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This week I’m adding a recent earnings winner, American telecommunications networking equipment and software services supplier Ciena (CIEN).

The Federal Reserve event came and passed without much volatility last week as stocks were mostly quiet. For the week the S&P 500 fell 0.5%, the Dow lost 0.2%, and the Nasdaq declined by 0.3%

The Federal Reserve event came and passed without much volatility last week as stocks were mostly quiet. For the week the S&P 500 fell 0.5%, the Dow lost 0.2%, and the Nasdaq declined by 0.3%

Here’s how I handle my personal stock portfolio when I’m expecting a market correction. When I sell a stock, I put part of the capital in the money market fund, and I reinvest part of the capital into an attractive stock opportunity.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of Commerce have taken a decidedly different approach to U.S. participation in international trade since November 2016. I realize that international trade can be somewhat of a dry topic, but since these decisions are affecting the bottom line in U.S. industry, stock market opportunities are unfolding before us.

Almost everywhere in the mainstream media and across most Wall Street research firms, there is a common implication that a recession will bring a bear market for stocks.

Our previous moves to put the portfolio in a defensive stance have given us some protection. But today’s slump in emerging market stocks has put our Buy signal in question and further weakened many of our stocks.

We’re seeing a bunch of good-looking setups right now as the combination of the post-election thrust higher and the recent pause has created many favorable charts.

Today’s featured recommendation is a low-risk financial stock that will give the portfolio some stability (and income). And since the portfolio doesn’t currently own a bank stock, this will provide some healthy diversification.

As market malaise lingers on, it’s become a stock-picker’s market. Fortunately, we have an entire team of expert stock pickers here at Cabot – and in Stock of the Week, we get our pick of the litter. This year already, that’s resulted in gems like Mike Cintolo’s Corning (GLW) (+50% in six weeks), Clif Droke’s JetBlue (JBLU) (+17% in two weeks) and Carl Delfeld’s TransAlta Corp. (TAC) (+10% in a month).

So today, we try to uncover another gem by going back to the well on a former Stock of the Week – and market – darling that has recently rediscovered its mojo. Cabot Dividend Investor Chief Analyst Tom Hutchinson never gave up on it and is now higher on it than ever.

Details inside.

A new SEC ruling has caused confusion among investors about OTC stocks. But it might create a great buying opportunity, and reduce confusion.

This year’s strong market has surprised most pundits. Hopefully, the good times last. Anything is possible.

I don’t want to get into the business of trying to predict what the market will do over the rest of the year. Even if you get things right, some stupid headline can come out of nowhere and change all the math. There’s a much better way than market timing.

Buying good stocks cheap is perhaps the best way to assure good returns over time. Different market sectors go in and out of favor all the time. Technology stocks were out of favor at the beginning of this year. No one wanted energy stocks at the beginning of 2021.

You may not think there are a lot of bargains anymore. Sure, it’s a bull market for the indexes. But it is still the darkest days of the bear market in certain places. Defensive stocks in utilities and other sectors are wallowing near the lows of last October while the indexes are whooping it up.

In this issue, I highlight three defensive portfolio positions. These stocks are all selling near 52-week lows and, in some cases, multi-year lows. But operational results at these companies have been as strong as ever. And all these currently out-of-favor stocks have long histories of superstar performance that blows away the returns of the overall market.

Forget the Fed, and inflation, or the velocity of the landing. Buying some of the very best dividend stocks on the market near the lowest valuation at which they ever sell should be a money-making strategy regardless of what happens with all that other stuff.

The S&P 500 closed out the second quarter of 2021 at a record high advancing for a fifth consecutive quarter. Meanwhile the Dow and Nasdaq closed just below records and each of these indexes recorded more than 18 record closes during the first half of the year. Accelerating economic growth is the key to keeping things moving forward.