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

The financial media often writes about year-to-date performance as if a new calendar year is the kick-off to a football game. But there’s a better way to think about performance.

The Fed’s rate hikes are already showing signs of tamping down inflation, but that process can take years, which makes these two inflation-resistant stocks good options for the long haul.

If you’d asked a year ago I wouldn’t have connected the dots, but my recent experience with maple sugaring has a couple small-cap industrials on my mind for a good reason.

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.

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.

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%.

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.

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.

In this week’s video, Mike Cintolo talks about the market’s under-the-surface improvement that he’s seeing; no indicators have changed, which will need to happen for him to extend his line in a big way, but there’s no question most stuff has seen improvement and more stocks are beginning to act properly. Mike did a little buying this week and is hoping to add more should the market be able to build on the recent action.

This week Chris and Brad talk about the latest Chinese GDP numbers and whether it’s safe to invest in China, Tesla’s earnings release, and what they’re seeing with Regional banks now that they’re reporting. After that, they break down FAANG stocks, their popular ascent as market shorthand, and whether Microsoft is “sexy” enough to sit at the cool kids’ table.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Remain cautious but stay tuned. The market remains very narrow, with a few powerful stocks but the vast, vast majority of names either in no man’s land or acting poorly. For potential leaders, we see many that had been perking up before running into a wall this week—but not (yet) selling off abnormally. If these names can hold soon and resume their upmoves, we’ll like to add at least a couple (maybe more) to the Model Portfolio. Tonight, though, given the extreme narrowness of the advance, we’ll grit our teeth and sit tight, holding about three-quarters in cash and see if these potential leaders can get moving.

Semiconductor stocks are one of the few sectors having a good year. These three are leading the way - and should continue to outperform.

It’s been a very interesting week, with a lot of news and movement, though not a ton of progress in either direction. Coming into today, the Nasdaq was up about a half percent on the week, but that was the only thing in the black—every other major index was off 1% to 2% or more, even including the equal-weight Nasdaq 100, which was down 1% coming into Friday, and the equal-weight S&P 500, which was off 2%.

Tech has started off 2023 hotter than any year in the past 20, and this bear call spread is a play on that rally losing steam.