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Most of our cannabis companies reported earnings in the past week.

Here are some of the key sector insights, followed by company updates.

It has been called “Beijing’s missile fashion week” by news outlets, and it commanded a fair share of this week’s headlines. It’s also a reminder to investors why the defense sector is still in a leadership position from a relative strength standpoint, driven by ongoing military conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Short selling stocks is controversial–and not appropriate for all investors–so if you’re considering the practice, here’s everything you need to know.

Although Covid is well in the rear-view mirror, there are still industries that have yet to fully rebound from the shutdowns, which spells opportunity for value investors.

The market initially took the Iran attacks in stride early last week, but as oil prices elevated, the sellers took the upper hand, pushing the overall intermediate-term trend to negative and, of course, doing a lot of damage to many stocks. Now, given that the reason for the selling is fairly obvious at this point (oil prices, Iran, etc.), could things reverse with some good news? Yes, and we obviously saw some of that today, with hopes the attacks may be near an end helping the market recover nicely by day’s end. Thus, we do remain flexible should the buyers flex their muscle—but we also always go with the evidence, and while today’s bounce was nice, most indexes and stocks are still sitting below key levels. We have our Market Monitor at a level 5, though we could change that (up or down) depending on what comes.

This week’s list is well-rounded, with some growth, precious metals, oil and even some AI infrastructure, which we do find encouraging given what’s going on in the market. Our Top Pick is has rested for two years but recently gapped up on earnings as its AI servers see huge growth. A follow-through on the earnings move would be enticing.

Just when it looked like inflation was abating, with nationwide retail gasoline prices falling from an average of $3.20 to $2.73 a gallon between August and January, the specter of rising prices has appeared once again in the wake of the latest Middle East conflict.

As of this writing, the national gas price average is $3.63 a gallon (and rising by the day), which is 33% higher from the January low.

Artificial intelligence is transforming the world, just not yet.

Ultimately, AI will create new industries that deliver noticeable changes in daily life. And it will happen much faster than with past technologies. But there are companies, outside the actual technology generators themselves, that benefit after the initial launch of a new technology and before new industries develop.

The next phase of AI is likely in companies that enable and service the technology. This new phase is already evident in the stronger performance of previously lackluster utilities as they accommodate the huge electricity demand increase from AI data centers. AI profits are spreading toward companies that service the equipment and massive data management needs of AI.

In this issue, I highlight a REIT that is experiencing massive demand growth servicing the equipment and records generated by the burgeoning technology. It is making an already reliable income-generating security a growth investment as well.

The AI trade isn’t dead. It’s shifting. And this security is in the new sweet spot.

Chipmakers and data centers were the first beneficiaries of AI, but stocks like utilities and information management companies are poised to surge as the next AI trade.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Remain cautious. Our Cabot Tides have joined our Two-Second Indicator and Growth Tides on the negative side of the fence. We have seen a couple rays of light from our Aggression Index and via some peppy growth names (mostly in the AI space)—but until the market can turn up, we advise staying close to shore. In the Model Portfolio, we sold Axsome (AXSM) this morning via special bulletin, leaving us with around 69% in cash; tonight, we’ll place our ProShares S&P 500 Fund (SSO) position on Hold given the market’s weakness and Tides red light.

Homebuyers were on the fence in 2025 due to high rates and high prices, but will 2026 be the year to buy a home? Let’s take a closer look at whether it will pay to wait.

The bull market marches into a fourth year. On the heels of three straight years of double-digit gains, can the S&P 500 make it four in a row? Wall Street thinks it can come close, with the average predicted return among 21 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg coming it at 9% in 2026. And not one of those analysts thinks stocks will be down this year.

So to kick off the new year in style,let’s stay in growth mode by adding a new pick from Mike Cintolo in his Cabot Growth Investor newsletter.

Details inside.

For anyone engaged in the forecasting business, the temptation is always present to make a sensational claim about the future in order to stand out from the crowd and garner mainstream media attention. And truth be told, for those of us whose livelihoods involve predicting financial markets, that temptation must often be suppressed in the interest of professionalism.

The flip of the calendar has brought some wild action, and overall, growth stocks and funds remain stuck in the mud, unable to make much progress (even including the Nasdaq itself). We remain cautious right now and, in fact, are placing two of our stocks on Hold today as they’ve been weighed down by the environment. That said, while we’re holding lots of cash, we remain flexible, as tons of names are in consolidations and are presenting at key conferences (which have become like earnings reports at times) next week—if we see many breakouts, we’ll pounce, but for now, we advise a bit more patience.