Old King Cole was a merry old soul, and a merry old soul was he. He called for his pipe and he called for his bowl, and he called for his fiddlers three. Old King Coal was a merry old soul, and a merry old soul was he. He raised his prices and made more dough, and laughed at the greenies with glee.

Indeed old King Coal is a merry old soul and you would be too if you were enjoying strong demand, record prices and all-time high stock prices. Coal, that black, dirty, dusty stuff that gives off carbon dioxide when burned is on a roll. Despite the best efforts of the greenies to abolish its use, coal producers are thriving. Look at a 1-year graph of the Energy(Coal) Industry Group and you will see that its price bottomed nearly a year ago at $20.14 per share. Now it's trading at $39.71 per share, up 97% in nine months. Add EPS to your graph. It's gone from $1.02 per share to $1.67 per share in six weeks. Wow! I thought coal was going out of style. What's going on?

Yes, the coal producers went through a rough patch a while back, but coal isn't going away. In fact, with crude oil hitting $133 a barrel, natural gas prices soaring, the cost of nuclear power plants going up to $10 billion dollars and the relatively small contribution of alternative energy sources like solar or wind power, it may be becoming more important than ever. There's no doubt in my mind that coal is going to remain a major factor in meeting our future demand for electric power. Moreover, the conversion of coal to gasoline on a large scale may also become a reality in this country. Ever hear of a company called Sasol Ltd, (SSL)?

Last week, I said that Patriot Coal, PCX had the best combination of RT and CI. As I write this essay, it still does. Its earnings are forecasted to soar. But PCX is only one stock in an Industry Group that's on fire. So take a look at some of the other hot stocks in this Industry Group. Buy a big winner, and you too can become a merry old soul. Thanks to Old King Coal.