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Tuesday November 3, 2009

DrStockPick.com Stock Report!

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Power3 Medical Products, Inc. (OTCBB: PWRM), a leader in neurodegenerative disease and cancer biomarkers and diagnostic tests, announces further international recognition of validity as the company’s President and CSO, Dr. Ira Goldknopf, will deliver an invited Keynote address and chair a session on “Biomarkers and Diagnostics in Personalized Medicine (Track 6-4),” at the BIT Life Sciences 2nd International Congress and Expo of Molecular Diagnostics in Beijing, China, November 19-21, 2009. The Theme of the meeting is “New Leadership

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National healthcare wherever is implemented squeezes prices and profits of the private businesses involved in the system.

Obamacare in the U.S. will be no different.  For investors in healthcare companies, it is a good idea to begin to think through which companies will be most severely negatively impacted or least impacted, to potentially make  deletions or substitutions.

One dimension of healthcare companies is research and development, which has been an important driver of future growth and value for many companies in the biotech, pharmaceutical and medical devices industries.

To the extent that the rewards of research and development are reduced by price pressures due to national healthcare, research and development will decrease, and therefore growth in sales, profits and value of those private companies will slow.

One way to begin the process of determining the sensitivity of biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device companies to a switch from a private to a public U.S. healthcare

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Last week, Walgreen (WAG) decided to acquire the assets of 12 Eaton Apothecary pharmacies in the Boston area from D.A.W., Inc., a subsidiary of Nyer Medical Group Inc. (NYER) for approximately $19 million. The acquisition, subject to certain terms and conditions, is expected to close within the next 90 days. Following the transaction, Nyer would liquidate. We believe the acquisition will boost the company’s revenues going forward.

Walgreen’s strong balance sheet has enabled it to grow its business through acquisitions even in the midst of recession. The company generated $852 million in the fourth quarter and $4.1 billion for the year in cash flow from operations, an increase of 55% and 35%, respectively driven by strong drugstore performance, including improved working capital. At the end of the last quarter, Walgreen had $2.1 billion in cash and cash equivalents. We had expected earlier that the company would use the available

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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.

Yesterday, Walgreen Co. (WAG) announced a new $2 billion share repurchase program which will expire at the end of 2013. Earlier, in January 2007 the company had initiated a $1 billion share buyback program, of which approximately $655 million is left. The new plan, replacing the 2007 share repurchase program, is a part of a new capital policy which aims to reward the company’s shareholders. Since 2004, Walgreen's has repurchased more than $1.3 billion of common stock. In addition, the company declared a quarterly dividend of 13.75 cents per share, a 22.2% increase from the year-ago dividend. The company also set a long-term dividend payout target in a range of 30–35% of net earnings. Walgreen’s strong balance sheet has enabled it to announce such a huge share buyback program. Cash flow from operations during fiscal 2009 was $4.1 billion, representing a 35% increase compared to the ...

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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As U.S. President Barack Obama looks to bet his presidency by actually doing something about the deplorable, non-functioning healthcare market, he's facing an angry and implacable opposition from the Republicans, who are even fond of sending guys carrying assault rifles to the protest rallies.  Whatever the result of this Herculean effort is, one should hope to avoid the reform missteps which Russia experienced, when Vladimir Putin saw $3.2 billion from the state purse disappear into thin air.  Here Foreign Policy compiles a number of the worst attempted healthcare reforms - and the U.S. has nothing to brag about among this crowd.  (Sidenote:  IMHO, I think John McCain really hit the nail on the head when he suggested that ...

Name an issue and your political compass will guide your feelings toward it. I often tell people whatrsquo;s most important isnrsquo;t whether you belong to political party A or B but that you are engaged and active in particular issues that are important to you. As investment managers, itrsquo;s important for us to follow political issues because they can affect how different investments perform. For instance, proposed changes to Americarsquo;s healthcare system can significantly impact the pharmaceutical, insurance and health services industries. As important as it is to stay informed, we also must keep our personal politics aside at the office in order to look pragmatically at the investment impact. If yoursquo;re one of those people who enjoy engaging in spirited debate on the issues of the day, then I have a something for you. A friend forwarded me this political spectrum quiz earlier this week that may be able to give you a better ...

Buy tax-free bonds - now.  If you’re a mutual fund investor, buy them through Vanguard (the average fund company charges expenses six times higher than Vanguard’s).

If you are a closed-end investor, try a tax-free fund like Nuveen Insured Municipal Opportunity Fund (NYSE:NIO), trading at a 10% discount to its net asset value and yielding over 6% paid monthly.

Or, to avoid annual expenses and have the certainty of a final value on a particular date, buy individual tax-free bonds.

But whatever you do, buy them now. Let me count the reasons why you should…

Three Reasons Why Municipal Bonds Make A Good Investment Now

Ten-year municipal bonds, while down from the historic premium they reached a few months ago, are yielding as much as 10-year Treasuries. But while Treasuries are taxable, munis are not. Most municipal bonds are safe. Yes, a few areas - particularly in California and Alabama - are troubled. But the ...

Philips Healthcare to bolster chronic disease management in China

Philips (PHG) and project HOPE, which aims at providing education and solutions to health problems, announced a joint effort to support major hospitals and community healthcare centers in China to deal with chronic diseases. Philips' Healthcare division will provide technical knowhow as well as finance part of the program costs. The program will focus on heart diseases, stroke and respiratory ailments.

This project aims to develop infrastructure as well as capacity of medical care centers to provide long-term treatment to patients suffering from these diseases. Philips will provide training as well as advanced facilities to the centers under this collaboration. Patients will receive guidance on skills for self-administered care to ensure a healthier lifestyle.

According to report published by the Ministry of Health, chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are major causes for death in

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