This post is part of a special report, A Dozen Ways to Play an Obama Building Boom.

Two advisors that specializes in income investing -- Mark Skousen and Nick Lanyi -- both turn to high-yielder, Southern Peru Copper (NYSE: PCU) as a contrarian play on building and infrastructure growth ahead.

Skousen, in his High Income Alert, he says, "Make no mistake, this is a contrarian play. But if you believe in buying straw hats in winter, PCU is an exceptional value at these levels."

"More than 2.9 billion pounds of copper are used in construction every year, primarily in plumbing and wiring, while electronic products use more than 1.9 billion pounds a year.

"Transportation equipment -- including cars, trains, planes and submarines -- uses more than 1 billion pounds a year.

"The manufacture of industrial equipment requires another 1 billion pounds annually. And consumer and general products, from cookware to church bells to pennies, require another 800 million pounds.

"Southern Peru operates the world's largest copper mine high in the Andes mountains, producing more than 800 million pounds of copper a year.

"Of course, the commodity bull market that was running at a full gallop in the first half of this year has stopped dead in its tracks. Copper prices are no exception. When building and manufacturing slow, so does the demand for the red metal.

Continue reading Southern Peru (PCU): Two income experts build gains in copper

Southern Peru (PCU): Two income experts build gains in copper originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 10:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Project management firm Hill International (NYSE: HIL) is one of the best ways to profit from the public works projects planned in government stimulus packages," says Dave Dyer.

In his The Dave Dyer Newsletter, he explains, "HIL is a consulting company that provides expertise in the project management area. Their business is a people business, not a business that requires them to invest in a lot of heavy construction equipment.

"I think this gives them three advantages: first, they do not have the long marketing cycle that can last for years on a large project, second, they have greater flexibility to expand or contract as business opportunities change, and third, their fee-based revenue structure is less risky than other compensation models used in the construction industry.

"HIL has two divisions. Its original business, founded in 1976, was a construction litigation support company that supplied expert witnesses and other expertise to construction companies involved in contract disputes.

"They saw early in their history that they could also provide value as a dispute preventer rather than just an after the fact resolver, so they started a project management division.

Continue reading Hill Internationall (HIL): Project management profits

Hill Internationall (HIL): Project management profits originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 21 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a special report, A Dozen Ways to Play an Obama Building Boom.

"I think we have bottomed in some sectors, including commodities and materials," explains Glenn Rogers. In Internet Wealth Builder, he explains, "President-elect Obama has said he will pour hundreds of billions into projects.

"The Chinese and the Europeans have also committed to huge amounts to infrastructure spending." Here, he looks at one play on this trend -- Cemex (NYSE: CX).

"If you want to venture back into the stock market at this point and you're a long-term investor, my advice is to buy high-quality names with low P/E ratios, no debt coming due next year, and the sustainable ability to pay a dividend.

"Late last month, this Mexican cement giant traded as low as $4.01. Then President-elect Obama announced his plan to spend billions on infrastructure projects and guess what happened?

"The share price shot up on the expectation that infrastructure spending will translate into a growing demand for cement.

"Cemex shares traded as high as $11.35 before pulling back to close the week at $8.16. That's still more than double the November low but this is a stock that was trading at over $30 last June so it still looks like good value at this level.

Continue reading Cemex (CMX): 'Solid' play on infrastructure

Cemex (CMX): 'Solid' play on infrastructure originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 20 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a special report, A Dozen Ways to Play an Obama Building Boom.

"Some of the most aggressive buying we've seen from insiders has come from Terex (NYSE: TEX), where seven have bought since October 24th," says Bill Martin.

In his BullMarket.com, he explains, "The Westport, Conn.-based company manufactures capital equipment for construction, infrastructure, quarrying, mining, shipping, transportation, refining, and utility industries worldwide." Here's his review of the stock.

"The shares recently traded at $9.33, down -86% year to date. The stock hit a 52-week high of $76.25 in May and is currently trading at multi-year lows.

"The company announced Q3 results on October 22nd that fell well short of analyst earnings estimates. For the quarter, Terex reported its profit fell year over year to $93.8 million, or 96 cents per share, down from $151.1 million, or $1.45 per share. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.08, which was well below the $1.33 profit analysts were expecting.

"Looking forward, Terex cut its 2008 earnings outlook for the second time in less than two months, faulting weakness in worldwide construction. As such, the company said it is expecting to post a FY08 profit of $5.69-$5.79 a share, down from earlier guidance of $6.35-$6.65 per share.

Continue reading Terex (TEX): Insiders step up to infrastructure play

Terex (TEX): Insiders step up to infrastructure play originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.

Sydney, Australia's Macquarie Infrastructure Company Trust (NYSE: MIC) is the top conservative idea for 2007 from Neil George, editor of Personal Finance, while Macquarie Infrastructure Group (OTC: MCQRF), is his top speculative play.

The advisor explains, "Infrastructure is the foundation of our economy. And whether owned by privateers or the public, we need more and better roads, bigger airports, better power and water systems. And there are companies getting the bids over and over again to make it all happen.

"Sydney, Australia might not come to the forefront of your mind when it comes to our nation's infrastructure, but that's where most of the capital is being pooled together to quietly gobble up deal after deal.

"Parent company, Macquarie Bank, first cut its teeth on financing and investing in several projects in its own back yard for years before taking its deal-making skills on the road.

Continue reading Top Picks 2007: Neil George banks on infrastructure

Top Picks 2007: Neil George banks on infrastructure originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 Dec 2006 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.