Trading Idea: BSX

Courtesy of Daniel Jones of OptionsNotions
Boston Scientific Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of medical devices that are used in various interventional medical specialties worldwide. The company offers its products in three groups: Cardiovascular, Endosurgery, and Neuromodulation. The Cardiovascular group consists of drug-eluting and bare-metal stents, coronary revascularization products, Intraluminal ultrasound imaging [...]

Update on Cholesterol Drug Study

Update in the NY Times on Merck and Schering-Plough’s cholesterol lowering drugs.
Doubt Cast on 2 Drugs Used to Lower Cholesterol
By ALEX BERENSON
Excerpts plus comment (in red)
“CHICAGO — Two widely prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs, Vytorin and Zetia, may not work and should be used only as a last resort, a panel of four cardiologists told an [...]

Why the Paulson Plan is DOA

And here’s another perspective, by Michael Mandel, posted at Business Week.

Why the Paulson Plan is DOA
Excerpt:  “Let’s see. In the middle of perhaps the greatest financial upheaval since the Great Depression, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson is proposing a change in financial regulations which basically amounts to a big wink to Wall Street. His plan will [...]

Admin. Pushes Regulatory Changes

Here’s another article on the topic of the proposed regulatory changes, from Business Week.
Administration pushes regulatory changes
Excerpts:  “The Bush administration is trying to confront the credit crisis that has rattled nerves from Wall Street to Main Street by proposing wholesale changes in how Washington oversees the financial system.
A plan set for release Monday would give [...]

The Fed and The Henhouse

Another very timely article by Mish Shedlock. (Had a feeling Mish would have written an extensive commentary on the matter before I finished waking up this morning. Yeah, I know it’s 2 pm.)
The Fed And The Henhouse
The GlobeInvestor is reporting Even on Wall Street, capitalism takes a hit.
Socialist-style Fed or [...]

Mobile Phones

Look into later.

Mobile phones ‘more dangerous than smoking’
Brain expert warns of huge rise in tumours and calls on industry to take immediate steps to reduce radiation
By Geoffrey Lean
Sunday, 30 March 2008
Mobile phones could kill far more people than smoking or asbestos, a study by [...]

Unconventional Approach

Sacramento doctor takes unconventional approach to autism
By Dorsey Griffith – dgriffith@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, March 29, 2008
In the controversial world of autism treatment, mainstream medical doctors are increasingly pitted against alternative providers in the quest to figure out causes and develop treatments.
Dr. Michael Chez, a neurologist specializing in child autism, likens talking about the [...]

Playing Lehmans Liquidity

Playing Lehman’s Liquidity
By Steven M. Sears. The full article can be found at Barron’s.
“IF YOU WANT TO GAUGE Wall Street’s crisis of confidence in itself look no further than options and stock trading in Lehman Brothers Holdings.
The big investment bank has managed to thus far avoid the worst of the credit crisis and [...]

Volatility

These excerpts are from Barron’s Getting into the Swing
Whiplashed? That’s a Bullish Sign Now Is the Time to Buy, Not Sell
By RICHARD W. ARMS
“UP 400! DOWN 300! UP 260! TO many stock-market observers, especially those accustomed to the minimal price volatility of recent years, such dizzying swings in the Dow Jones Industrial Average might suggest [...]

All Energy Roads Lead to the Sun

Very interesting article, with obvious stock idea implications (but what’s with wfr??).
All Energy Roads Lead to the Sun
By Andrew C. Revkin

“It’s the sun, stupid,” is probably how James Carville would summarize the message of Daniel G. Nocera, a chemist and professor of energy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, when he addressed a meeting on [...]

Eye on Commodity Prices

Discussion of commodity price inflation, courtesy of Mish Shedlock.  Seems we’re learning the hard way “it’s quite a leap of arrogance to believe ‘investment in the red metal can’t lose’. With enough leverage, anything can lose, even in mostly favorable conditions.”
Eye on Commodity Prices
There was an interesting “buzz” on Minyanville on Thursday about commodity prices. [...]

Food for Food

This article’s written by Ryan Krueger of Minyanville, contemplating fertilizer, I think.

How Expensive is the Food for Food?

I want to share my opinion in answer to a few questions I’ve received about the increased margin requirements imposed by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) for crops of agriculture futures.
This is one of a few tremendous clues [...]

Investor Sentiment

Here’s a report by Michael Zhuang president of MZ Capital.
Investor sentiment and stock market return
Investor sentiment is at its lowest since 1990 and second lowest since the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) sentiment indicator began in 1987. On 2/7/08, the 8-week moving average bull/bear spread reached the low of -25% and [...]

Chasing Liberty

Chasing Liberty

By Todd Harrision, courtesy of Minyanville.

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.” -The Statue of Liberty
America’s founding principle was to accept those that others cast aside. The government has now applied this concept to financial assets.
As Bear Stearns (BSC) [...]

Oracle

The Future Of Oracle
Courtesy of Minyanville, by Sean Udall.
The headline after Oracle’s (ORCL) earnings report reads: “Oracle Shares Plunge on 3Q Sales Miss, Disappointing Forecast, Despite 30 Percent Profit Rise”
I’m not a huge bull on ORCL, but I think investors may need a dose of perspective here.
Here are my bullish and bearish take-aways:
Bullish

1. Note [...]