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It’s been a wild week, much more so than a high-level look at the small-cap index would imply. According to the index, we’re just moving sideways with a little wiggle here and there. But when you look within our portfolio—wow! This was anything but a quiet week. Stocks were jumping all over the place as earnings reports came out.

The Federal Reserve, America’s central bank, raised its benchmark rate a half percentage point yesterday as assets that investors perceive as safer were among those to rally. While macro issues such as inflation and interest rates are certainly important, in the end it will be company performance relative to expectations that will be decisive.

Even if inflation may be peaking at levels last seen four decades ago, the key question is whether these levels are transitory or sticky and likely to come back to earth slower than many imagine.

How to tell whether you’re better suited for growth investing or value investing.

Last year, the Russell 2000 stock index overshot the performance of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

Thanks to OPEC, oil is back on the uptick. Should it last, you’ll want to own shares of one small cap value stock in particular.

I don’t anticipate any major changes in our portfolio leading into earnings as I’d prefer to hear what’s new and then go from there. That said, we have a couple of minor adjustments based on stock price action.

If you’ve ever searched for instructions for tackling do-it-yourself tasks, there’s a good chance you’ve turned to today’s recommendation for ideas.

Disney stock has barely budged in two years due to the struggles at ESPN. Last week’s mass layoffs at the Worldwide Leader were the latest fatal blow.

As we head into the weekend, it’s shaping up to be a red week—just about all of the major indexes are down 2% or so coming into Friday, with growth funds down a touch less.

We’ve all seen the wild price swings in cryptocurrency in the last few years, but to understand the technology behind crypto you need to understand a fundamental element … the blockchain.

These are crazy times. This pandemic-riddled year isn’t done with us yet. In fact, Covid cases are rising and many states are reinstating new batches of lockdown restrictions. At the same time, we’re less than a week away from an election with a high risk of a contested result and the ensuing uncertainty.

At some point, we will get past the election and the pandemic. The economy should boom and the market will be free to rise. But things could still get awfully dicey in the weeks and months before we get to the Promised Land.



In this issue, I highlight a high-income stock that is ideal for the current situation. The business is benefitting mightily from the pandemic. It’s a defensive stock that should continue to perform well amidst the volatility. Yet, it should also be a star in the post-pandemic market.



Not only does this stock pay a high dividend, but it attracts high call premiums as well. It is one of the very few stocks that is well worth buying in the current situation.

A lot has happened with our marijuana stocks in recent weeks, with the most important being the release of excellent quarterly reports by all the major U.S. multi-state operators that explained why the sector had been so strong in recent months.

However, growth stocks in general—and marijuana stocks in particular—have now begun a well-deserved correction, so I’m now getting a bit more cautious.



Full details in the issue.

As we near the end of 2020, I’m thankful that 2020 was so very good to the leading marijuana stocks, and that we managed, overall, to ride the trend quite profitably.

As I write, the uptrend is intact and we remain fully invested, but as the calendar turns to 2021, there’s a chance that the trend (and the trend of the broad market as well) might turn down.



Thus I’m on alert.



But I learned long ago not to argue with the trend of the market, so until the trend changes, I recommend staying heavily invested.



Full details in the issue.

The action of high-growth stocks continues to be sloppy despite the strong performance of most underlying businesses.

To help ease our portfolio thorough this period I’ve been evaluating companies with exposure to the reopening economy, and I think I’ve nailed it.



Today’s stock is an online retailer serving younger generations. These consumers should be among the most active spenders as the world opens up again. And this up-and-coming retailer should be a major beneficiary.



Enjoy!