Companies featured in this edition of the newsletter: ACTC, CHIP, CVM, DKAM, ENZ, IWEB, MBCI, MFGD, PHC

Markets rebounded last week, on the strength of upbeat productivity and manufacturing reports that led to solid gains in all of the major indices. Despite news that the unemployment rate had hit its highest levels in 25 years, the Dow managed to end the week up 310 points, gaining 3.2% on the week to close at 10,023, up 14.2% on the year. The Nasdaq posted a gain of 3.3%, closing at 2112 and extending its yearly gains to 34%, while the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 advanced 3.2% and 3.1% respectively on the week to bring their YTD performance to 18.4% and 16.2%.

Several better than expected economic reports provided buying incentive throughout much of the week, as investors managed to shake off the previous week’s negative bias to send indices into positive territory

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has an impressive record with passing big votes, but according to this article on The Hill a robust public option may be too much for the Congress to handle. Pelosi is relying on a complex series of whips to keep the factional Democratic party in line. There are two votes that will be particularly hard for her to get: Rep. Frank Kratovil (Md.): Kratovil is considered one of the most endangered Democrats in this year’s freshman class. He became the poster child for incivility when protesters hanged him in effigy. So it was a surprise when Pelosi snagged his vote on climate change by making Maryland farmers eligible for as much as $1 billion in incentives for reducing emissions. But she might not get him this time; Kratovil has said he’s a no on the healthcare ...

Healthcare Truths

Ryan Cole, The Investment U Research Team

If there’s one subject that has a hysterical debate surrounding it, it’s healthcare.

The right is accusing the left of euthanizing little old ladies. The left is accusing the right of coldly killing the poor. And somehow poor Stephen Hawking would be dead if left to the evils of Britain’s National Health Service – which just happens to be the health service that has kept Hawking alive all these years (yes, he’s a Brit).

Nothing like a good political debate to bring out the hyperbole in people. And, like anyone else, I can enjoy a hysterical joust as much as the next guy – red-faced with the rightness of my position (whatever that position happens to be).

But, that’s got nothing to do with investing. Politics is emotion, with reason used to fill in

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[Editor's Note: Peter D. Schiff, Euro Pacific Capital Inc.’s president and chief global strategist, is a well-known author and commentator, and is a periodic contributor to Money Morning. Schiff is the author of two New York Times best sellers: “Crash Proof: How to Profit from the Coming Economic Collapse,” as well as “The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets.” For a more-detailed look at the United States’ ongoing financial problems – and for some strategies that will help you protect your wealth and preserve your purchasing power before it’s too late – download EuroPac’s brand-new free special report, “Peter Schiff’s Five Favorite Investment Choices for the Next Five Years.” After one of the most-torrid rebounds on record this spring, U.S. stocks have stalled – once forcing investors to make important decisions against a backdrop of intense uncertainty. However, a …

It is high time for our political leaders to make some key decisions.  And that translates into large uncertainties for investors that have held the market in a range and with low volume. We do not know whether “Cap and Trade” legislation will pass the Senate and we do not know whether and any healthcare bill will pass through Congress, or what that bill might entail.  And these two issues are paramount for the future of America.  

As we discussed earlier, cap and trade could cause incremental costs in energy for all of the United States, particularly in all carbon-based generation of electricity.  Increasing these costs will make carbon-based energy less competitive with alternative sources, like solar and nuclear.  The benefits of this legislation will be less carbon emissions, cleaner air, less dependence on imported oil and the creation of new jobs in the alternative

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