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Let’s talk about bubbles.

There’s been a whole lot of investor speculation of late over whether we’re near an artificial intelligence bubble, akin to what we saw from the dot-com bubble at the turn of the century or the housing bubble that led to the 2008-09 Great Recession. Indeed, with AI spending (an estimated $300 to $400 billion this year) outpacing revenue (an estimated $60 billion this year) by roughly a 6-to-1 ratio – about double the capital expenditures-to-revenue ratio just before the dot-com bubble burst – the angst over an AI bubble is understandable, and perhaps warranted.

It’s cannabis company earnings season once again. Below, I summarize the highlights from our portfolio companies. But first, here are the major sector trends that emerged from the calls.

It was a much better week for the market, and even more so our portfolio, as all but two of our existing 20 stocks were up at least 2%. Of course, there’s a lot of ground to make up from the damage done by “Liberation Day” at the start of the month, but it’s possible the market has turned a corner and a glorious month of May awaits for U.S. stocks. In case it doesn’t, however, today we beef up our overseas exposure by adding our first ETF in a while. It’s a fund just recommended by Carl Delfeld to his Cabot Explorer audience – and one that aims to take advantage of recent strength in European stocks.

Details inside.

Stocks are in a much better place than they were a couple weeks ago. That’s what nine consecutive days of gains will do, as earnings season and a cooling of tariff rhetoric have combined to inject some positivity into what was a doom-and-gloom market environment as recently as mid-April. We surely haven’t heard the last about tariffs, and this week’s Fed meeting can always reopen some old wounds. But we can only go with the evidence in front of us, and right now it’s pointing upward. With that in mind, today we add a growth stock recently recommended by Mike Cintolo in his Cabot Top Ten Trader advisory.

Details inside.

In the November Issue of Cabot Early Opportunities, we jump into a crazy semiconductor growth story, an electrification name and an international travel story. We also kick the tires on a new company focused on acquiring outdoorsy brands as well as another playing in the healthy and alternative food space.

As always, there should be something for everyone.

Despite last week’s overreaction to the Fed, the market will likely continue sideways for a while for two reasons. One, the market indexes had to take a breather after a massive 90% move higher from the pandemic lows. Two, investors look ahead and can’t decide what will drive the market six months from now after the economy slows and comparisons get tough.

In a sideways market, income is at a premium. Income is the only game in town when stock prices aren’t rising. Dividends roll in regardless of near-term market gyrations. Covered calls greatly enhance that income.



In times like this, a portfolio geared towards high income can provide strong returns while the overall market languishes. In this issue, I highlight two new covered call opportunities that will enable you to ring the register while the market wallows.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are a popular low-cost alternative to mutual funds that can help investors achieve their diversification goals, gain exposure to asset classes and sector trends they’re interested in, and save money while they do it. This month, we’ll dive into the pros and cons of investing in ETFs, how to identify the funds that match your investing style, and how to evaluate their risks and potential. In short, we’ll explore everything you need to know to make more money investing in ETFs.

The market dodged a bullet. And the rally forges on.

After a 5% dip from the high, stocks started climbing again in mid-April and have regained all the losses. Last week’s inflation report had the potential to derail the recent rally. But it didn’t. And the good times are continuing.

Warren Buffett has said, “Only buy something that you’d be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years.” What about us ordinary investors who can’t wait 10 years? I have an easy solution-- I buy when a stock is undervalued and sell when it becomes overvalued. The time frame is usually about two years. The basic principal is simple: the stock market and the individual stocks that make up the stock market have always bounced back and forth from overvalued to undervalued to overvalued, over and over again.

While long-term prospects for the cannabis industry remain excellent, the sector as a whole remains in correction mode today, with the big Canadian stocks under the greatest pressure—and no one knows where the bottom is, though history tells us it will come when the last holdout capitulates.

It’s been a tough few months for cannabis investors, but no downtrend lasts forever, and yesterday’s blast-off by Aphria (APHA), which sparked buying across the sector, is a sign that the worst has almost certainly passed.

Holding a great growth stock forever can be smart. Excellent stock-picking combined with a bull market can be rewarding.

In a volatile, unsafe market, safe dividend stocks are a good place to lay low and reduce your risk. Here are three that could also produce big returns.

In my Wall Street’s Best advisories, more than 70 contributors gave their top stock picks for 2019. Here is a sampling of them, and our top picks from 2018.

After years of under-funding, a U.S. infrastructure boom is coming. Here are four stocks and ETFs that stand to benefit most from it.

If market trends continue to improve, I’ll consider taking on more risk in the portfolio—but only if I think we’ll be well compensated for it. There are no ratings changes this week, and none of our stocks reported.

One of my favorite ways to find leading stocks is to look at the list of stocks hitting new highs, to see if there are any new names popping up. So in preparation for 2016, I took a look at the stocks that were hitting new highs on the NYSE late last week.

Portfolio Protection, Step #3: In my article “5 Steps to Protect your Portfolio” the third step I discuss is diversifying your investments to reduce the volatility and risk of your portfolio. You can think of diversification simply as this, “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.” Instead, create a...

Berkshire Hathaway had to alter its annual meeting this year, but Warren Buffett’s company remains strong. Here are 4 Berkshire Hathaway stocks to consider.

In a highly unreliable market, you could use some reliability in your portfolio. Verizon stock fits the bill.