July, 2010:
Machinery maker Caterpillar's second-quarter earnings surged 91 percent, helped by gains in sales of its equipment for industries like mining, infrastructure and energy.
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Caterpillar is an industrial bellwether, so its earnings show that the recovery may have some steam.
http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2012422077_apusearnscaterpillarsummarybox.html
Today. August 20th, 2014:
"[I]n October 2008, the month after Lehman failed and the Great Recession started, industrial bellwether Caterpillar underwent a series of 19 consecutive, record, declines in Global dealer retail sales
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as of July 2014, that record is no longer valid, because starting with a -1% drop in Global retail sales in December 2012, CAT has now posted a new record of 20 consecutive global dealer retail sales declines, after a -9% Y/Y print for the month of July.
