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The intermediate-term trend in emerging market stocks remains down, and we continue to advise a substantial degree of caution. At the same time, the fact that the indexes (both emerging markets and domestic) have been able to hold above their February lows means there’s a chance that a renewed advance can begin at any time. But we won’t predict; we’ll just follow the market’s lead, while keeping you apprised of the action in the highest potential emerging markets stocks we can find. Today we add another name to the watch list; it’s an old friend that just hit a new high a couple of days ago.

The long-awaited market correction has arrived, but whether it will be brief or long, shallow or deep, remains to be seen. The one thing I am sure of is that it won’t be like the previous one! In the meantime, it’s important to treat each stock on its own merits, and today that means selling our weakest, Chegg (CHGG).

As for today’s recommendation, it’s a small company thriving in the homebuilding sector, dominant in its own sub-sector. I think you’ll like it.

The marijuana sector peaked in February, bottomed from late March to mid-April, and since then has been building a base, preparing for a resumption of the big advance.

Fundamentals in the industry remain terrific, as second quarter results have recently revealed, and the trend toward legalization in the U.S. continues, so it’s only a matter of time before these stocks enjoy their next upwave.



In the portfolio today the one small change is that I’ll downgrade Columbia Care (CCHWF), our biggest loser, to Hold.



Full details in the issue.

Markets coughed up a hairball at the end of last week and weren’t all that happy today. Defensive stocks had a better time of it, but many growth issues came under heavy pressure. A few high-profile issues (like Google GOOG) got taken to the cleaners after poorly received earnings reports. It’s too early to conclude that markets are in for a big correction, but the action is negative enough to warrant taking a slightly more defensive posture. You should tighten up the leash on your stocks, maybe be a little quicker to take partial profits or cut losers off if their charts deteriorate. Don’t go in for wholesale selling, but work to protect your portfolio.

This week has an interesting list of metals, large-caps and retail, but the Editor’s Choice is Citigroup (C), a global banking giant that’s making a slow comeback from a massive correction when the housing bubble burst. It’s a good value for a high-quality stock that’s appealing to institutional investors.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Silver Wheaton (SLW)	0.00	37-39	-
Weyerhaeuser (WY)	0.00	27-29	-
Chico’s FAS (CHS)	0.00	16-18	-
Citigroup Inc. (C)	0.00	35-37	-
Coeur Mining (CDE)	0.00	27-29	-
Domino’s Pizza (DPZ)	339.47	40-42	-
LyondellBasell Industries NV (LYB)	0.00	51-54	-
Ocwen Financial (OCN)	0.00	34-38	-
Oshkosh (OSK)	95.04	28-31	-
Polaris Industries (PII)	0.00	84-88	-

It’s time for all investors to obsess about the Fed again. The Central Bank has its March meeting this week and Wall Street is on pins and needles waiting to hear what they might vaguely insinuate.

While the S&P 500 has stalled at about the same level since late November, it’s been more exciting under the hood.

The market indexes have stalled mostly because of technology. Those stocks still haven’t fully recovered from the DeepSeek plunge in late January. At the same time, earnings for the rest of the market are catching up.

The renewed tariff uncertainty is affecting the market. Stocks are going up slower now.

It looks like a market that wants to go higher. The tariff stuff is just holding it back for now, but just barely. The S&P 500 still made a new high on Monday. And earnings season is starting to heat up. Later this week and next week, several big tech companies report. Good news could ignite a market rally despite anything going on in the world besides artificial intelligence.

The market rally is sputtering. The near-term direction of stocks is highly uncertain. But we might have a much better idea of where things are going by the end of this week.

*Note: Due to the New Year’s holiday, there will be no Cabot Dividend Investor update next Wednesday, December 31. I will be back with our next weekly update on Wednesday, January 7. Have a safe and happy holiday season!

Another strong year in the market is closing out. The S&P 500 is up over 17% for 2025 with about a week to go. This follows two straight years of 20%-plus returns for the market in 2023 and 2024. That’s the best three-year run this century.

Of course, the upside has been overwhelming due to technology. Without that sector, market returns would be rather lame. Now that technology is sputtering, what can we expect in 2026?

After beautifully navigating the historically troubling months of September and October, stocks are off to a dicey start this month. While the S&P managed to close slightly higher on Monday, most stocks had a rotten day. The index was propelled by technology while 400 of the 500 stocks moved lower on the day. On Tuesday, technology sold off and almost all sectors were lower. Is this a hiccup or a harbinger?