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The market had what amounted to a halfway decent eight-day rally, but the sellers pounced on that move, with most major indexes testing or reaching new correction lows today. From here, we’ll be watching to see how this short-term retest phase goes—given the very negative sentiment and obvious reason for the selling (tariffs), a super-powerful rally from here would be intriguing, especially if some resilient stocks (those that are holding well above their lows from a couple weeks ago) take flight. Over time, this decline will set the stage for a buoyant advance with lots of new leadership, but until that payoff arrives, continue to practice patience. As always, though, we just go with the here and now; we’ll yank our Market Monitor back down a notch to a level 3.

This week’s list is again very well rounded, though not surprisingly, there’s fewer go-go growth names, as more well-situated outfits are favored. Our Top Pick has both growth and defensive characteristics, and the stock is holding up very well.

The last few years have been turbulent ones for passenger airliner JetBlue (JBLU) which, in spite of an industry-wide recovery, hasn’t experienced the lift that many of its peers have since 2024.

On an industry-wide basis, domestic passenger airlines fully recovered in 2024, even surpassing pre-Covid levels, with last year showing continued profitability, record traffic and strong demand. For JetBlue, however, the last couple of years have witnessed operational headwinds—underscored by a failed $3.8 billion merger with Spirit Airlines—forcing the airline to turn its focus inward to improve profitability.

It was another solid week for the market, with a bit more leadership emerging on the upside, with some medicals and online outfits joining the AI infrastructure group and a smattering of other names—though we’re still seeing plenty of choppy (selling on strength) action, too. Near term, we do think risk is a bit elevated, partly due to the recent run, partly due to the calendar and partly due to some near-term complacency—that said, when it comes to the intermediate-term (and longer-term) evidence, it remains much more positive than negative, so we’re not making any grand adjustments here. We’ll keep our Market Monitor at a level 7.

This week’s list is another well-rounded one, with some fresher breakouts and setups from a variety of sectors. Our Top Pick is a well-run firm that has lifted off powerfully from a two-month rest period. Try to enter on dips of a few points.

The sharp market break of 2008 has made it clear that the bears are in control, which means you should remain in a highly defensive position. But money has to flow somewhere, and it appears that, for the moment, pharmaceutical and metal stocks are in favor. This week’s Top Ten sports three pharmaceutical stocks, two other medical names and two precious metal stocks – and most of them have good-looking chart patterns. Just be aware that even strong stocks can get hit in bearish environments, so your emphasis should be on building your watch list, holding cash, and making just token new buys until the storm passes. Our favorite pick this week is Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPDI), a steady company whose bottom line is set to accelerate this year. The stock just broke free from a long consolidation after a bullish outlook, which should offer support on any retreat.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
AUXL (AUXL)	0.00	28-31	-
BMRN (BMRN)	0.00	34-37	-
CPHD (CPHD)	0.00	26-30	-
DV (DV)	0.00	53-59	-
GOLD (GOLD)	0.00	38-41	-
LKQX (LKQX)	0.00	19-21	-
MATK (MATK)	0.00	29 1/2 - 31	-
MLNM (MLNM)	0.00	15-16	-
PAAS (PAAS)	0.00	33-36	-
PPDI (PPDI)	0.00	39-44	-

We’re going to continue with our strategy of locking in modest, but relatively quick, profits on some positions while they’re available.

GE Vernova (GEV) Powers Higher

Sound Advice is one of the nine letters on Hulbert’s 2010 Honor Roll, which recognizes outperformance in both up and down markets. Below, Editor Gray Cardiff recommends a high-yielding stock leveraged to a U.S. economic turnaround. “The wonderful aspect of investing during economic downturns is that to find bargains...

Gamblers may be familiar with the Martingale strategy of doubling down on losing bets. But that can be a dangerous investing approach.

There’s a lot of money traveling the world looking for ways to fatten up, and you can learn a lot by taking a look at where it’s going.

First, a couple housekeeping notes: With Santa coming in a few days, there will be no Cabot Profit Booster issue next Tuesday. Have a great holiday weekend!

These are uncertain times with the election coming up and Covid still hanging around. But instead of trying to navigate the unpredictable twists and turns in the near term, let’s focus on things that are sure to last beyond the current headlines. This is a great time to focus on issues that will drive business and the markets long beyond 2020 while no one else is looking and bargains can be had.

One issue that is certain to remain is the aging of the population. The U.S. and global populations are older now than ever before and getting older still at a break-neck pace. The trend is even more pronounced in other parts of the world.



Regardless of who is elected president, the population will get older. No matter what course the virus takes, the population will continue to age. You can take that to the bank. In this issue, I identify two of the very best health care companies in the world that are perfectly positioned to benefit from the aging trend.

The main trend remains up, in both the broad market and the cannabis sector in particular. When these uptrends will end, no one knows, but I guarantee that they will someday.

Long-term, however, I remain very bullish on both the companies and the stocks in the industry and continue to adjust the portfolio’s holdings to optimize growth (with reasonable security.)

The Wheel options strategy can help turn your favorite stocks into year-long, income-generating machines, whether you own shares or not.

The tech sector is propping up this market, but there are plenty of cheap technology stocks still out there. And these two will lead a coming revolution.

After shooting to new all-time highs last Wednesday, the major indexes are taking a well-deserved breather this week. The pullback looks orderly and normal so far, and investors with money to put to work can use it as a buying opportunity.

Our plant-touching Cabot Cannabis Investor portfolio is up 29.2% since June 25. It is still down for the year. But it is performing better than the sector.

I believe it continues to make sense to stay long cannabis stocks, despite the big gains in the past month. Now, with the appointment of Terrance Cole to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), cannabis investors are one step closer to learning how serious the Trump administration is about rescheduling cannabis.

As the dividing line between the public and private sectors becomes increasingly blurred, it’s readily apparent that long-term investment decisions must now be evaluated through a new lens. And that means asking a simple question: “Could the financial asset I’m interested in acquiring be potentially influenced through direct federal intervention?”