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The pharmaceutical industry spends an astronomical amount of money in advertising to the American public--ad spending on drugs totaled a whopping $4.5B in 2009 alone. But when you consider that U.S. doctors wrote more psychiatric prescriptions last year than there are people in this country, the price is more than worth the profit.

The following infographic, sourced from IMS Health, shows the most prescribed psychiatric drugs in the U.S. For a larger view, click on the image.

Below we've listed all the companies that are profiting from these drug sales.



Check out our list of the companies seeing profits from these drugs.

• Pfizer (PFE): Sells some of the most commonly-prescribed anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medication, including Xanax, Ativan, Zoloft and Effexor XR. Pfizer currently offers a dividend yield of 4.88%, with expected earnings growth of about 4.6% over the next year.

• Forest Labs (FRX): Maker of anti-depressant Lexapro. The company has no debt, and a relatively low forward P/E of 6.38. Earnings have declined by 10.73% over the last year, with the stock sliding by more than 22% in 2010.

• Eli Lilly (LLY): Sells Prozac and Cymbalta. The company has managed to grow annual earnings by 18.85% over the last 5 years, but Wall Street analysts project declining earnings growth over the next 5 years as the company's patents expire. The company currently offers a dividend yield of 6.05%.

• Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY): Sells Desyrel, used to treat depression and panic attacks. The stock currently offers a dividend yield of 5.7%, with Wall Street analysts expecting earnings growth of 8.29% over the next year. The company's debt, as a percentage of shareholder equity, equals 40%.

• AstraZeneca (AZN): Sells Seroquel, which treats bipolar disorders. The stock has managed to gain 9.52% over the last year, with sales growing by 11.36% during the most recent quarter. The stock currently offers a dividend yield of 5.42%.

Disclosure: No positions

How will human-computer interaction, mobile technology, data storage and bioscience change over the next decade? Given the ever-increasing rate at which technology advances, the answer is anyone's guess. But if Frog Design's new prototypes are any indication, we're looking at a future with 3-D holographic data visualizations, body sensor networks and tradable social networking currency.

Global innovation firm Frog Design recently completed a project called Life in 2020 that predicts that data will one day flow alongside the physical world. Which means that in the future, computers won't look or feel like computers as we know them, and massive amounts of data will always be accessible, no matter where in the world you may be.

We've compiled a few lists of investing ideas exposed to three of Frog Design's predicted trends. (Note: Article was originally published on June 7, 2010)

Our Second Brain or "ThingBook"

"In the future nearly every visible thing will be cataloged and indexed, ready to be instantly identified and described to us," according to Frog Design. "Want to go shopping? In the future we won't need big retail stores with aisles of objects on display. We'll be able to shop out in the world (see image, below). Do you like that new car you saw drive by? Or those cool shoes on the woman sitting across the room? All you’ll have to do is look at it and your mobile handset or AR-equipped eyeglasses will identify the object and look up the best price and retailer."



Companies that profit from the mobile internet may be affected by this predicted trend. Here are a few ideas:

• Apple (AAPL): Mobile internet device maker (iPhone and iPad). The company's stock has gained almost 80% over the last year, and Wall Street analysts expect the company's earnings to continue to grow by 18% over the next 5 years.

• Research in Motion (RIMM): Mobile internet device maker (Blackberry). The stock has had a rough year, declining by almost 30%. Investors will be keeping a close eye on the company's earnings report due out June 24.

• Palm (PALM): Mobile internet device maker. The stock has declined by 60% over the last year, with earnings growth declining by 8.36% over the last 5 years.

• STM Micro (STM): This company produces the orientation sensor that detects whether you are holding your iPhone vertically or horizontally and automatically changes the display to portrait or landscape. The company's profit margins have declined by 9.00% over the last year.

• Cisco (CSCO): Mobile internet component maker. Cisco's annual earnings have grown by 8.27% over the last 5 years, but analysts expect earnings to accelerate to a 12.45% growth over the next 5 year.

• Ciena (CIEN): Cisco's smaller rival. Institutional investors have been loading up on the stock over the last 3 months, increasing their holdings of the stock by almost 20%.

• Tellabs (TLAB): Another mobile internet component maker. The company currently offers a dividend yield of 1.15%, and has a low level of debt relative to shareholder equity (14%).

• Tekelec (TKLC): The company's EAGLE 5 signaling platform can be used to transfer large amounts of data over a mobile network. The company has no debt, and Wall Street analysts expect earnings to grow by 5.00% over the next 5 years.

• Commscope (CTV): Provides infrastructure solutions for communication networks worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Antenna, Cable and Cabinet Group; Enterprise; Broadband; and Wireless Network Solutions. The company's sales have grown by 21.3% over the last 5 years.

• RF Micro Devices (RFMD): Designs and manufactures radio frequency components. Wall Street analysts expect the company's earnings to grow by 17.5% over the next 5 years.

• Skyworks Solutions (SWKS): Offers analog and mixed signal semiconductors worldwide. Institutional investors, who currently own 92.77% of the company, increased their holdings in the stock by 3.63% over the last 3 months.

Bodynet

"Like Google for our bodies, future technologies will allow us to monitor our body's vital conditions and compute the outcome of our actions on-the-fly," predicts Frog Design. "So you'll know right away what it's going to take to work off that Burger and Coke."



Here are three companies currently working on body sensor networks:

• General Electric (GE): GE Healthcare is developing a Body Sensor Network (BSN) whereby sensor devices collect and store patient-specific data. Note that GE Healthcare contributes a very small percentage of GE's revenues.

• Medtronic (MDT): Develops, manufactures, and sells device-based medical therapies worldwide. The stock has gained 13.47% over the last year, and currently offers a 2.16% dividend yield.

• Cyberonics (CYBX): Designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and markets implantable medical devices. Wall Street analysts expect the company's earnings to grow by 31% over the next 5 years.

Social Media Currency

What about the future of social networking? Frog Design thinks that your virtual popularity on social media sites may one day be tradable for cold hard cash. Think that's far-fetched?

Whuffie, a conceptual social metric based on what others think of you, has already taken the first step towards making it a reality: "In the future this metric might actually be usable as real money," predicts Frog Design. "Why not? Celebrities are used to getting things for free based on their popularity. This is the same idea taken to its democratic extreme.

Socializing will take on completely new dimensions when we can see everything public about a person right as we are talking with them. Think dating is difficult today? Imagine the hoops we'll have to jump through when everyone in the bar can see your complete dating history the minute you walk into the room."



Although there are no pure-play social networking stocks to invest in, the following stocks can be used to gain indirect exposure to this rapidly growing industry.

• Microsoft (MSFT): Owns a small stake in Facebook. Microsoft's stock currently offers a dividend yield of 2.02%, and the company's debt as a percentage of shareholder equity is only 13%.

• Google (GOOG): Owns several social networking services, including Orkut. Wall Street analysts expect Google's earnings to grow by 20.57% over the next 5 years.

• Newscorp (NWSA): Owns Myspace. The stock has gained about 25% over the last year, and currently offers a dividend yield of 1.20%

• Yahoo (YHOO): Owns several social networking services. The company has seen declining earnings growth over the last 5 years, and the stock has declined by about 10% over the last year.

Disclosure: No positions

When you look at the numbers, it's fair to say that the typical American family is in dire financial straits. They're leaving no room for error in their budget, with no allowance for financial problems and incorporating little planning for their future financial needs. Meet your neighbor, the average American family:

Some of the scariest stats, according to Visual Economics:

• $117,951: The average American household's debt
• 40% of Americans are not saving for retirement
• 25% have no savings at all - retirement or otherwise
• 7.7% of Americans don't have a bank account
• The average American household has to pay off a $2,200 credit card balance

Some would argue that the middle class is absolutely vital to having a sustainable and flourishing economy. "The middle class dream is at risk," writes the MyBudget360 blog. "This is a question of what we want out of our country. Are we simply obsessed on keeping home values inflated so banking giants could keep gaming accounting rules and claim billion dollar profits? If we want to prosper in the next decade, there will need to be a radical change to preserve what once was envied by the world."

To access this infographic (via Visual Economics), click here.

Here are some investing ideas with exposure to the stats discussed above.

Medicaid Stocks

If the average American family isn't saving for their retirement, should we expect higher Medicaid enrollment over the coming years? How stable is the Medicaid program? Here are a few Medicaid managed-care companies to watch:

• Amerigroup (AGP): A multistate managed healthcare company, serving those who receive healthcare benefits through publicly sponsored programs such as Medicaid. Sales have grown by 23.26% over the last 5 years, and Wall Street analysts expect the company's earnings to grow by 4.69% over the next year.

• Molina Healthcare (MOH): Delivers health care services to persons eligible for Medicaid, Medicare, and other government-sponsored programs for low-income families and individuals. The stock has gained 13.64% over the last year, despite earnings growth dropping by 10.25% over the last 5 years.

• Centene (CNC): Operates as a multiline healthcare company in the United States. It operates through two segments, Medicaid Managed Care and Specialty Services. The company's current liabilities are larger than their current assets, which may signal short term liquidity problems. Investors don't appear to be too concerned though, given the stock's gain of 26.37% over the last year.

Credit Card Companies

The average American household has to pay off a $2,200 credit card balance, but doesn't have an emergency fund. How will the stocks of credit card companies react if America can't pay off their credit cards anymore? Or are these fears overblown? A few credit card companies to have a look at:

• Capital One Financial (COF): Provides various financial products and services to consumers, small businesses, and commercial clients in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Even though earnings growth has declined by 30.87% over the last 5 years, the stock still managed to gain 58.13% over the last year.

• American Express (AXP): American Express Company provides charge and credit payment card products. The stock currently offers a dividend yield of 1.87%. Over the last three months, insiders (management and directors) have been selling off the stock, reducing their holdings by more than 28%.

• Discover Financial (DFS): Operates as a credit card issuer and electronic payment services company. Wall Street analysts expect the company's earnings to grow by 7.00% over the next 5 years. The stock has already lost 12.46% so far in 2010.

• Visa (V): Operates retail electronic payments network worldwide. The company has no debt, and offers a dividend yield of 0.69%. The stock has so far lost more than 17% during 2010.

• Mastercard (MA): Provides transaction processing and related services. A large block of investors expect the stock to decline, with more than 10% of the company's shares currently being sold short by speculators (i.e. betting on a decline). The company has virtually no debt, and earnings are expected to grow by 19.39% over the next year.

Pawn Lending

Less than four out of ten American families have an emergency fund to cover unexpected financial costs. When you consider that these families are already knee-deep in debt, it may be very hard for them to get a loan through traditional channels. How will this affect non-traditional providers of credit like pawn stores? Here are a few pawn store stocks:

• First Cash Financial Services (FCFS): Primarily operates pawn stores that lend money on the collateral of pledged personal property in the United States and Mexico. The company's annual sales have grown by 15.27% over the last 5 years, with the stock gaining more than 24% over the last year.

• EZCORP (EZPW): The company lends or provides credit services to individuals to meet their short-term cash needs. Annual sales gave grown by 21.27% over the last 5 years, with the stock gaining more than 36% over the last year.

• Cash America International (CSH): Provides specialty financial services to individuals primarily in the United States and Mexico. The company operates in three segments: Pawn Lending, Cash Advance, and Check Cashing. The company's debt, as a percentage of shareholder equity, equals 47%. A large block of investors expect the share price to decline, with more than 15% of the company's shares being sold short (i.e. investors betting on a price drop).

Disclosure: No positions in any of the stocks mentioned above.