Drug stocks slip early Wednesday, while shares of Vivus jump on a positive Phase III clinical study for the company’s new erectile-dysfunction drug.

The FDA warns people prescribed to take Plavix -- the world's No. 2-selling drug -- that also taking the stomach-acid medication Prilosec can reduce Plavix's effectiveness as a blood thinner by nearly half.

For the tobacco industry there’s a lot of money to be made by getting people hooked on cigarettes and keeping them as customers for life. But smoking cessation products are increasingly sending a good portion of those revenues up in smoke. In theory anyway. Products made by pharmaceutical companies to help smokers quit have had limited success penetrating the captive audience Big Tobacco has garnered from its incredibly brand-loyal customers. But Big Pharma hasn’t given up trying to find that miracle drug that will cure addiction. The industry’s latest attempt at snuffing out peoples’ nicotine habit comes from GlaxoSmithKline ...

Stocks shrugged off a surprising decline in consumer confidence from the University of Michigan (or was it Ohio?) to finish higher Friday on light volume and end a second successive winning week. Disney (DIS) plumped up to a 52-week high after impressive earnings (see also Why Now Is a Good Time to Play Disney)  though the mirth of Mickey Mouse must have been mitigated upon discovering the girth of his cousins as The Economist announced using language unbecoming of its origins in uptight Victorian England. Masochism knew no bounds as a bidder brandished big bucks to wrap themselves in Madoff ...

Among the shares expected to see active trade in Monday's session are Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cellcom, Citi, FedEx, Iberiabank, Landry’s, Mead Johnson, Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, and TTM Technologies.

More Than Half of Industry Executives Anticipate Multiple Deals Next Year

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