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Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth hit the brakes an executive order aimed to remove “barriers to responsible research involving human stem cells,” by ruling that millions in government grants can’t be made. Late in 2009, the Obama administration sent stem cell stocks soaring after approving the first 13 human embryonic stem cell lines for use by federally funded researchers, noting “this is the first down payment on what is going to be a much longer list.”

According to USA Today, the Department of Justice plans to appeal the recent ruling, but some industry executives say the circumstances call for a more permanent resolution. Geron (NASDAQ: GERN – News) CEO Tom Okarma told Bloomberg, Lamberth’s ruling “is a clear mandate for the administration to finish what they started with the Obama executive order.” Whether any policy action could follow the ruling is unknown, but investors will be watching the Stem Cell Stocks Index closely as more details regarding the appeal process are made public.

Geron, which is the largest U.S.-listed stem cell pure-play, despite weighing in at less than $500 million, is trading roughly flat on a six-month basis amid a mixed performance by its peers. Top performers Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYTX – News) and Osiris Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OSIR – News) are ahead by more than 8% for the period, but laggards have declined by as much as -40%.

As of this writing, all 11 Stem Cell Stocks Index components are -30% or more from their 52-week highs with Opexa Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OPXA – News), Aastrom Biosciences (NASDAQ: ASTM – News), and Athersys Inc (NASDAQ: ATHX – News) more than -60% from their respective peaks.

It will be interesting to see whether any rulings in Washington, or the related media attention will draw traders into the stem cell sector. Investors can track the Stem Cell Stocks Index for performance trends and a suite of other metrics at tickerspy.com.

Fun and informative, tickerspy.com is a free investing website where you can track multiple stock portfolios and compare against 250 proprietary Indexes tracking themes from dividends to ETFs to green energy to precious metals. Best of all, tickerspy.com lets you spy on the portfolios of nearly 3,000 Wall Street institutions and hedge funds and see graphs of their performance. Try tickerspy.com today and find out how you stack up against investing legends like Warren Buffett!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Investors-Eye-Stem-Cell-indie-3442303503.html?x=0

The current gloomy outlook on the economy and a belief in the upcoming double dip recession is fast becoming a consensus view among investors. However, there have been some signs of strong activity across the U.S. economy. Although these reports may not be comprehensive enough to make a case that the economy is fine, they bear mentioning, if only to counteract the negative psychology in the market.

Railroad Traffic
The Association of American Railroads has reported that rail traffic carloads in the U.S. were up by 18.8% for the week ending July 3, 2010, over the same week in 2009. The number of carloads, at 286,777 was also up by 0.4% over the comparable week in 2008.

Intermodal traffic also moved higher, and was up by 36.6% and 19.1% over 2009 and 2008, respectively. Rail carloads for the first six months of the year are now up by 7.8% over the comparable period in 2009.

The 2009 number was a fairly easy comparison since traffic was so weak at that time, but investors should take some comfort that rail traffic is above the 2008 level.

Obviously these reports are positive for the railroad companies, including Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) and Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP). CSX Corp (NYSE:CSX) reports its earnings on July 13, 2010, and analysts will be sure to question management about any signs of weakening demand.

Containerboard
Several paper and packaging companies have pushed through price increases recently on containerboard and other products. Many investors look at sales and other fundamental data about containerboard as an important read into the strength of the economy since the product is tied directly to the shipments of goods.

RockTenn (NYSE:RKT) recently increased prices for containerboard by $60 per ton. Following the lead of Georgia-Pacific Corp., a private company and large producer.

RockTenn also instituted a $40 per ton price increase effective at the beginning of August on several brands of coated recycled paperboard products. Coated recycled paperboard is used for food and non-food packaging.

These price increases may not stick completely, as customers can shop around for lower prices. Other large containerboard players like International Paper (NYSE:IP) and Packaging Corp. of America (NYSE:PKG) have not yet publicly matched these price increases. However, if the industry were seeing weakness then it wouldn’t make sense to be so aggressive on pricing in the face of falling demand.  Another possibility is that the price increases are more due to the strong fundamentals in the product, as inventories at the lowest levels in years.

Bottom Line
The current outlook for economic growth among investors is pessimistic, but there still are some positive signs on the economic front. These should be noted and incorporated into the market’s view on the economy.

http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Some-Positive-Signs-For-The-Economy

Most would-be business owners envision short stints of activity followed by endlessly flowing checks from happy customers. As the visions of the perfect business progress, long days of leisure financed by free-spending clients serviced by hard-working minions eventually lead to a big bank account and an early retirement. While it is a compelling vision, the Small Business Administration reports that new ventures have only a 50% chance of making it through the first five years. Many would-be moguls just aren’t prepared for the reality of running their own businesses.

No Understanding of the Business
Many small business ventures are launched by well-intentioned but poorly prepared entrepreneurs. Being a good cook doesn’t mean you will be a good restaurateur, as cooking food is merely one part of running a food service business. Similarly, being a good accountant doesn’t mean you have the skills to market the business and win new accounts. Being a good mechanic doesn’t mean you’ll be good at running an auto repair business.

And yet, every year, countless numbers of people rush heedlessly down the path of launching small business based on nothing more than their passion for a particular area of interest. Although holding the necessary skill set and interest for the business area are few of the ingredients required for success, they do not guarantee it.

All too often, the result is failure. Cooking, reconciling spreadsheets and fixing cars are activities. Just as marketing, filing taxes and addressing customer concerns are activities. Successful business owners must either be good at all of the activities and have the proper business acumen or smart enough to realize their limitations and hire the necessary expertise.

No Concept of Reality
Many entrepreneurs go into business for themselves because they can’t stand the daily grind of working for somebody else. They envision a life of leisure with little work and large checks. Spend any time at all with the owner of a successful small business, and reality will set it.

You won’t work fewer hours – you’ll work more. Everything won’t be perfect. A few common challenges include a lack of customers, problems with suppliers, problems with employees, problems with equipment and problems with bill collection. These challenges aren’t “one-off” items or the results of a bad day; they represent the challenges you will face all day, every day.

No Backup Plan
At the risk of raining on an otherwise happy parade, the cold hard truth of the matter is that dreams don’t always come true. Just as smart investors save for rainy days, entrepreneurs should have a back up plan. Yes, we have all heard stories about people who bet everything on their big idea and struck it rich. We’ve also heard stories about people who enter casinos and bet their life savings on the throw of the dice. Despite the rare and notables winners, casinos don’t thrive on losing money, just as a 50% failure rate for startups doesn’t bode well for those who don’t plan for the possibility of failure.

No Exit Strategy
All new business ventures are launched with the idea of success in mind, but few are launched with any idea at all about what to do if those big dreams come true. What are you going to do when you win? Do you want to run the business forever? Do you want to give it your family or sell it to a bigger company? What about retirement? How will you get out when you are ready to go? Is there equipment to sell? Are there leases to break, employees to terminate or a business to sell?

Smart business entrepreneurs begin with the end in mind. They know exactly what they want to do with the business from the day the open the doors. An exit strategy can be a beautiful thing, especially if it helps you capitalize on all your hard work.

It Sounds Hard: Why Do It?
Once you assess all of the risks, running a business has a lot less appeal. It’s the reason most people work for someone else. You show up from 9 to 5 and the boss signs the check. Of course, not everybody chooses that path.

Despite the challenges of running your own business, going it on your own does have its benefits. First of all, you’ll have the freedom to spend your time on something that you chose rather than priorities set by your boss. You’ll also get do to something that you are passionate about as opposed to punching a clock and putting widgets into a box or shuffling meaningless papers from one side of your desk to another. Better still, you just might make a profit.

If the challenges don’t seem insurmountable and the downside doesn’t give you cold feet, you just may have what it takes to run your own business.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Reality-Check-Why-Startups-investopedia-1323227182.html?x=0

With the 10-year Treasury bond hovering around 2.9%, fixed income investors have made a killing as of late, while equity investors have been slammed along the way. A new report by mortgage company Freddie Mac (FHLMC) (NYSE: FRE – News) shows that the average rate for a 30-year fixed loan plunged to 4.58% this week, sending rates to their lowest level in nearly 50 years. These events are a boon to high-yielding mortgages REITs, who hold various mortgage linked bonds in their portfolios.

Mortgage REITs are pass-through entities, designed to pass 90% of their income to shareholders. As a result, these entities are more capital efficient, as they are not taxed at the corporate level. Traditionally, mortgage REITs make money by taking advantage of the interest rate spread, the difference between the short-term rate they are paying and the interest they collect from the mortgages. The larger the spread, the more money they tend to make. However, the recent surge in bond prices means that the book value of many mortgage REITs have likely increased as well, making shares more valuable in that regard.

As a whole, the Mortgage Investment Stocks Index is sinking by -1.6% today, but it has avoided the some of the recent market correction. The Index has outperformed the S&P 500 by more than 2% over the last month.

While there are many factors to look at when evaluating mortgage REITs, investors should make sure they know and understand the track record of managers before buying into these stocks. Annaly Capital Mgmnt (NYSE: NLY – News), currently yielding 16%, might fit this bill, as managers have consistently produced strong results, while taking advantage of lower interest rates. Some other mortgage REITs to investigate further are MFA Financial (NYSE: MFA – News) and Hatteras Financial (NYSE: HTS – News), yielding 12% and 16% respectively. Not all REITs in the space throw off huge yields though; Redwood Trust (NYSE: RWT – News) a residential and commercial mortgage REIT currently distributes a modest 7% annually. American Capital Agency (NASDAQ: AGNC – News) yields over 20%, making it the highest yielding stock in the sector.

As a final note, many mortgage REITs use leverage to amplify profits. The more leverage they use the more money they can earn. Therefore, investors should be aware of the interest rate and funding risks associated with these entities, as they tend to be similar to other financial firms like Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS – News) and Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS – News).

Investors can track the Mortgage Investment Stocks Index for performance trends and a suite of other metrics at tickerspy.com.

Fun and informative, tickerspy.com is a free investing website where you can track multiple stock portfolios and compare against 250 proprietary Indexes tracking themes from dividends to ETFs to green energy to precious metals. Best of all, tickerspy.com lets you spy on the portfolios of nearly 3,000 Wall Street institutions and hedge funds and see graphs of their performance. Try tickerspy.com today and find out how you stack up against investing legends like Warren Buffett!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Higher-Bond-Prices-Help-indie-2283499483.html?x=0

This week’s issue of Barron’s features a bullish article on four U.S. steel companies after global economic turmoil stirred up fears of a double-dip recession. The report acknowledges China’s recent efforts to cool economic expansion, but notes that “if Beijing can successfully slow its economy, then it’s also capable of accelerating the growth rate if the slowdown seems too drastic.” The bull case continues that steel prices can decline further, but bolstered demand may continue to drive volume and profits at producers.

A look at the Steel and Iron Stock’s Index shows that despite some individual rallies over the past month, the sector is painted in red since late-March, and most stocks are still off by more than -10% for the period.

Barron’s notes that Nucor (NYSE: NUE – News), United States Steel (NYSE: X – News), Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD – News), and AK Steel Holding (NYSE: AKS – News) are currently trading at attractive levels after falling significantly from 52-week highs hit this spring. As of this writing, the latter three are all trading -30% or more from respective one-year peaks.

Of course, a bullish stance on steel production volumes also bodes well for components of the Coal Stocks Index, though the benefit may vary depending on an individual firm’s exposure to the metallurgical coal market. Massey Energy Company (NYSE: MEE – News), Walter Energy (NYSE: WLT – News), Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE: ANR – News), and other coking coal plays have all been beat up over the last three months as well, losing more than -20% respectively.

It will be interesting to see if Barron’s bull case on steel stocks plays out, or if the bears stay in control. Investors can track the Steel and Iron Stock’s Index for performance trends and a suite of other metrics at tickerspy.com.

Fun and informative, tickerspy.com is a free investing website where you can track multiple stock portfolios and compare against 250 proprietary Indexes tracking themes from dividends to ETFs to green energy to precious metals. Best of all, tickerspy.com lets you spy on the portfolios of nearly 3,000 Wall Street institutions and hedge funds and see graphs of their performance. Try tickerspy.com today and find out how you stack up against investing legends like Warren Buffett!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Are-Steel-Prices-Headed-To-indie-1088571016.html?x=0

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL - News) CEO Steve Jobs unveiled yet another must-have gadget Monday at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference: a new iPhone that will be thinner than previous models and with an array of new capabilities designed to ward off growing competition from Android phones produced byMotorola (NYSE: MOT - News) and other companies.

From the stage, Jobs called into question recent reports suggesting that Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG - News) Android has made significant market share inroads against Apple. Research firm NPD Group reported in May that Android had surpassed Apple’s mobile OS to move into second place behind leaderResearch in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM - News). And while Jobs may dispute the data, it was clear that the iPhone refresh was designed to ward off the Android challenge, matching Android’s ability to run multiple apps and introducing video-calling and a leap forward in display technology.

The Computer and Smartphone Stocks Index dropped -2% on Monday and Apple fell by the same amount, despite the spotlight. Dell (NASDAQ: DELL - News), which is set to begin selling a new tablet powered by Google’s Android operating system, was also down by -2%. The largest decliner in the segment was RIM, down -5% on Monday.

The iPhone 4 will be released June 24 and will contain a new camera system, video-call capability and a host of new applications, including one from Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX - News). The iPhone is currently Apple’s most popular product, generating 40% of the company’s revenues in the last quarter, according to Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, speculation still rages on whether AT&T (NYSE: T - News) will retain its exclusive relationship with Apple’s iPhone. The Wall Street Journal reported in March that Apple plans to produce a CDMA version of the iPhone sometime this year. That would allow the device to be used by Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ- News) and Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S - News). The WSJ noted that AT&T’s cozy relationship with Apple has given it a 43% share in the U.S. smart phone market while Verizon has had only 23%, according to comScore.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Apple-Hits-Back-at-Android-indie-1552417983.html?x=0

NEW YORK (TheStreet) — On his Wednesday Stop Trading! segment on CNBC, Jim Cramer said he’s been recommending Yahoo!(YHOO) because of its “incredible” Chinese assets and ample cash.

In Cramer’s opinion, Yahoo! is “one cheap stock.”

The company, Cramer said, has had a multi-year turnaround with very little downside.

On Wednesday, AT&T(T) announced it will begin offering measured rate plans in place of its current unlimited ones for new smart phone users.

“AT&T’s pricing strategy makes sense to me,” Cramer commented.

On the topic of smartphone devices, Cramer believes that Apple(AAPL), which to him is one of the cheapest stocks on the market right now, will stealNokia’s(NOK) thunder in China.

“They want the iPad and iPhone,” he explained. “Nokia has a huge business in China that will be taken away by the iPhone. Nokia is going to get trashed.”

During an address to an audience in Pittsburgh Wednesday, Obama for the first time talked about tapping into natural gas “in the same breath as nuclear energy,” Cramer observed.

Natural gas stocks took off after that. “It’s a major game changer,” Cramer remarked.

http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/story/10772861/1/cramers-stop-trading-yahoo-apple.html

Also check me out on my Ecademy site!

http://www.Ecademy.com/user/JamesCatledge

It is a given that if you invest in stocks long enough, you will have a thick mental file labeled “Should’a, Could’a, Would’a.” I typically do not give much mental time share to ruminating over what could have been bought, but one stock that does get my teeth grinding is Intuitive Surgical (Nasdaq:ISRG).

Regardless of why I did not pull the trigger and buy the stock, it’s worth investigating whether or not Intuitive Surgical has the right stuff to endure. Will it be a flash in the pan, or will it stay independent and become a future med-tech titan?

Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto
Intuitive Surgical simply is the market for surgical robotics. There are a few other robot-assistance products and companies out there, but Intuitive is hands-down the market leader and the most flexible platform. First cleared by the FDA for prostatectomy procedures in May of 2001, 70% of radical prostatectomies performed in the U.S. in 2009 were performed with the help of Intuitive’s daVinci system. That, in turn, has fueled eye-popping growth in revenue, profits and market capitalization over the years. (For more, see Three Secrets Of Successful Companies.)

What Now?
So far, the daVinci has been very successful in two procedures – prostatectomy and hysterectomy. About 44% of the company’s total procedures in 2009 were prostatectomy, with another 33% for hysertectomy. The remainder was a mix of procedures including nephrectomy, myomectomy, sacral colpopexy and so forth.

The real question is whether Intutive can penetrate additional markets. The device has been approved for many other general surgical and cardiothoracic procedures, but has not yet gained significant share. This, in short, is the core of the bear argument on Intutive – patients demand it for prostatectomy and hysterectomy, but the system has not gained traction elsewhere and there is only so much growth left in those two core procedures.

http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Intuitive-Surgical—Are-Robots-To-Be-Trusted-ISRG-HIT-SI-MDT-BSX0601.aspx?partner=YahooSA

The market is starting to panic. The Dow Jones has lost nearly 1,000 points in the span of four trading days. The market is certainly not cheap, but stocks look better today than they did a week ago. After an eye-popping rally over the past 15 months, it’s actually healthy to see market declines. Indeed the sharper the rally, the more poignant the correction. Investors should not let fear an emotion overcome rational behavior.

http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Nows-A-Great-Time-For-Watchlists-GS-LUK-JEF-STRL0510.aspx?partner=YahooSA

Other Regulators Piling on Goldman

The legal headache is just getting started forGoldman Sachs (GS). After Friday’s meltdown where the stock lost more than 12% due to the SEC’s headlines, other regulatory agencies in Britain and Germany have announced plans to begin inquiries as well.

View the Full Article Here:

http://www.minyanville.com/businessmarkets/articles/goldman-sachs-sec-banking-regulators-commodities/4/19/2010/id/27846?camp=syndication&medium=portals&from=yahoo