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It’s been a highly divergent week in the market—everything started the week lower, but some positive mega-cap earnings have brought the Nasdaq and S&P 500 back to even-ish for the week. However, the action is far, far worse under the hood, with small- and mid-cap indexes down and, among growth-oriented stocks, many more air pockets emerging (including lots of poor earnings reactions).

Intel’s expansion of chip production in the U.S. is expected to be subsidized by the American taxpayer; we should demand Intel stock in exchange.

Dividend Aristocrats are a group of stocks with strong track records of dividend payments; this options strategy can help you boost their yields.

Terex reported Q1 2023 results that beat expectations after the close yesterday. The company also raised full-year guidance by more than the Q1 beat. The result should quiet some of the concerns of a slowdown and help the stock do well today.

This is a very important week that should determine the near-term direction of the market.


While the market digests the JPMorgan (JPM) buyout of First Republic Bank (FRC), the largest bank failure since the financial crisis, it looks ahead to a packed week. There’s a Fed meeting on Wednesday, where the Central Bank is widely expected to raise the Fed Funds rate by 0.25%. But the Chairman’s comments afterward will probably have a bigger impact on the market.

Bond terminology varies from the stock terms you may be used to, but if you’re buying individual bonds, this is the terminology you should understand.

The Federal Reserve yesterday raised the target for its benchmark interest rate by 0.25% to a new range of 5%-5.25%, the highest since September 2007. This will impact the value and stability of the U.S. dollar and stock markets in several ways.

During the only stable dollar eras of the last century, annual GDP growth averaged 4.9% from 1922-29, 4% from 1948-71, and 3.7% from 1983-2000.

In comparison, over the last two decades, a more volatile dollar saw average growth of only 1.9%. Had the dollar remained stable since 2000, with a steady 3.7% growth, the economy would be nearly 50% greater than it is today, and we probably would have avoided all these financial crises along the way.

Led by mega-cap tech stocks, the indexes tacked on modest gains last week. The S&P 500 rose 1%, the Dow added 0.84%, and the Nasdaq gained 0.7%.

The good times keep rolling in the Stock of the Week portfolio, as more than a handful of our stocks are either at 52-week highs or all-time highs thanks in part to big earnings boosts in recent weeks.

While there are myriad potential potholes out there – another big regional bank failed, another interest rate hike is likely coming this week, the debt ceiling and mild recession are looming, earnings overall have been mixed, and so on – the market has been remarkably resilient of late. So this week we take another big swing by sticking with what has been our bread-and-butter niche since taking over this advisory last summer: up-and-coming retail leaders. The latest addition is a favorite of Cabot Growth Investor Chief Analyst Mike Cintolo.

Details inside.

A big week in the market has started badly. The failure of First Republic Bank (FRC) and fears of further fallout have sent stocks reeling ahead of more news the market may not like later this week.


The market moved on from the banking crisis. But it is rearing its ugly head again. There is now worry of more bank failures and an escalating crisis. More small regional banks could fail. But the situation is still unlikely to devolve into a major crisis, at least at this point.

The market was super slow yet again last week as the indexes were extremely rangebound. The S&P 500 lost 0.05%, the Dow fell 0.3% and the Nasdaq declined by 0.5%. This week earnings season really gets in gear as 44% of the S&P 500 market cap reports.

Stocks are doing a nice job weathering a very choppy earnings season, with mixed – though perhaps better than expected – results coming in from mega caps and the banks thus far. Today, we sidestep U.S. earnings landmines by venturing overseas to add an electric vehicle company that’s a household name in China, but perhaps less well-known here in the States. And it’s starting to give Tesla a run for its money. It’s a recent recommendation from Cabot Explorer Chief Analyst Carl Delfeld.

The market was super slow yet again last week as the indexes were extremely rangebound. The S&P 500 lost 0.05%, the Dow fell 0.3% and the Nasdaq declined by 0.5%. This week earnings season really gets in gear as 44% of the S&P 500 market cap reports.

Although federal efforts to push through cannabis reforms have failed, recent Florida polls show powerful support for legalization.

WHAT TO DO NOW: The market mostly remains in the middle, but we’ve seen a continued slow bleed of late—defensive stocks are perking up, financial stocks are testing their lows and growth stocks are sagging, with more fading below support and failing to bounce. We’re not selling wholesale given our big cash position and the fact that many of our stocks act well, but today we are going to cut bait on our half-sized stake in Allegro Microsystems (ALGM), which continues to give ground following Tesla’s disappointing quarter last week. The sale will leave us with around 55% in cash.

Higher volatility in the big banks equates to higher options premium, here’s how I plan on playing the bank dip.