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

Jim Cramer has always said, its not “buy and hold” but “buy and homework.” Too many “investors” do not know what they own when they buy a stock, which is just reckless, but I don’t think its completely their fault. Most people don’t now how to do proper research, or have the background to understand how to do it. Even my friends who work at mutual funds often ask me where I get my info for the analysis I put on this site. This is why I started SuckingLess.com - an investor research and education magazine/community.

SuckingLess.com is a collection of the best industry and company websites to learn about the companies you own. When you own a stock, you’re, in a sense, an owner in the company. So, you should at least understand the basics of the business or industry, which means you should probably read what someone who works in that industry would read. Still, this ISN’T you’re actual job and making it so would be too time consuming, so I’ve also tried to filter SuckingLess.com to have only the most relevant and easiest to understand websites.

I want SuckingLess.com to be a COMMUNITY, a tool for ALL OF US. So, I invite everyone to come and participate on the site, SUBMIT your favorite research resource to help others learn the way I’m trying to get this started with my own favorite bookmarks. Please RATE the sites you’ve used before to help others know what’s most useful, and leave comments on how you’re using the sites or anything you’ve learned. Again, to help others. I’m sure you’ll learn something from the site, so give back a little and share your investing knowledge and experience with us!  Sometimes its not immediately obvious what you can learn from a website, so give people a little insight too if theres a special way you’ve found to tap into the markets with a certain website.

For example, I don’t have many resources on financials, healthcare, or retail/discretionary because, as readers of this site you know, I focus on industrials, tech, and energy sectors. So, help me learn a bit too!

Finally, PLEASE PLEASE send me feedback on how to make the site more useful to you. This is a tool for all of us, so lets make this what WE need to do the best research. And get your friends and trading buddies to help build SuckingLess.com too. Thanks and hope this is what we all need to become better investors, i.e. Suck Less!

P.S. 90% of mutual funds underperform the markets…so sucking is not something to be ashamed of. We just have to suck less as we learn more.