Krugman: U.S. in Danger of Lost Decade; Trichet Sees First Signs of Recovery; Plavix Could Have Serious Competitor; Intel Could Face Record Antitrust Fine; GM Open to Leaving Detroit; Microsoft in First Bond Offering; Dish Network Beats Expectations; Nortel Blows a Fuse

I promise. Alexander Green and I are not in cahoots about the coming boom in corporate takeovers… We both researched the possibility separately. Unprompted, I might add. And yet, armed with different evidence, we arrived at the same conclusion. If you ask me, such a convergence of analysis in a narrow space of time shouldn’t be ignored. So today, let’s move on from why a takeover boom is imminent and focus exclusively on three takeover targets you can profit from…

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

Investing icon Warren Buffett took his own advice Tuesday – getting “greedy when others are fearful” – when he ignored the banking-sector bonfire and slapped down a cool $5 billion for a stake in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS). By literally putting his money where his mouth is, Buffett’s actions – and reputation as a shrewd bargain hunter – restored some of Goldman’s luster and helped bolster investor confidence in the U.S. banking system.

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

With the stock market in turmoil, it’s a good time to check in on what Warren Buffett is doing with his portfolio. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A, BRK.B) has struggled in the first half of the year. Money Morning’s Jason Simpkins says $3.5 billion of Berkshire’s recent $4-billion shopping spree is still unaccounted for…

It wasn’t long ago that we published several articles urging investors into the neglected biotech industry. Now Sara Nunnally over at Taipan Publishing says Central and Eastern Europe is a hot region for the sector right now. Big pharma is also looking to enter the rapidly growing market for generic drugs. And a popular way to establish a foothold in the region is through acquisitions of local firms.

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.