- Editorial Market Commentary -

December 17, 2009 (FinancialWire) (By Bob Farley) — So America doesn’t guarantee health care to its citizens. So what? Companies like UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE: UNH) Aetna Inc (NYSE: AET), Cigna Corp (NYSE: CI) are gliding happily along with the status quo, so why mess with the current well-known mess in favor of an unknown, different mess?

If laws and rules change, companies will have to dig back into the loopholes, which means hiring new loophole diggers. The best bets will always be lobbyists who have been busy lobbying for…um…loopholes. Who better to exploit them? Just as with the recent credit card rule overhaul, plenty of time will be left for insurers to find ways around whatever they want to find ways around.

But fixing the problems with price-gouging, cherry-picking, etc. ad infinitum, that’s just too much to ask our politicians and businesses. I mean, it’s just too hard. It can’t be done. There aren’t enough collective brains in the world to do that. And anybody who says the problem can be fixed is just deluded. Shucks, anybody who agrees that there is a problem is deluded.

Everything is just fine the way it is.

[Go to http://www.financialwire.net/?s=bob+farley to see more commentaries and articles by Bob Farley.]

The FirstAlert(tm) “Money Index” is an indicator of the depth of market direction or indirection. While not always including the same stocks, the combined NYSE, NASDAQ and AMEX 24 Most Actives and combined NYSE, NASDAQ and AMEX greatest Percentage Losers and Percentage Winners (weighted against pure monetary loss/gain) indicate the direction in which the mass of money is flowing, as well as the general focus of the market. Of the Most Actives, last session’s trading showed 15 advancers versus 9 decliners. Volume leaders were led by Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) trading 164,792,400 shares closing at $3.45 (down 3.1%), the SPDRS Trust Series 1 ETF (AMEX: SPY) trading 34,624,128 shares closing at $111.52 (up 0.2%) and Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) trading 30,010,427 shares closing at $19.38 (down 2.1%). Of last session’s Greatest Percentage Losers, stocks taking the greatest monetary losses were led by Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE: UHS) trading on volume of 578,500 shares (losing $1.424 billion), Sycamore Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCMR) trading on volume of 518,462 shares (losing $240.8 million) and Neogen Corp. (NASDAQ: NEOG) trading on volume of 112,161 shares (losing $133.1 million). Of last session’s Greatest Percentage Winners, stocks making the greatest monetary gains were led by Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHN) trading on volume of 2,070,836 shares (gaining $27.5 million), deCODE genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: DCGN) trading on volume of 8,636,037 shares (gaining $11.1 million) and Seven Arts Pictures PLC (NASDAQ: SAPX) trading on volume of 502 shares (gaining $10.8 million). The complete chart for today’s FirstAlert(tm) Money Index Synopsis is posted at investrend.com (http://www.investrend.com/fa-index). Go to http://www.financialwire.net/?s=%22%27Money+Index%27+Synopsis for all the most recent FirstAlert(tm) “Money Index” Synopses.

The FirstAlert(tm) Economics Calendar lists Initial Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m.), Leading Indicators Index for November (10 a.m.), Philadelphia Fed Index for December (10 a.m.).

The FirstAlert(tm) Events Calendar showcases BEC Annual Business Review.

FirstAlert(tm) Website of the Day: http://www.firstflight.org/

Quote of the Day: “Therefore keep in the midst of life. Do not isolate yourself. Be among men and things, and among troubles, and difficulties, and obstacles.” Henry Drummond

Today is: Wright Brothers Day

Happy Birthday: Sir Humphry Davy, Titian Peale, John Greenleaf Whittier, Ford Madox Ford, Henry Drummond, Ray Jablonski, William Safire, Bob Guccione, Bob Mathias, George Lindsey, Cal Ripken, Sr., Paul Butterfield, Eugene Levy, Paul Rodgers, Barry Livingston, Bill Pullman, Giovanni Ribisi, Milla Jovovich.

Today in History: Francis Drake set sail in 1577 from Plymouth, England, on a secret mission to explore the Pacific Coast of the Americas for British Queen Elizabeth I. Great Britain declared war on Spain in 1718. Simón Bolívar declared the independence of the Republic of Gran Colombia in Angostura in 1819. The Wright Brothers made their first powered and heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903, though for years, many refused to believe it. First flight of the Douglas DC-3 airplane took place in 1935. The U.S.AF closed in 1969 its study of UFOs, stating that sightings were generated as a result of “A mild form of mass hysteria, Individuals who fabricate such reports to perpetrate a hoax or seek publicity, psychopathological persons, and misidentification of various conventional objects.” SpaceShipOne flight 11P, piloted by Brian Binnie, made the first privately-funded manned supersonic flight in 2003.

[FirstAlert(tm) was created by Gayle Essary, founder of Investrend Communications, Inc., parent of Investrend Information. The opinions expressed in FirstAlert(tm) do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Investrend.]

FinancialWire(tm) is a fully independent, proprietary news wire service. FinancialWire(tm) is not a press release service, and receives no compensation for its news, opinions or distributions. Further disclosure is at the FinancialWire(tm) web site  (http://www.financialwire.net/disclosures.php). Contact FinancialWire(tm) directly via inquiries@financialwire.net.

Free annual reports for companies mentioned in the news are available through the Free Annual Reports Service (http://investrend.ar.wilink.com/?level=279).

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.