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Market transitions—and I’m not sure whether we’re in one now or are just getting faked out again—only cause major damage if you just sit there, either because you don’t have a plan, or you don’t have the emotional resources to take action. The readiness is all

When it comes to investing money wisely, there’s no one right approach. There are, however, several not-so-wise ways to invest.

Chief Analyst Paul Goodwin answers questions about the Cabot Emerging Markets Investor.

One of our stocks reported yesterday after the close and nearly all the analysts following the company are disappointed, including me.

Explorer stocks were all up this past week with the exception of Ford (F) as inflation numbers out this morning are expected to show consumer-price inflation picked up again in January, to an annual pace of 7.2%.

I don’t mind telling you that these are scary and depressing times for investors. One wave of bad news no sooner breaks over us than another one--even bigger--appears. The American banking and auto industries are circling the drain, and the Dow, which was within spitting distance of 14,000 just a year ago is now, having cracked the 8,000 level, trying to decide whether to rest there for a while or just plunge further. All in all, it’s enough to make you turn off your TV, limit your newspaper reading to the sports and funnies and abandon your computer for your game console. At least in World of Warcraft, you know the rules.

Energy stocks are in the news right now, partly because some of them have begun their price rebounds from recent pullbacks, and partly due to a focus on oil prices during the current Middle East conflict. Here’s a quick assessment and comparison of our four energy stocks.

After being unable to get off its knees for more than a few hours, the market staged a rally during the past two days, which is always good to see. That said, while the Nasdaq is looking halfway decent (back above its 50-day line today), the other major indexes are still in rough shape, and the broad market is still iffy. Now is certainly not the time to be complacently negative—it’s not like every stock is in tatters and the major indexes are in bear phases. But after the toppy action in July and decisive break two weeks ago, we need to see more than just a couple of mild-volume rallies to put a bunch of money back to work. Thus, you should remain generally defensive as we patiently wait for the bulls to re-take control.

The good news is that many growth stocks (and a few turnarounds) continue to act well—not much money is being made but many names are building solid bases. Our Top Pick this week is Under Armour (UA), an emerging blue chip stock that, while not early in its advance, is in great position after a beautiful base and breakout.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
58.com (WUBA)	0.00	50-51	47-48
Vipshop Holdings (VIPS)	14.25	210-214	200-203
Under Armour (UA)	0.00	66-70	62-63
Tenet Healthcare (THC)	0.00	55-57	51-52
Royal Gold, Inc. (RGLD)	129.66	77-79	72-74
NRG Yield (NYLD)	0.00	51.5-53	49-50
NorthStar Realty (NRF)	0.00	17.5-18	16.5-17
Lithia Motors Inc. (LAD)	146.30	90-92	84-85
Dexcom (DXCM)	421.36	41-43	37-38
Arista Networks (ANET)	0.00	70-74	64-65

This week, we comment on earnings from Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA).


We also include the Catalyst Report and a summary of the April edition of the Cabot Turnaround Letter, which was published on Wednesday. We encourage you to look through the Catalyst Report. This report is a listing of all of the companies that have reported a catalyst in the past month. These catalysts include new CEOs, activist activity, spin-offs and other possible game-changers. We source many of our feature recommendations from this list. You will find it nowhere else on Wall Street.

In today’s note, we discuss the recent earnings reports from Duluth Holdings (DLTH) and Kohl’s (KSS). Our note also includes the monthly Catalyst Report and a summary of the December edition of the Cabot Turnaround Letter, which was published on Wednesday.

Traditionally, investors thinking about retirement have invested in a mix of stocks and bonds to balance safety and growth.

There’s no question that last Thursday’s and Friday’s show of support in the major indexes and many stocks (especially growth-oriented stocks) was a positive sign—it tells you big investors are still interested in buying on weakness at or near support levels. (Many stocks found support near their 50-day lines.) That continues to bode well for the intermediate- and longer-term uptrend. That said, there are still question marks in the short-term—there’s been lots of distribution since mid-May, especially in many defensive and interest rate-sensitive areas, and sentiment remains a bit complacent. By all means, you should hold onto your top performers, but for now, we continue to advise caution when it comes to new buying (keep positions small) and holding some cash.

Perhaps the most impressive thing we saw this weekend were our own screens—this week’s list has a ton of great-looking charts despite the market’s recent sloppiness. Our favorite of the week is Parexel (PRXL), which remains in a tight, controlled uptrend and has great growth prospects.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Salix Pharmaceuticals (SLXP)	0.00	59-61	52-54
Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD)	0.00	139-144	129-131
Parexel Corp. (PRXL)	0.00	44-46	41-42
OmniVision (OVTI)	0.00	18-19	16.5-17
MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI)	980.83	113-118	103-105
EQT Corporation (EQT)	0.00	78-82	74-75
Electronic Arts (EA)	0.00	21.5-22.5	19.5-20.5
Ctrip.com International Ltd. (CTRP)	34.94	30-32.5	27-28
Conn’s Inc. (CONN)	0.00	51-53	46-47
TD Ameritrade (AMTD)	0.00	22.5-23.5	20.5-21

The calendar has flipped, but nothing has changed with the evidence during the past couple of weeks—the intermediate-term trend, which was stubbornly up for a while, has given way, joining the long-term trend on the downside, all while growth stocks underperform. Most indexes and sectors are doing more chopping than plunging, and it’s important to remain open to anything—but, simply put, the onus clearly remains on the bulls to step up. Our Market Monitor remains at a level 4.

Our first list of the New Year casts a wide net, and our Top Pick is a powerful turnaround play that also provides exposure to the improving non-U.S. area of the market.