The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Week

1. Down on the Pharmacy

CVS (CVS Quote) could use some strong medicine.

The drug store chain surprised Wall Street Wednesday by unveiling a $20.6 billion acquisition of mail-order pharmacy Caremark (CMX Quote). The deal was billed as a merger of equals, creating the first integrated pharmacy services outfit.

"Together, CVS and Caremark will help manage the costs and complexities of the U.S. healthcare system," said CVS chief Tom Ryan, who will run the new company. That's a tall task, given runaway inflation in healthcare spending in recent years. ...