"Just Sell [Cat] Stock"--Cat CEO

Oh, yes, he DID say that--after it became clear that he is in bed with the wrong guys.

Caterpillar is a member of U S Climate Action Partnership, a bunch of companies which are agitating for cap-and-tax.

But Cat CEO Jim Owens also realizes that if PRChina and India do not join the US in a verifiable and comparable emissions-reduction treaty, that the outlook is bleak for US companies:

I think if we move unilaterally as the United States with a significant cap and trade program that drives up the cost of carbon here significantly, and our international competitors, the countries don't move with us, it's going to create competitive problems for the core -- let's call it the base industries -- steel, aluminum, cement -- the core feeder stock, if you will, for the manufacturing industry in this country.

Doh.

Not only does Caterpillar sell mining-related machinery for 'steel, aluminum, and cement,' --it also USES some of those elements in manufacture of its own products.

So along comes a savvy investor, who asks Nelson "What if PRC and India do NOT sign an agreement?"

(Remember that Owens (unlike the President of the US) has legal constraints on what he can and cannot say about Cat's prospects.)

Borelli also asked Owens how Owens would be held accountable if Caterpillar's lobbying led to "a regulatory avalanche leaving the U.S. in an uncompetitive situation." Owens responded by telling Borelli to just sell his stock

Just to remind you--there are OTHER US companies which belong to this "USCAP" outfit:


Alcoa, American International Group, Inc. (AIG), Boston Scientific Corporation, BP America Inc., Chrysler LLC, ConocoPhillips, Deere & Company, The Dow Chemical Company,
Duke Energy, DuPont, Environmental Defense, Exelon Corporation, Ford Motor Company
,FPL Group, Inc., General Electric, General Motors Corp., Johnson & Johnson, Marsh, Inc.
,National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Nature Conservancy,
NRG Energy, Inc., PepsiCo, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, PG&E Corporation
,PNM Resources, Rio Tinto, Shell, Siemens Corporation, World Resources Institute, and
Xerox Corporation.

In addition, there are capital-markets players such as Goldman Sachs, the Zombie Bank Citi, Bank of America, and JPMorgan--not to mention AlGore's personal investment in a firm which will also benefit from the cap-and-tax trading business.

If one should 'sell Cat,' then what about Deere? FoMoCo? Xerox?

Finally--it should not be too hard for you to conclude that it is YOU who is in the crosshairs here. It is YOUR home-heating bill, YOUR gasoline cost, YOUR hot-water cost, which will rise.

Too bad there might not be any jobs available at Cat with which you can PAY those bills.