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8:30 AM Tuesday, July 19, 2005: Summer is arid. Slow. Deal flow is the key. But there are zillions of Harry Newtons looking for the perfect investment. This week:

+ One real estate syndicator cut me down by 60%.
+ A real estate loan syndicator cut me down by 32%.

Both were great deals.

Everyone is reading the latest Harry Potter. They sold 6.9 million copies in the first 24 hours. But it won't mean much for publisher, Scholastic (SCHL) because it's a small a part of their business. Darn.

So you keep nudging around.

I liked Cramer's pick last night of Caterpillar (CAT). He said investors should buy Caterpillar before it reports "monster" second-quarter earnings on Thursday. Cramer said Caterpillar is "best of breed." (I like that concept.) The company is also a play on oil. Caterpillar is the only company making equipment big enough to get to shale oil. Oil companies want to get to the oil as quickly as possible, and Caterpillar has the equipment oil companies need. The company just split two for one. CAT closed last at $50.82. Don't chase it. At 8:20 this morning it was bid up $1 5/8 -- a testimony to Cramer's growing power.

You can get a recap of Cramer's 'Mad Money' show on TheStreet.com the following day. Click here.

Hana Biosciences appeals: It's a big event when a tiny company finds an analyst willing to cover it. Hana (HNAB:OB) found Griffin. Their first report -- all 56 pages of it -- is out. Griffin's conclusion:

Based on multiple valuation approaches, we are establishing a 12 month price target range of $8-$12 per share for Hana. We believe Hana’s management team is excellent and well positioned to build a preeminent biopharmaceutical company. Additionally, Hana’s oncology portfolio includes two potential blockbuster drugs and should provide Hana and its shareholders with a solid foundation for growth and stock appreciation. We believe Hana will provide an excellent return to its investors and therefore, recommend the stock with a BUY rating.

Biotech stocks can be the most rewarding investment around -- if the drugs work. The valuation of biotech stocks stair-steps up as it passes through hurdles -- Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, FDA approval, doctor acceptance, market acceptance. The key is to buy good drugs cheap. Hana's market cap at last night's $1.75 is only $32 million. That's cheap. It's not unrealistic for Griffin to project a market cap of $320 million. Hana has three drugs focused on cancer (oncology) -- Talotrexin (PT-523) – a promising new generation, non-classical antifolate with trials underway in Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), cervical cancer and solid tumors; IPdR, an oral prodrug for pancreatic, gastric, colorectal, stomach, liver and brain cancers; and Ondansetron Lingual Spray (OLS) for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

Are you and I capable of figuring if these drugs will be approved by the FDA, prescribed by doctors and ultimately sell gadzilions. No is the simple answer. You do your research. You meet the management. I've met them. I'm impressed. You figure the odds. And cross your fingers. Hana's worth a fling, now. Remember you're looking at two to three years for the blowout payout.

Need to convert currencies? The easiest way is Yahoo! Finance. Click here.

The gullibility of idiots (like me): My friend, the engineer, sent me that nonsense about cell phones and car door openers. I didn't check. Had I, I would have learned: car door openers run on frequencies much higher than cell phones can transmit. Cell phones are designed to send voice. You can't transmit a car door opener on a cell phone. End of story. Idiot.

Email scams work: Nine percent of U.S. Internet users have lost money on e-mail scams, according to a survey of 791 users done for Mirapoint. The survey asked "Have you ever lost money to an e-mail scam?"

In short, be careful.

Jokes from the Muslim standup comic Goffaq Yussef, a Palestinian:

+ Good evening gentlemen, and get out, ladies.

+ On my flight to New York there must have been an Israeli in the bathroom the entire time. There was a sign on the door that said, "Occupied."

+ How many Palestinians does it take to change a light bulb? None! They sit in the dark forever and blame the Jews for it!

+ What do you say to a Muslim woman with two black eyes? Nothing! You told her twice already!

+ Did you hear about the Broadway play, "The Palestinians?" It bombed!

+ Did you hear about the Muslim strip club? It features full facial nudity!

+ What does the sign say above the nursery in a Palestinian maternity ward? "Live ammunition."

+ Why do Palestinians find it convenient to live on the West Bank? Because it's just a stone's throw from Israel!

+ Why are Palestinian boys luckier than American boys? Because every Palestinian boy will get to join a rock group!

+ What does the sign say above the nursery in a Palestinian maternity ward? "Live ammunition."

+ A Palestinian girl says to her mommy: "After Abdul blows himself up, can I have his room?"

Recent column highlights:
+ All turned on by biotech. Click here.
+ Steve Jobs Commencement Address. The text is available: Click here. The full audio is available. Click here.
+ The March of the Penguins, an exquisite movie. Click here.
+ When to sell your stocks. Click here.

Harry Newton

This column is about my personal search for the perfect investment. I don't give investment advice. For that you have to be registered with regulatory authorities, which I am not. I am a reporter and an investor. I make my daily column -- Monday through Friday -- freely available for three reasons: Writing is good for sorting things out in my brain. Second, the column is research for a book I'm writing called "In Search of the Perfect Investment." Third, I encourage my readers to send me their ideas, concerns and experiences. That way we can all learn together. My email address is . You can't click on my email address. You have to re-type it . This protects me from software scanning the Internet for email addresses to spam. I have no role in choosing the Google ads. Thus I cannot endorse any, though some look mighty interesting. If you click on a link, Google may send me money. That money will help pay Claire's law school tuition. Read more about Google AdSense, click here and here.
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