Gary Sattler
Wisconsin - http://www.bloggingstocks.com

I am Wisconsin born and raised. I have a highschool education with two years pre-law (criminal justice). I have approximately thirty years (plus or minus) combined experience in manufacturing, logistics, research, report writing and all aspects of retail sales. I am an options oriented thinker with the ability to adapt and prioritize on the fly. I can learn something from anyone.

General Electric Company (GE) is promoting a new standard in LED lighting for consumer use. Although the new LED technology from GE may be expensive for now, the company could be, once more, changing how the world looks at light bulbs.

According to GE, this new LED technology produces a quality of light similar to that of the old incandescent light bulbs, but which is so efficient it has been awarded Energy Star designation. No other similar LED light bulb has yet accomplished that. Better yet, the new GE LED bulbs contain none of the harmful lead which makes today's compact florescent light bulbs rather undesirable.

Although short-term news may seem bright for Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY), the broader picture for the company looks flat. Having dropped from an average share price in the $53 range over two years ago, to a current average share value hovering near $35, investors are signaling that the long range forecast for Lilly is unexciting at best.

It appears that Lilly shall be buoyed in the near term by the recent FDA approval of testosterone replacement therapy Axiron for sale in the U.S. Lilly purchased rights to Axiron from Australian firm, Acrux for an initial payment of $50 million plus $3 million based on the transfer of manufacturing assets.

Good news is coming in for the builders of heavy trucks, such as Paccar (PCAR), and for truck parts manufacturers, including Eaton (ETN). An aging national truck fleet, coupled with rebounding interstate freight volumes, signal that 2011 is shaping up to be a strong year for heavy trucks and the investors who play them.

A report from Bloomberg Businessweek reveals that manufacturing totals for heavy trucks could jump to as many as 235,000 units in North America for 2011. This compares to a total of approximately 150,000 units for 2010.

As is often the case, growth and recovery in America begins at ground level. Current upbeat news from regional food producers is signaling good news for many companies, including Deere & Company (DE). While developing industrial bases such as China and India have taken on the lion's share of mid to heavy manufacturing duties, they are also developing increased needs to feed hungry work forces. Indeed, they are also developing the capital to feed those needs.

The spin-off from this morphing consumption dynamic is a surge of growth in America's agricultural and food production sectors. Indications are that the increased demands being put upon American agricultural output is fueling an increased demand for heavy weight farm tractors and is requiring food processing facility expansions. "Sales of 100-horsepower tractors, which cost about $75,000 to $100,000 each, were up 27 percent last month over the same month last year, said Charlie O'Brien, vice president of agricultural services for The Association of Equipment Manufacturers, in an Associated Press interview.

Trading volume is brisk and share price is up, just hours ahead of today's Q3 earnings release expected from eBay (EBAY). The earnings call is scheduled for just after today's close, with company guidance suggesting a result of 37 cents per share on revenue of $2.18 billion. Those numbers are slightly off previous year Q3 results of 38 cents per share on revenue of $2.24 billion.

My question is, will eBay still be a buy after the coming earnings release? My answer is, absolutely.

Sequestered within the pages of auto industry news, came notice of a recent EPA approval that could cause unexpected repercussions across a wide range of investor and consumer interests. The EPA has just given its approval for a 5% increase in the amount of ethanol allowable in today's motor fuels. While the petroleum industry has not yet given indication whether or not it shall make the new fuel blend available to consumers, various business sectors and government entities are quickly aligning themselves either pro or con on the issue. One thing is almost certain, corn futures just became more volatile.

The auto industry is largely against the increase in ethanol concentrations, citing the fact that a 15% ethanol mixture cannot be safely and efficiently burned in vehicles manufactured before 2007. Consumers who mistakenly pumped E15 gasoline into those older vehicles would run the risk of damaging their car engines and defeating the emission equipment and mileage standards of their vehicles.

It comes as no surprise to me that current investment blogger consensus is bullish on the markets. They're not bullish by an extremely wide margin, but they are optimistic nonetheless.

An ongoing investment blogger survey, conducted weekly by Ticker Sense from Birinyi Associates Inc., indicates that nearly 54% of the investment writers it surveys are holding a bullish stance for the S&P 500 for the next 30 days. Meanwhile, just over 15% of the survey respondents are bearish on the S&P 500, and approximately 30% are declaring a neutral position.