stocks above as well as other stocks by clicking: http://at.zacks.com/?id=85

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