H-P, Merck, Part of One Manager's Defense Play

The candidates and the cameramen will leave Ohio soon after next week's primary votes are cast, let alone counted. Five-star fund manager Barry James will remain in the Buckeye State, however, and while he is not stumping for office, James is certainly worth listening to on economic and investing issues.

"The economy has been awful in Ohio," says the Alpha, Ohio-based James. "Manufacturing in Ohio is very grim and people are leaving the state at alarming levels. Not just losing their jobs but leaving the state."

Like many of the politicians playing through, James says that Ohio is a microcosm of what is happening throughout the Midwest -- and nationally. ...