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Strategies & Market Trends : The Epic American Credit and Bond Bubble Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GST who wrote (51570)	1/26/2006 1:59:40 PM
From: mishedlo	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 110194

Money is global. Wealth is global. Markets are global. Its all global -- yet here we are having this talk with people who think the US exists apart from the rest of the world -- they don't see it that way in Asia or Europe. We are so completely interdependent with a world that we scarcely even perceive as real beyond cartoon like characterizations -- sad really. You seem to think China exists apart from the world. You act as if Florida is disjunct from the rest of the US. Yes there is an interdependence between the housing boom and commodity demand in China and the credit bubble in the US. It is ironic that some of us see that while those that proclaim to and gripe at everyone else do not. sad really. Mish

To: GST who wrote (51570)	1/26/2006 2:19:48 PM
From: John Vosilla	Respond to of 110194

"..they don't see it that way in Asia or Europe. We are so completely interdependent with a world that we scarcely even perceive as real beyond cartoon like characterizations -- sad really." They need us and we need them only few here realize that. Amazing how many languages most Europeans can speak and how aware they are of America and it's history. Meanwhile here the majority are clueless, especially our young ingrained in hip hop jargon and spanglish and many with less of a command of the English language than most Europeans in countries where English isn't the first language..

To: GST who wrote (51570)	1/26/2006 2:33:13 PM
From: shades	Respond to of 110194

I dont understand all this digging up gold to put it back down in a hole again - hehe :) =DJ Caterpillar: Strong Equipment Demand Seen Continuing . By Lavonne Kuykendall Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) said its record-breaking fourth-quarter profit signals continued growing demand for its mining and construction equipment as commodity prices rise and infrastructure projects go forward. "We had the economic wind at our back," said Jim Owens, the Peoria, Ill. manufacturer's chairman and chief executive, during a conference call on the company's earnings. With predicted worldwide economic growth of 3.5% in 2006, "we continue to have a very positive view of the overall world economy for the industries we serve, not only in 2006, but for the next few years," he said. Record high commodity prices that are driving new mine developments along with a flurry of infrastructure projects worldwide have created what should be long-running demand for the type of equipment Caterpillar produces. As one example, "tungsten went from $5,000 a ton in July to $30,000 a ton in December," Morningstar Inc. analyst Scott Burns said Thursday. "If (producers) made money at $5,000 a ton, it is only a matter of time until they start cracking new holes in the ground" to obtain more. In addition, "there has been a large degree of underinvestment in mining and infrastructure, power plants and waterways over the last 10 to 15 years," he said. "There could be a kind of super boom of sorts, after the super trough of the past few years." The rising demand for equipment ran into supply bottlenecks that have slowed production for some products, especially large mining equipment. "We are selectively investing in additional bricks and mortar where needed" to help relieve bottlenecks in some key supplies, such as very large tires, large steel castings and other components used in big engines, Caterpillar's Owens said. The company's order backlog for large machines is the strongest it has ever been, he said. Major participants in the mining industry are getting capital plans approved as far in advance as 2008 in order to schedule truck deliveries from Caterpillar, Owens said, indicating that sales levels will be "sustainable at a pretty high level for quite some time." Caterpillar's fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.20 was 10 cents above the consensus estimate from analysts, according to Thomson First Call. This was also highest quarterly profit ever Caterpillar ever reported. Its fourth-quarter and full-year revenue of $9.7 billion and $36.4 billion, respectively, and full-year profit of $4.04 a share were also the highest in the company's history. The company said new records could be set this year. Sales and revenue are expected to increase around 10% in 2006, to around $40 billion, which would be a new high. The company estimates that 2006 earnings per share will be in a range $4.65 to $5.00, up 15% to 24% from 2005, and up from its previous estimate of between $4.52 and $4.91 a share. "The struggle to meet demand was apparent in volumes up only 5.6% versus our 10.6% estimate, (but) stronger-than-expected pricing (which all drops to the bottom line) of +7.4% versus our 7.0% estimate largely made up for it, keeping op profits close to our estimate," Citigroup Global Markets analyst David Raso wrote in a note. Bear Stearns analyst Ann Duignan said in a note that most of the profit improvement over the estimate was due to a 8 cents-per-share boost due to lower income taxes, but called the company's outlook "solid, with no change to revenues but an increase in earnings per share." Bear Stearns has done non-investment banking services for Caterpillar during the last year. Citigroup has a significant financial interest in Caterpillar and has provided investment banking services within the past year. Caterpillar traded up 3.7% recently to $64.34 on volume of 6.4 million shares, nearly twice the average daily volume.