• With the government shutdown in effect, Republicans and Democrats continue digging in on the budget and the battle centers on the controversial Affordable Care Act. As a result, frustrated investors seeing red may be missing a chance to make green. When it comes to investing, emotions and profits are seldom a healthy mix.

    "People have a tendency to invest with their own emotions," notes Barry Ritholtz, CIO of Ritholtz Wealth Management and editor of the Big Picture blog. "It's a terrible mistake. Every trader knows it every investor should know it."

    Democratic leader Harry Reid says any bill that modifies the controversial health care program will be dead on arrival. The Republicans vow to shutdown the government before they sign off on any hike in the debt ceiling. The numbers for investors are simple: The health care sector is going to win no matter happens to the specific details of Obamacare.

    Related: Obamacare Is GREAT for My Business, But Awful for America! Says Funk

    He's been putting money into the Health Care Select SPDR (XLV) ETF and big pharma names like Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Pfizer (PFE), as well as "almost any" hospital company. If Obamacare happens, which is still the odds-on bet, "about 45 million Americans with little or no insurance are going to be able to consume medical care," Ritholtz notes. In countries where government health care is the norm (most other industrialized nations) those numbers work to the benefit of the hospital sector companies.

    Read More »

  • Obamacare: The Exchanges Are Here. Experts Answer Your Questions Live

    By The Daily Ticker | Daily Ticker – Mon, Sep 30, 2013 4:28 PM EDT

    The federal government isn’t quite open for business today, but the health exchanges – the centerpiece of the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010 – have officially launched today. (The exchanges are not affected by the shutdown that began at midnight because they are already funded.)

    The Obama administration expects millions of consumers to apply for private insurance coverage. The first open

    Read More »

  • Stocks suffered steep losses ahead of a possible government shutdown. Traders appeared pessimistic that Senate Democrats and House Republicans would be willing to agree on a piece of legislation ending a stalemate. This afternoon the Senate rejected the House bill that sought to keep the government funded through December, which included eliminating a medical device tax while leaving the majority of President Obama's health care law provisions intact. If Congress fails to reach an agreement by midnight, a partial government shutdown will take effect on Tuesday.

    POLL: Where do you pin the blame for the impending government shutdown?

    J.C. Penney (JCP) ended the day lower by over 2% and at one point the stock dropped to $8.59; its lowest price since November 1984. Traders appear to have been scared off by a plan announced last week to sell 84 million shares as a way of raising capital. The company said it would offer the shares at $9.65 which is now significantly above the current price.

    Read More »

  • When a horse is leading into the home stretch, it can mean it's just hitting its stride or is about to tire. Same with the stock market as October approaches.

    Fundresearch

    And it turns out it's been slightly more common to see some fatigue set in than for momentum to build further.

    The Dow is on track to post its ninth-best run through the first three quarters in the past 50 years. History suggests the odds are better than average for a bit more upside in the final three months – but the results are not quite as strong as in years when stocks have risen less through September.

    The Dow’s total return (including dividends) is on track to finish this last session of the third quarter up between 15% and 16%. The index has returned at 15% or more through September in only eight prior years in the last half-century, the last time in 1997.

    Up five, down three

    According to a historical screen run upon request by Schaeffer’s Investment Research, in those previous eight years when a 15% gain had built up,

    Read More »

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