Maybe time to come back

I am thinking of medical device companies that make products that make surgeries and procedures cheaper. I am sure that somewhere in that sector there are companies who have been beaten up, but who have a nice road ahead in the long term. Anyone have favorites in there? Something like ISRG maybe? Others?

I'd be careful with Health Care stocks right now with the election on the horizon. There could be big major change coming depending on who wins, and it won't be good for the health care profit machine.

I like AMED and AFAM in the health care industry. I like ISRG as well, but think it's not a good time to get any of them.
As for SA, I share your optimism and think that if you have a 2 year investment horizon there are a lot of sweet bargains around.
I just added to my positions in PWE and FDG - both Canadian energy trust that have lost 60% of their value in the last few months. I think it's ridiculous to think that demand for energy will drop so dramatically.. those guys will be making tons of money even if oil drops to $60, and it won't.

One of my favorite buys in the short term in CEG. There is a nice arbitrage opportunity on it as long as the price is below $26.50 and it pays you while you wait.

But I'm interested in the longer term and a health care/technology overlap for diversification purposes in my portfolio. Now may not be a good time to buy, but it'll take me awhile to get smart enough on the sector and companies in it before I actually put any money on the table. So, I'll take this opportunity to do homework.

Does anyone know where I can find a primer on the health care policies the candidates are proposing and some analysis on the effects on health care?

I also like AFAM a lot. and I like Guliamo's thesis on the energy trusts. there are some OUTRAGEOUS bargains out there. Just need the capital to get at it all. :-)

Another good energy play with some good upside to it might be PDO, Pyramid Oil. It was as high as $36.80 in July and closed at $4.15 on Friday. Obviously a lot of bargains out there.

FYI: the support for the DJIA appears to be at 7,539. Hopefully we don't go below that level, if we do we could see 6,000.

I'm hoping for a one or two day bounce rally next week. The feel of the market changed a little bit late Friday, and a few of the CNBC guys were commenting that it felt like a bottom after the rebound Friday morning.

I guess it all depends on what happens with the G7 and G20 meetings this weekend. If the markets feel that progress was made we may do well, if not, look out below....

I wouldn't go long here for any reason until we get a confirmation of a bottom and a clear MACD crossover. Until then it's a day traders market.

Glad I caught you on this subject rojack,
PDO is a total mystery to me.. I've been following it's erratic behavior and must say the stock has looked to me like it's being manipulated - up 30% one day, down 45 the next.
What is the deal with this Cali based operation? do you have any more info on the company?
Beany,
I think AMED is a bit more solid than AFAM, they have an aggressive M&A agenda. This sector, on a 5-10 year outlook will be red hot.
70 million (!!!) baby boomers will be retiring in the next 6 years and this bottleneck is moving towards old age homes. If we look at the entire industry, there are many small orgenizations out there but no dominant force. If AMED run things well I see 1000% growth over the next 10 years. I'll also bet you that sometime along this time line we will be seeing many mergers.
Before this crazy crunch, the health care sector was the fastest growing one on the market.
Rojack,
How do you see democrat / republican policy affecting this?

As for PDO I see it as a momentum play at this point. Back in May, June and July it seemed like everyone was hyping this stock, thus the rapid surge in price, and the subsequent rapid decline. The thing I like about PDO is that when it does move it moves pretty quickly. It has just crossed over the major trend line which could take it quickly back to the $7-$8 price point for a decent 25%+ profit.

I tend to look at trends that develop for momentum plays. I don't have the patience for long term investing with my Ameritrade account. I leave my long term investing to my 401K plan where I can switch between funds and the money market a few times a year. Luckily I moved all my 401K investments into the money market account when the DJIA was at 11,300. I'm waiting for a clear signal on the MACD to move it back into the market.

So with that said I couldn't tell you much at all about PDO with the exception of what I see on the technical side of it.

As for Health Care, if Obama wins it will benefit the end user, us. The Health Care Providers etc will probably be hit depending on the way we move forward with Health care reform. If McCain wins I see the Health Care industry continuing to make money hand over fist. The Health Care industry as it is today is not interested in finding cures for disease. It would rather keep people medicated so they can get their monthly check from those that depend on medications.

I'm not so sure that many of the baby boomers want to live in Old Age Homes. A lot of older people have been moving in with their children, or closer to them. In fact, awhile back I read that there was a growing trend to building "mother in law" type apartments on the property of the children, wether it be a conversion, home addition or free standing building on a larger lot. I understand the logic involved, but I'm not so sure that that generation, which I am on the younger side of, is going to grow old in the same way previous generations did. Not saying that we won't grow old, but will take a difference view on how we choose to live out the remaining years.

As for long term strategies, you almost can't go wrong now picking up some solid iconic american brands at deep discounts. This is the sale of the century, and if you pick your investments properly you're going to do very well. If you have a deeper tolerance for risk vs reward you could even start looking at american auto makers long term at the prices they are at today. Look what happened to Chrysler, about a buck a share before the government bailout in the 1980's to over $80 before they went down again. Not saying we should buy auto makers today, but at some point in the next 6-12 months.

True, for long term I think Coke is a good deal at present - KO. WMT is a pretty good deal now too. I still highly advocate for GE to make a significant recovery as well, especially with their wind power solutions.