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The past month has been the best of the year for our marijuana stocks, and while there’s a chance the sector could top out now (there’s so much good news out there), I learned long ago that it doesn’t pay to fight the trend.

The fact is, this sector strength could easily run to the end of the year as investors rush into this high-growth sector. So, we’ll now become fully invested, adding one new stock at the same time.



Full details in the issue.

The market decline of the past month has turned Cabot’s long-term trend-following indicator negative (after 30 months on the positive side), so it’s time to recognize that the tide is now going out. Defense is now a major part of the game.

In today’s note, we discuss pertinent developments and ratings changes for some of the stocks in the portfolio, including Alcoa (AA), Atlassian (TEAM), GE Aerospace (GE), SLB Ltd. (SLB), Starbucks (SBUX), Super Hi International Holding (HDL) and Teladoc Health (TDOC).

As I mentioned recently, I’m now in Europe looking for intelligence and ideas.

This week I’m in Madrid and visited the stock exchange (bourse) and met with some local brokers to try to get a feel for the market and region. Like brokers always are, they were bullish on stocks and especially gold. One stock we discussed which I have followed from time to time is Banco Santander (SAN). It is in a nice uptrend and still well below book value, but I need to do some research and reach out to some friends who previously worked for Santander to get their views before considering a recommendation.

Instead, today I have a new gold stock recommendation.

Please note that next Thursday is July 4^th and therefore there will not be a Cabot Explorer issue though I will send out an alert if there is any significant news on our stocks.

For Explorer stocks this week, Neo Performance (NOPMF) shares were up 12%, and Super Micro (SMCI) gave back half of last week’s 20% gain.

The dollar rose to its highest level since last year as the Federal Reserve breaks with other central banks by keeping interest rates elevated, giving global investors an incentive to move cash to the U.S. to capture higher bond yields.

The broad market began to show strength in late December, and last week we saw further progress, with new lows continuing to shrink to very bullish levels while a granddaddy blastoff measure (the 2-to-1 Blastoff Indicator) turned green. It’s all very encouraging, but now we need to see more “primary” evidence turn positive, including the trends of the major indexes and many more “real” breakouts from high relative strength stocks. We’re optimistic, but are in a trust-but-verify mode; for now we’ll move our Market Monitor to a level 5.

This week’s list is heavy on many themes that are working, including solar, metals, infrastructure, China and travel. Our Top Pick is from the latter area and has turned the corner in a decisive manner.

Artificial intelligence is the biggest thing in the market these days. But AI doesn’t work without energy.

The world doesn’t run on technology. It runs on energy. Energy is the respiratory system of the modern world that can’t function without it. Technology doesn’t work without electricity powering its systems.

Sure, clean energy is the future, but not yet. In fact, the U.S. and the rest of the world still rely on fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal) for more than 80% of energy needs and will likely continue to do so for decades to come. But fossil fuel consumption is changing. A new king is emerging – natural gas.

Natural gas is by far the fastest-growing fossil fuel. It is the number one fuel source by far to generate electricity in the U.S. and much of the rest of the world. There are also powerful trends adding to the already growing demand.

U.S. electricity demand is growing at breakneck speed because of data centers, electric vehicles, and increased onshoring of manufacturing. U.S. natural gas exports, in the form of natural gas liquids (NGLs), are soaring. This country is already the largest exporter, and the growth is staggering. U.S. NGL liquid exports over this past year have grown a whopping 67% over the prior year.

Natural gas was already the fastest-growing fossil fuel. The addition of soaring electricity demand and exploding U.S. exports accelerates that growth. The fuel is shaping up to be a dominant theme in 2026. In this issue, I highlight the country’s largest producer of natural gas.

It’s been a crazy year, with bank failures, bailouts and a historic election behind us, 2008 will definitely be one to remember. In honor of the New Year, I’ve been looking back at 2008--all its ups and downs--and came up with a few investing New Year’s resolutions based on what’s happened. The most important thing to remember is to learn from your mistakes, but don’t dwell on them. They teach important lessons, but the most important thing is to move forward with those teachings in mind. Best of luck to you in 2009!

The market’s uptrend is under a bit of pressure and the Fed’s dovish stand on interest rates is a sign of weakness that is unlikely to impress Wall Street. Nevertheless, Sea Limited (SE) has regained its momentum and NovoCure (NVCR) is up 35% over the past two weeks. And our emerging markets timer (EEM) is positive. This week we go to Australia for a new fintech idea that has been on a tear, but fortunately has pulled back for a decent entry point.

Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) reported second-quarter results this morning, and we comment on the report.

Shares of ESAB Corp (ESAB) have crossed our $68 price target so we are now formally reviewing the rating and price target.

What happens when you implement a digital marketing platform within secure online banking and mobile banking channels? Is that even possible?
The short answer is yes, it’s possible … if you can get banks to sell you their transaction data, host your platform and accept the revenue share agreements you propose for all the deals that consumers accept while logged in.
This month’s Cabot Small-Cap Confidential stock has created such a platform, and it’s taking off.
The story, and potential, of what happens when digital marketing and fintech walk down the aisle together is inside.

The best investment advice I can give to young investors is to start early. The second best advice I can give is to read a lot.

Cabot Publisher Timothy Lutts’ views on investing in Apple are discussed.

The market found its mojo after the Fed vaguely insinuated that it could conceivably consider cutting rates before the end of the year. But it looks like the momentum is gone.

Remain cautious. The market is doing more chopping than declining in recent weeks, and because of that, a couple of good days on the upside could actually turn the intermediate-term trend up.

Small caps bounced off their 50-day line last week and are nearing all-time highs. It’s anybody’s guess what will happen in the days ahead as many people will have stepped away from the market, so don’t be surprised if there is some odd trading in some of our stocks. There’s usually some inefficient trading, especially with the microcap stocks, during these periods.

We have one portfolio change today: I’m selling half of Nordic American Tankers (NAT) from the High Yield tier based on the stock’s lousy technical action. But there are still plenty of strong performers in our portfolio, including our newest buys, Mattel (MAT) and CVS Health (CVS). Read on for details on recent earnings reports and more.

Chinese stocks were hit this week both on American exchanges and overseas as Chinese regulators ratcheted up the pressure through antitrust and regulatory steps that caught many executives and investors off guard. The Golden Dragon index of Chinese technology stocks fell by 15% in two days before rebounding after regulators tried to reassure markets.