WASHINGTON, D.C. – Internet businesses haven’t been the only high-tech concerns drawing attention on Capitol Hill. It was standing room only for a recent Senate Commerce Committee hearing on nanotechnology.

The mood from the Senators? Glowing, for the most part. “This is likely to be a $1 trillion industry,” said Oregon Republican Gordon Smith. “Mind-boggling to say the least,” added Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry.

There was plenty at the hearing to boggle the mind. Bryant Linares, chief of closely held Apollo Diamond, told Senators how his company uses nanotechnology, which works on the scale of atoms or molecules, to “grow” diamonds for use in jewelry, semiconductors and other applications. Timothy Swager, professor of chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, detailed efforts of his MIT research center–along with corporate partners like Honeywell, Raytheon and W. L. Gore & Associates–to create fabric for U.S. soldiers that can monitor health or detect explosives.

But business interests at the hearing weren’t just strutting their stuff for Congress. They also took the opportunity to press their case for keeping nanotech regulation at bay.

Full story at Forbes.com

WASHINGTON, DC – Interest in upgrading America’s health care information technology runs high in Washington. President George W. Bush promised more health IT in his recent State of the Union address, several related bills are bouncing around Capitol Hill and more legislation is likely to be introduced this spring.

Why the clamor for health tech? Pols, academics and think tankers, no matter what their political stripe, see technology as one way to duck the approaching tsunami of baby-boomer health expenses. The private sector is interested too. “Starbucks now spends more on health care than it does on coffee beans,” said Will Marshall, president of the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), at an event organized by that group last week.

No surprise, Wall Street has also taken a shine to the area. Consider outfits like software developer Cerner and Omnicell, which makes items like computerized medication dispensing systems. Both stocks have surged in the past year and now sport rich valuations.

Investors looking to play the trend should consider the big providers of technology services. The stocks look reasonably priced and the companies could have an important role as health care wires up. One in particular to watch here: Perot Systems. At that same PPI event in Washington last week, Dr. Richard Pico, Perot’s chief medical and technology officer, elaborated on how its offerings could link up U.S. health care interests.

Full story at Forbes.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The $2.8 trillion budget that President George W. Bush submitted yesterday for fiscal 2007 is a nonbinding first step in the budget process. Spending won’t be determined until Congress gets around to appropriations bills later this year.

Still, certain industries come out better than others in the 352-page document. In this sense, you can think of the Bush Administration’s budget as an indicator, a sign that some sectors enjoy a tailwind blowing out of Washington. The tables below show a few industries that look like budget winners, according to analysts and industry groups, along with notable stocks within them.

Full story at Forbes.com