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Monthly Archives: December 2008

Thanks for the Stock Tip, Doc

December 4, 2008
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A few years ago, (January 2006, actually) during my annual physical exam, my doctor gave me a stock tip.  I knew that he was aware of what I do for a living, but we hadn’t ever talked about stocks or investing or anything other than how to get my cholesterol down.  I was so surprised that I think my blood pressure actually spiked! But there my very own Primary Care Physician was, telling me about how a drug rep for a big company had dropped a name on him during a sales call. Here’s what he told me. The...

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Shop ‘Til You Drop

December 2, 2008
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Forecasts were all gloom and doom for Black Friday, with the media predicting a huge pullback in consumer spending. But yesterday, numbers were released showing that shoppers had actually increased their spending by 2% over the same period last year. Many media outlets are still predicting less shopping in the weeks before the holidays and spending was way down leading up to Black Friday, meaning the boost may not do much to help ailing retailers. But there was an increase in spending, although you’d hardly know it. After touting their predictions of a shopping slump, media outlets seemed loathe...

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Myriad Genetics: One of my Favorite Genetic Stocks

December 1, 2008
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I’ll take this opportunity to mention one of my favorite genetic stocks again. It’s Myriad Genetics (MYGN), and its business is developing and marketing tests that help assess the risk of disease based on a person’s genetic structure.  Already, the firm has products that assess the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, hereditary melanoma, adenomatous polyposis syndromes, hereditary colorectal cancer, and the risk of toxicity of 5-FU chemotherapy. Revenues have been growing strongly since 2004.  The company turned profitable in fiscal 2008, which ended June 30.  And it’s projected to grow earnings 44% in 2009 and 35% in 2010. ...

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