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The market is at all-time highs, and some think a correction is imminent. Should you still be buying stocks? Our investing experts weigh in.

We don’t have much to complain about after a week when our average gain per position was 5.8%, three positions were up double digits, and our worst performing stock was down a mere 2%. That said, today I’m moving two stocks that have just rallied back to Hold, since the near-term upside appears limited in those names. Five of our positions remain Buys.

Stocks rallied early in the day but then skidded after that, closing not that far from where they started. The environment remains mixed, with the market looking fine but growth stocks a bit sluggish.

Today’s featured stocks include Johnson Controls (JCI), Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX); and a new addition to the Growth & Income Portfolio, TiVo (TIVO).

The S&P 500 has finally failed to make a new high every day lately and is 2% below the high-water mark! That doesn’t seem like it should be news but in this market it’s worth noting.

Most of our recommended stocks are acting great, and our new recommendation checks many of the boxes we look for when hunting for a long-term winner. It is a dominant restaurant company in China, and the stock just got going after a few months of base-building.

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.

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.

Today’s featured stocks include GameStop (GME), Southwest Airlines (LUV) and PBF Energy (PBF), which is joining the Buy Low Opportunities Portfolio. I’m also selling Nucor (NUE) today.

This is the worst market we’ve seen in a while. And the ugliness could last a while.

Tariff talk is all the rage. The economy is slowing. Nobody is sure about inflation or interest rates. It all adds uncertainty. The market had been riding high for more than two years. A comeuppance has arrived. How long will it last and how deep will it be?

During times of maximum uncertainty like this, healthcare stocks are a great place to be. That was the topic of last month’s exquisitely crafted issue. But there is another industry with both defensive and growth characteristics that’s ideal for uncertain times – garbage.

We live in the garbage capital of the world. This country generated 292 million tons of waste in 2018, up from 251 tons in 2012, and nearly double the waste produced in 1980. That’s enough waste to produce a pile long enough to go to the moon and back – 29 times. And that’s every single year. Waste services are big business. In 2023, the U.S. waste management services industry generated $145 billion in revenue. That was up from $137 billion the prior year and that number is likely to keep rising.

Garbage will continue to pile up regardless of where interest rates go, the level of economic growth, or the fallout from tariffs. The market could soar, or the world could go to Hell in a handbag. Either way my wife will nag me every week to take out the garbage.

Bank on a company with certain earnings and revenue in uncertain times. Defensive stocks tend to outperform during and after volatile markets. In this issue, I highlight a company that is the unquestioned leader in waste services. The stock has a strong track record which could get even better in the years ahead.

The market has been iffy since Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s “prepare for pain” speech at Jackson Hole last Friday.

With interest rates up and (most) stocks down since I’m going with a high-quality name this month.



This healthcare specialist just posted 44% growth in Q2 and has grown its covered lives by 80% over the last 12 months. It’s profitable, and with a bucket of new contracts in the first half of 2022 the business looks set up for a terrific 2023.



Enjoy!

In the middle of an earnings recession and a slowing economy, defensive stocks are probably the best places to be. These companies can maintain earnings growth while most companies are sliding and remain consistent even as the economy deteriorates further.

Defense is king right now. But defensive stocks are even better when they offer growth as well. In such uncertain times, it makes sense to bank on things that are more certain. Stocks poised in front of a megatrend are the best bet. A megatrend acts as a powerful tailwind for a stock that can make a mediocre pick very good and a good pick great.

In this issue, I highlight a defensive stock that is also one of the world’s largest producers of alternative energy. At the same time, it is also one of the best traditional regulated utilities in the country. It offers defense as well as growth and can thrive in any kind of market.

Back on May 8, I suggested getting long cannabis as a contrarian trade because sentiment had turned dark, and there was a potential catalyst on the horizon.

It’s been a relatively quiet week in the market, with most indexes up a bit as of this morning, but generally less than 1% (Nasdaq a bit better than that). Interest rates have also been quiet, checking in with their second straight week of little net change (up four basis points total in the past two weeks).

It’s been another flat-to-up week, this time with the big-cap indexes and many growth measures either flat or up a smidge, while some of the broader indexes are up in the 1% to 2% range.

The selling in growth stocks seen under the surface last week accelerated this week, with the Nasdaq off nearly 2.5% coming into today, while the S&P 500 took a smaller hit (1.2%). Meanwhile, broader measures were down some but held up far better as the rotation theme continued.