I'm reiterating my Buy rating for Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), first recommended on April 13, 2009 at a price of $33.02. If you purchased CAT at that time, you're up a solid 41%.

Back in April, I put CAT in the not-for-the-squeamish category, due to the uncertain timetable for the U.S./global recoveries: the upside was always there, but so was the potential for a 30% hair cut.

"The agriculture, mining and oil and gas businesses are booming globally, and mining firms have been plagued by a lack of available earth-moving and subsurface mining equipment," notes Paul Tracy.

To benefit from this trend, the editor of The StreetAuthority Market Advisor recommends Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers (NYSE: RBA), the "largest auctioneer of used industrial and agricultural equipment in the world."

"The prices of wheat, soybeans, corn and other basic food commodities are surging to new multi-year highs. There are two main drivers of this trend: rising consumption of agricultural commodities in emerging markets and increased consumption of crops for biofuels production.

"The developing world is also driving demand for petroleum products and other raw materials. A building boom in China, for example, is driving demand for steel, copper and aluminum used in building construction.

"One problem holding back these industries in recent years is a shortage of equipment. Mining firms have been plagued by a lack of available earth-moving and subsurface mining equipment. And agricultural products producers need tractors, combines and other equipment that are in short supply globally to efficiently run their farms.

With the markets in a choppy/consolidation mode (or perhaps worse), it's best to consider including a few defensive stocks in your portfolio. CNH [Case New Holland] Global (NYSE: CNH) is worth an evaluation.

CNH is the second biggest manufacturer of agricultural equipment behind Deere (NYSE: DE), and also is a major manufacturer of construction equipment.

Like Deere, CNH is riding the global agricultural wave: emerging market development is increasing demand for agricultural products as food and as energy. (Example: corn for ethanol.)

Further, CNH has established brands in Case and New Holland, a reliable distribution network, and demonstrated marketing proficiency. Further, continued, strong demand for agriculture and construction equipment in Latin America represents a solid revenue tailwind.

The downside points? Above-average debt and a slowing domestic (Europe) market for Amsterdam-based CNH are on analysts' radar screens, but those are not large enough to offset the company's solid operational prospects, moving forward.

(Note: Technical analysis agnostics stop reading here; all others continue.)

Technically, CNH's chart looks good. The stock's only serious breach of its 50-day moving average occurred during the August 2007 market sell-off, and CNH has been above its 200-day moving average for about a year.

Stock Analysis: CNH Global is a moderate-risk stock not suitable for low-risk investors. With a p/e of 30, CNH is selling for an above-average price, hence investors should wait for a pull-back to $58-$60 before purchasing shares, if the market presents the opportunity. Sell / Stop Loss: $39.