Is it over for construction stocks? (#515)

Murray & Roberts (JSE code: MUR) horror update. "working capital requirements are especially acute" "financial results for the six months period ending 31 December 2022, to be at least 100% down" This is not South Africa at all, it's Australia and the US. We've seen Wilson Bayly (JSE code: WBO) walk away from their Australian operations. Low margins and bankers not keen on bonding projects are going to crunch this industry globally. I would suggest Aveng (JSE code: AEG) is not immune either. The only time this industry really made money was in the run-up to the world cup, and they were colluding to get operating margins of +5%. So really this is a bust industry. That all said, decent results from Calgro M3 (JSE code: CGR) while we wait for Balwin (JSE code: BWN). Simon Shares MTN (JSE code: MTN) ditches Telkom (JSE code: TKG) over their Rain talks. Pick n Pay (JSE code: PIK) results. Not bad but the market hated selling the stock down 9.3%. Is the issue valuation? Forward PE is ±29c vs. Shoprite* (JSE code: SHP) is on ±21x. Combined Motor Holdings* (JSE code: CMH) has great results driven by car rentals surging. But it going to be tough going from here. UK inflation returns to a 40-year high of 10.1%.