Apple Inc. has been flirting with the top spot for a while now and finally made the jump a couple of days ago. How long will the move last is anyone’s guess, but Apple Inc. is more powerful than you think, with technologies surpassing what other companies are able to put out and continuing to revolutionize the way we communicate and socialize.

Apple’s stock fell 2.8% to close at $363.69, which brings their market capitalization to $337 billion, surpassing the $331 billion of market capitalization that Exxon has. This is simply a staggering number for a company that isn’t involved with oil. To make this story even more amazing, Apple Inc. was a nothing company a little over a decade ago, as Steve Jobs had been voted out of his own company. Well, I guess this is sweet revenge for him.

We have stated before that investing in Apple stock is a great way to build wealth, and we hold true to that statement. Apple stocks have split twice in the last decade and made hundreds of thousands of people a lot of money. The stock is much higher now, but it is still prime for the picking. The stock may also split again, and if it does this would be a great time to jump on board.

Apple will continue to grow, and you should be on board to reap the benefits.

Energy stock picks ( like any other stock picks) have some high reward potential, but they also carry high risk. Here is a list of some of the hotter ones to keep an eye on for the future. Like precious metal’s investment, you want to do some research.

*This is just a list, we are not suggesting that you buy into any of these, nor or we saying not to. You can use the information to help you in the decision making process.

Ensco: (ESV) Ensco is an offshore oil and natural gas driller that has seen its stock gaining 1.5% this year, after rising 3.5% over the past month. Its shares increased 36% in 2010. These are some very attractive numbers. The price of the stock hasn’t skyrocketed yet, so it may not be too expensive to get in yet.

Occidental Petroleum: (OXY) Occidental is one of the largest gas and oil companies in the United States. With global exploration interests and an already nice stock price, this is a very attractive energy stock option for many. The stock has risen an average of 6% for every month for the last few months.

The company shows several positive trends, including return on capital, a strong production outlook, a healthy balance sheet and substantial cash flow. Occidental Petroleum’s recent announcement that it is moving forward with a huge shale oil-development program in California should fuel long-term prospects once it gets into production.

Canadian Natural Resources: (CNQ)  A major player in generating oil from oil sands in Canada, as well as a diverse explorer and producer of conventional crude oil and natural gas in North America, the North Sea and offshore West Africa. They are currently carrying a projected price of around $48, which means there is room for growth there. The stock is estimated to rise around 15% this year, which would make for a small but decent profit, and holding on to the stock could yield future gains.

Apache: (APA) The Apache company is one of the largest U.S. based independent explorers and producers of natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids. They are right up there with Occidental and the long-range outlook of this company stock is pretty healthy. Apache gets about 25% of its production and cash flow from its operations in Egypt, and although there have been no production disruptions so far due to that country’s current political unrest, there is a potential. This would be the main obstacle when it came to deciding if this was a potential energy investment for you, but with the potential that the stock has, it may be worth the risk.

Plains Exploration and Production: (PXP) is an independent oil and gas company, with a market value of $4.6 billion. They are engaged acquiring, exploring and producing oil and gas fields predominantly in California, but also in Texas, Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. As we all know, there is a lot of untapped resources in these particular areas, so if they drill the right area, they are going t spike in price immediately.

Energy stocks and options are the future, that much is clear.There are a number of great investment opportunities within the energy sector. Make sure you do your research so you know exactly what you are getting into.

In case you didn’t know, Peru is the world’s largest producer of silver, 3rd largest of copper and 5th largest of gold. Peru is the largest producer of Gold in Latin America. Gold accounts for a third of Peru’s export revenue. The vast reserve of Peru’s minerals are regarded to be only 10% explored nationally.

Peru also has one of the best performing financial markets of the past decade. Yes, the same decade that saw the American economy suffer severely.

The news that Portage Resources wants to mine Peru is not a shocker, it is however a great bit of news if you are looking to buy into a stock right now that is still only around $0.47 per share. While there are of course will be risks involved (as there are with any stock purchases) now may be a great time to invest in something like this.

If Portage Resources is able to tap into the huge mineral reserve that sits in Peru (silver, copper, gold), then their shares are going to skyrocket. In addition to growth in the mining sector, new oil and gas projects coming online in the North have positioned the region to exceed the nation over the coming decade. Like the rest of the world, Peru wasn’t immune from the global recession in 2008. But the country has been one of the first to recover. Bloomberg reports that the country came out of recession in 4Q09 with exports up 23.8% in November and imports up 21%.

Remember, Financing Wealth is not telling you to go buy this stock, nor are we telling you to ignore it. You simply may ant to check it out. Again, there are always risks involved with stock trading.

So what is diversification?

When people speak of diversification, they generally refer to the act or process of placing investments on various types of assets in different proportions. When you are making an investment, you generally consider various factors like your tolerance for risks, personal finance goals and time map.

Diversification, by itself, is not an assurance or a guarantee against risks and potential losses. However, this approach helps in significantly alleviating or minimizing the risks from speculative investments. You can offset the loss from one investment with the gain in another.

Now, why should you diversify?

Diversification is not only advisable, it must be mandatory if you are an investor. If you would like to ensure your money’s safety, you need to diversify.

There are various reasons why you should diversify. First off, diversification is a way to ensure a long-term investment return. It is a good way to maintain your long term investments. You minimize the risks on volatile investments and undervalued assets. You can say that the when you diversify you minimized your risk exposure level. You also temper the volatility of hot asset investments as well as the unpredictability of the market. With diversification, you can offset your losses, participate in the upside of some investments and mitigate the downside on other investments.

You however need to be careful with the investments you are diversifying into. Seek the advice of a trained profession when making any kind of diversification decisions.

Google, Inc aka GOOG jumped above $500 in early morning trading today and looks like it’s going to close above the $500 mark as well. That’s right, it’s nearly 6 times what it was when they wen public in 2004 and with all the aquisitions it’s making, it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon.

Well I guess this could make you money. If you think there is a chance this titan will tank, sell short, if you think there’s a chance, and word on the street is that many analysts say this is fully possibly, that the stock will keep right on going past $600 then buy it.

The price is a little too rich for my blood, but then again I always wanted to buy Berkshire Hathaway when I was in middle school and the price was at $900 a share. If I would have bought one share back then, in the 12 years since I could have payed off almost all of my student loans with that money.

Hmmm, maybe I should buy just one share?

Maybe we should all just buy one share. Does anyone know if these Google guys idolize Warren Buffet?