Most investors were not expecting good news. That is why shares of Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ:HGSI) are soaring after the company released its latest Phase III results.

These facts are not subject to dispute. And they could earn you as much as 236% gains.  For the better part of the past year, you have been hearing stories about the H1N1 influenza virus, a.k.a. swine flu. For a while those reports included enough dramatic sudden deaths to qualify as “front-page news.”

Make more than 300% when the world wakes up sick come winter.   There is a myth in this biz that “if it bleeds, it leads.” The idea is that what truly makes mainstream media moguls happy is guts, gore and conflict. Drama sells, and sells well. Death, war and sex sell even better.

The pig flu is scaring the wits out of travelers across the globe. While a handful of companies are enjoying surging share prices today, the biggest winners will be the news networks that are blowing the whole thing out of proportion.

FTSEurofirst 300 up 1.1 pct on the day, up 13 pct on week… Index lost 7 pct in Nov, ninth month of losses in 2008… Cyclicals hammered; defensive pharmas surge

Inflation Still Threatens Japan; Time-Out for Northrop and Boeing; Citi Takes a Hit on Fannie and Freddie; Chinese Inflation Subsides; ImClone’s Secret Admirer; Bank of America Settles; Management Shake-Up at Sanofi-Aventis; Shell Evacuates in Face of Hurricane Ike

Given the gut-wrenching financial turmoil of the last year, many investors are looking for more secure ways of investing.

Floyd Brown says one way of doing this is to rethink the “boring” image of dividend-paying stocks. These stocks can offer great returns and a steady cash flow.

Floyd says there are five pharmaceutical companies offering outstanding dividend yields in a growing sector. And with most negative sentiment already priced into the stocks, downside risk is limited…

Since March, shares in Warren Buffett’s investment vehicle, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A, BRK.B), have plunged 23%.

The Class A shares closed Friday at $116,650 each, down from their 52-week high of $151,650 (the Class B shares represent 1/30th of the Class A shares).

However, Money Morning’s Horacio Marquez says Berkshire’s share price is merely a reflection of the slowdown in the US economy. And with shares now at bargain prices, it’s a perfect opportunity to take a stake in one of the best investment portfolios on the planet…

I’d like to tell you about a couple of important new breakthroughs that have just shown up on the radar. Both have enormous potential, in terms of both your health and your portfolio.

The United States is already in a recession and it will be longer as well as deeper than many people expect, U.S. investment guru Warren Buffett said in an interview published Saturday in the German magazine Der Spiegel.