Tag - CMED

The broad markets were all down today on the negative outlook from the World Bank. The Dow was down 2.35% to close at 8,339; the Nasdaq posted even bigger losses, down 3.35%, closing at 1,766; and the S&P 500 shaved 3.06% off from its open.

The Russell 2000, the widely followed index of the 2,000 largest small cap stocks, was down 3.68% to close at 494.

Fighting the overall downward trend and leading small-caps was Specialty Underwriters' Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq:SUAI) posting at 56% gain to close at $6.18 on news that it agreed to be purchased by Tower Group (Nasdaq:TWGP) at year end. Specialty Underwriters' offers commercial property and casualty insurance products in the United States. Tower Group was down 4% to close at $23.04.

Other small-caps bucking the selling include Oncothyreon (Nasdaq:ONTY) up 33% on news of testing start for a late-stage study on the breast cancer treatment Stimuvax; MTR Gaming (Nasdaq:MNTG) up 21%; and Security National Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:SNFCA) up 20%.

Leading small-cap decliners today was LodgeNet Interactive (Nasdaq:LNET) posting a 22% loss for the day to close at $3.54. LodgeNet, a provider of Internet and advertising services, announced on Monday that it plans a profit offering of $50 million worth of convertible preferred shares. One half of the proceeds will be used to pay down the outstanding balance on its loan while the remainder will be used as general working capital.

Other small-cap decliners include Rex Energy (Nasdaq:REXX) down 19.5%; Warren Resources (Nasdaq:WRES) down 20%; and China Medical (Nasdaq:CMED) down 19%.

*****Oil is down again. The World Bank has lowered its growth projections for the global economy. In March, the World Bank was calling for a 1.7% contraction in global GDP. Now, it says the global economy will shrink by 2.7%. That's a pretty big revision.

The forecasts for China and India are about the only bright spots.

Traders are taking profits on oil stocks, which suggests they don't see a lot of upside for oil prices right now. Demand is still down, and we're not seeing a runaway economic recovery.

*****Here's your look ahead at the economic data for the week. Tomorrow, June 24, we get existing home sales.

We get new home sales on Wednesday as well as durable goods orders, oil inventories and the Fed will tell us that they aren't changing the overnight lending rate.

Durable goods orders will be a market mover. Last month, you'll recall, the number came in above expectations. Another strong reading would be great, but I have my doubts that it will happen. We should be expecting month to month swings in data like durable goods orders. It seems too early to establish a trend higher.

Thursday, we get initial jobless claims and the final First Quarter GDP number. The initial report is that the economy contracted at a 5.7% annualized rate. There may be an upward revision but I doubt that would be significant. Investors want to believe that the economy bottomed in the First Quarter, so this number gets a pass.

Finally on Friday, we get personal income and spending, the Michigan sentiment review.

*****Jason Cimpl, technical analyst at TradeMaster Daily Stock Alerts, gave us his weekly forecast for the major indices on Friday. If you missed it, here's the LINK. Jason's forecast was near perfect last week. We'll see how he does this week. 

*****We'll be discussing our bullish outlook for commodity stocks in next Wednesday's Video Conference. It's titled Inflation Busters: Discover the Stocks to Grow and Protect Your Wealth and will air on Wednesday, June 24 at 6 pm. It's free to attend, you can sign up HERE.

Shares of China Medical Technologies  Inc. (Nasdaq:CMED) rose 8.5% this morning after the company announced it bought an HPV detection system for $345 million.

HPV, or human papillomavirus, causes cervical cancer and sexually transmitted disorders.

Beijing-based China Medical said in a statement issued early this morning that it bought the system from Molecular Diagnostics Technologies Ltd. 

The firm said it expects the buy will strengthen its position in the molecular diagnostic market in China and increase its high margin recurring revenue.

By late morning, China Medical is at $30.92, up $2.35 from Monday's close. The stock has traded as low as $25 and $57.50 in the past 52 weeks.

For detailed price information and news stories on China Medical Technologies, click CMED.

In the wake of a rash of tainted Chinese-made products such as the blood-thinning drug Heparin, Beijing has made encouraging moves to overhaul and strengthen its food and drug safety regulations.

As a result, China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, which oversees food and drug exports, are working diligently to ease global concerns and crack down on substandard drugs and counterfeit medical devices. Together they already have implemented nationwide quality-control inspections and are setting up SFDA offices in three Chinese cities.

The promise of lasting reforms along with the prospect of cutting costs and tapping an ever-growing Chinese market is attracting large medical device makers to China. General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE), Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV (NYSE:PHG), Siemens AG (NYSE:SI), Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT) and others are stepping up their manufacturing presence in the mainland.

One domestic player unfazed by the arrival of multinational giants is China Medical Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:CMED). The Beijing-based biotech company develops, manufactures and markets non-invasive medical devices that include advanced in-vitro diagnostic products utilizing a high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapy system to treat solid cancers and benign tumors; and enhanced chemiluminescence (ECLIA) technology and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) technology, used in the detection and monitoring of various diseases and disorders. China Medical's two key products, HIFU and ECLIA, have about 70% market share in China. And the company's R&D lab is close to the cutting edge of being one of the country's most productive sources of innovation in advanced in-vitro diagnostic systems and high-intensity focused ultrasound products.

The HIFU system, which uses high-intensity beams to destroy cancerous tissues and tumors, has been used to treat tumors (breast, kidney, liver, pancreas, uterus, pelvis, bone, limbs and superficial tissues) in more than 40,000 patients in China since 1999. HIFU is primarily sold to state-owned hospitals, which make up the majority of health-care facilities in China, but the Korean Food and . . .