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Within the Growth & Income portfolio, you’ll find a discussion of retail woes. The Buy Low Opportunities Portfolio features a comparison between two of the rare retailers that emerged from first-quarter earnings season unscathed. I was simply focused on retail stores throughout May. Lots of investors own these stocks, and I figured some of you might find the assessment interesting.

We’ll let everyone else fight it out over the meaning and truthfulness of the DeepSeek revelations—as always, we’ll stay focused on the actual evidence, and here’s what we see: First off, the broad AI infrastructure areas look very iffy; the odds favor most chips, networking and electricity stocks are in the so-called penalty box. That said, the rest of the market took on water today but didn’t look abnormal. We do view the dramatic action as a yellow flag but we’re also not panicking as many of the names that had begun to perk up/break out are still acting well enough. We think it’s prudent to drop our Market Monitor back to a level 6 and take things on a stock-by-stock basis from here.

This week’s list does have a couple of AI-related names that got whacked, but the rest are from other areas that look fine. Our Top Pick is a name that looks like it’s finally, decisively changed character. Start small and aim for dips.

Although it is plenty large to be relevant (its economy is the 9th largest in the world and is comparable in size to that of Canada), to many investors Brazil remains a regional backwater mired in political scandals and weak corporate governance. Weak oil prices combined with poor government leadership led to sharp recessions in 2015 and 2016.

However, the country’s fortunes may be turning upward. In this issue, we look at five companies that should benefit from Brazil’s incipient turnaround, and also have appealing turnaround potential in their own right.

Volatility has resurfaced and stocks have pulled back a bit of late, though it’s still very much a bull market. We’ll see whether this week’s CPI print (Wednesday) and kickoff to second-quarter earnings season (Friday) reverses or accelerates the recent mini-selloff. In the meantime, we’re going outside the box this week to add more exposure to the improving cannabis sector in the form of a leveraged fund. It’s been a favorite of Cabot Cannabis Investor Chief Analyst Michael Brush in recent weeks, and with Congress back in session today, the timing could be perfect.

Stocks are the highest they’ve been since last summer, and with the debt ceiling in the rear-view mirror and the Fed sounding less hawkish these days, it’s possible they could keep rising as we enter Summer 2023. One sector that’s been unstoppable of late is artificial intelligence, so today we add some more AI exposure, which has already served us well with the performance of Microsoft (MSFT). The new addition is a lesser-known name but is equally red-hot. Mike Cintolo recently recommended it to his Cabot Top Ten Trader audience.

A week ago, it felt like a bull market in name only. Now, it feels like a full-fledged bull market, with participation coming from places other than just mega caps and artificial intelligence. That’s reflected in our portfolio, where roughly half our stocks are hitting or near 52-week highs. Still, there’s always a chance things could crater, especially with the S&P 500 up 14% year to date and the Nasdaq up 30%. So today we add some needed value, with the bonus benefit of giving us more overseas exposure, in the form of an undervalued U.K. life insurance company courtesy of Cabot Value Investor Chief Analyst Bruce Kaser.

The market has pulled back after a huge run-up, which is normal action and likely not a product of renewed Fed fears that didn’t exist a week ago. These types of pullbacks in bull markets, like the new one we’ve just entered, are buying opportunities. And so today, we add a high-profile growth stock that is already up more than 80% year to date but may be just scratching the surface of its artificial intelligence potential, which could open up new revenue streams. It’s a new recommendation from Tyler Laundon in Cabot Early Opportunities.

It’s possible stocks are stretched, at least in the near term, and the just-underway earnings season will put that to the test in the coming weeks. The next big move may be to the downside, so today we’re adding some more portfolio protection in the form of a mega-cap health insurer that pays a modest dividend but has a history of beating the market. It’s the latest recommendation from Cabot Dividend Investor Chief Analyst Tom Hutchinson.

The new bull market went into hyperdrive last week, fueled by lower-than-expected inflation and an encouraging start to earnings season. With another interest rate hike and weak Q2 earnings expectations looming in the back half of this month and beyond, there could be some speed bumps ahead. But for now, the good times are rolling, and that means taking more big swings. This week, we do so in a small-cap, Canada-based rare earths producer that is a brand new recommendation from Cabot Explorer Chief Analyst Carl Delfeld.

Back at the beginning of this email, I mentioned the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII). I’m a life member; they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse about a decade ago, and I expect to come out ahead on the deal. Anyway, AAII regularly tests investing systems to see which ones perform best, and over the long run, two systems stand head-and-shoulders above the rest. The first is the CANSLIM approach advocated by Investor’s Business Daily (IBD). The second is Martin Zweig’s system.

Crocs, the maker of the deliciously comfortable, horrendously ugly shoes reported its earnings on Wednesday, October 31 after the market closed. The good news is that the company’s profits more than doubled, reaching $0.66 a share vs. $0.25 for Q3 last year. This profit exceeded expectations by a few cents. Hurrah. But when the company issued its outlook for total 2007 earnings, raising its guidance by about a nickel over last quarter’s estimate, the Street wasn’t pleased.

Last Thursday, in a financial story that you may have missed, Nasdaq OMX Group announced that it had created a new index. It’s called the Nasdaq OMX Government Relief Index and it is now trading under the symbol QGRI. The components of the index will be the companies that receive $1 billion or more under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) or any other government handout program. Creating and updating indexes like The Bailout Index (my term) is one way financial services companies make a living. But I think I’ll give The Bailout Index a pass

Here are some final thoughts on China travel; some have practical applications and some are just for your enjoyment.

Over the weekend, the finance ministers of the eurozone decided on a bailout package for Cyprus. But why does this matter to us?

Typically, I try to avoid partisan politics in these pages. Typically, I succeed. But today, I can’t stop myself.

How are gun stocks behaving in the wake of the senseless shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School? About how you would expect.

U.S. and global markets continue to be fueled by substantial amounts of liquidity washing over the world. According to Lipper, the amount in American money market funds has reached $4.6 trillion. This is a record going back to 1992.

Remain bullish, but keep your eyes open. The overall market looks fine, but remains extended to the upside, which makes finding lower-risk entry points more difficult. We continue to advise holding your uptrending stocks to give them a chance to turn into bigger winners.

Centrus Energy (LEU) shares retraced from 38 to 34 as three hedge funds were long Centrus in the third quarter, while six hedge funds were long the stock in the previous quarter. Their total stake values were $14.9 million and $14.7 million, respectively. This is still a buy for aggressive investors.

There are 7 artificial intelligence (AI) ETFs available to investors. Let’s look at all 7 and find the best AI ETF for investors of all stripes.