ABB Ltd. (ABBNY)

Swiss listed electrical products company. Utility spending should increase over the next couple of years. Now you have so much equipment that is so much depreciated over the last few years that this company should do well as spending increases. A cyclical way to play the electrical industry.

He is pretty constructive on Europe now but doesn’t think it is going to be gangbusters. European markets have picked up off the bottom. This is a big global engineering company. Active in Asia, which he likes because the growth in Asia is 2 to 3 times what we have in the developed countries.

Has owned this for quite a long time. For a company that has more cash than it has debt, it was actually quite volatile. Earnings are kind of slow, but this is a company that is in global power markets, so if China slows down, it will slow down. Very strong balance sheet. If you can get it in the low $20’s, that would be a good entry point.

(Top Pick Aug 14/12, Up 31.65%) He is interested in the US manufacturing renaissance. It’s a buying opportunity.

Has been treading sideways for most of this year. Long term this is still a good story. Have had some management issues. China has not worked out as well as they had hoped. An alternative would be General Electric (GE-N). They are in a number of businesses, but the 2 that he really likes are factory automation and electrical transmission. The electrical grid globally is ancient and needs replacement.

These big capital equipment companies are obviously fairly late cycle plays because the people who buy stuff from them have to feel confident and have the funding to do so.

(Market Call Minute) Exposed to China and should do well.

Always seems to travel during the dividend time, which is coming up very soon. How is this going to go in the next couple of days as a trade? In the last couple of years is probably closer to its highs that it has been. Doesn’t think this is a company where you can just buy it and flip it. This is an industrial, slow moving company. More of a long-term buy and hold. Good balance sheet and good dividends. Slow growth. Look for something with a little more heat to it.

Electrical business out of Europe but has exposure globally. Exposed to things like construction, industrial automation, etc. We are in a period of economic recovery in North America and Asia but not in Europe. Stocks like this trade on average 2 multiple point discount to US stocks. (See Top Picks.)

(Top Pick Jan 19/12, Up 5.84%) Sees China picking up and so is happy to continue holding.

(A Top Pick Jan 20/12. Up 2.15%.) Best-of-breed. Great balance sheet. Good growth profile on the dividend. Recently made 2 acquisitions in the US to position themselves for a recovery in the US.

The reality is that China and Latin America have to modernize their grids, which ABB supply into.

Swiss based in 2 major businesses, factory automation with robotics and energy infrastructure where their biggest business is power transmission. The latter is very ripe globally for more investments because power lines have to be built in developing countries and replaced in developed countries.

(A Top Pick Jan 30/12. Down 4.51%.) This one got pushed down on the back of concerns over Europe as well as the slowing down on Chinese modernization demand. Longer-term, this is a great company. He is planning on holding for another 5 years. You get a 4.5% dividend.

Company has more cash than debt which tells you the dividend is going to be very safe. Have been using cash to buy growth and have bought 2 positions in the last 12 months. Effectively leveraged to modernization of all developing economies. While China, India and Brazil are slowing down, they are still growing. China is growing at 6%. Longer-term a very good story. 3.5% dividend.