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Action in the small-cap indices continues to be very encouraging.

Since the beginning of June, both the S&P 600 SmallCap Index and Russell 2000 have outperformed the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

The S&P 600 Small Cap Index rose modestly this week but not quite to the 1,340 level the index reached on June 11.

We’re seeing what could be an early pattern of higher highs and higher lows for the index, though for that trend to firm up we need to see the index get closer to its 200-day line (currently at 1,367) in the next week or two, and not fall below 1,284.

In the course of planning my wedding, I’ve learned some valuable lessons that also apply to investing.

My five picks are the stocks of U.S. companies; all of the picks pay dividends, and all are selling at bargain prices.

Part of my job at Cabot is fielding emails from our Cabot Wealth Advisory subscribers, and one question I see quite often is, “What are the differences between Cabot’s publications?” I’m going to explain our newsletters, one at a time in an ongoing series. This is part one of the series, focusing on Cabot Market Letter, our flagship publication.

We recently conducted a short survey of our Dick Davis Investment Digest subscribers. Several common concerns were market volatility and economic uncertainty (which I wrote about two weeks ago here). Today, I want to address a third common refrain. As a subscriber from Texas put it: “Maximize dividend income...

Imagine a place where no one owns a car and everyone walks, rides their bikes or takes public transportation to work, to the store, to school or anywhere else they need to go. No, this isn’t some Star Trek-like fantasy world, it’s Vauban, Germany, a planned community where cars are largely banned in favor of other modes of transportation. A New York Times article this week detailed the particulars of this forward-thinking community; where a tram runs through the center of town, shops and houses are mixed together so no one has to travel far to do the shopping and people embrace biking and walking as primary means of travel.

Here are two companies that fit my screening criteria for undervalued stocks with low volatility.

Why dividend-paying stocks are important to have in your portfolio.

Today’s recommendation, First Solar (FSLR) is shaping up to lead the industry in the current wave.

This month we’re jumping into a highly specialized financial services company that helps immigrants send money to friends and families overseas.

You can think of it as the modern version of Western Union (WU). But there’s more to the story than that. Starting with a vision that’s a lot more about helping customers than overcharging them.

The hook is that revenue growth is off the charts. And it’s profitable!

All the details are inside this month’s Issue.

With the market on track to post a very nice gain in November, it’s been a good time to just sit back and let most stocks do their thing. Much of this move has been driven by lower yields and peak Fed chatter, with inflation and economic data largely supporting the disinflation and soft-landing scenario.

Whether or not the Fed will ultimately begin to cut rates next spring/early summer remains to be seen, but that’s what the market is currently expecting. We’ll now look to the December 12/13 FOMC meeting (last of the year) for Jerome Powell to repeat his “not thinking about thinking about cuts” shtick.

This year has certainly been a wild ride for investors, the volatility in the market has been extraordinary, we’re “officially” in a recession and the financial landscape has been dramatically altered. But we’ve been here with you through it all, giving you our best advice. Today, and in another issue before the end of the year, I’m going to re-print some of the pieces we’ve written in the last 12 months.

I now recommend selling Pattern Energy (PEGI), a yieldco that is facing a multitude of short- and medium-term challenges, and I’m putting Pembina Pipeline (PBA) on Hold today. On the plus side, we’re sitting on a two-month, 21% gain in Prudential Financial (PRU) and are going to book some profits today, while holding the rest for further gains. Lastly, because of its recent strength, I’m putting US Bancorp (USB) back on Buy, but I recommend waiting for a pullback.

I’m making three portfolio moves today. I’m putting one stock on Hold due to an earnings miss and taking half our profits in another stock off the table, as the stock has stalled out. We’re also selling one stock, as planned, due to significant technical erosion in the chart.

These ten companies maintain strong balance sheets with low debt and lots of cash.

I scanned my database to find six stocks with the right credentials to perform very well in 2015.

The market stinks right now, but MasterCard (MA) still looks good.