Do you want to earn better returns than a bank CD? You may want to look into the stock market, if this is true. Before you rush out and invest your life savings in stock, you need to learn some important information about stock market investing. The following article contains this advice.

To maximize profitability, think long-term. You will also be more successful if you have realistic expectations, rather than trying to predict things that are unpredictable. Once you have a target for your profits, hang onto the stocks you buy until you reach them.

Find out the exact fees you are responsible for before hiring a broker or using a trader. There will be entry fees and other fees that could be deducted upon exiting, as well. The fees surmount quickly and can be quite sizable if you trade often and are a long-term trader.

TIP! Check out your potential investment broker’s reputation before giving him or her any money. Investment fraud is such a disastrous possibility that spending a little time verifying your broker’s legitimacy is well worth it.

You should never invest more than ten percent of the funds you have available for investment into one stock. Invest only between five and ten percent of capital funds in any one investment instrument in order to protect yourself from bad investments. By only investing a certain percentage of your portfolio in each stock you are protecting yourself from a devastation in case the stock does drop quickly.

A good goal for your stocks to achieve is a minimum of a 10 percent return on an annual basis, because any lower, you might as well just invest in an index fund for the same results. In order to predict potential return from a given stock, locate its projected growth rate for earnings, take its dividend yield, and combine the two figures. Stock with 2% yields and 12% earnings can result in a 14% return.

Keep your plan simple if you’re just beginning. Diversifying and trying to do too much at first isn’t the wisest way to go for the beginner. That one piece of advice might save you a lot of money over time.

TIP! Before getting into the stock market, carefully observe it. You should have a good amount of knowledge before you get into the stock market.

Many people think that they are going to get rich off penny stocks, and they fail to recognize the long-term growth with compound interest on a basket of blue-chip stocks. It is always a good idea to pick stocks that will grow in the future, but also look at the growth prospects of bigger and safer companies. The stocks of these major companies tend to deliver consistent positive results because of the long record of growth they have established.

When looking at the price of a stock, keep an open mind. One rule of thumb in the stock market is that when you pay more for an asset when related to earnings it provides, the less amount you will get in return. A stock that is expensive today might be affordable next week.

TIP! Each stock choice should involve no more than 5 or 10 percent of your overall capital. If your stock rapidly declines later, this can help decrease your exposed risk.

Evaluate the track record of the brokerage firm that will be managing your investment account. There are a lot of firms that promise to aid you in making money when it comes to the stock market, but they’re not properly educated or skilled. Check out reviews on evaluation websites to help you get to know the track record of the brokerage firms you are considering.

After reading this guide, does investing money in stocks sound appealing? If you are, then get for what the stock market holds. Remember the information you’ve seen above and you’ll be able to buy and sell stocks wisely, without worrying about losing money.

 
On the heels of another positive week, the domestic equity markets are moving to the downside in early action, with the Federal Reserve’s exit plan remaining in focus, ahead of some key events later this week from the Central Bank. Treasuries are moving higher amid the losses for stocks, with the US economic calendar void of any major releases today. Meanwhile, M&A news is dominating the headlines, with Actavis Inc reaching an agreement to acquire Warner Chilcott Plc for about $8.5 billion, while Yahoo Inc agreed to an all-cash acquisition of Tumblr for about $1.1 billion. Overseas, Asian stocks finished mostly higher as Japanese stocks tacked on to 5 ½ year highs, while European equities are mostly lower amid weakness in commodity-related issues.

As of 8:51 a.m. ET, the June S&P 500 Index Globex future is 5 points below fair value, the Nasdaq 100 Index is 13 points below fair value, and the DJIA is 32 points below fair value. WTI crude oil is decreasing $0.35 to $95.67 per barrel, Brent crude oil is declining $0.53 at $104.11 per barrel, and the Bloomberg gold spot price is moving $1.10 higher at $1,360.60 per ounce. Elsewhere, the Dollar Index—a comparison of the US dollar to six major world currencies—is down 0.3% at 84.02.

In M&A news, specialty pharmaceutical company, Actavis Inc. (ACT $126) announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire women’s healthcare company Warner Chilcott Plc. (WCRX $19) in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at about $8.5 billion.

Elsewhere, Yahoo Inc. (YHOO $27) announced an agreement for an all-cash acquisition of social media and blogging site Tumblr for about $1.1 billion.

Fed likely to be in focus this week

Treasuries are higher in early action as there are no major US economic reports scheduled to be released today, with the yield on the 2-year note nearly unchanged at 0.24%, while the yield on the 10-year note is declining 3 basis points (bps) to 1.92%, and the 30-year bond rate is decreasing 4 bps to 3.13%.

The US economic calendar will be dominated by several housing reports this week, led by existing home sales, and will also include durable goods orders. However, the Street is likely to focus on Wednesday’s testimony by Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke in front of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress as well as the release of the minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting later that day. Other releases will include: MBA Mortgage Applications, initial jobless claims, new home sales and the Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Activity Index.

While the Fed at its recent meeting noted it could either increase or decrease its asset purchases, we believe the Fed is more likely to begin tapering its bond purchases later this year. After more than four years of anchoring short-term interest rates at zero and holding down long-term yields with its quantitative easing (QE) program, the Fed is signaling that it may soon begin to reduce its pace of bond buying. In our view, this is the beginning of a long process of returning the interest rate markets back to “normal”—where the markets determine yields, rather than yields being heavily influenced by the Fed. We don’t anticipate a sudden jump in yields, but even a gradual rise in interest rates of 1% or 2% can have a negative effect on a bond portfolio. Read more on what we think will happen to yields when the Fed begins to lift the anchor at www.schwab.com/marketinsight.

Europe mostly lower as commodity-related issues see some pressure

The European equity markets are moving mostly to the downside in afternoon action, coming off of near 5-year highs, with oil and gas, as well as basic materials stocks, seeing some pressure amid weakness in commodity prices. Volume is lighter than usual with some holidays in the region, which has Switzerland’s markets closed. However, auto-related stocks are helping limit losses as optimism toward the sector following last week’s upbeat car registrations data is continuing. Meanwhile, shares of Ryanair Holdings Plc. (RYAAY $45) are moving nicely higher after Europe’s largest low-cost airline, per Bloomberg, posted upbeat full-year earnings, which is overshadowing its cautious outlook. In economic news in the region, Italy’s industrial orders rose more than expected for March.

The UK FTSE 100 Index and France’s CAC-40 Index are dipping 0.1%, and Germany’s DAX Index is inching 0.1% higher, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index and Spain’s IBEX 35 Index are dropping 1.2%.

Asia mostly higher as Japanese stocks continue to rally

Stocks in Asia finished mostly to the upside, with Japanese stocks leading the way following an improved economic outlook from the government, which complimented Friday’s favorable economic reports out of the US. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose 1.5%, posting a new 5 ½ year high, despite a rebound in the yen from its recent sell-off, with power companies among the best performers after Prime Minister Abe offered an upgraded assessment of the economy. The yen gained some ground as Japan’s economy minister issued some cautious commentary regarding the currency’s weakness. The solid gains in Japan came despite reports showing the nation’s department store sales and machine tool orders fell in April. Meanwhile, Chinese stocks also posted solid gains, with the Shanghai Composite Index rising 0.8% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index advancing 1.8%, supported by property-related issues on the heels of a favorable housing price report late-Friday. Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index increased 0.6%, while South Korea’s Kospi Index declined 0.2% amid a flare-up in tensions with North Korea. Finally, India’s S&P BSE Sensex 30 Index decreased 0.3%, pulling back somewhat from its recent rally that has taken the index to more than 2-year highs.

by Larry Levin 

After more of the same last week….good news is good news and bad news is good news for the equity markets, it’s time for a little Monday misanthropy.

This time it’s directed at poor Bernie Madoff, who once had billions of dollars, but now he makes $40 a month doing menial prison labor. Poor Bernie! Alas from Hedge fund billionaire to low paid worker with minimal job security as he reported being moved from a clerk in the commissary to now taking care of the telephone and computer systems.

It’s a far cry from his former life and like so many American’s who can’t find a full time gig, he’s only allowed to work for a few hours a day. Of course this gives him lots of time to think about his situation as he’s serving a 150-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2009 to stealing $17.5 billion from investors.

CNN Money spoke with him but he didn’t have any money in his prison phone account , so had to call collect. So what did inmate #61727-054 at Butner Federeal Correctional Complex have to say?

According to CNN MONEY:

“I’m usually up at 4:30 in the morning because I can’t sleep,”

He’s especially haunted by the 2010 death of his oldest son, Mark, who hanged himself on the second anniversary of his father’s arrest.

“I was responsible for my son Mark’s death and that’s very, very difficult,” he said. “I live with that. I live with the remorse, the pain I caused everybody, certainly my family, and the victims. Obviously, the main concern that I have is being away from my family. Married for 50 years, I had a very close family.”

Bernie’s tale of lament from behind bars doesn’t really resonate.

OPTIONS: Volatility Commentary

All in all a very “busy” week if you were to look at the economic calendar, and what really happened?  Not a whole heck of a lot.  It was the same old adage in equities that good news is good news and bad news is good news.  Either things truly are getting better especially here in the U.S. or the money machines will be turned on full bore perhaps even in the UK and the eurozone.  China’s wage environment is experiencing some mixed signals.  Real adjusted wages at non private Chinese companies grew at a 9% pace in 2012.  Wages in the private sector grew at 14%.  So, we are seeing wages growing at near or over double digit growth while the pace of economic growth is decreasing.  Good for the earner, but not so good for the employers.  Manufacturers may really feel the heat should this pattern continue.  An interesting poll of investors, analysts and traders conducted by Bloomberg showed that more than two-thirds believe that the U.S. economic recovery is “sustainable”.  Only slightly higher than 25% of those polled see a return to recession within two years.

Today I want to expand upon the lesson we talked about yesterday highlighting the properties, advantages and disadvantages of vertical spreads.  I want to introduce the concept of combining multiple vertical spreads together as one strategy, namely, the butterfly.  There are myriad ways that we in class use multiple vertical strategies to generate trade signals.  These signals can be directional, they can be used to take advantage of differences in implied volatility across different months, or they can be a way to be “short” implied volatility without having the unlimited loss exposure associated with simply selling options.  Please attend our classroom discussions to hear more on how we implement these constructs.

FOREX: Currency Spotlight

Japanese investors primarily are the ones holding Japanese bonds.  It should not surprise anyone that the government is concerned that with the tremendous run the Nikkei is having that long-term yields may climb higher and that might disrupt the confidence in government bonds.

Rising Japanese yields may not be supportive of the BOJ’s QE plan to reflate their economy.  If yields continue to rise, this will disrupt the USDJPY move. This week we will have a few events that may provide further bullish momentum for this trade.

Wednesday, we will learn if Japan’s trade balanced improved.  We will also hear from the BOJ.  Continued comments are expected to support the April 4th meeting and announcement of the central bank’s massive easing efforts.

As long as Japanese yields do not continue to rise, we may see continued momentum with yen weakness trade.

STOCKS: Watch List

The markets finished the week strong as the Dow and S&P 500 closed at new all time highs once again. The CBOE Volatility Index(VIX) closed below 13, as this is showcasing very little fear in the market. We should continue this bull run with minute pullbacks, as the steady climb to new highs continues. I would look for the markets to start slowing up here as we are wrapping up earnings season.

JC Penny(JCP) saw a sharp drop in their stock price as they showed a worse then expected decline in sales and revenue. With former CEO Ron Johnson gone, the stock had steadily climbed from their 52 week lows. With a huge drop in sales from an alienation of their coupon driven consumers, the company struggled to recover the lost sales revenue. Seeing how retail stocks have recovered strong the past quarter, I would look for this stock to struggle to recover in the upcoming weeks. If we don’t see the continued slide, then I would expect the stock to stay range bound here.

Look for the financial sector to continue helping this drive to new highs in the market. I expect stocks such as JP Morgan(JPM), Morgan Stanley(MS), and Citibank(C) to all have decent gains in the upcoming weeks. Look for the pullbacks to get in on the trend.

We should see a small drop in the market tomorrow as we typically finish negative on Monday’s, and I would expect as much tomorrow. I would expect fairly flat conditions overall. Look for the rally to come in on Tuesday, as we have finished in positive territory ever Tuesday so far in 2013. Stocks to Watch: INTC AAPL GOOG IBM AMZN PCLN BBRY FB CTXS BAC C GS JPM MS CMI CAT NFLX WDC GE LULU LNKD DIS KORS COH FOSL X QCOM STZ NKE UA CHKP JNPR POT GMCR HLF HOG LOW HD LEN TOL V MA AXP DFS LVS MGM.

What is the difference between bear put spreads and bear call spreads, for example? Do you understand why they are each called by that name? This is all about getting our options trading terminology correct.

Here’s how it works.

The first word in the phrase indicates your view of the market. So a bear put spread would indicate that you believe the underlying stock in question is about to take a price dive. In other words, you’re bearish on the stock, so your vertical spread strategy will reflect that.

The next part of the expression indicates not only the type of spread you are going to do, but when combined with the bearish nature of your view of the stock, the fact that it will be a debit spread (not a credit spread). If you were doing a credit spread, you would want the underlying to remain away from the spread strike prices until option expiry date for it to be profitable. But for a debit spread you would ideally like it to plunge through both strike prices for maximum profit.

Bear put spreads are option debit spreads that are structured by buying put options with a strike (exercise) price that is close to the current market price of the share … and simultaneously selling the same number of put options at an exercise price that is lower than the bought options. Since the bought options will be more expensive (being closer to the money) than the sold ones, the net result is a debit to your brokerage account – hence, the “debit spread” part of the trade.

Since we enter put debit spreads because we believe we can make significant gain if the underlying price falls, they provide a way of entering a greater number of option positions at less cost than simply buying (going long) puts. They also allow greater flexibility should the underlying price temporarily go against us, in that we can consider buying back the ‘sold’ position for a fraction of what we sold it, in the hope that should the stock resume its downward trend, we will profit from the remaining bought put option, which we now own at a tremendous discount.

Bear Put Spreads – Profit Potential

Your maximum profit on these debit spreads will be the difference between the strike prices at expiration date, less the net premium (debit) you paid to enter the spread. For this to occur, the price action of the underlying will need to be at, or below, the strike price of the further out-of-the-money sold option. You can of course, take a lesser profit at any time up to the time the options expire.

This strategy should be distinguished from the bear call spread. The latter are credit spreads, again the result of a bearish view of the market but comprised of call options in the hope that the underlying stock will remain away from their strike prices.

CHICAGO –  Financial trading in world markets has grown so lightning-fast that effective regulation is growing tougher by the second, increasing the threat of crashes sparked by hoaxes, electronic glitches or yet-unknown causes.

The latest alarm was triggered by a fake tweet saying that the White House was bombed, prompting a U.S. market nosedive that ended minutes later when the Associated Press said its Twitter account had been hacked. In 2010 U.S. stocks plunged in a “flash crash” following aggressive sales of stock-index futures by a mutual fund.

“As technology changes, our financial system and the rules in place need to be resilient,” Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said after the hacked AP Twitter message in late April.

At a CFTC hearing last week, the potential dangers became even more apparent. Richard Shilts, acting director of CFTC’s division of market oversight, was asked whether the agency could monitor high-frequency trading in real-time.

“No,” Shilts said. “Frankly, I don’t see with our current resources that’s something we would have the capability of doing in the near term.”

The CFTC staff is not up to the task of monitoring computerized trading programs that use algorithms and powerful technology and send trades in milliseconds on a real-time basis, Shilts added. “We need more people who are familiar with algos, computer programmer types.”

Proponents of high-frequency trading argue that the technology creates more efficient markets. They cite research showing improved price discovery and market liquidity, and reduced price discrepancies. Market players can manage risk more efficiently, and spreads between the bid and ask prices are narrower, they claim.

EXCHANGES CHALLENGE

With no clear verdict on how high-frequency trading should be policed, regulators and the industry remain on alert as technology continues its rapid advance.

Terry Duffy, executive chairman and president of the CME Group, said the largest U.S. futures exchange has seen no evidence of market distortions but is on the lookout.

“We can’t keep blaming something unless we have concrete reasons and show they have acted nefariously in the market,” Duffy told Reuters in an interview last week. “If they have, I will show you how I’m policing them to make sure they don’t do anything nefariously in the markets.”

A favored tool of hedge funds and other institutional traders, high-frequency trading accounted for more than 60 percent of all futures volume in 2012 on U.S. exchanges like the CME Group and IntercontinentalExchange, according to New York industry researcher The Tabb Group.

James Overdahl, an adviser to the Futures Industry Association, said the exchanges have been upgrading their systems to keep up with the surge in activity. They are tracking not just high-speed trade flow but also the frantic messaging on cancellations and reorders generated by high-speed trading, said the former economist with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and CFTC.

The IntercontinentalExchange is cracking down on excessive messaging, charging fees when traders exceeded limits. By rapidly sending order messages, then quickly canceling them, traders can create an appearance of market liquidity.

“They reward good quoting behavior and penalize quoting behavior that they don’t view as beneficial to market quality,” Overdahl said.

CME’s Duffy said the exchange also has programs in place to police trading, including excessive messaging.

But HFT critics want more, demanding an end to what they consider disruptive practices. One example is “spoofing,” in which bids and offers are made with the intent to cancel them before execution.

RULES COMING?

Risks associated with high-frequency trading first drew wide attention after the stock market’s “flash crash” of 2010, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by about 700 points within minutes. A regulatory study found that a mutual fund’s large-scale selling of stock-index futures triggered the high-frequency trading behind that volatility.

The CFTC signaled its concerns on Thursday when commissioners voted unanimously to adopt a “guide” on what it will define as “disruptive” behavior in derivatives markets that violate the landmark Dodd-Frank market reform law. Dodd-Frank, passed after the 2008 collapse of the Lehman Bros. investment firm, addresses the activities of institutional investors in derivatives markets.

The CFTC has said it will produce a “concept release,” a discussion paper about possible regulatory changes as early as next month. Such releases are viewed as a prelude to new regulation.

CME Group’s Duffy said academic and industry studies have yet to prove any connection between high-frequency trading and violent market moves.

“You have to have a reason why you’re doing it other than ‘We think that they are making things go up and down in a fast way but we don’t know why or how,’” Duffy said.

The academic work so far has focused on securities markets and responses by the SEC, while issues related to oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have received far less attention.

The debate has intensified as the U.S. Senate Agricultural Committee is set to begin hearings on CFTC reauthorization next week. And while much of the concern over the distortions from high-frequency trading has focused on financial markets, the agricultural markets have felt the effect, too.

The National Grain and Feed Association, which represents more than 1,000 companies that handle and process crops, said many customers of agricultural futures markets are concerned.

“Especially immediately preceding and following release of important crop and stocks reports by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, we believe high-frequency trading has caused and magnified volatile market swings,” the group told the U.S. Senate Agricultural Committee in a statement that it shared with Reuters.

The NGFA requested that the Senate, during CFTC reauthorization hearings, look at whether high-frequency traders should be required to register with the CFTC, and whether such traders should be required to post margin payments even if no positions are held at day’s end.

Others who have studied the impact of high-frequency trading warn against any overreaction.

“It is really hard to avoid unintended consequences once policy makers start getting involved and mandating change,” said Aaron Smith, a University of California researcher who has studied the effects of high frequency trading in the futures markets.

“It’s always important to recognize that whatever you’re doing, you’ll probably be one step behind,” Smith said.

(Reporting by Christine Stebbins; Editing by David Greising and Richard Chang)

As I noted 11 weeks ago, cancer statistics are both staggering and disappointing. Although cancer deaths per 100,000 people have been on the downswing since 1991 thanks to access to more effective medications and better awareness about the negative health effects of smoking, there is still a lot of research and progress yet to achieve. My focus in this 12-week series is to bring to light both the need for continued research in these fields, as well as highlight ways you can profit from the biggest current and upcoming players in each area.

Over the past 10 weeks, we’ve looked at the 10 cancer types most expected to be diagnosed this year:

• Prostate cancer
• Breast cancer
• Lung cancer
• Colorectal cancer
• Melanoma
• Bladder cancer
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Thyroid cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Endometrial cancer

Today, we’ll turn our attention to the projected 11th-most diagnosed cancer: leukemia.

The skinny on leukemia
This year, nearly 49,000 new cases of leukemia are expected to be diagnosed. While that’s well below some of the previous cancer’s we’ve examined, the virulence of leukemia — which is a cancer of the bone marrow or blood — is higher than many we’ve reviewed in recent weeks. Leukemia is forecast to claim close to 24,000 lives this year, which makes it the sixth-deadliest cancer for both men and women.

There are four primary types of leukemia: acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), which is a cancer that starts from white blood cells called lymphocytes and is most common among children; acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which is a cancer usually found in adults where the bone marrow makes abnormal myeloblasts; chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), which is where the bone marrow makes too many white blood cells; and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), which is the most common adulthood leukemia and causes a slow increase in white blood cells called B lymphocytes, which helps spread cancer.

Although early stage detection really doesn’t exist unless you’re already presenting symptoms (fatigue, paleness, weight loss, bruising easily, etc.) or happen to be in the right place at the right time and are diagnosed during a blood test, the curability and severity of symptoms depends on which of these four diseases you have. Five-year survival rates for all leukemias have increased dramatically, from 34% in 1975-1977 to 58% as of 2002-2008, according to the American Cancer Society (links opens PDF file), but some offer better hope than others. As the ACS notes, those with CLL have an 82% chance of five-year survival, whereas AML patients have just a 25% chance.

Sources: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program and the National Center for Health Statistics.

The risk factors associated with leukemia are just as varying as the statistics with regard to five-year survival. Cigarette smoking, for instance, is a big risk factor for AML, while the probability of CLL has a lot to do with the genetics in your family. One common theme that appears to be a risk factor across all types of leukemia is radiation exposure — especially through the course of receiving chemotherapy or treating an existing cancer.

Where investment dollars are headed
Although there are numerous medications targeting leukemia, we’ll stick to these four most common types listed above. Here’s a look at some of the most common therapeutic agents used to treat leukemia.

• Sprycel: Developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sprycel was approved in 2006 as a second-line treatment for patients who had Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) ALL or Ph+ CML, and had resistance to prior therapy. In trials, 42% of patients with Ph+ ALL showed a complete or partial response while taking the drug and it delivered a median response time of 4.8 months.
• Gleevec: Marketed by Novartis, Gleevec is also a secondary treatment used to treat Ph+ ALL and CML in patients who haven’t responded to previous treatments. More recently, Gleevec was granted FDA approval to treat children with Ph+ ALL, which is an important win for Novartis because, as I mentioned, ALL is the most common form of leukemia in children. Gleevec is part of a class of drugs known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors that blocks a protein crucial for cancer cell development.
• Iclusig: Approved by the FDA this past December on an accelerated approval basis and developed by Ariad Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ARIA  ) , Iclusig is also approved to treat Ph+ ALL and Ph+ CML. In trials, 54% of patients experienced a major cytogenetic response that had chronic phase CML, while 41% of patients with Ph+ ALL were noted as having a major hematologic response with a median duration time of 3.2 months. Iclusig does come with a black box warning label, though, that arterial thrombosis and liver toxicity have occurred to patients while on the drug.
• Bosulif: Also approved recently (back in September) and developed by Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) , Bosulif is a tablet that targets Ph+ CML in patients with resistance or intolerance to prior treatments. In trials, of those with chronic phase CML, nearly 34% received a major cytogenetic response. Even more impressive, 53.4% of all patients had a major cytogenetic response if they’d previously taken a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, with more than half of these patients demonstrating a response time in excess of 18 months.
• Erwinaze: Now owned by Jazz Pharmaceuticals via its purchase EUSA Pharma, Erwinaze is more a symptom-treating therapy than a curative agent. Erwinaze is approved for patients with ALL that have developed hypersensitivity to E-coli-derived asparaginase and was given the thumbs up by the FDA based on a single clinical trial involving 58 patients.

I could nearly go on all day with the therapies used to treat leukemia, but these are some of the most common branded names. There are also numerous generic treatments used to treat a broad range of leukemias. However, as we’ve witnessed previously, not every drug trial turns out to be a success. Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: SGEN  ) , which admittedly has one of the newest and hottest technological capabilities with its antibody-drug conjugates, discontinued its lintuzumab trial in 2010 after it failed to provide a statistical benefit to patients in a mid-stage trial. Even Seattle Genetics’ ADC technology, which piggybacks a toxin on an antibody and delivers it directly to cancer cells, isn’t a guaranteed winner in this tough-to-treat group of blood-borne diseases.

What’s coming down the pipeline
Now that you have a better idea of what’s going in in the world of leukemia treatments, let’s have a look at some of the clinical-stage therapies that could be changing lives in hopefully the not-so-distant future.

• Ibrutinib: There’s probably no doubt that Pharmacyclics‘ (NASDAQ: PCYC  ) Ibrutinib would take the cake as one of the most exciting pipeline candidates. Currently, it’s being tested on mantle cell lymphoma (as we saw last month), and the difficult-to-treat CLL. Partnering with Johnson & Johnson‘s subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Ibrutinib delivered a complete or partial response to 71% of treatment-naive CLL patients, with an incredible 96% of those treatment-naive patients showing no disease progression after two years! The 71% response rate blew every other clinical trial on CLL to date out of the water and was good enough to earn Ibrutinib the very rare “breakthrough therapy” designation from the FDA.
• Idelalisib (GS-1101): Currently in early stage development by Gilead Sceinces (NASDAQ: GILD  ) , Idelalisib blocks the PI3 kinase delta to inhibit tumor growth and hopefully treat its target patient population: those with CLL. In the wake of the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in less than two weeks, Gilead reported early data from Idelalisib, and the results were phenomenal. More than half of the 54 patients enrolled exhibited meaningful tumor shrinkage, with median progression-free survival of 17 months. It’s certainly an experimental drug worth keeping your eyes on.

Your best investment
As with the treatments, I could spend an entire day talking about what’s coming down the pipeline and still might leave a few dozen potential therapies out. What can definitely be said is that researchers and big pharmaceutical companies are certainly throwing their weight around with regard to research into leukemia.

If you were to look at this from an investing perspective, I think you have some clear-cut winners in this space — although I’d say picking a favorite might be impossible.

Obviously, both experimental drugs have a lot going for them at the moment. Pharmacyclics has a collaborative partnership with J&J’s Janssen that could net it up to $975 million in royalty payments. Ibrutinib has performed splendidly in trials, but it’ll certainly need to keep those expectations sky high if it wants to support its already frothy valuation.

Gilead offers promise from its existing pipeline of HIV and hepatitis drugs, but is still a long way away from seeing any bottom-line impact from Idelalisib. Make no mistake about what I’m saying here: I like Gilead a lot — but any real results from Idelalisib are still years down the road.

I think the most solid play in leukemia is Pfizer. Bosulif, which was approved last year, went head-to-head against Novartis’ Gleevec in CML, and returned blood counts in 55% of patients to normal after 48 weeks. Gleevec, during the same period, was effective in normalizing blood counts in 33% of patients. Bosulif offered some of the top progression-free response times and a high cytogenetic response rate, making it the most attractive second-line treatment available — in my opinion, at least.

DUBLIN –  Elan will still have $1.2 billion of cash left to spend if shareholders approve its first package of acquisitions, and plans to announce more deals in the second half of the year, chief executive Kelly Martin said on Monday.

Elan agreed on Monday to buy Austrian rare drug specialist AOP Orphan for 263.5 million euros ($337 million) and pay $40 million for a 48 percent stake in Dubai-based sales and marketing firm Newbridge pharmaceuticals.

That followed a $1 billion royalties deal just a week ago as the Irish company looks to fend off a takeover bid from U.S. investment firm Royalty Pharma and reshape its business following a multi-billion dollar drug sale in February.

“This isn’t the end of the journey, it’s the middle phase… We will have north of $1 billion remaining on our balance sheet for additional investments in the next 6-12 months,” Martin told Reuters, describing the Royalty bid as “a bit of nuisance”.

“We will announce further things in the second half of the year. We will look at anything at all. Royalties are almost 100 percent profit with our tax structures, so we will look at assets or royalties or both.”

Martin described the AOP Orphan acquisition, which will hand Elan a number of mainly hematology and oncology-focused drugs and late stage experimental treatments, as a “critical” piece of the new Elan.

AOP, 100-percent owned by founder and former Glaxo-Wellcome executive Rudolf Widman, marks Elan’s first step into the rare drug market, a niche area that does not produce the high volumes that blockbuster drugs can manage but often sustains higher pricing.

Together with the stake in Newbridge, run by ex-Wyeth Inc Middle East chief Joe Henein, the deals will also move Elan’s focus to eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East, where both companies produce and sell drugs.

“These are parts of the world that are not necessarily on everyone’s radar screens. It’s not China, it’s not Brazil, it’s not Germany, France and the U.S., but when you add them up, it’s just shy of a quarter of the world’s population with healthcare demand growing dramatically,” Martin said.

“We believe there are significant opportunities around the world, with certain other geographic areas that we think are as interesting as AOP and Newbridge, but there are only so many things we can do at once.”

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Richard Pullin)

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It could be an anxious wait of up to two months for people in a small Florida city to find out who won the highest Powerball jackpot in history: an estimated $590.5 million.

The lucky ticket was bought sometime Saturday or earlier at a Publix supermarket in Zephyrhills, a city of about 13,000 people best known around the state for its brand of spring water with the same name.

The winner has 60 days to claim the lump-sum cash option, estimated around $376.9 million, at the Florida Lottery’s office in Tallahassee. No one had come forward as of Sunday afternoon.

“It never happens this quickly,” lottery spokesman David Bishop said. “If they know they won, they’re going to contact their attorney or an accountant first so they can get their affairs in order.”

The winner wasn’t Matthew Bogel. On Sunday, he loaded groceries into his car after shopping at the Publix. He shook his head when asked about the jackpot.

“It’s crazy, isn’t it?” he said. “That’s so much money.”

It’s an amount too high for many to imagine. Compare it to the budget for the city of Zephyrhills: This year’s figure is just more than $49 million. The winning Powerball jackpot is 12 times that.

Publix spokeswoman Maria Brous said there are a lot of rumors about who won, but the store doesn’t know. “We’re excited for the winner or winners,” she said.

Plenty of people in Zephyrhills are wondering whether it’s someone they know.

Joan Albertson drove to the Publix early Sunday morning with her camera in hand, in case the winner emerged. She said she bought a ticket at a store across the street, and the idea of winning that much money was still something of a shock.

“Oh, there’s so much good that you could do with that amount of money.” Albertson said. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

Zephyrhills is a small city in Pasco County, about 30 miles northeast of downtown Tampa. Once a rural farming town, it’s now known as a hotbed for skydiving activity, and the home to large retiree mobile home parks and the water bottled from the natural springs that surround the area.

And now, one lucky lottery ticket.

“I’m getting text messages and messages from Facebook going, `uh, did you win the lottery?”‘ Sandra Lewis said. “No, I didn’t win, guys. Sorry.”

Sara Jeltis said her parents in Michigan texted her with the news Sunday morning.

“Well, it didn’t click until I came here,” she said, gesturing to the half-dozen TV live trucks humming in the Publix parking lot. “And I’m like, `Wow I can’t believe it, it’s shocking!’ Out of the whole country, this Publix, in little Zephyrhills would be the winner.”

With four out of every five possible combinations of Powerball numbers in play, lottery executives said Saturday that someone was almost certain to win the game’s highest jackpot, a windfall of hundreds of millions of dollars — and that’s after taxes.

The winning numbers were 10, 13, 14, 22 and 52, with a Powerball of 11.

Estimates had earlier put the jackpot at around $600 million. But Powerball’s online site said Sunday that the jackpot had reached an estimated $590.5 million.

The world’s largest jackpot was a $656 million Mega Millions jackpot in March 2012.

Terry Rich, CEO of the Iowa Lottery, initially confirmed that one Florida winning ticket had been sold. He told The Associated Press that following the Florida winner, the Powerball grand prize was being reset at an estimated jackpot of $40 million, or about $25.1 million cash value.

The chances of winning the prize were astronomically low: 1 in 175.2 million. That’s how many different ways you can combine the numbers when you play. But lottery officials estimated that about 80 percent of those possible combinations had been purchased recently.

The longshot odds didn’t deter people across Powerball-playing states — 43 plus Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands — from lining up at gas stations and convenience stores Saturday.

Clyde Barrow, a public policy professor at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, specializes in the gaming industry. He said one of the key factors behind the ticket-buying frenzy is the size of the jackpot — people are interested in the easy investment.

“Even though the odds are very low, the investment is very small,” he said. “Two dollars gets you a chance.”

Lewis, who went to the Publix on Sunday to buy water, said she didn’t play — and she isn’t upset about it.

“Life goes on,” she said, shrugging. “I’m good.”