Barron's Picks And Pans: Merck, Walmart, Zoetis And More

• This weekend's Barron's suggests ways to play U.S.-China tensions and the stock-splitting trend.
• Other featured articles look at how the election could affect health care stocks and what to expect from big-box retail earnings.
• Also, the prospects for a pharmaceutical giant, regional bank dividends, pet stocks and more.

How to Profit From the U.S.-China Cold War" by Reshma Kapadia explains why investors should watch for certain risks and opportunities in the escalating tensions between the United States and China. Does Barron's believe Nike Inc NKE is a play?

Al Root's "How to Play Stock-Split Mania" points out that when Apple Inc. AAPL and Tesla Inc TSLA announced stock splits, their stocks promptly rallied. Can investors expect more companies with big stock prices to follow suit?

In "How the 2020 Election Could Affect Health-Care Stocks," Josh Nathan-Kazis shows how a Biden and a Trump administration are likely to differ on drug pricing, health insurance and COVID-19 plans, affecting everything from CVS Health Corp CVS to Moderna Inc MRNA.

Merck & Co., Inc. MRK has a blockbuster cancer drug, a 3% dividend yield and two COVID-19 vaccine candidates in the pipeline, according to "Merck, Big Pharma's Quiet Giant, Looks Like a Buy" by Andrew Bary.

In Jack Hough's "The Economy May Be Struggling, but the Pet Business and the Stock Market Keep Running Strong," see what Barron's thinks may be in store for the likes of pet meds giant Zoetis Inc ZTS.

See also: As With Stocks, Robinhood Users Like Their ETFs Risky 

"9 Regional Banks With Steady Dividends — for Now" by Lawrence C. Strauss makes a case that a big earnings headwind may abate by the end of this year for PNC Financial Services Group Inc PNC and some of its peers.

The Boston-based Columbia Dividend Income fund has consistently ranked in the top 10% of its category. So says Lawrence C. Strauss's "Why a Winning Dividend Fund Likes Home Depot, Target, and Walmart." See why it has its eye on Home Depot Inc HD and other big retailers.

In "There's a Target on Walmart's Back," Ben Levisohn ponders whether Target Corporation TGT or Walmart Inc WMT will have benefited more from the recent strength in retail when they report earnings.

Also in this week's Barron's:

• What comes next for Robinhood
• The bear market that really wasn't
• How ESG investors can win without Apple and Amazon
• How stagflation looms over the market
• Whether older investors are more patient
• More signs coronavirus exacerbates economic inequality
• Why palladium prices hit a bump in the road

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

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