Omaha-based metal company Valmont Industries (VMI) registered higher profits in the second quarter of 2009, driven by commendable results in its Utility Support Structures segment.  In the quarter, Valmont’s profit increased to $44.2 million or $1.69 per diluted share from $37.3 million or $1.41 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2008. Net sales rose marginally to $498.8 million from $497.1 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating income grew 9.5% to 13.9% of net sales.  Sales in the Utility Support Structures segment nearly doubled over the year ago level to $199.2 million, contributing the lion’s share (40%) to overall sales. Demand for additional transmission capacity to the electricity grid as well as the grid’s inclination towards averting the risk of service interruption in North America unlocked the growth potential in the segment.  Operating income in the Utility segment more than trebled to $47.5 million, ...

Diversified utility Duke Energy (DUK), the 3rd largest electric utility in the U.S., announced a three-year partnership with Cisco Systems (CSCO), the world's largest network communications company, to co-develop an advanced modern electric "smart grid."

What is a Smart-Grid?

"Smart-grids" deliver electricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology to save energy, reduce costs and increase reliability. Many global governments are promoting such a modernized electricity network as a means of increasing energy independence and reducing global warming issues.

An electricity grid is not a single entity but an aggregate of multiple networks and multiple power generation companies with multiple operators employing varying levels of communication and coordination, most of which are manually controlled.

Smart grids increase the connectivity, automation and coordination between suppliers, consumers and networks, which perform either long distance transmission or local

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Major energy companies are lined up to lock deals and land big profits with India’s new nuclear trade. India was out of the global nuclear loop for over 30 years, until now.

Jason Simpkins of Money Morning says that “…some analysts estimate that India’s nuclear energy sector could be worth as much as $200 billion.”

Here he shows us what majors are lined up for the deal:

India launched its first nuclear test in 1974, but the country refused to sign the global Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). As a result, the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) banned India from global nuclear trade.

That ban was lifted last September when Washington pushed through a “waiver” that freed India from 34 years of sanctions.

Critics of the deal worry that by lifting the trade

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The US consumer is on life support. Retail sales cratered in September, and consumer confidence indexes are at rock bottom. Uncle Sam is gearing up for a new New Deal to resuscitate the patient, says Justice Litle. It will focus on alternative energy projects… and could create the next big bubble.

This from Taipain Daily:

For the last 25 years, Soros observes, the “motor of the world economy” has been the American consumer. And not only has the American consumer been aggressively consuming, he “has been spending more than he has been saving.”

“So that motor is now switched off,” says Soros. “It’s finished. It’s run out of — can’t continue. You need a new motor.”

The declines of that truly awful week when the Dow lost 18% were tied to the credit crisis. Before governments across the globe stepped up, there was a fear that nothing would

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Trading on the NASDAQ Global Market, Comverge Inc. is a provider of clean energy solutions. They are a leading Demand Response and advanced metering company dedicated to providing the best technology and services to the electric utility industry. Headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey, Comverge has offices in Duluth, Georgia; Newark, California; and Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

Comverge Inc.’s solutions improve grid reliability and supply electric capacity cost effectively. They accomplish this by reducing base load and peak load energy consumption. Formed from the Utility Solutions Division of Lucent Technologies and the Control Systems Division of Scientific Atlanta, the company has over 25 years of experience creating innovative demand response solutions and more than 15 patents in the field.

Comverge has more than 500 utility clients in the United States and approximately 4.5 million devices installed. Their “Pay for Performance” gives enterprises capacity that can reduce emissions, eliminate line losses, increase reliability, and

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Financial NewsJason Corcoran in Moscow28 Jul 2008 The Russian investment bank benefits from privatisations Andrei Sharonov, managing director and chairman of the board of directors at independent Russian investment bank Troika Dialog, knows more than most about the links between Russia’s public and private sectors. He served in the Government for a decade, including nine years as Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade.Troika’s status as, in observers’ eyes, the Kremlin’s preferred investment bank has been cemented by its leading role in the recent sale of a 25% stake in state-controlled carmaker AvtoVAZ to France’s Renault, its mandates from the break-up of the electricity monopoly UES and its involvement in the privatisation programme of the state-owned rail giant RZD.The deals have propelled Troika to the top of the Russian mergers and acquisitions league table for the first six ...

Business New Europe Jason Corcoran in Moscow July 9, 2008A detsky sad, or kindergarten, is an unlikely neighbour for a Russian hedge fund, but James Fenkner is not fazed by a little background noise. The founder and chief investment officer of Red Star Asset Management runs a friendly and informal investment shop on an unassuming residential street situated between Moscow's boulevard and garden ring roads. Red Star's team of seven have their heads buried in work as two-dozen two-year-olds run about shrieking seven floors below. It's also a family affair - Fenkner's sister Elizabeth plays a key role as the head of marketing. The firm was set up in 2005 after Fenkner quit Troika Dialog where he had served seven years as head of research and initially as chief strategist. "The market was just ...

Financial NewsJason Corcoran in Moscow23 June 2008 Investment climate is steady as new leader continues reform agenda Russia’s equity markets are enjoying the country’s honeymoon period under its new leadership, but investors remain wary of how the power-sharing arrangement will evolve.The changing of the guard on May 7 saw Vladimir Putin hand over the presidential mantle to his protégé Dmitry Medvedev. Within hours, Medvedev had nominated his mentor Putin as Prime Minister.The smooth choreography proved to be a fillip for Russia’s main stock markets and sparked a buying spree by foreign funds.The MSCI Russia Index was the best performing emerging equity market last month, rising 15.7%, and outperforming the MSCI EM Emea index, which rose 7.3% in the same month. Inflows recorded in the third week of May of $542m (€350m) were the highest in Russia ...