Yeah, I don’t usually make venting posts, but seriously, who the heck is relentlessly selling MDR at the open? Took it straight from the open above $54 down to $49!!! Someone’s dumping MDR like it has subprime exposure! Are they selling it because oil is down lately? HAL has much more oil & gas exposure and it’s not even down this ridiculously much. Or, are people just selling anything non-financials so they can jump into financials…AFTER this 50% move in the XLF?!?! Are so many people seriously trying to get into the financials or short cover the financials that they’d dump the actual good stocks…the stocks with earnings? Why would you sell the companies that are making money everyday for companies that are losing money everyday… Are the banks out of the woods after this earnings report? HEEEEECK no. Just for the moment people took the prices down to where THEY WILL BE at the end of the year as housing keeps getting whacked…just shouldn’t be there now. It’s like selling a beemer to buy a tricycle just because the tricycle pumped up its flat wheels. This is wrong, so wrong. The sharpest snapbacks occur in bear markets. Whoever’s jumping into financials here are gonna be pantsed like nobody’s business. If you think you have too much money, donate it to charity. Throwing it away on picking financials bottoms.

**Disclosure: I am long MDR and bought MDR Feb Calls as MDR dropped below $49**

Badger meter is popping a nice 9% today on strong Q2 earnings. Compared to Q2 of 2007, Q2 2008 sales are up 20.1%, net earnings up 28.8%, and EPS up 26.3%. These results are in the face of what appeared to be a challenging environment for utility and industrial component suppliers. Chicago Bridge & Iron (CBI) confirmed the decrease in utility and local municipal spending (local municipalities have been hit by the credit crisis and the decrease in tax revenues due to rising foreclosures). However, Badger Meter showed us that water utilities are still buying the small infrastructure components such as meters and valves, even as larger projects such as those Chicago Bridge & Iron is involved in are being scrapped. This is another reminder of the big sea change I’ve been concerned with for a while: U.S. infrastructure is deteriorating fast and must be replaced and upgraded. If new big projects such as new utility stations or pipelines have to be canceled, that puts even more pressure on the existing system, requiring advanced technology such as Badger Meter’s AMR (Automatic meter reading) technology to make the existing system more efficient and reliable. Badger Meter also mentioned strength in precision valves and flow sensors due to the continued demand in the petroleum industry.

Also, Badger Meter’s recent acquisition of an automatic metering infrastructure (AMI) system is looking good. Watch for accelerating growth in this product line.

The majority of Badger’s sales are domestic, which is where the weakness concerns have been.  International infrastructure should still be strong across the board.  So if Badger can find strength in the U.S. domestic market, this is a good omen for both Flowserve (FLS) and SPX Corp (SPW), who are leaders in flow technology.

More on Badger Meter:

• Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) Technology
• Business Wire: Badger Meter Reports Record Second Quarter Results

Additional Water Utility Resources featured on SuckingLess.com Research Tools

• WaterWorld Magazine: Water and Wastewater Industry Magazine
• Industrial WaterWorld Magazine: Industrial Water and Wastewater Industry Magazine
• SuckingLess Utility Research Resources

**Disclosure: I own shares of FLS and SPW as of this post**

ABB finally made the move I’d hope they make! In this A.D.D. market only able to focus on 2 things: financials and oil, great things are happening at individual companies and not even registering on the radar. ABB acquires U.S. transformer company Kuhlman Electric Corporation. This is one of the sweetspots (of the limited investable opportunities) for the power grid upgrade and buildout. I own SPX Corp (SPW) exactly for their transformer business, SPX Corp’s fastest growing business:

“Our Industrial Products and Services segment had revenues of $966.4, $836.7 and $716.0 in 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively. Of the segment’s 2007 revenue, approximately 44% was from the sale of power transformers into the US transmission and distribution market.” ~SPX Corp’s 2007 10-K

One of my very first blog post dealt with the twin drivers for the power grid infrastructure suppliers: U.S. power grid outdated by some 30 yrs, always using near capacity and a system shock away from massive destructive blackouts. The complementary driver: BRIC (and then some..Mid East especially, no one talks about Saudi Arabia building 4 Dubai like cities….) countries building whole CITIES, of which the power grid is the foundation.

The problem with investing on this theme was Read the rest of this entry »

Non-stock related. Just thought this was interesting. Too early in development and deployment to have any significant impact. Let’s just look at this as a thoughtful science experiment with good results.

SEATTLE, July 11, 2008 — Boeing [NYSE: BA] and partners in industry and government achieved significant reductions in fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions during a recent deployment of an innovative Air Traffic Management (ATM) concept called Tailored Arrivals.

From Dec. 4, 2007 to March 23, 2008, United Airlines, Air New Zealand and Japan Airlines completed 57 flights into San Francisco International Airport that utilized a continuous descent rather than a series of level segments as now required. The Tailored Arrivals approach reduced fuel consumption during descents by up to 39 percent, depending on airplane type, and total carbon emissions by more than 500,000 pounds.

“Concepts like Tailored Arrivals potentially can be deployed quickly and at relatively low cost because the technology is in place today,” said Kevin Brown, Boeing vice president and general manager of Air Traffic Management. “As more airlines and airports use it, we move closer toward realizing the benefits expected from the Next-Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).”

>>Read full news release at Boeing: Boeing Tailored Arrivals ATM Concept Cuts Fuel, Emissions in Initial Deployment

**Disclosure: No positions in the stocks mentioned.**