Metalico: Spinning scrap into gold

The market for scrap metal is huge and growing, both in the United States and abroad. Just ask these guys. | AMEX: MEA |Comment

Industrial equipment stocks ride oil wave

Companies that manufacture drilling equipment are gushing earnings because of drilling activity fueled by record oil prices. T-3 Energy Services, Inc. and Circor International are two small caps... | Nasdaq: TTES |Comment

Hill International awarded nine projects for a total $3.8B construction value

Hill International Inc. (NYSE:HIL) announced midday today it had received nine project management assignments from Talaat Moustafa Group Holding Co. | NYSE: HIL |Comment

Orion Marine Group: Building bridges over troubled water

The wind in the stock market’s sails may be dying down as of late, but a perfect storm of opportunity has formed to buoy Orion Marine Group (Nasdaq:OMGI), a specialty marine contractor, through... | Nasdaq: OMGI |Comment

Builders FirstSource slips to year low on weak housing market

Builders FirstSource, Inc. (Nasdaq:BLDR) skidded to a 52-week low on Monday as the building material supplier felt the impact of the weak housing market. | Nasdaq: BLDR |Comment

CEO: Hovnanian Enterprises will emerge "better, stronger" as market recovers

Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:HOV) CEO Ara K. Hovnanian said the homebuilder has endured many market corrections in its 50-year history and remains confident it will emerge stronger when the... | NYSE: HOV |Comment

Sector Watch: Scrap metal recyclers

The recycling of steel, aluminum and tungsten is turning out to be quite profitable for scrap metal recyclers such as Metalico (AMEX:MEA) and China-based Sutor Technology, Ltd. (Nasdaq:SUTR). | AMEX: MEA |1 Comment

Apogee Enterprises CEO feels "very good" about FY09

Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq:APOG) CEO Russell Huffer said he feels “very good” about the glass products maker’s growth prospects for fiscal 2009. | Nasdaq: APOG |Comment

Matrix Service CEO: FY08 to be strong turnaround year

Matrix Service Co. (Nasdaq:MTRX) CEO Mike Bradley said he anticipates fiscal 2009 to be a “strong turnaround year” for the Tulsa, Okla.-based company, which provides construction and... | Nasdaq: MTRX |Comment

Sterling Construction: Banking on a builder

Read how Sterling Construction Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: STRL) has been lending its expertise to all sorts of public projects in the building and rebuilding of Texas and the Southwest. | STRL |Comment

The Churchill Corporation: Building up Canada

Read how the construction spending boom in Canada has played directly into the hands of The Churchill Corporation (TSE: CUQ). | CUQ |Comment

Standard Pacific CEO: FY08 to be cash flow positive

Standard Pacific Corp. (NYSE: SPF) CEO Stephen Scarborough said he believes the single-family home builder will finish 2008 with a cash-flow positive balance sheet. However, he warned that the... | SPF |Comment

Bronco Drilling Company to be acquired

Bronco Drilling Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: BRNC) reported this morning that it will be acquired by Allis-Chalmers Energy Inc. (NYSE: ALY) for $$437.8 million, or $16.33 per share. | ALY |Comment

IPO Watch: Elixir Pharmaceuticals

This company has no products on the market yet, but it has several in its R&D pipeline that could be interesting. It also has a smart group of experienced health care venture capitalists on board. | ELXR |Comment

Dynamic Materials Revisited: Business still booming

This summer we said Dynamic Materials (Nasdaq: BOOM) was poised for growth. Today, the maker of explosion-welded clad metal plates continues to expand its business and outpace Wall Street’s... | BOOM |Comment

Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc.: Charging toward a future of small particles

If recent joint ventures play out successfully, Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: ALTI) tiny particles could prove to have a very big future. | ALTI |3 Comments

Building Materials Holding declares quarterly cash dividend

Shares of Building Materials Holding Corp. (NYSE: BLG) are up after the provider of residential construction services and building products to professional homebuilders and contractors said it... | BLG |Comment

China Architectural Engineering jumps on construction contract

China Architectural Engineering, Inc. (AMEX: RCH) shares are jumping after the construction company announced it was awarded a contract to build the façade for the China Water Conservancy Museum... | RCH |Comment

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. CEO: Decline has slowed

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (Nasdaq: BECN) CEO Bob Buck said the distributor of roofing material’s business decline has slowed but will not make a specific prediction. Buck made the comments... | BECN |Comment

Beacon Roofing Supply Q4 earnings in line with analyst estimates

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (Nasdaq: BECN) reported fourth-quarter earnings in line with analyst expectations. | Comment

China Architectural Engineering rises on construction contract news

China Architectural Engineering, Inc. (AMEX: RCH) shares are jumping in pre-market trading after the construction company announced it was awarded a contract to build the façade of the Hangzhou... | RCH |Comment

Value Find: Portec Rail Products, Inc.

Given the smart money that has been piling into shares of North American railroad operators in recent months, now might not be a bad time to look at Portec Rail Products, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRPX), a... | PRPX |Comment

Palm Harbor Homes CFO: FY08 profit "not certain"

Palm Harbor Homes, Inc. (Nasdaq: PHHM) CFO Kelly Tacke said fiscal year profitability for the maker of modular homes is not certain. Tacke made the comments during a morning conference call. | PHHM |Comment

Trex Company falls to 52-week low, closes plant

Shares of Trex Company, Inc. (NYSE: TWP) have set a new 52-week low on news that the maker of wood-alternative decking, railing and fencing products is closing one of its production facilities and... | TWP |Comment

Tarragon falls, faces lawsuit

Shares of Tarragon Corp. (Nasdaq: TARR) are down after the homebuilder and real estate developer was accused of violating federal securities laws, according to a class action lawsuit revealed after... | TARR |Comment

Russell, Dow fall on housing data

The Russell 2000 and the Dow retreated on news that sales of existing homes fell in July. | TOA |Comment

Hill International gets $55.9 million contract

Construction consulting firm Hill International (Nasdaq: HINT) has been awarded a $55.9 million contract to provide project management services in Libya. | HINT |Comment

An interview with Gene Marcial

For the past ten years, the stocks picked by Gene G. Marcial, BusinessWeek’s “Inside Wall Street” columnist, have on average outperformed all of the major indices. In an interview, Marcial... | PP |1 Comment

Newsletter Watch: A breakout buy

Here's a pick from a technical expert who focuses on isolating "breakout" plays – stocks that have either just broken above resistance levels or below previous support levels. | FARO |Comment

Cost Plus Inc., Novacea Inc. and Isramco Inc. lead Thursday small-cap percentage gainers

Cost Plus, Inc. (Nasdaq: CPWM), Novacea, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVC) and Isramco, Inc. (Nasdaq: ISRL) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market... | CPWM |Comment

Russell 2000 falling

The Russell 2000 and the Dow are down on news that second-quarter U.S. unit labor costs increased more than productivity. | Comment

Gehl Company: A hard sell

Until the housing market finds its footing, demand for Gehl Company’s building equipment will continue to slide. Take the skid loader...please. | GEHL |Comment

WCI Communities Inc. updates cash flow expectations

Shares of WCI Communities Inc. (NYSE: WCI) are edging higher this morning after the homebuilding and real estate services company provided an update on its 2007 cash flow expectations. The... | WCI |Comment

Correcting: Home Solutions of America higher on coverage initiation

This corrects the original article, which incorrectly stated that Home Solutions of America consistently missed guidance for the past nine months. In fact, Home Solutions has missed guidance only... | HSOA |Comment

Double trouble

The Russell 2000 and the Dow stumbled hard for the second day in a row on fears that cheap credit has dried up. | BZH |Comment

A major sell-off

Stocks are on a steep decline as investors react to news of more anguish in the housing sector and concerns of slowing economic growth. | BZH |Comment

Embattled Beazer Homes USA, Inc. slashes costs

During a midday conference call, Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (NYSE: BZH) CEO Ian McCarthy said an oversupply of homes, aggressive price competition from builders and reduced customer demand for new... | BZH |Comment

Beazer Homes USA Inc. swings to a loss in Q3

Shares of Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) are sliding in pre-market trading this morning after the builder of single-family homes reported it swung to a loss in its fiscal third-quarter. | BZH |Comment

After rejecting Icahn offer, WCI Communities, Inc. says it hasn't received other offers

Home builder WCI Communities, Inc. (NYSE: WCI) reported it hasn't received any additional offers for the company and will keep exploring its options - including a potential sale. Early this month,... | WCI |Comment

Russell 2000 leads sell-off

The Russell 2000 has lost three times as much as the Dow as stocks drop on news of bad earnings and mortgage market concerns. | CFC |Comment

Russell 2000 slipping

The Russell 2000 futures have turned south and the small-cap index is likely to open in negative territory on concerns that credit problems could dampen corporate earnings. | BZH |Comment

Wall Street gaining

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) are higher on news of earnings and mergers. | RIG |Comment

Big loss for Russell

The Russell 2000 was the biggest loser among the major indices and the Dow lost 1% as news of poor earnings sparked a sell-off. | GOOG |Comment

Russell leads sell-off

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the Dow have lost more than 1% on news of weak earnings and more subprime worries. | GOOG |Comment

Actions Semiconductor Co. falls on earnings, downgrade

Shares of Actions Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACTS) took a beating today after WR Hambrecht & Co. downgraded the fabless semiconductor to a rating of “hold” from “buy” on significantly... | ACTS |Comment

Russell 2000 looking stable

The Russell 2000 futures are pointing up but the small-cap index is likely to open flat following news of below-par earnings. | C |Comment

U.S. Concrete Cuts Q2 below analysts’ estimates

Shares of U.S. Concrete Inc. (Nasdaq: RMIX) slid in pre-market trading after the ready-mixed concrete producer said late Thursday night it’s cutting its second quarter earnings guidance due to... | RMIX |Comment

Top Thursday small-cap percentage gainers: Avici Systems Inc., AMCON Distributing Co., Core Molding Technologies Inc.

Avici Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: AVCI), AMCON Distributing Co. (AMEX: DIT) and Core Molding Technologies, Inc. (AMEX: CMT) were among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies... | AVCI |Comment

Thursday small-cap pre-market volume leaders: Avici Systems Inc., Synalloy Corp., Local.com Corp.

Avici Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: AVCI), Synalloy Corp. (Nasdaq: SYNL) and Local.com Corp. (Nasdaq: LOCM) were among the most actively traded companies in Thursday pre-market trading among those with... | AVCI |Comment

Palm Harbor Homes Inc. says bright spots exist despite poor revenue

After reporting disappointing first-quarter results, Palm Harbor Homes, Inc. (Nasdaq: PHHM) executives said during a conference call this morning that some bright spots remain. For one thing, said... | PHHM |Comment