Search

Conventional wisdom says to pay down and manage debt, but don’t overlook the importance of responsible borrowing when opportunity arises.

As central banks around the globe aggressively raised interest rates, the stock market had its second straight awful week of trading. The S&P 500 fell 4.6%, the Dow lost 4%, and the Nasdaq continued its ugly slide, falling another 5.1%.

As earnings season ramps up in the coming week, I wanted to note a couple items.

The brief earnings rally is already petering as positive surprises from some high-profile companies are being offset by others. The hope of a corporate earnings soft landing is getting some cold water thrown on it.

Better-than-expected big bank earnings along with other earnings beats from notable companies like Netflix (NFLX), United Airlines Holdings (UAL) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) are being smothered by overall results. So far, overall results are below average for the quarter.

During the last bull run, crypto trading led to massive gains. But crypto investing is a different animal that depends on long-term growth.

We’re entering a period where macro factors are going to fade slightly as investors refocus on company specifics. That’s because earnings season kicks off tomorrow with financials.

Explorer stocks were all up this week though it is not clear we are out of the woods yet. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) jumped from 83 to 90, Infineon Technologies (IFNNY) shares had double-digit gains, and Kraken (KRKNF) was up 8% yesterday and almost 20% over the last two weeks as smaller stocks are in favor.

Small caps are still trading at a very steep discount that implies very attractive returns in the coming year. The Wall Street Journal had a so-so piece on this earlier in the week.

As earnings season ramps up in the coming week, I wanted to note a couple items.

From a top-down perspective, there are some rays of light out there--some of this week’s up volume has been very rare, and it comes on the heels of an onslaught of pessimism. That said, none of our indicators have flashed green, and the biggest thing we’re still seeing is selling on strength--this week, Enphase cracked and forced us to sell. We are adding two half-sized positions tonight in stocks from our watch list, but we’re remaining defensive with 78% in cash.

Elsewhere in this issue, we write about our Aggression Index and how it usually leads market bottoms--and how it’s showing interesting action in recent months. We also highlight many stocks that we’d love to own if the market gets going--we have our shopping list ready, but as always, have to see it first before any major buying.

The market sold off sharply this morning after another hotter-than-expected inflation report—but, interestingly, the major indexes turned up early on, with the Dow closing up a huge 825 points (2.8%) and the Nasdaq rallying 232 points (2.2%), though individual stocks were far more mixed (though all closed miles off their lows).

Cannabis stocks have been in a sell-off since February of last year. Here are the 3 most important factors to focus on when they turn around.

Small business owners are largely being left out of the inflation conversation, but they’re feeling the pain nonetheless. Fortunately, you can take steps to combat inflation in your own small business.

These two companies boast top-notch credit ratings, financial stability and health dividends, making them (relative) bargains in this market.

These five rules turned a “flop” of a book into a value investing cult classic and helped the author establish one of the premier hedge funds in the world.

“Bear markets are for building” is a popular phrase among crypto enthusiasts, which, coupled with a pending upgrade, makes now the perfect time to accumulate ETH.

These blue-chip Japanese stocks have seemingly been left in the dust by competitors, but they’re recently announced EV partnership could be a game changer.

Outside of energy and commodities, the market is in the midst of a sustained bout of selling; these commodity funds are some of the best performers this year as measured by relative performance.

The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act is a signature legislative victory for the Biden Administration and possibly the largest Greentech investment ever. Here’s what it means for investors.

The current bear market has hit growth stocks particularly hard, and small-cap stocks are now trading at valuations unseen in decades.