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Stocks struggled back from early losses yesterday after blue chips posted their biggest two-day gains in more than two years.

Explorer stocks had a good week with most up nicely and Infineon (IFFNY) up about 18%.

Perhaps the best indicator of where the U.S. and global economy is going are commodity prices. For example, copper prices are gaining ground though they are still far from highs reached earlier this year.

There are a lot of high-quality stocks trading at value prices out there. For next week’s recommendation, I’m looking at semiconductor companies worldwide and will try to pick the stock with the most upside and lowest downside risk. This is as Congress wrangles over the $52 billion CHIPS act to support the domestic semiconductor supply chain.

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 market had its worse day since March yesterday. The worry de jour was the debt limit. I believe the issue will be resolved long before a default occurs one way or another.

I’ve discussed the tumult plaguing the newspaper industry several times recently and after today, I’ll let the topic rest unless something noteworthy happens. But first, I want to share a few more of your letters because they express some ideas that haven’t been voiced here before. Thanks to everyone for writing in, I appreciate you taking the time to share your insights with me and your fellow readers. To read all of the past issues I’ve written about the newspaper industry and see how others responded, go to our Web site archives. If you haven’t shared your view yet, you can do so by sending me an email or commenting on our blog.

In our final Explorer issue of 2023, we add a new artificial intelligence play whose revenues are on track to expand by nearly 50% this year, and whose share price has more than tripled YTD - and yet trades well below its July highs. Back on the upswing, it’s worth buying now.

Enjoy, and happy holidays!

Led by the Magnificent Seven, the S&P 500 is a bit overcooked at the moment. Small and mid-caps, on the other hand, are cheap - and appear poised for outperformance in the New Year. So today, we add a mid-cap life sciences company with high upside potential in an emerging area of biology.

The S&P 500 and Explorer stocks are in an uptrend in November as investors bet that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes are done for now and that inflation will moderate without a recession. In addition, with most S&P 500 companies having reported third-quarter results, more than 80% have beaten analyst expectations.

With the investing climate improving, today we add two new positions to the portfolio. Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Old-school value managers like Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett used to have a funny way of describing their investing style.

They said value stocks were like cigar butts on the sidewalk that had a few puffs left in them.

I’d like to offer an updated version of this metaphor. I think cannabis stocks have a few more puffs left in them between now and the end of the year.

Cannabis names are thoroughly unloved and abandoned once again.

No question this is a challenging market but Explorer stocks held their ground. Cloudflare (NET) had a good week up five points, and Ford (F) remains my favorite pick on risk/reward basis. This week we move to a surprising trend that will benefit America, the climate, and your portfolio.

Earnings season can bring big price swings so having a stop-loss for your stocks is important. Here are three ways to play it.

Despite last week’s setback, top performing Cabot China Report keeps confidence.

MarketWatch again named Cabot China & Emerging Markets Report the top performing investment letter over the past 12 months, up a remarkable 61.45% vs. negative 2.63% for the dividend-reinvested Dow Jones Wilshire 5000.

Worried about what a Bernie Sanders presidency would mean for the stock market? Or Elizabeth Warren? Or Joe Biden? Don’t fret. Here’s what you need to do.

For the first time in a while, it’s actually been a relatively quiet week—the major indexes are hovering around breakeven on the week, though broader indexes are up 1%-ish and the lagging growth areas have gotten off their knees, with many of those funds up 2% to 3% or so. It’s just a start, but that’s good to see.

It’s been another relatively quiet week for the major indexes, with most up in the 0.5% range, though the Nasdaq has outperformed, rising around 1.7% on the week as of this morning.

Even the most well-meaning value investors can fall victim to this common faux pas, but avoiding it is easier than you might think.

ThredUp (TDUP), Sportradar (SRAD) and Alamos Gold (AGI) Report