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Stocks continue to slide, prompting us to add some more safety to the Stock of the Week portfolio in the form of a gold mining stock recommended by Sector Xpress Gold & Metals Advisor analyst Clif Droke this week. It’s one of the few gold miners that’s actually growing revenues, and is in fact the only stock Clif is currently recommending. It also may benefit from ongoing global efforts at “de-dollarization.”


Details below.

Centrus Energy (LEU) was steady this week as Congress seeks another $1.5 billion in a government funding bill to boost domestic supply of uranium to offset lost Russian fuel.

Ford (F) shares rose 7% this week as its October U.S. sales declined by 10% but electric vehicle (EV) sales rose nearly 120% year over year. It now claims to be the #2 EV seller in America behind Tesla.

Led higher by major tech stocks (and especially AAPL) the Nasdaq gained nearly 4% last week, closing at a new record high. Less impressive were the other leading indexes, though their gains were very positive as well as the S&P 500 added 2.4%, while the Dow rallied 1.3%.

The phrase you hear more than ever from market prognosticators these days is that they are “cautiously optimistic” about the state of the stock market. In some ways this is pretty useless advice, but in another it hits the nail on the head. The market clearly wants to continue to rise; the world is awash in liquidity, and the Fed seems determined to keep interest rates low for some time. In addition, momentum tech stocks seem unstoppable.

Like many, I initially scoffed at the Tesla Cybertruck design. But given the early interest, it could be the thing to put TSLA stock over the top.

Our Market Monitor is at a level 8, and could be bumped up a notch depending on the rest of today. But whatever the exact level, you should remain bullish.

It’s been a constructive week in the market, with most major indexes tacking on gains, and the largest upmoves registered by small- and mid-cap indexes.

Iridium Communications (IRDM, 5.96) Buy Iridium (IRDM:NASDAQ) as a bounce back play on space communications. Iridium is a global leader in providing satellite communication services. The company sells voice and data communication services to areas that are hard to reach—places where cell phones and landlines are not available. ... The company...

China is a country that, as we all know, is changing fast ... but is still misunderstood. While writing the title of this column, I was tempted to use the word xenophobia, meaning fear or contempt of strangers or foreign peoples. But the word I want (which appears not to exist) means, “underestimating the power of the people of a foreign country.” Because when it comes to China, I fear that’s exactly the mistake most Americans are making today. To the vast majority of Americans, China is, first and foremost, a Communist country. Americans “know” Communism is the wrong way to go. However, for the past quarter-century, the Chinese economy has grown at an average annual rate of 10%.

Now that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is officially in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, it’s worth knowing more about his views on cannabis policy.


After all, DeSantis will now play an even bigger part in the election debates, even if polls say DeSantis has a slim chance against frontrunner Donald Trump. His voice matters – since cannabis is such a politically driven sector.



The bottom line: DeSantis offers a mixed picture, but it’s not all bad for cannabis investors.

Cannabis stocks are up 10%-20% since I encouraged you to buy them on weakness in my last update on October 31.

That’s a nice short-term gain – much better than the 5.5% S&P 500 advance over the same time.
I hope you participated.

Traders may want to book profits. The stocks are strong this morning on news that Ohio voters approved a referendum on recreational use legalization. This rally could reverse. However, cannabis stocks are still down sharply from the rescheduling rally last summer. I suggest continuing to stay long in the midst of the overall weakness since that rescheduling news rally last summer.

There’s been a lot of movement in recent days in the broad market, the major indexes and various sectors, so let’s get right to our thoughts.

Today’s stock market is impervious to geopolitical concerns, rising to new heights on almost a monthly basis. Will it last? Longer than you think!

It can pay to pay attention to what investment legends are doing to cope in these turbulent times.

Warren Buffett still has a knack for seeking value and a history of going to Japan to find it in times of volatility. Overall, Japan’s Topix index trades at 13.3 times expected earnings, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. That compares with 18.9 times for the S&P 500.

The Trump administration’s apparent effort to de-escalate its tariff war with China has been meet with statements from Chinese officials saying there are no ongoing trade talks with the U.S. and that all pronouncements of progress in negotiation are groundless.

Still, the market has begun to factor in a “less bad” outcome than was being contemplated last week.

It has helped significantly that Trump backed away from what seemed like a very clear desire to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, which caused another spike in market panic last week.

As we head into a new year, I would like to thank all of you for your support and wish you all both good health and profits in 2021. But today, we have a piece of unfinished business that needs to be dealt with - Alibaba (BABA).

Centrus Energy (LEU) shares were largely unchanged as the company is well positioned to benefit from growth in next-generation nuclear technology, helping provide reliable and carbon-free electricity. This is still a buy for aggressive investors.

After a straight-up run in many indexes and some great moves by individual stocks, the sellers have finally taken a stand, with the market and many stocks hitting air pockets during the past couple of days.

For the first time since the market kicked off after the November elections, we’re seeing price/volume action that tells us the sellers are stepping up. This action isn’t a death knell, but it’s worth watching to see if the post-election uptrend is beginning to crack.

Will 2014 be a repeat of 2013—so that investors who missed out in 2013 can make up for lost ground?