Barron's Picks And Pans: Pfizer's New Identity, Electric Vehicles, Hong Kong Exodus — And Is The Bull Market About To End?

• This weekend's Barron's cover story takes a look at Pfizer Inc. PFE as it seeks to take a new direction.
• Other featured articles consider whether the bull run on Wall Street may end next year, and a look at the prospect of a major merger in financial services. Also, a look at an effort to put a speed bump into the market to slow high-speed transactions.

Drug giant Pfizer is ditching its last well-known consumer brands, including Advil and Chapstick, and spinning off the division responsible for perhaps its best-known off-patent drug, Viagra, as it seeks to take a new course.

It's been a tough year for Prizer as it has sought to change direction to focus on new drugs, but "for investors willing to swallow some risk, Pfizer stock now looks attractive," says Josh Nathan-Kazis in the cover story, "Pfizer Is the Dow’s Worst Stock. A New Strategy Makes It Worth Another Look."

In "The Bull Market Could Still End in 2020. Here’s How to Prepare," Ben Levisohn looks at the potential for an end to the bull market next year.

If Charles Schwab Corporation SCHW and TD Ameritrade Holding Corp AMTD can agree on merger terms and survive a regulatory look, the combined company would have more than $5 trillion in assets and be a financial services behemoth. And Schwab stock would likely benefit long-term, says Daren Fonda in "Charles Schwab Stock Could Surge After a TD Ameritrade Deal."

In "Cboe Wants to Install a Speed Bump on a Stock Exchange. Wall Street Hates the Idea," Bill Alpert looks at CBOE Global Markets' push for a mechanism to slow high-speed trades by a fraction of a second with a "speed bump," the SEC's look at the question and the pushback against the idea.

Of 100 electric vehicles coming in next few years, 45% will be crossovers, writes Jack Hough in "Tesla, GM, and Ford Are Doubling Down on Electric Vehicles. Investors Should Wait Until the Dust Clears."

The turmoil in Hong Kong is shifting investor attention to Singapore, which is also experiencing  a business spillover from the beginnings of a shift away from the troubled Chinese city, writes Craig Mellow in "Singapore’s Markets May See Small Gains From Hong Kong Unrest."

Also in this week's Barron's:

• Americans’ net worth is on track for a 10.4% gain from the level a year ago.
• Why Home Depot Inc HD's soft outlook isn't a sign of recession.
• Who's the next loser from the ongoing disruption of the shift to cloud computing?

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