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After another up week and a record close last Friday, the market is grappling with mixed signals.

Last week’s highly anticipated jobs report came in much better than expected. The previous two weak jobs reports had roiled the market as they stoked recession fears. But not this one. The market was initially thrilled but is now thinking twice about the situation.

Dividend Aristocrats are a good place to find steady, growing companies with plenty of cash on hand. Here are three of the very best, according to Bob Ciura of Sure Dividend.

There is a colossal housing shortage in this country.

A decade of underbuilding in the housing industry following the financial crisis has left the industry unable to meet the needs of the growing population. It is estimated that the demand for homes exceeds the current national supply by a whopping 4.5 million.

The jilted supply/demand dynamic has caused the median U.S. home price to soar a staggering 40% just since the pandemic. In addition, mortgage rates have soared to the highest level in two decades. The prices and mortgage rates are making housing unaffordable for vast numbers of potential buyers. Sellers are unwilling to trade up and get a higher mortgage rate.

There aren’t enough new homes, and existing homes aren’t coming on the market either. Buyers can’t buy and sellers won’t sell. But there is reason to believe the housing problems will get a lot better in the years ahead.

While the situation is likely to improve, the supply/demand imbalance will likely remain for several years. That’s a problem for the housing market and economy to work through. But it’s good news if you’re a homebuilder. New homes should be in high demand for years to come, and sales should increase with the improving conditions.

In this issue, I highlight the premier luxury home builder in the U.S. The stock has the best track record of all large homebuilders, and the company is in an ideal position to benefit from high demand and increasing buying in the years ahead.

Despite plenty to worry about in the market including the rising tensions in the Middle East and the short-lived port strike, impressively the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq all rose marginally last week.

Despite plenty to worry about in the market including the rising tensions in the Middle East and the short-lived port strike, impressively the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq all rose marginally last week.

Despite plenty to worry about in the market including the rising tensions in the Middle East and the short-lived port strike, impressively the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq all rose marginally last week.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Continue to lean bullish. The market’s overall position remains in a similar position—far more good than bad, though still a few flies in the ointment—so we continue to look to add exposure, but to do so carefully, as many stocks and indexes are battling with resistance. Tonight, we’re going to fill out our position in Flutter Entertainment (FLUT), adding another half-sized stake (5% of the portfolio). We’re also placing Argenx (ARGX) on Hold given its recent action. Our cash position will now stand near 25%.

Led by an awful week for the Semiconductors (down 11%), the S&P 500 fell 3.62% last week, while the Dow lost 2.42%, and the Nasdaq dropped another 5.5%.

That wasn’t a good start to September. The holiday-shortened week was the worst week for the market in two years as recession fears reemerged. Here are the results from last week.

A weaker market is one of the easiest times to find strong stocks, which makes it a great time to identify future winners using the “ABCs of relative strength.”

Election season is underway, and now both candidates are fully on the side of cannabis investors. Here are the four reforms that make cannabis a strong buy now.

AST SpaceMobile (ASTS): Most Confusing Success Story Ever!?

After a very tough week for most indexes and especially growth and chip stocks, this week was very impressive, with many big-cap indexes not only finding support but recouping most or all of last week’s losses. Coming into today, the Nasdaq was up more than 5% on the week while the S&P 500 was up 3.5%, and though the broad market lagged, most other indexes were up 1% to 2% as well.

The market bounced back very nicely from the previous week’s losses, ahead of the big Federal Reserve announcement this week. By week’s end the S&P 500 had rallied 3.2%, the Dow added 1.9%, and the Nasdaq rebounded 4.9%.

In today’s note, we discuss the recent news developments concerning Nokia (NOK), Vodaphone (VOD), Janus Henderson Group (JHG), Fidelity National (FIS) and B2GOLD (BTG), with a particular emphasis on the latter due to recent precious metal market strength.

The Fed’s moment has finally arrived.

The Fed raised the Fed Funds rate at the steepest pace since the 1980s in 2022 and 2023, from 0% to 5.5% over just an 18-month span. The Fed Funds rate has remained at a multi-decade high of 5.50% for more than a year. The Fed is expected to begin cutting the rate this week and will likely continue to do so for the next two years.