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Uncertainty is rising, equities are underperforming, and tariffs and inflation remain open questions. Investors seeking refuge should consider implementing an all-weather portfolio to help tariff-proof their investments.

The wild ride continues. After a crazy first few weeks of April, this week has continued in the same vein, with a big down day on Monday and a big up day on Tuesday. This might last a while longer.

It’s been a tough market. The S&P started this week down about 6% for the month of April, over 10% YTD, and over 14% from the high. And that was before Monday’s selloff. It is entirely possible that the market falls back to a new low and an official bear market.

Thanks to artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT) may not be the Wall Street buzzword it was a couple years ago. But IoT stocks are making a quiet comeback. Here are two that stand out.

It’s cannabis company earnings season once again. Below, I summarize the highlights from our portfolio companies. But first, here are the major sector trends that emerged from the calls.

With higher chocolate prices hitting consumers and shifting preferences, is Hershey (HSY) or Mondelez (MDLZ) the better play as snackers kiss chocolate goodbye?

There have been plenty of market meltdowns over the years. Few have matched what’s happened since last Wednesday evening – so-called “Liberation Day” – when President Trump announced plans to place high tariffs on … the rest of the world. In the week that followed, stocks nose-dived by 13%, with both the Nasdaq and Russell 2000 swinging to a bear market last Thursday and Friday and the S&P 500 nearly following suit.

Until yesterday.

So much for the market rebound. Or is this a classic double bottom before the real rally begins after Wednesday’s “Liberation Day” full of Trump’s latest round of mysterious tariffs finally passes and Wall Street breathes a collective sigh of relief? I’m betting the clouds part sooner rather than later, as investor pessimism has reached levels not seen since the October 2022 bear market bottom. So today, despite saying goodbye to a few more underperforming positions, I’m betting on the upside of growth, adding a mid-cap software stock recently recommended by Tyler Laundon to his Cabot Early Opportunities readers.

Details inside.

U.S. stocks remain paralyzed by tariff fears, but not energy stocks. They’re the best-performing S&P 500 sector by far this year, more than doubling the return of any other sector. And yet, they remain the most undervalued sector by virtually every measure. So this month, we add a large-cap energy stock to the Cabot Value Investor portfolio that has a yearslong history of not only outperforming the market, but blowing it out of the water. But after a slow start to the year, it’s trading at a rare discount. We think it has immediate upside – and a high dividend yield should hold us over until it gets there.

Details inside.

Consumer staples stocks offer added appeal in weak markets, but with their input costs rising, is there room in your portfolio for either of these chocolatiers?

HEADS UP: I’m finishing up a soiree with the kiddos so this week’s M&S update will be on the briefer side. I’ll be back at my desk Monday for another Top Ten issue.


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After a tough slide Monday, the market has been very impressive this week, with three straight solid and broad-based gains. Heading into Friday, the S&P is up nearly 4% while the Nasdaq is up more than 5%.

The past week or so definitely showed some very encouraging action, with one of the key “blastoff” indicators we track turning green on Thursday. So does that mean we’re off to the races? Well, we wouldn’t go there, at least not yet: The intermediate-term trend of the market and most stocks are still down, and it’s not unusual at all to see some near-term wobbles after this kind of blastoff signal. All in all, we think there’s enough good vibes to extend your line a bit—but we don’t advise buying hand over fist as we’re still looking to see added confirmation. We’ll bump up our Market Monitor two notches to a level 5.

This week’s list is full of resilient names, though many have earnings coming up, so be aware of those dates. Our Top Pick has a great story, great numbers and a resilient chart, with shares back near their highs after a bullish earnings reaction. Start small here or on dips.

Tariffs aren’t gone, but the 90-day pause has served as a tourniquet for a market that was bleeding out. Who knows what this week will bring after total extremes the first two weeks of April. But for now, relative calm has been restored. So today we capitalize on it by adding a growth stock with momentum via Mike Cintolo’s Cabot Top Ten Trader advisory.

Details inside.

Third-quarter earnings season is only days away. PepsiCo (PEP) will kick off the season on Tuesday, October 10. The “official” start is generally considered to be on Friday, October 13, when major financials like recommended stock Citigroup (C), as well as JPMorgan (JPM), Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) and Blackrock (BLK) report their results. For the S&P 500 members, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are the busiest, as 20-50 companies report on each of those days. While weekends are almost cleanly bereft of reports, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/B) provides a stand-out exception (estimated to report on November 4).

WHAT TO DO NOW: Remain cautious. The bounce starting last Friday does come from a nice setup and, encouragingly, has seen more than a few growth stocks perk up, including some to new highs. However, the weight of the evidence remains pointed to the downside, with our Cabot Tides and Two-Second Indicator clearly negative, the vast majority of stocks also in intermediate-term downtrends and interest rates still trending up. We’re taking it one day at a time, but right now, we’re sticking with a big cash position of around 65%—we have no changes in the Model Portfolio tonight.

Most of us never take practical economics classes that dive into everyday finances, how to save, how to invest, or how to plan for the future. If you’ve taken an economics class at all, you probably learned more about supply and demand than you did about setting aside an emergency fund. That means that most of what we “know” about money we learned from our parents or just sort of picked up as we went along. So this month, let’s put to rest some of the most pernicious money myths and unfounded beliefs that keep us from achieving our long-term financial goals.

This might be the first time anyone has described singer-songwriter Katy Perry as a sage observer of the stock market. Her song, “Hot and Cold” opens with the lyrics, “You change your mind / like a girl changes clothes.”

This perfectly captures the changes in sentiment in the stock market over the past two months. Going into October, the market was fully locked into the view that elevated inflation would endure, that 10-year Treasury yields were headed above 5% and that there was no hope for small-cap stocks or any group of stocks other than the Magnificent Seven mega-cap tech stocks. Dark days and a hard landing were undoubtedly ahead.

First off, just a little housekeeping. I’ll be taking time next week to spend with my family, parents, siblings and new niece in Vermont. Much of our production staff will also be taking some time off, so there won’t be a Weekly Update next Thursday. If there is any pressing news I’ll address it via Special Bulletin.

I hope you have a Happy Holiday season!