Coming into July, we were riding the Natural Gas high like we had a straight shot to the moon, especially off big shale announcements like Chesapeake (CHK)’s Haynesville Shale venture. Sure, nothing goes vertical forever and we all knew natural gas would have to “correct” for a while. However, for us at-home mom-and-pop non-commodities traders, a lot of the time it felt like we’re just riding this straight shot to the moon blind.

Thankfully, veteran commodity trader Joe Terranova on CNBC’s Fast Money had a simple rule of thumb to offer: June Highs, July Lows. Does it always work? Of course not! Market’s aren’t that easy! But I did a little check and found this rule of thumb is a good one any of us with natural gas exposure to keep close to heart. I used charts from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Natural Gas Market info- one of my favorite research tools I’ve collected at my SuckingLess.com website.

As you can see, other than the out-of-norm Katrina event in 2005, July natural gas prices have generally been lower than June prices. This weakness seems to persist from July into early or mid august. While natural gas prices in the following December-Januarys are usually higher than the July-August weakness, there are a few years where Natural Gas prices just keep sliding the rest of the year. I suppose Natural Gas prices still depend on the weather and how much of it is used, so it still has that random factor that we should all be aware of.  Personally, I think selling some Natural gas, whether taking partial or full positions off, seems like a smart thing to do given historical trends suggest July will be lower than June. Sure, you might miss another “Katrina” spike, but that feels more like rolling the dice.  Because I didn’t want to be completely out natural gas in case we get the hurricane spike, I’ve kept 25% of my HAL position, but bought USO puts against it.

However, this year, Natural Gas prices have been on a steady climb alongside crude oil’s climb, natural gas looking much less volatile than in the past. Natural gas isn’t a direct replacement of crude oil, but there are various users of energy who can switch between the two. When crude oil gets too expensive, they would switch to natural gas, thus increasing natural gas’s demand and raising it’s prices alongside crude. Jim Cramer offers a separate rule of thumb: Natural Gas prices trade at roughly 1/6 the price of crude oil. So, at the moment, either crude oil is too expensive or natural gas is too cheap

Also, I have offered the analysis of the trend to use much more natural gas for electrical power generation by utilities around the world. This should decrease some of the volatility in natural gas prices as demand becomes more consistent to produce consistent electrical power. Still, we need to do something about our limited storage capacities!

Remember, beyond just owning the companies, dig just slightly deeper into the businesses the companies are in. That’s why I started SuckingLess.com, to collect the most relevant industry magazines and information useful to investors.

SuckinLess.com Research Resources Used:

• FERC Natural Gas Markets: U.S. Government Data, Analysis, and Reports
• Platts: Professional Energy and Metals Information (Prices, Data, Maps, Events, Magazines, Reports)
• Power Engineering Magazine: Power Generation Industry Magazine

**Disclosure: I am long of CHK, HAL, and USO puts as of this post**

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 »

PBR and RIO have been Brazil’s stars in this latest Brazil run, dominating positions in the iShares Brazil ETF ticker EWZ. PBR and RIO’s stories are well known, and I actually think RIO looks done for now given the continual weakness in nickel prices. Could financials be the next leg up for Brazil’s markets?

BLOOMBERG: REINSURERS RUSH TO BRAZIL AS PREMIUMS CLIMB 40%

“By Telma Marotto

July 11 (Bloomberg) — Swiss Reinsurance Co. and Munich Re, the world’s two largest reinsurance companies, are leading a rush to Brazil to capitalize on the biggest deregulation of a market since China opened up more than six years ago.

At least 13 companies have been authorized to operate since the government ended its 69-year monopoly in April, said Armando Vergilio dos Santos Junior, head of Brazil’s insurance regulator, who estimates the number will reach 40 by December. He expects reinsurance premiums to rise 40 percent to $3.5 billion this year and then double to $7 billion by 2011.”

Full Article: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aGQItoNVF_As&refer=home