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Explorer
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Issues
Explorer stocks, with the exception of Neo Performance (NOPMF), held their own in a difficult week. The market concerns center on the impact of high interest rates and mortgage rates on consumer spending, investment, and economic growth.
As part of our ongoing “Core & Explore” approach, today I present three new ETFs for your consideration. These three funds should help you weather the market’s many ups and downs these days. They are designed to remain both in the market and keep flexible to take advantage of new growth opportunities without going overboard.
China’s economy is struggling due to lackluster growth, falling property prices, high local debt, poor demographic trends, and lack of consumer confidence. In some ways, my thought is – join the club. The U.S. may be facing 2% GDP growth and has its own challenges such as excessive federal spending and national debt. My point is that we should remain skeptical but not discount China coming back strong with the right policies. In my view, China is both strong and brittle. And today, we add a high-profile stock that’s a play on China’s strength.
Warren Buffett became the world’s most famous investor in part by investing in companies with strong economic “moats.” Today, we add a well-known company that fits that description. We also say goodbye to two stocks to make room for more reliable opportunities as the market teeters.
In this week’s Cabot Explorer issue, Novo Nordisk (NVO) stock surges on the back of positive data on its best-selling weight loss drug Wegovy, U.S.-China tensions rise again, and we add one of the signature growth stocks on the market to our portfolio. Enjoy!
The Federal Reserve resumed lifting interest rates Wednesday with a quarter-percentage-point increase that brings interest rates to a 22-year high. The decision was unanimous.

The benchmark federal funds rate will go to a range between 5.25% and 5.5% as the Fed continues its fight against inflation. This is the 11th increase since March 2022, when rates were near zero.

Inflation has already retreated from a four-decade high last summer and the consumer-price index was up 3% in June year over year which is much lower than the June 2022 peak of 9.1%.
Inflation cooled last month to its slowest pace in more than two years, buoying markets even though the Fed may raise interest rates later this month.

While the Nasdaq composite is a basket of more than 3,000 stocks listed on the Nasdaq exchange, the Nasdaq 100 is the basis for the QQQ – the second-most heavily traded ETF in America, after the SPY ETF which tracks the S&P 500.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s continued warnings of future rate hikes weighed on markets as did the Biden Administration’s suggestion that there should be new restrictions on selling advanced chips to China. Despite this, chip stocks such as Nvidia (NDVA) and the PHLX Semiconductor index were down by less than 1%.

Artificial intelligence (AI) calculations largely take place in data centers full of servers with graphics processing units (GPU)s from Nvidia and its competitors. It is estimated that 20% to 25% of the company’s revenue from Nvidia’s AI chips have been coming from China. To avoid further upsetting Beijing, no action is expected until after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s visit to China in July. Washington is also preparing legislation to screen China-bound investments by U.S. companies. AI, quantum computing, biotechnology and large-capacity batteries are at the top of the list.
Yesterday’s Federal Reserve meeting and Tuesday’s consumer price index data showed inflation and interest rate hikes are pausing but remains well above what markets would like.

Overall inflation is cooling in large part because energy prices have fallen sharply — a huge relief for consumers. But the core gauge, which excludes energy and food prices, shows inflation is still too high.

Nevertheless, investors welcomed the news as it spurred markets and confidence that the market performance might advance beyond big tech and the artificial intelligence (AI) story.
It was another good week for Explorer recommendations led by ChargePoint (CHPT), up 17%, and Butterfly (BFLY), up another 8%.


Some of you will remember when George Gilder’s Wealth and Poverty hit the market in 1981 like a thunderclap. It was intellectual capital and political firepower for both the Reagan Revolution and a big bull market.



Mr. Gilder has been active ever since and has a new book out that I highly recommend, Life After Capitalism.
Explorer stocks were steady or slightly down this week but don’t get discouraged. It is likely that Fed interest rate hikes have ended and, combined with a debt ceiling deal, could ignite a rally. Next week I will give an update on our three Explorer ETF positions.

The unemployment rate for Chinese people ages 16 to 24 rose to a record of 20.4% last month. The rate of youth unemployment in China has consistently been two or three times higher than the general population. Not a good sign.
The Federal Reserve yesterday raised the target for its benchmark interest rate by 0.25% to a new range of 5%-5.25%, the highest since September 2007. This will impact the value and stability of the U.S. dollar and stock markets in several ways.

During the only stable dollar eras of the last century, annual GDP growth averaged 4.9% from 1922-29, 4% from 1948-71, and 3.7% from 1983-2000.

In comparison, over the last two decades, a more volatile dollar saw average growth of only 1.9%. Had the dollar remained stable since 2000, with a steady 3.7% growth, the economy would be nearly 50% greater than it is today, and we probably would have avoided all these financial crises along the way.
Updates
This was an interesting week with news ranging from inflation to AI, tech struggles between the U.S. and China, and Tesla’s edge in terms of labor costs.

On Capitol Hill in Washington, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates and others worth an estimated $500 billion, according to Forbes, met for a closed-door Senate summit on AI.

Consumer prices rose 0.6% in August, the largest increase since June of 2022. An 11% jump in gasoline prices was the main problem, which led to a fall in average real earnings.
This week, markets took slower economic growth numbers to mean no more interest rate hikes and higher stocks. That’s the logic of Wall Street today.

Laszlo Birinyi (pronounced BUH-ree-nee), an investor who “listened” to the market rather than corporate or financial news, passed away this week. He was someone who thought differently. His theory about the flow of money that made him one of the nation’s foremost stock pickers in the 1990s will endure.
Beginning on a positive note, I’d like to remind you of the power of compounding returns when you stay in the stock market over time. For example, $100 invested in three-month Treasury bills in 1928 grew to only $2,141 by the end of last year while it became $46,379 invested in medium-grade corporate bonds and a stunning $624,534 if invested in a broad basket of stocks, according to data from New York University finance professor Aswath Damodaran.

China’s continued economic woes took center stage globally this week, as the country’s central bank unexpectedly cut key interest rates in a bid to spur economic growth, manage high debt in the property sector, and lower its 20% youth unemployment rate. An index of Chinese stocks traded in Hong Kong has fallen more than 9% this month.
This is a short week as we begin the second half of 2023 with inflation down, recession fears fading, and the animal spirits of investors alive and well.

In the first half of 2023, market performance was positive and narrow, largely driven by the big tech names, and especially artificial intelligence (AI) related stocks. The Dow was up 3.8%, the S&P 500 gained 15.9%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 31.7%. We will continue to explore the world for the best value and growth stocks providing both conservative and aggressive ideas. EVs across the supply chain, resources, and emerging markets remain the focus but we have the flexibility to change course as opportunities arise.
This is a short week as we begin the second half of 2023 with inflation down, recession fears fading, and the animal spirits of investors alive and well.

In the first half of 2023, market performance was positive and narrow, largely driven by the big tech names, and especially artificial intelligence (AI) related stocks. The Dow was up 3.8%, the S&P 500 gained 15.9%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 31.7%. We will continue to explore the world for the best value and growth stocks providing both conservative and aggressive ideas. EVs across the supply chain, resources, and emerging markets remain the focus but we have the flexibility to change course as opportunities arise.
This is a short week as we begin the second half of 2023 with inflation down, recession fears fading, and the animal spirits of investors alive and well.

In the first half of 2023, market performance was positive and narrow, largely driven by the big tech names, and especially artificial intelligence (AI) related stocks. The Dow was up 3.8%, the S&P 500 gained 15.9%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 31.7%. We will continue to explore the world for the best value and growth stocks providing both conservative and aggressive ideas. EVs across the supply chain, resources, and emerging markets remain the focus but we have the flexibility to change course as opportunities arise.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell again threw a wrench into the market by warning that a couple of more interest rates hikes are probable this year. “The process of getting inflation down to 2% has a long way to go,” he told the House Financial Services Committee during a three-hour hearing. Not sure why they don’t get this over with.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in America on his first official state visit with India’s geopolitical pull higher than at any point since he took power in 2014.
Explorer stocks gained or held their ground this week as the so-called “Mega-Cap 8” stocks dominate a narrow market for now.

China has become the 20% market – 20% of world GDP and 20% of multinational total revenue. This explains the steady stream of CEOs to China while Washington and Beijing top officials traded insults at a Singapore defense forum.
The Explorer had a good week with Butterfly (BFLY) up 15% and Solid Power (SLDP) up 10% this week. The S&P 500 has risen 8% in 2023 but the market gains are very narrow and concentrated, with the top five stocks accounting for most of the gains.
Consumer prices in April showed inflation pressures remain high but backed off a bit. The consumer price index came in at 4.9%, slightly less than the 5% from March. Not a big deal but a step in the right direction as the below graph highlights.

Electric vehicle (EV) prices and profits are also going down for the most part. Tesla reported $2.5 billion of profits in the first quarter, down from $3.7 billion in the last three months of last year, and $3.3 billion in the first quarter of 2022.
This week tech stocks looked better while First Republic Bank continues to struggle to gain its footing. It was a relatively quiet week for Explorer stocks as movement up or down was minimal. However, the news on the global electric vehicle (EV) race is coming fast and furious.
It can pay to pay attention to what investment legends are doing to cope in these turbulent times.

Warren Buffett still has a knack for seeking value and a history of going to Japan to find it in times of volatility. Overall, Japan’s Topix index trades at 13.3 times expected earnings, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. That compares with 18.9 times for the S&P 500.
Alerts
Carl will update the market and our portfolio on Thursday.
To follow up on last Thursday’s issue that highlighted the worsening China virus, I believe it is appropriate for us to hedge China risk and volatility with an inverse China exchange-traded fund (ETF).
This is a short week but I wanted to give you some news on a couple of my recommendations that have been making news.
You may have noticed media articles last Friday regarding U.S. listed Chinese stocks that had a negative impact on share prices.
Our emerging markets signal turned negative as EEM lost 3.67% today.
Rather than wait until Thursday, I would like to let you know that I’m moving one stock to a sell following its 7% decline Tuesday following disappointing news that electric vehicle subsidies in China are being cut 50%.
One of the stocks in the portfolio is recommended to be sold today.
Earnings season has taken its first bite out of one of our holdings.
While we have been holding a large amount of cash in the portfolio and have only a short list of stocks rated buy, the market’s assault has reached unacceptable levels.
Declining markets tend to bring on attacks by short-selling specialists, and today that’s what has happened to GDS Holdings (GDS)
The markets remained under heavy selling pressure today, with stiff losses in both the Golden Dragon ETF (PGJ) that tracks Chinese ADRs and the iShares MSCI EM ETF (EEM) that represents the broader emerging markets. As a result, we are selling one of our stocks tonight.
The markets came under heavy selling pressure today, as investors finally began to grapple with the possible effects of genuine trade war, one that included not just China, but many U.S. allies as well. As a result, we are selling two positions and moving two positions to hold.