Shares of Baxter International (BAX), first discussed here on March 13, 2009 at a price of $51.16, pushed this winter above major, psychological resistance at $50. But they appear to be struggling at/near $54 -- and the calculation at this juncture is to maintain the trade.

That said, this trade may not pan out. Baxter's chart is in danger of forming a short-term double top at that aforementioned $54 level. What's more, there's also clutter at/near $58, hence BAX has its work cut out for it, from a technical standpoint.

I'd also raise the sell/stop loss to $44 from $37 at this stage: another swoon will not be tolerated -- BAX has had two years to perform.

Some amazing information has come to light regarding AT&T (ATT), Verizon (VZ), Caterpillar (CAT) and Deere & Co. (DE). It would seem that these companies (among a host of others, I'm sure) have initially determined that dropping health coverage for employees could significantly benefit their bottom lines, and thus benefit investors.

No Surprise Here

As reported by CNNMoney.com, when the health reform bill finally received the president's signature, many large companies began to assess the potential costs of the legislation. At the same time, much was made of the large write-downs that companies took in reaction to changes brought on by the new law.

It's a dimension and benefit of health care reform that's received scant coverage from the popular press -- but it's hardly an insignificant change in the American economic system.

The benefit? Job mobility, with the current condition sometimes also referred to as 'job lock.'

Right now, a portion of professionals, blue collar employees, and others are remaining in current jobs, not because it's their preference, but because of their health care plan.

Now that health care reform is a done deal, with the ink from President Obama's signature yesterday still drying, it's time to talk about how to profit from the new legislation.

I know many parts of the legislation may not sit well with some of you -- whether it be the taxes on dividends used to pay for reforms or the general idea of Uncle Sam getting deeper into entitlement spending even as businesses are generally reducing their debt loads. But what's done is done and there's no use grousing about it. As investors, it's not our job to judge how good or bad the news is but only to judge how to cash in.

As President Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats continued to recruit those House Democrats who were undecided on the health care reform bill as of Friday afternoon, the majority party received some good news on the interest group front, as the American Medical Association reiterated its qualified support for the legislation.

"The pending bill is imperfect, but we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good when it comes to something as important as the health of Americans," J. James Rohack, M.D., AMA president said, in a statement. "By extending health coverage to the vast majority of the uninsured, improving competition and choice in the insurance marketplace, promoting prevention and wellness, reducing administrative burdens, and promoting clinical comparative effectiveness research, this bill will help patients and their physicians."

Could the U.S. health care reform bill pass without U.S. House members voting on it?

Indeed it could, through a little-known, but frequently-used procedure known as the 'self-executing rule,' also known as "deem and pass," The New York Times (NYT) reported.

Under deem and pass, which a Republican-led Congress in the 1990s used to raise the national debt ceiling, the House would vote only on the Senate's changes to the House health care reform bill, and "deem" the health care bill to be passed.

The low-down regarding Thursday's health care summit? No change to the status quo.

President Barack Obama did a good job moderating the event, and Republican and Democratic leaders engaged in, for the most part, civil discussions, with only a few exchanges degenerating into talking-points rhetoric, but the net result was that little common ground was achieved.

What happens to health care reform in the United States, in the (likely) event that Congressional Democrats, the majority party, can not muster enough votes to pass a modified national health insurance plan?

Most likely, the issue would devolve back to the states, "the great laboratories of public policy," to cite a phrase popularized by University of Connecticut Political Science Professor Emeritus Sarah Morehouse, a specialist in state politics and public policy.

Economist Robert Reich, former U.S. Labor Secretary under President Clinton, is calling for the elimination of the health insurance industry's exemption from federal anti-trust laws, and his argument is compelling.

The anti-trust exemption dates back to when the health insurance sector was dominated by hospital non-profits, during which collaboration was constructive: it reduced costs per policy holder by spreading out the costs of expensive equipment over more policy holders. Today, under the mostly for-profit, private sector system of providers, it's just encouraged 'territoriality' -- i.e. the unwillingness of insurers to compete seriously in another insurer's region -- resulting in little competition, sole provider-dominated markets, and of course, massively higher premiums.

President Obama will offer one health care reform proposal that combines "some of the best ideas" from the House and Senate bills when he convenes his health care summit Thursday, February 25, but investors should not look for a bipartisan agreement on a health care legislation this year.

That's because it's high unlikely Republicans will agree to anything: to-date they've gained politically by being the 'party of no' --- by being obstructionist, despite the nation's many large problems, so why would they change now? At this juncture, electorally, until the American people make them pay for their obstruction, there's little incentive for the Republicans to change their stance.

Health care reform remains in "File 13" (the waste-paper basket).

There is about a 1-in-20 chance that Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, will attempt to jump-start the process, but at this juncture, the chances are slim and none, and as that old joke goes, "Slim is out of town."

At this juncture, the only possible tack would be the reconciliation process. That would involve the U.S. House of Representatives first passing the U.S. Senate's health care reform bill as-is -- without any changes -- then have the House and Senate pass a second bill with specified changes under the reconciliation process, which enables a bill to bypass the Senate's filibuster and needs only a simple majority -- 51 votes – to pass the Senate. (The reconciliation process also streamlines committee review.) The reconciliation bill would have the changes some members in the House seek.

Health care reform in the United States, save a late coalition-building attempt by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, has been placed in 'File 13,' as they say inside the beltway, as a result of the election of Scott Brown as the 41st -- and filibuster creating -- Republican to the U.S. Senate.

Just say the Republicans have a 41-vote 'majority' now in the U.S. Senate.

As a result, the United States will have spent more than a year of money, energy, and time to achieve very little on the problematic issue of health costs/health insurance. The federal government's bill for Medicare and Medicaid will continue to rise at intolerable rates, private sector premiums will too, and the number of uninsured Americans, already at about 35 million, will continue to rise, as well.

U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), whose vote maintained a 60-vote majority for the Democratic Party, and thus ensured Senate passage of health care reform legislation, is now calling for the Medicaid deal he negotiated with Senate Majority Leadership to be extended to all states.

"I've been in serious discussions with Senate leaders and others to secure changes in the bill to treat all states equally," Nelson said, in a statement. "At the end of the day, whatever Nebraska gets will apply to all states."

There's a baseball play-by-play announcer with a pretty good team, whose made a small fortune uttering phrases like, "I tell you what you can do with that prediction: You can take that prediction and throw it in the East River. That's how much that prediction is worth."

In general, the same can be said about economic/budget projections. A little advice regarding economic and budget projections: don't work yourself up in to a lather over them.

Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (CALM) is about the only company of note scheduled to release earning results in what will otherwise be a very quiet week between the holidays.

The three months that ended in November saw the poultry industry embroiled in an environment-related lawsuit, and Cal-Maine also ended its streak of special dividends when it reported a first-quarter loss.