Out Fox The $treet

Last week, the market presented some major signs of the beginning stage of a recovery in the construction sector. First, railroad shipments of lumber and crushed stone increased dramatically. Second, PPG Industries (PPG) reported blowout earnings in part due to a recovery in the US construction market. While most construction related stocks have already had a run, most are no where near multi year highs. Several options exist for playing the construction recovery. The main debate is whether to focus on US based companies that will benefit solely from the rebound in US construction or globally based companies that will benefit from the largest two economies (US and China) rebounding at the same time. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long ANR, FCX, SHLD, and TEX. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

With  news  last week that Sears Holdings ( SHLD ) would be selling Craftsman tools in Costco ( COST ) stores, Eddie Lampert has hopefully ushered in the era of breaking away from a retail store based operation. Ever since Lampert bought Sears and Kmart, investors have been looking forward to the day that the company would focus more on selling the brands worldwide and monetizing the massive real estate assets versus focusing on a dying retail operation that seems utterly lost. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: Long SHLD. Please review the disclaimer page for more details.