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The overall market continues to look healthy—though we still haven’t yet received an “all-clear” signal from our long-term timing indicator—and our stocks, in general, continue to reward, with many hitting new highs in recent days as the economic outlook improves.

Long-term, the prospects for the economy and market have improved, but short-term, the relative elation of recent days has brought numerous growth stocks to what seem like unsustainable heights—so I’ve lowered the ratings on three of our positions to Hold, and if you’d like to take partial profits, that’s fine with me.



As for today’s recommendation, it’s a very unusual one for me. But the chart is strong and the story has some validity, so we’ll give it a shot!



Full details in the issue.

Interest rates are still rising, as the Federal Reserve boosted short-term rates by 75 basis points last month, to try to stem the growth of inflation. There are some signs that it may be working. The 30-year mortgage rate actually saw a couple of decreases early last week, but nudged a bit higher on Friday, to a 5.94% average national rate. And gas prices have declined nationwide to $4.66 per gallon, from $4.68 this time last week. I know that’s not much, but, hey, we’ll take what we can get!

It has been a fabulous rally that has proven naysayers wrong. The S&P 500 is up about 15% YTD just before the midpoint. Stocks have also rallied more than 20% from the October low into a new bull market.

How much gas is left in the tank?

Inflation is falling and the Fed is almost done hiking rates. It is also looking less likely that there will be a recession this year. Investors are optimistic that we can get to the other side of this hiking cycle without too much pain.

The market is up for the year. That’s promising after last year’s debacle. But stocks have been going sideways since the beginning of April and can’t seem to decide on the next decisive direction.


On the one hand, the market has shown inspiring resilience amid the troubling headlines. On the other hand, there is a strong chance that the next significant move is lower after stocks have rallied 20% from the October low.

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.

The market took a deep breath last week on the cusp of an eventful upcoming stretch. This week alone we get the latest CPI and PPI numbers before a very pivotal earnings season kicks off on Friday. Potential catalysts – and potholes – abound, so chances are the coming weeks won’t be as calm as the first week of April was. With that in mind, in today’s issue, we’re adding a stock fit to weather any further storms. It’s a century-old company that pays a dividend, trades at a mere 12 times forward earnings, and yet is up 14% year to date – and has been a mainstay in the portfolio of Bruce Kaser’s Cabot Undervalued Stocks Advisor.

This week, we comment on earnings from Adient (ADNT), Brookfield Re (BANR), Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), Goodyear Tire (GT), Mattel (MAT), Newell Brands (NWL) and Western Union (WU).


Next week, Toshiba (TOSYY), TreeHouse Foods (THS), Conduent (CNDT), Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (IRWD) and Organon (OGN) report earnings.

Markets had held up pretty well—weathering inflation and interest rate worries—until the last week of February, when Russia’s Putin decided to invade Ukraine. That radical move sent the markets roiling with some pretty hefty drops and increased volatility. But action today was impressive, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up almost 600 points, the S&P 500 up 80, and the Nasdaq up 219.

The market’s evidence continues to take steps in the right direction and, by our measures, the intermediate-term trend is now on the fence—a couple of decent days from here could produce a green light. Of course, even if we do turn up, it doesn’t mean it’ll suddenly be 1999 again, but we’re not taking anything away from the action: The market has put together a few positive steps in a row, now let’s see if it can continue in the days ahead.



This week’s list again picks up on a few names that are already testing key resistance even as the indexes are just a couple of weeks off their lows. Our Top Pick is a nuts and bolts type of firm that’s seeing a huge upmove in earnings and sports a dirt cheap valuation.

With the market in a downtrend—though possibly ready for a rally—the prudent course is to continue to focus on strong sectors (like energy) and cheap stocks, which is what we’re doing with today’s recommendation.



As for the current portfolio, we’re down to 15 stocks, from a maximum of 20, and selling none of them today.



Details inside.

Two weeks ago I wrote here about the massive buildup of both government and individual debt in last 70 years. I noted that this bubble of debt appeared to have popped in the past year. And I speculated that a very long (decades-long) period of debt shrinkage and balance sheet improvement might be in the cards. Then I asked for your opinions.

Short-term, the market remains under pressure, and this corrective phase could easily go longer (I don’t sense enough pain yet), but long-term, the market’s main trend remains up, so I continue to recommend that you be heavily invested in a diversified portfolio of stocks that are performing well.

Today’s recommendation is a recent IPO, but it’s not Uber or Pinterest or any of the big popular names. I think you’ll like it, but be careful; volatility is to be expected.

As for the portfolio’s current holdings, several are hitting new highs—and none are performing so badly that they deserve to be sold. So this week we’ll stand pat. Details in the issue.

The past week was one of the most fun in a while! But you can’t rest on your laurels in this business; just when you start to congratulate yourself is when the market comes around to slap you down. Today I’m dialing back the risk a bit with a conservative growth stock that you almost certainly know, and which is at a decent buying point.

The market’s main trend remains up, with many major indexes hitting new highs in recent days—and many of our stocks doing the same. Those are the stocks you should hang onto tightly—because there’s no telling how far they’ll run.

As to this week’s stock, once again I’m trying to buy low, with a recommendation of Crista Huff that should soon see improved earnings thanks to last year’s huge merger.

It has been a fabulous rally that has proven naysayers wrong. The S&P 500 is up about 15% YTD just before the midpoint. Stocks have also rallied more than 20% from the October low into a new bull market.

How much gas is left in the tank?

Inflation is falling and the Fed is almost done hiking rates. It is also looking less likely that there will be a recession this year. Investors are optimistic that we can get to the other side of this hiking cycle without too much pain.

Last week was a big week in the market. Game-changing news in the technology sector that significantly improves future earnings projections for many companies is causing the sector to soar.


AI or artificial intelligence had been seen as a huge growth engine going forward as companies invest heavily in the technology. Those growth projections got a huge shot of adrenaline and the AI phenomenon got real when semiconductor company Nvidia (NVDA) reported earnings and guidance that blew the doors off expectations because of much higher investment and spending in the technology than previously thought.

It’s a new bull market! The S&P 500 has rallied over 20% from the low, the technical definition of a bull market. The index is also up about 12% YTD. Are stocks topping out or are we off to the races? Despite inflation, the Fed, and increasing forecasts of recession, stocks have defied conventional wisdom and rallied strongly. That’s impressive. But this rally is incredibly thin. Ten primarily large technology company stocks are responsible for all of the index gains YTD. The other 490 stocks have collectively gone nowhere.