Approaching the close, the Dow has cut its losses almost in half...the five financial-oriented stocks in the Dow (B of A, Travelers, JP Morgan, AmEx, and our parent General Electric) are responsible for a negative 40 points in the Dow; but with the exception of some weakness in energy (Chevron, ExxonMobil), most other sectors are flat to down 1 percent.
While this is not a stellar day, it is clearly not a major defeat for the bulls...even bank stocks have regained about a third of their losses...with the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) at its highest level in a month earlier on, and most stocks in overbought territory, this was a perfect day to take more dramatic profits in the overall markets...but it didn't happen.
Here's an early vote on healthcare reform...in the form of an IPO. Tomorrow, Emdeon goes public at the NYSE. It's one of the largest American medical-billing systems.
After the bell today, they will price 21.5 million shares at $13.50-$15.50.
Emdeon says it processed nearly half of all payment claims delivered electronically in the U.S..
The play here is that the Obama administration has made advances in electronic medical payments and record-keeping a cornerstone of its healthcare reform initiative, and Emdeon is certainly in the middle of t hat space. Any expansion of health insurance coverage is also likely to benefit them.
Rivals include Eclypsis, and Cerner; both have far outperformed the S&P 500 since healthcare became an issue six months ago.Â
Afternoon Newsmakers
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