Fluor (FLR) and Perini (PCR) are in the same sector - infrastructure. That's about all they have in common. I have owned both at one time or the other, but clearly owning Perini (PCR) was a mistake. My thesis with infrastucture is to focus on the customer base - oil rich Arabs, trade rich Chinese, and essentially bankrupt (federal) US government with unending pocketbook (read: your taxes) who runs deficits to their hearts content. That was my error with Perini - unfortunately their customer base is heavily focused on non federal government Americans (although they are trying to change that) i.e. local governments, US customers who need credit lines - casinos for example [Jan 17: Perini Shows Collateral Damage of Tightening Credit + Slowing Economy]Construction company Perini Corp (PCR) said Deutsche Bank on Wednesday delivered a notice of loan default to the ...

Last Monday, my mission was to bring home the vital importance of The Great Dichotomy — the unprecedented contrast between the sinking ship of the U.S. economy and the rising tide of emerging markets. Today, my mission is to show you ways to profit from both. And as the events this past Friday clearly illustrate, the timing couldn't be more critical: The record surge in U.S. unemployment — the worst in 22 years — signals a swifter slide into recession than any government indicator we've seen so far. The record surge in crude oil — the biggest of all time — promises to gut household budgets and squeeze the profit margins of thousands of U.S. manufacturers that use petrochemicals to produce their products. The nonstop plunge in home prices promises to deliver ...

On this week's earnings preview I wrote this in regards to Deere (DE):Major ag equipment player Deere (DE) - I don't own the equipment stocks anymore; at some point the rising cost of steel, petrol products and the like will be hurting the bottom line unless they can pass all the costs along to farmers - over the next year if inflation does not abate this is the type of company who could see profit margins squeezed simply from the constant increase in input costs.Here are the results - looks like a good call with the stock down 8%. Sometimes a rising tide (agriculture boom) does lift all boats. But sometimes you need to think farther ahead than that - as Wayne Gretzky says - don't be where the puck is, be where it's going to be. ("I ...