There was quite a bit of conflicting information about the Supreme Court's Obamacare decision, but the core of the health care law was upheld. Chief Justice Roberts created some confusion by saying that the mandate was invalid under the commerce clause but valid under the taxing power. It doesn't much matter what the reason is. The bottom line is that the health care bill is essentially upheld. What is ironic is that the Obama administration was adamant in claiming that this wasn't a tax, but the Supreme Court says the only reason the mandate is valid is because it is a tax.
The market jumped around a bit on the news and there is big movement in hospital and health insurance-related stocks, but the market is rolling over again as I write and disappointment over the ruling sinks in. As I discussed earlier, there shouldn't be any lasting impact on the market as this news is digested. Many will consider it a negative for business, but the election in November will be the final arbiter of the health care law.
I continue to trade Nationstar Mortgage Holdings (NSM) and Nanosphere (NSPH), which I mentioned yesterday, and I am watching another small biotech, Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR), which has an interesting setup. I'm going to wait for things to calm down a bit before pursuing any new trades aggressively.
