Yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
Changing prescriptions
Today's quarterly report from Pfizer will give investors a peek at how major shifts within the company have been doing. While losing its Lipitor patent helped to cut net income in half last quarter, the company aims to cut $4 billion in expenses through 2012 and just sold its nutrition division to Nestle for more than $11 billion. Pfizer also looks forward to revenue from new drugs, including the FDA-approved Inlyta, developed to treat kidney cancer, and two drugs currently under review -- Eliquis, developed to help treat complications from irregular heartbeats, and bosutinib, developed to help treat leukemia.
Competitor Merck
Car sales
Representing about 25% of total retail sales, car and truck sales can be a good indicator of total consumer demand. Forecasters estimate an increase in sales of 2% over last year, with GM
US Auto Sales data by YCharts.
Further in the week
Kraft reports earnings on Thursday, and investors will also be watching the employment report released on Friday. While new jobless claims have been higher than analysts have expected, the market expects the unemployment rate to remain at 8.2%.
Remain Foolish
Every bit of news might nudge the stocks up or down for one day, but that doesn't mean much for long-term investors looking to outperform the market. A solid company pays no attention to the everyday changes in share price but instead looks for long-term value creation. To reveal three such solid stocks that will help you construct your retirement portfolio, along with the habits needed to build wealth far into the future, read our free report: "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich." It's free!