Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis’s pending bid to acquire majority ownership of Alcon, an eye care products maker, in a deal valued at about $40 billion, stood out against a backdrop of only 3% mergers-and-acquisitions growth across industry sectors globally for the first half of 2010. While we aren’t likely to see many more large-scale mergers,
What are the potential implications for consumer-sector stocks? At the margin, we think the impact of increased regulation and taxation on financial services companies could be negative — particularly for businesses that touch the consumer directly, such as credit card companies. Anything that slows economic growth, increases uncertainty, or decreases confidence is negative. What are
China’s GDP soared 11.9% in the first quarter of 2010. And that growth is likely to continue to have a significant impact on certain commodities that China must import. How does China’s growth affect natural resources? China imports a significant share of the world’s commodities. China ranks third in the world in thermal coal reserves.