A bill to freeze cuts to doctors’ Medicare payments – one that should have been heavily bipartisan – is now in serious danger of passing. The American Medical Association (AMA) promised Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) 27 Republican votes, but now it appears there are as few as two. Undoubtedly, 27 is an ambitious number for any bipartisan bill, but the enormous drop in support is indicative of an overwhelming feeling in Washington. It is a sentiment against any healthcare reform, one that has grown within the Republican party and continues to spread across the aisle to conservative Democrats. Though we at Election Stocks still believe something will pass reforming the healthcare system, these kind of let downs are still quite alarming.

Another Monday… Another “Game-Changing” Deal

by Martin Denholm, Senior Editor

Monday is Merge Day.

A few weeks ago, the market saw the busiest day of deal-making in three months, as the news-wires lit up with news of several big takeover announcements, including Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) buying Marvel (NYSE: MVL).

It happened again the following week. In fact, over a 10-day period, more than $40 billion worth of deals were announced.

And even as the third quarter winds down, the pace is still frenetic in the M&A market.

Today saw technology equipment firm Xerox (NYSE: XRX) announce a $6.4 billion deal to buy Affiliated Computer Services (NYSE: ACS) – its biggest acquisition on record.

Xerox investors greeted the news with a collective “ugh,” as shares of the photocopying and business supplies giant spiraled down by 17%. While perhaps

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When it comes to the healthcare debate, let’s keep one obvious fact in mind: Expenses are out of control and must be reined in. That’s true with or without a massive reform bill.

And that plays right into the hands of Medidata Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq: MDSO).

The company is a leading provider of electronic data capture (EDC) and clinical data management systems (CDMS). In laymen’s terms, it helps drug companies go from the Dark Age into the Digital Age.

And it’s a transformation that we desperately need. Here’s why…

Anyone For a Tedious, Time-Consuming Paper Trail?

Roughly 75% of all clinical trials – the most critical function of drug companies, yet also the biggest drain on resources ($45 billion, annually) – are done on paper.

That’s right. Even in today’s high-tech world, in three out of four clinical trials, information for each patient is literally recorded on pre-printed paper, specifically a case

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Medidata Solutions: The One Healthcare Stock That’s Not Sucking Up to Washington

by Louis Basenese, Advisory Panelist

When it comes to the healthcare debate, let’s keep one obvious fact in mind: Expenses are out of control and must be reined in. That’s true with or without a massive reform bill.

And that plays right into the hands of Medidata Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq: MDSO).

The company is a leading provider of electronic data capture (EDC) and clinical data management systems (CDMS). In laymen’s terms, it helps drug companies go from the Dark Age into the Digital Age.

And it’s a transformation that we desperately need. Here’s why…

Anyone For a Tedious, Time-Consuming Paper Trail?

Roughly 75% of all clinical trials – the most critical function of drug companies, yet also the biggest drain on resources ($45 billion, annually) – are done

...

The “Tiregate” Scandal Can’t Derail This Growth Story…

by Robert Williams, Publisher, Investment U

The 35% tariff that President Obama just slapped on Chinese tire imports is not sitting well with the nation’s top brass, notably President Hu Jintao.

Chinese officials say that the tire decision represents a dangerous precedent toward protectionism and against the notion of free trade. They’re even threatening to “re-evaluate” their position on U.S. imports, like automobiles and poultry.

But Tiregate is more about the United Steelworkers union – the dominant force in U.S. tire plants – than anything else. The union is a pivotal ally in Obama’s fight on healthcare reform.

As such, I expect the spat to resolve itself at the upcoming G-20 summit in Pittsburgh. So don’t let this tit-for-tat derail your long-term investment outlook on China.

The rise of the middle

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In the last few months we have seen a very strong stock market rally. The market has recovered from highly distressed levels and posted exorbitant gains.  In addition the “wall of money” from the U.S. Federal Reserve has pushed risk-prone investors back into the market, pushing its general level up. 

You see, the massive fiscal stimuli and ultra-easy money from the Fed does indeed have real effects on the economy.  Whether you want to call them artificial or real, the stimuli have moved and will continue to move profits, until it is withdrawn.  And the timing of the deployment of the fiscal and monetary stimuli, the timing of its positive effects and the timing of its eventual removal are uncertain.

In addition, we have many short-term uncertainties. The upcoming Group of 20 (G20) meeting has potentially important ramifications for the global financial system and for global currencies. We also will get more

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The just-concluded Group 20 (G20) meeting left us with a chorus of very “prudent” governments and central bankers singing the praises of easy monetary and fiscal conditions. So where can we take refuge when all the central banks in the world print money and governments run deficits in order to spend like drunken sailors? The answer is gold.

Fortunately for us, we foresaw this scenario a while ago. On April 20, I recommended that investors diversify their portfolios by adding the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (NYSE: GLD).  The fund is up about 14% since that recommendation, but it’s not yet time to sell, as there are still a number of factors working in gold’s favor.

For starters, there is more and more talk of the U.S. dollar losing some of its luster as a reserve currency.  But this debate is moot for the moment.  The reality is

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The U.S. stock market has enjoyed a strong rally since the early spring, but while the economy has shown improvement, it still faces major headwinds. So it may be best to hedge against the U.S. dollar, which is likely to experience a significant decline over the next few months.

There are a lot of uncertainties permeating the market right now, not the least of which is healthcare reform. Will that reform entail a public option that could add $1 trillion to the deficit?  How is reform going to be financed?  And is it going to mean higher costs for employers across the board, or just the healthcare insurers?

Investing is made infinitely more difficult when 18% of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) is hanging in the balance.

And you still have to consider:

That unemployment is likely to keep rising, perhaps over 10%. That the U.S. ...

Good news, Canadians – the president does not think you are scary. You have become a bit of a “bogeyman,” however, in regard to the growing din over U.S. healthcare reform. And a Canadian style government-run system wouldn’t fly in the United States.

That’s the president talking, not Taipan Daily. Mr. Obama’s remarks came in response to a question from a Canadian journalist, at a North American summit held in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Meanwhile, U.S. Representative John Dingell was shouted down by an angry protester at a town hall meeting in Romulus, Mich., last week. The protester, pushing his wheelchair-bound son to the podium, called Dingell a “fraud” and said that proposed changes would not help his son.

Emotions are heating up all around the country, with strong outbursts on either side of the divide. Some are furious that healthcare reform

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When it comes to healthcare reform, people believe some very strange things. Or so says Cliff Asness, founder of AQR Capital Management. Today, the seven biggest “myths” are exposed…

My little brother and his fiancée dropped into Reno/Tahoe for the weekend. They were wending their way west to go apartment hunting in San Francisco, visiting friends and family along the way.

On Saturday we took a two-hour catamaran cruise up at the lake. It was as perfect a day as I’d ever seen it. The water was so clear and blue, you could see 30 feet down through the netting of the boat. The sky was just as blue – not a cloud to be seen – and the day was just hot enough to be perfected by a crisp Tahoe breeze.

At one point in the cruise we sailed past the “Ellison project”

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