Stockwatch: Stings in the bifurcating tail
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
With the major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies having reported after three weeks into the second quarter 2011 earnings season, in ordinary times most investors would start to relax as the long list of loss-making companies report their financial results in a tail of announcements that can extend almost to the third quarter season in October. These aren’t normal times however, and the fears of a prolonged stagnation of the US economy, sovereign debt default and contagion amongst European member states have been unwelcome diversions of August business as usual in the stock markets.