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.

The positive story continues with pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Inc. (ESRX), which I first wrote about on June 9, 2009, at a 2-for-1, split-adjusted price of $31.82.

In fact, the uptrend has been so impressive, Express traded near $56 on Friday, those in since June 2009 may wish to consider taking some profits off the table, to say the least. It never hurts a portfolio to take a portion of a roughly 80% gain.

New Jersey-based pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is recalling roughly 4 million packages of children's Benadryl Allergy Fastmelt Tablets (cherry and grape flavor) tablets and 800,000 bottles of 24-count Junior Strength Motrin.

The company blamed the recall on "insufficiencies" in the manufacturing process of the two medications, the Dow Jones reported. JNJ said that the recalls are taking place on the wholesale and retail levels, and that consumers can continue to use these products if they are in the medicine cabinet.

Reportedly, a U.S. House committee found a bit more about Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) recalls than it wanted during a recent investigation into last year's recalls. Remember, Johnson & Johnson had a massive recall of some of its over-the-counter (OTC) medicines.

Turns out that the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform announced Tuesday that it obtained an e-mail highlighting an agreement between the FDA and Johnson & Johnson that would allow the company to "conduct an unpublicized recall of adult Motrin." Motrin is produced by Johnson & Johnson's McNeil consumer medicines, and this is the unit that was allowed to carry out the "phantom recall."

Baxter International (BAX), which I first wrote about on March 13, 2009 at a price of $51.16, still looks promising, for the following reasons.

Look for Baxter's 2010 revenue to increase 8-11%, propelled by sales rises in all business segments. Moreover, versatility remains Baxter's key. Baxter makes a variety of medical products across three divisions, including drugs and vaccines, dialysis equipment, and IV supplies. Demand for recombinants, plasma proteins, and antibody therapies in its bioscience unit should be especially strong.

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.

On Tuesday, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) stepped into the earnings spotlight, announcing a higher third-quarter profit compared to last year. The pharmaceutical firm earned 43 cents per share, or 51 cents per share in adjusted earnings. A year ago, PFE earned 34 cents per share before item exclusions. The Street expected PFE to report third-quarter earnings of 48 cents per share excluding items.

Quarterly revenue checked in at $11.62 billion, 3% lower than last year's third-quarter revenue. Revenue was pulled roughly 5% lower due to unfavorable foreign exchange rates.

First, who are the Nobel Prize winners? Why is their research so important in the areas of aging and cancer detection?

Three Americans won the Nobel Prize for medicine. They are Elizabeth Balckburn, Jack Szostak and Carol Greider. Balckburn is with the University of California, San Francisco, Greider is with Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore and Szostak is at the Harvard Medical School.

Iran's flawed democracy is still better than most of the political systems among other countries in the region. For the past few decades the morality police, prodded by religious literalism, have mandated women to cover themselves when they are out in public. This same religious literalism has impeded the potential of a country that has a large population, in a key geographic region, with oil and other natural resources.

Iran is in the midst of a presidential election that has stimulated much heated debate among the population about the failures of the current government in economic and political terms, and that has created a feeling of isolation. The isolation is more than a feeling, and it has limited the growth of the nation to something far less than its capabilities.

This morning, Merck (NYSE: MRK) unveiled first-quarter earnings, which dropped 57% thanks to a drop in both drug sales and income from its cholesterol medicine partnerships. Excluding charges, Merck brought in 74 cents per share in quarterly earnings. The results were a full three cents short of the consensus estimate.

Turning to revenue, Merck reported $5.39 billion - an 8% drop from a year ago. The consensus estimate for quarterly revenue was $5.77 billion, so the results were far short of the bar set by the Street.