The economic calendar is light in number this week, but it is not without important reports to point out. Christian Hill in Investor’s Daily Edge has the details…

Big Pharma is in trouble. Generic competition, patent expirations and slowing sales are all eating into profits.

So how can you turn a profit in this turbulent sector? By investing in contract research organisations, or CROs, says biotech expert Rob Fannon. When the big pharmaceutical companies outsource research to CROs they get paid whether or not the new drugs ever make it to market.

There’s another way to profit too – contract sales organizations, or CSOs. They’re another way for Big Pharma to outsource, but instead of doing research they sell.

It’s no secret I’m a Big Pharma bear. And my favorite target is Pfizer, the world’s largest drug company.

Nokia Shares Plummet on Missed Earnings; “The World” Developer Posts Quadrupled Annual Profits; Google Beats Estimates; Capital One Profit Drops 19%; TD Ameritrade Gets a Boost; Societe General Chief Steps Down; Avant Soars on Pfizer Deal; Southwest Ekes Out Profit.

A fresh round of earnings reports dragged on U.S. stocks today (Thursday).

Although the earnings season officially kicked off last week with Alcoa reporting first quarter earnings, the real fun starts this week with seven Dow components reporting.