Maria Bartiromo's Investor Agenda
- Are You Making These Costly Investing Mistakes?
- Prechter's Predictions
- The Silencing of Paul Volcker?
- CIT's Retail Impact?
- M&A: Signs of Strength?
- My Interview With White House Economic Adviser Paul Volcker
- The 'S' Word: Sustainable
- Transforming Businesses
- Live From CME Global Financial Leadership Conference
- Honeywell's Wellbeing
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- Israel: Leader of Business Innovation
- iPhone, App Strategy the 'New Dot Com?'
- Why Health Care Bill Is Facing Such a Tough Fight in Senate
- BofA Board in Civil War Over Lewis' Successor
- S&P Stocks Trading at New 52-Week Highs
- Dow Industrials at New Highs—But Other Indices Lag
- Dow Up Over 100 After G20 Stimulus Pledge
- Flaw in US Data Overstates Growth, Productivity
- Rock Band Weezer Uses Snuggie to Promote New Album
- Warren Buffett to Sell Stakes In Union Pacific & Norfolk Southern
- Nov. 9: Unusual Volume Leaders
- The Battered Businesses Behind Housing
- Modern Warfare 2's Record-Breaking Launch
- Merck’s Mega-Monday Morning
- Why are Traders Bullish on This Food Company?
- Profiting From Natural Gas: Strategists
- S&P Stocks Trading at New 52-Week Highs
- Shopping for Answers
- Who Were Winners & Losers This Past Year? You Tell Us
- Time Is Here to Look at Overseas Stocks: Bill Gross
- Buffett to Sell Stakes in Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific
- Sprint to Cut Up to 2,500 Jobs, Sees Charge
- 'Modern Warfare 2' May Be Biggest Event This Year
- Home Prices Start to Stabilize In the US as Sales Pick Up
- Flaw in US Data Overstates Growth, Productivity
- Do You Know Your Coca-Cola Myths?
- BofA Board in Civil War Over Lewis' Successor
MARIA BARTIROMO VIDEO
MARIA BARTIROMO'S NEW FREE NEWSLETTER
BUSINESSWEEK
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Photo by: Pete Souza President Barack Obama |
Drug companies have agreed to cough up $80 billion over the next ten years to reduce drug costs for seniors and to help pay for the President’s reform plan. Without reform, the President Obama says 20% of the U.S. economy will be "tied up in the health care system" in ten years.
We may see some volatility in a sector that’s traditionally very stable. Analysts say it’s time to reexamine your pharma stocks and position yourself for the changes President Obama will make.
Deutsche Bank analyst Barbara Ryan tells Closing Bell “investors need to look at healthcare stocks that are financially driven over the next couple years…based on earnings, cash flow and dividend yields.” Ryan’s picks are Merck [MRK
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]. Ryan says the companies can “withstand any of the near-term challenges because they have all the synergies to cushion the blow.”
Meanwhile, Miller Tabak healthcare strategist Les Funtleyder is placing bets on UnitedHealth [UNH
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] and Humana [HUM
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]. Funtleyder says managed care and pharmaceutical names may be the most ‘worried about and beaten up,’ but as a whole stand to benefit from reform.
The timing of the reform still remains unclear. President Obama said he is aiming to sign a healthcare reform bill into law by October, but his efforts hit a series of stumbling blocks in Congress last week, after the Congressional Budget Office estimated the cost of one version of a bill in the Senate at about $1.6 trillion over 10 years.
To put that into perspective, that’s more than double the government’s $700 billion TARP plan for troubled banks, insurers, even automakers. Holy smoke!
Check out our discussion on Closing Bell with at 3.15P ET today.
Disclosure: Barbara Ryan has no conflicts with Merck, Pfizer. Deutsche Bank owns 1% or more of Pfizer. Pfizer is a banking client of Deutsche Bank. Deutsche Bank owns 1% or more of Merck. Merck is a banking client of Deutsche Bank.
Les Funtleyder has no conflicts with UnitedHealth, Humana.
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