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Biotech / Medical : PFE (Pfizer) How high will it go? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (6447)	12/8/1998 9:27:00 PM
From: BigKNY3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

Dabbling in Drugs May Boost Your Wealth: Taking Stock - Remember a better time to buy drug shares? Investors said they don't. The financial pressures that last week led to the two biggest linkups in Europe's drug industry since 1996 haven't relented, and investors said they're gearing up for a rash of mergers. Forthcoming transactions, they said, may involve Astra AB of Sweden, Novo Nordisk A/S of Denmark, Gemany's Schering AG and Zeneca Group Plc of the U.K. While that's a gamble, investors argued it's a safe one because the prospect of slow economic growth suggests the investment will pay off anyway: drug shares tend to be among the least sensitive to economic swings because, when times are hard, consumers cut back on non-essentials such as perfume and clothing rather than medicine. ''Merger prospects add spice to what was already a good investment,'' said Alan Day, who helps manage $3.3 billion at Stratevest Group in Burlington, Vermont. When the Bloomberg index of 500 European stocks plunged 32 percent between July and October 1998 amid worries about recession, the sub-index of 25 pharmaceutical stocks fell by about half of that, or 18 percent. That's why, as recession in Asia and parts of Eastern Europe and Latin America threatens to choke European economic growth, investors said pharmaceuticals are a good way to cushion the blow. Recession-Resistant ''Drug stocks are a bit like an insurance policy,'' said John Hatherly, who helps manage about 19 billion pounds ($31.6 billion) at M&G Investment Management Ltd. ''You can't afford to be out of them.'' Signs that European growth is slowing already prompted the European Union last month to cut its 1999 growth forecast for the 11 countries adopting the single currency to 2.6 percent from 3.2 percent. Consumer spending alone accounts for two- thirds of most European countries' gross domestic product. ''I'd cut back on makeup and clothes, but I can't imagine a situation where I'd stop buying medicine,'' said Magali Etienne, a mother of one who lives in the Paris suburbs.