I had hoped to talk about healthcare...

We were going to talk about healthcare on the Fast Money Halftime Report today - specifically about Pfizer's little problem with Chantix, their smoking cessation drug. Apparently something isn't right there, so the FDA is requiring what they call a 'black box' warning label. But we didn't.

And frankly, I'm bummed. Because I have the perfect way to play this little problem. Big warning label = equals fewer sales of the drug. Fewer people quitting smoking means more cigarettes get sold. So, I bought Philip Morris International (PM) for myself today. I like the 5% dividend. The chart looks good. The valuation isn't extreme. Their emerging markets exposure is growing at 20%. What's not to like?

Now, without further ado, today's Halftime report, sans healthcare.

Halftime Again

So much to talk about, nowhere near enough time. I wanted to talk about the slow death of the bear market rally due to lack of interest, my "smoke 'em if you've got 'em" trade, and so much more. Oh well. Maybe Wednesday.

Follow through or failure?

I'm watching a lot of stocks as well as the major indexes right now. The tea leaves are mixed, but it's looking to me like we might be lurching toward a continued summer rally. The next couple of days will probably seal the deal - either up for awhile or a continued grinding in this range. The funny thing is that there's no real support for it in the economy that I can see. But since when has the market demanded logic?

The good news is that we're used to market corrections in the Fall. At least it will be familiar.

Treasuries, Oil and Smart Phones... from me?

A quick minute or two on the consumer

Less bad = good? Nah.

So the Federal Reserve just left interest rates (Fed Funds) exceptionally low, saying that "substantial resource slack" will keep costs low thus inflation will remain subdued for some time. They expect that the exceptional efforts that they are taking/making on behalf of the markets to purchase mortgage back securities remain necessary.

Bottom line, the consumer is still in a world of hurt and won't be bouncing back anytime soon.

We really need to figure out what the new normal is going to look like. I'm fairly certain that we're overvaluing stocks expecting growth that isn't going to be there to validate these multiples.

Halftime Report Tuesday: Energy, Home Builders, and other assorted stuff