Concrete is truly an amazing product. Its use in construction was first popularized during the Roman Empire. Concrete’s impact was so profound it spawned its own renaissance. The Roman Architectural Revolution was built on the versatility of concrete. No longer were architects and builders constrained by brick and stone. The miracle product, concrete, allowed for larger more structurally complex buildings.…
According to a 2007 ADOT report there are approximately 254.4 million vehicles in the United States. The cost of upkeep and fuel is astronomical, and a lot of people make a lot of money off of that massive fleet…Oil companies, automakers, part manufacturers and mechanics just to name a few. But eventually that car is going to reach the end…
Let me ask you a simple question… “Which country has the world’s largest auto-industry?” If you guessed the U.S. or Japan you’d be wrong. The correct answer, since 2009, is China. Last year auto sales in China were up 32%! In July alone General Motors sold 173,398 vehicles in China. Buick sold over 50,000, and Chevrolet sold over 46,000 vehicles.…
Xinyuan Real Estate (XIN) is a big residential property developer in China. As of the end of 2010 they had completed 21 projects. Those 21 projects had a combined size of over 2 million square meters and totaled 23,324 units. XIN is a vertically integrated company… because they really do it all. Xinyuan focuses on building apartment buildings. These high-rise…
There’s a lot of uncertainty in the equity markets these days. We’re up 100 one day and down 200 the next. Who do you blame? Greece, Ireland, the entire European Union? Maybe it’s the economic data. Anyway you look at it we’re surrounded by uncertainty. But that’s not necessarily true for all the markets. Just look at the precious metals…
Ever get tired of all the fighting in Washington? I know I do. The uncertainty that it’s injecting into the market right now is criminal. This whole debt ceiling fight is entirely a tug of war between the Republicans and Democrats. But, there is one area where both sides agree… Energy Independence. Now I know there’s some disagreement there too……
Right now, it’s easier to land a man on the moon than to cure cancer. In many respects getting to the moon was easy. There are lots of things leading medical experts still don’t understand about the human body. It’s one of the reasons the medical research industry is such a robust market. The other reason… the numbers. According to…
Just take a quick look at the calendar. The holidays are right around the corner. And that’s a great time for investors… I’ll show you why in a moment. The holiday season is a very exciting one for consumers and retailers. New products hit the market, discount sales are everywhere, and consumers are confident in their spending. The market is…
There are few certainties in life. Like death and taxes. As a result, there’s always going to be a demand for morticians and CPAs. Funny thing is there aren’t many of them… so, when you uncover a business that profits from life’s certainties you want to jump all over it. That’s why we’re kicking off the New Year with a…
The ADP Employment Report for the month of January 2012 was released on Tuesday morning. Their current estimate is 175,000 jobs created in the month of January. That’s slightly lower than the consensus forecast of 185,000. Despite the bad news the market continues to hold strong. Earnings season continues this week with Amazon (AMZN), Exxon Mobile (XOM), and The New…