'RealMoney' Radio Recap: 'Macro' Economics

Smart investors know it's a market of stocks vs. a monolithic stock market, Aaron Task, told "RealMoney" radio show listeners on Tuesday.

"But if any day is a day to care about the 'macro' issues vs. company-specific ones, it's today," he said. Task, co-executive editor of TheStreet.com was filling in for Jim Cramer.

Among events to watch in the bigger picture, Task named the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting, when policy-makers are widely expected to raise rates to 4.5%. He also said that President Bush's State of the Union address was the event that could move markets overnight.

Bush is expected to push for broader tax deductions for health care expenses and expanded use of health savings accounts, Task said, adding that the president may also address issues such as Social Security reform, the alternative minimum tax and energy.

In previous State of the Union addresses, the president has discussed alternative energy, and that has boosted stocks in the sector, he said, adding that Bush's rhetoric on Iran and Hamas is important for everyone -- market participants or not.

As far as investors are concerned, the health savings accounts issue could have the biggest impact, said Task.

An HSA is like an IRA for your health care costs, he said, adding that the money contributed to the account is pretax and can be withdrawn to pay medical costs that are not covered by insurance.

Financial giants Citigroup(C Quote), Bank of America(BAC Quote), Wells Fargo(WFC Quote) and J.P. Morgan(JPM Quote) have already begun to open HSAs, or will do so soon, Task said.

But he cited a New York Times article that said HSAs will have a miniscule impact on the earnings of a giant such as Citigroup.

Marc Lichtenfeld, a contributor to TheStreet.com, said that Webster Financial(WBS Quote) could be the way to play the HSA trend.

It's a generally unloved bank that has had problems, said Task; but Lichtenfeld writes that Webster is turning around its operations and that it has banks in well-heeled areas in Connecticut and New York. Most importantly, the bank recently acquired HSA Bank and is the largest custodian of HSAs, Task added.