The crisis in Japan will require all sorts of construction materials for rebuilding destroyed buildings and factories. Steel is used in most construction projects. Here in the United States, U.S. Steel (X) is a dominant player.

Let's look at the company profile and earnings reports. "Based in Pittsburgh, the company operates mills throughout the Midwest, in Ontario, Canada, Serbia and Slovakia. The company makes semi finished steel, tubular and plate steel and tin products. Its annual production capacity is about 32 million tons of raw steel. The company's customers are from autos, chemical and steel service center industries."

The Institute for Supply Management reported that its index fell to 55.5 in July, down from 56.2 in June. 74 analysts polled by Reuters had estimated the number to be 54.2.

New orders also fell to 53.5 in July, down from 58.5 in June. Referring to the sharp drop, Pierre Ellis of Decision Economics said: "Even though the decline in the headline number is smaller than expected, the composition shows weakness, particularly in new orders, which is bad news."

You know, it's days like today when I wonder what in the world will help my poor General Electric Company (GE) shares. I've owned them for a while, and it's been a painful ride. In fact, you can see that, over the last twelve months, the stock hasn't been too rewarding. It's stuck in a narrow 52-week range. And since the dividend was cut last year, you can't make a case necessarily when it comes to the stock's payout. If the dividend had remained intact, we would have been talking about a decent yield (and probably a higher stock price). As it is, we aren't.

This afternoon, shares of GE are weak following the Q2 report. At the time of this writing, they were off by 3.5%, exchanging hands at a price of $14.71. Volume was strong. I don't like it.

The numbers are looking good for January: both US home construction and industrial production rose.

Here are the stats:

• The Commerce Department reported that housing starts climbed 2.8% to a seasonally adjusted 591,000 annual rate.
• Housing starts and apartment construction were both up in January.
• Apartment construction rose 9.2% to 107,000

Nonfarm private employment decreased an enormous 250,000 in November (pdf) on a seasonally adjusted basis, ADP announced Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the October estimated change in employment was revised to a decrease of 179,000 jobs from the previously-announced decrease of 157,000 jobs.

While manufacturing employment fell 118,000 in November -- its 27th consecutive monthly decline -- the service sector of the economy lost 92,000 jobs -- its second consecutive monthly job loss, and the first back-to-back monthly job loss in that sector since November 2002.

Economist Richard Felson said the November ADP private sector report shows a U.S. economy with few strengths. "It is another distressing report. The fact that the service sector is now registering large job losses is bearish for the economy. Previously, the service sector had been the only sign of strength," Felson said. "Simply, the nation, and the other regions of the world need to create engines of growth to reverse this negative spiral of decreased demand, lower revenue, job losses, decreased demand."

Most of the decline in employment during November was accounted for by job losses at medium-sized companies, which registered a 130,000-job decline. Meanwhile, large businesses cut 41,000 jobs in November. Small businesses cut 79,000 jobs during the month.

Minyanville contributor Quint Tatro dares to share the kind of keen insight and actionable information you won't find in any prospectus. For more original thought, visit www.minyanville.com.

Despite the fact that just about every chart out there screams bear market and downtrend, at this juncture I can't justify adding new shorts. It feels like a trap in that the steepness of the recent decline could eventually usher in a snapper that would rip the heads off new shorts so rather than venture into that area, I'll avoid it altogether. The question is, however, whether or not to venture in and with the most recent slide, I'll admit it is rather tempting.

When I look at commodity names in particular, the damage that has been done is breathtaking. It seemed like just weeks ago Freeport (NYSE: FCX) was trading in the triple digits while Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) flirted with $90 or so. Wait a second, it WAS just a few weeks ago. Geesh.

I am of the camp that starting to nibble into the fear that exists is prudent if and only if you have already protected capital along the way, and fully realize you can emerge with a few nicks.

My ETF of choice is the ProShares Ultra O&G (AMEX: DIG) which like so many other averages yesterday, held its most recent uptrend line but has yet to put in a higher high. The risk-reward with a stop below the October 10 lows seems appropriate to me, so I have taken a stab. I will slowly wade in and sell into strength should it eventually come.

U.S. factory orders increased a surprising 1.4% in March 2008, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Friday, on rising international demand for U.S. goods. It was the fastest growth for factory orders since December 2007.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected March 2008 factory orders to increase by 0.3%. Factory orders fell a revised 0.9% in February 2008, slightly better than the previously announced decline of 1.3%.

Also factory orders, excluding the volatile transportation equipment component, increased 2.2% in March 2008.

Economists follow the factory orders statistic because it provides one of the most comprehensive surveys of advance orders for durable goods -- how busy factories are likely to be in the period ahead. Factory orders also are a major value-added component of the U.S. economy.

Orders for durable goods increased 0.1% in March 2008, revised up from the 0.3% decline estimated a week ago. Orders for nondurable goods rose 2.6%, unfilled orders increased 1.1%, shipments climbed 1.1%, and inventories for manufactured goods rose 1.1%.

U.S. economy's saving grace: exports

Economist Peter Dawson told BloggingStocks Friday the economy "is making a concerted effort to complicate economists lives" by recording stronger-than-expected economic data, of late.

U.S. durable goods orders fell 0.3% in March 2008, as demand for machinery dropped substantially, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Thursday.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected March 2008 durable goods orders to rise 0.6%. Durable goods orders decreased a revised 0.9% in February 2008.

Excluding transportation, durable goods orders rose 1.5% in March 2008.

In March 2008 core capital goods orders were flat, after declining the previous two months. Inventories rose 1.1%, the category's eighth increase in the past nine months. Shipments decreased 0.4%, its fourth decline in the last five months. Unfilled orders increased 0.9%.

Another negative datapoint

Economist David H. Wang told BloggingStocks Thursday the March 2008 durable goods statistic is additional bad news for the U.S. economy.

"Demand continues to weaken, and a third straight durable goods order decline indicates that the U.S. economy is contracting. For the economy to grow, we must see stronger durable goods demand, " Wang said. "If you exclude the defense-related hardware component, the durable goods order statistic would have been even worse. U.S. corporations continue to benefit from international demand, but those exports are not enough to overcome clear weakness in orders and sales at home."

Asian manufacturers, especially those in China and Japan, are beginning to feel the pinch from weak purchasing power here in the United States. A report in the New York Times highlights some of the attitudes and adjustments which shall be guiding world industrial output going through this year and into 2009. Prudent cuts are being made by Asian manufacturers across the board to offset costs, while demand growth is in decline.

It's not all doom and gloom however, depending on how you look at it. Chinese economists are actually feeling a bit of a relief from the slowdown in the face of their own inflationary pressures and indications are that merchandise inventories aren't yet getting bloated. This means that while industrial output might be cooling in the near term, available manufacturing capacity should remain relatively flush while the banks figure out the details of stinging money supply issues.

The nation's factory sector contacted in December 2007 to its weakest level since April 2003, the Institute of Supply Management announced Wednesday. The ISM index fell to 47.8% in December 2007 from 50.8% in November 2007. Readings below 50% indicate a contracting industrial sector. Analysts had expected a December 2007 ISM reading of 50.9%.

In all, only seven of 18 industrial segments expanded. Moreover, economic activity in the manufacturing sector failed to grow in December 2007 after 10 consecutive months of expansion, while the overall economy grew for the 74th consecutive month, the ISM announced.

Disappointing statistic

Economist Steve Affinito told BloggingStocks Wednesday that the ISM statistic will place more pressure on the U.S. Federal Reserve to continue to cut short-term interest rates.

"It's a disappointing statistic, no question. We were looking for something slightly north of [above] 50% and a reading below 50%, that has to concern the Fed. It's just one month but it indicates that manufacturing is contracting, and at minimum is likely to grow to slowly," Affinito said. "The Fed will have to cut interest rates at least two more times to help prevent an economic stall. The December ISM stat is not a number the Fed hawks can ignore."

What happens when a highly specialized industry begins to grow very quickly? Solar power, one of the fastest growing of alternative energy sources, relies on a system of very specific machinery to work successfully. But market growth has lagged behind demand due to a bottleneck in the manufacturing process -- in the production capacity of poly-silicon, a vital component in photovoltaic cell production.

I think the potential for a company that could help break-up that bottleneck could be really extraordinary, and that's why I'm recommending Meyer Burger (MBTN: Swiss Exchange) as one of my best picks for 2008.

Meyer Burger is a market leader in a small but incredibly important market, technology-wise -- the manufacturing of machines that contain highly precise saws for cutting silicon and other crystals for use in solar power, optics and semiconductors.

The more I read about flat-panel television manufacturer Vizio, the more I understand how this company is almost single-handedly disrupting the price marketplace for the current technology that powers television viewing. Tube televisions are going out of style almost as fast as the cassette tape did in the early 1990s, and flat-panel sets featuring plasma or LCD technology are settling in as the new choice for almost every new television purchase. Of course, folks are still buying tube-style TV sets as fire sales blaze into many retailers, but I'll bet that will slow down in the next few years.

After having stepped into Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE: CC), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) recently, the Vizio nameplate was everywhere, from the 32-inch television to the 50-inch big screen set. The prices were 30% lower (on average) than from competing sets featuring the Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) and Samsung nameplates, but looked every bit as good from an aesthetic and picture point of view. Purists will dig into specifications and technical jargon, but the average consumer will buy on these bullets: price, price, looks and price. Vizio has no close competition in terms of overall style and price point from what I can see in some recent retail visits.

It comes as no surprise that the company has sold over two million television sets in the four years since the start of U.S. sales in September 2003. In fact, with the majority of those sets being of the HDTV ilk, Vizio is probably one of the handful of companies that have allowed U.S. consumers to prepare for an all-digital television future once the analog television airwaves are re-purposed in 2009. Vizio even predicts that it will climb past the 3,000,000 sets sold mark by the end of the 2007 holiday shopping season. I'll bet that's a correct guess.

Historically, when the Fed has started cutting rates, investing in financial stocks has proven profitable for investors. Will the same hold true in today's easing cycle? Probably not.

The Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) model for its mortgage business might point to problems ahead for the financial industry in general. The financial services industry has done an outstanding job during the past twenty years developing new products and marketing them to institutions who specialize in buying these new instruments -- primarily hedge funds. With mortgage hedge funds, publicly traded vehicles such as mortgage REITs and other investors now shutting their doors to these products, who gets stuck with them? You guessed it! The investment firms and large commercial banks.

Now let's go to $300 billion of private equity debt that needs to be placed. Who is buying that up? While some institutions are, much of it is staying on the books of the investment firms and banks. Will funds be formed to invest in this debt? Yes, but it will take time.

Are big-time newspapers going to survive the instant news rush and immediate availability of the internet?

That question gets bandied around so much every day that some tennis balls would be jealous. But, just like other businesses that continue to be upended by the freedom of the internet, newspapers seem particularly vulnerable. The New York Times is losing readers, other big papers hide content behind "paid access" models on their own websites when anyone can get local and national news on laptops, cellphone screens and any other net-connected device, most often for free.

What do newspapers have left to contribute? A lot, actually -- but not morphing with the times is going to be the downfall of many of them. Newspapers will have to give their content away for free to survive (say some), and in return for losing that revenue, they'll have to get with it in terms of online advertising. Ask Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) about this, as the company owns a billion-dollar empire based on that very principle.

As subscribers (paid ones, mind you) leave in droves, what's to become of many newspaper publishers that rehash the same AP wire stories, mix in local color and commentary and pass off this combo to increasingly leery customers? Some will go the way of the dinosaur unless change is made, as in now. Others, like the Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, will most likely figure out how to strike a fine balance of excellent, journalistic content and advertising support behind that content.

For others, what value is left to add to the newspaper business that the internet (like Google News) can't destroy? That's the billion-dollar question for the next decade or so. The days of loading up on wire stories while eliminating local, original content to save money are over, and smart publishers knew it years ago. The ones battling with that concept now are already in a world of hurt. Some don't even know it.

While stocks boomed yesterday on the Fed's 50 basis point rate cut, Smithfield Foods Inc's (NYSE: SFD) stock dropped as analysts wrote that improved pork production in China could lead to excess production being sent to the U.S. market.

Due to this increase in supply, pork prices have declined more than 11% recently, according to a China news report. The recovery of pork production could be a sign that the swine flu, which set the industry back for years, is finally under control in this part of the world.

In August, Smithfield announced it would sell 60 million pounds of pork to China, but it appears the Chinese do not need it all. It looks like we have an ugly supply and demand imbalance building in the pig business.