Do you think we're going to see more or less genomics research in coming years? End of discussion.

Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) is the leading provider of equipment for genomics researchers and its lead is growing. Buy and hold may be almost dead, but it certainly applies to ILMN. The stock has been trashed along with the market, but it's simply the best at what it does - and getting better.

Your best strategy for life-changing profits?

This is a stock to buy for the long term to use as a base for selling calls. Or, even better, you can write some credit spreads, as the calls have terrific premiums.

Don't miss the complete list of biotech stocks to buy now.

And for more ways to profit, check out:

• The Best Cheap Stocks to Buy Now
• 5 Ways Twitter Can Make You a Better Trader

Biotech stock #6: Illumina (ILMN) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 12 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In 1999, 16 of the 27 countries in the European Union set out to unite and strengthen their economies by adopting the euro, a single currency. In 2002, physical coins and banknotes entered circulation.

Now, only seven years afterward, Standard & Poor's downgraded the economy of Spain from AAA to AA+ stating that the global economic crisis had heightened the "structural weakness" of Spain's economy. A key factor in lowering the credit rating was Spain's growing deficit, which is predicted to range from 5.8% to 6.6% of GDP. In addition, Spain's economy is expected to contract by 2% this year.

The downgrade has caused the spread between Spanish government bonds and German bonds to rise to record levels. The cost of insuring Spanish bonds through CDSs (credit default swaps) has also risen to record levels.

In addition to Spain, the economy of Greece was downgraded from A to A-. Portugal and Ireland are also at risk of being downgraded.

This brings into question just how long the euro can withstand further government downgrades without collapsing, and with Europe reverting back to single country currencies.

Is the euro falling apart at the seams?

What's next for the euro following Spain's downgrade? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.