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Centrus Energy (LEU) shares rocketed 40% this past week and have surged 78% so far in 2025 while newcomer American Superconductor’s (AMSC) shares jumped 18% this week.

You may also have noticed that our BYD (BYDDY) recommendation is already up 24% in 2025 and has increased about 80% over the last year. This highlights an important trend in China that is unlikely to reverse.

In China, a consumer preference for multinational brands from everyday items like coffee to luxury markets was clear for decades, boosting the sales and value of companies like LVMH (LVMUY) and Starbucks (SBUX). Since the pandemic, however, preferences have shifted. Which brings us to today’s new recommendation.

I am in Singapore this week as U.S. markets and Explorer recommendations struggle a bit.

I had a chance to visit three Luckin Coffee shops in Singapore. Hard to draw conclusions from this small sample but all three seemed very professional and fully automated with no cash accepted resulting in no lines at all. Spoke with maybe a dozen customers who like the ease of use, variety of flavors, and the price. Several said they also go to Starbucks. One only needs to download the Luckin app to get service which locks in customers to receiving a stream of deals and incentives.

“More investment does not necessarily lead to more innovation.”

“When doing something, experienced people will tell you without hesitation that you should do it this way, but inexperienced people will have to repeatedly explore and think seriously about how to do it, and then find a solution that suits the current actual situation.”

—Liang Wenfeng, founder of the company that created DeepSeek

I finally took a break from the stock market on a recent trip to the Amalfi Coast. But there were parallels to be drawn between my trip and trading options.

One of my favorite forever stocks is a digital payments company that’s taking advantage of growth in one specific market.

There should be a strong recovery and bull market on the other side of this election and pandemic. Any market spooking shenanigans in the meantime should present a buying opportunity.

It’s the end of remarkable year. With just two more full market days left, the S&P 500 is up 28% for 2021.

The market has moved off the lows of last month. But stocks really aren’t going anywhere.
The problem is recession. An increasing number of economists are calling for a recession in the next year as the Fed aggressively raises rates and pulls back stimulus in an effort to tame this high and persistent inflation. Stocks are already at least partially pricing in a recession that may not even happen.

Two days into 2022 and we’re seeing another round of selling in growth names, especially software, fintech, medical devices and e-commerce. Many names are retesting their November and/or December lows. We have seen a few names crack their 200-day lines, while a few others have begun to rebound intra-day.

Two days into 2022 and we’re seeing another round of selling in growth names, especially software, fintech, medical devices and e-commerce. Many names are retesting their November and/or December lows. We have seen a few names crack their 200-day lines, while a few others have begun to rebound intra-day.

Fueled by better-than-expected earnings last week the S&P 500 rose 1.6%, the Dow climbed 1.1%, and the Nasdaq added 1.3%.



Despite the strong week, on Friday traders’ enthusiasm for the recent rally faded a bit after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s commented that the central bank was “on track” to begin reducing its purchases of assets.



However, Monday the bulls stepped right back in and once again “bought the dip.”



This week brings earnings announcements from key mega-cap tech names Amazon (AMZN), Facebook (FB), Alphabet (GOOG), and Apple (AAPL). There is also a bevy of blue chips reporting including United Parcel Service (UPS), Visa (V), McDonald’s (MCD), Coca-Cola (KO), Boeing (BA), Merck (MRK), Caterpillar (CAT) and numerous others. Brace yourself, it’s going to be exciting!
Energy has taken off lately and I want to add exposure to the sector. However, I still want to maintain a somewhat conservative stance, especially as this week’s pick will report earnings next week. As a result, I will be selling in-the-money calls on hydrocarbon explorer Marathon Oil (MRO).

The Explorer portfolio had another positive week, as the market is hostage to enacting another politically difficult stimulus package. Count me as skeptical. Stay-at-home stocks are leading the market while economic-recovery stocks struggle.

A broad-based Republican victory in the election is spurring a sharp rally on Wall Street as investors bank on investor-friendly policies.


Bitcoin, the U.S. dollar, and gold also rose. It was reported that the gold reserves of Italy and France have risen in value by about $100 billion in the last two years. It is unusual historically for gold and the U.S. dollar to rise in tandem. Gold’s steady rise is also unusual given that traders would normally take profits along the way. U.S. economic sanctions have encouraged many to move into gold beyond the long reach of the U.S. government.



It is amazing how much money is being spent on politics. More than 11,000 political groups spent almost $15 billion to influence the election. Of course, this amount seems small weighed against a global economy of about $100 trillion, with the U.S. accounting for about $23 trillion (and about 35% of global debt).



It will be very interesting who gets the top economic policy posts and the GOP strategy going forward.

Explorer stocks are either steady or performing well with Dutch Bros (BROS) shares up 18.4% during the last two weeks and Luckin Coffee (LKNCY) shares jumping 9.4% this week after a strong first quarter with 41% year-over-year revenue growth.

In addition, Singapore’s Sea Limited (SE) shares are up 18.6% during the last two weeks, and Spain’s Banco Santander (SAN) shares have surged 73% so far in 2025. China’s BYD (BYDDY) shares are up 53% in 2025. New silver and gold play Coeur Mining (CDE) shares were up 13.5% in their first two weeks in the portfolio.

Reliable dividend stocks may seem obvious and boring. But if you buy them and hang on, they can make your future. These five stand out now.

“We are reiterating our BUY rating on Focus List selection Fiserv, Inc. (FISV) and our target price of $70. We are also increasing our EPS estimates for 2011 and 2012. Our estimates for both years are slightly above the consensus. Analyst estimates for Fiserv have been increasing in...

I expect a strong bull market on the other side of the election and pandemic, but things could be dicey in the near term.

Sure, the rally in the overall market may not last, but this unusual environment is still creating great opportunities in certain pockets if you know where to look. One such opportunity exists in the new and rapidly growing marijuana industry.
The growth in marijuana is undeniable.


While most companies have struggled to make a profit in the young industry, one company has been making money like crazy. It’s a marijuana farm REIT with a superior business plan that has managed to grow profits 600% over the last four years. The stock has been a phenomenal performer. But it sold off recently and appears to have just begun moving higher.


This month I also highlight a call on Global Ship Leasing (GSL), a stock that has bucked the trend and returned 28% YTD.


There are three portfolio stocks that have been upgraded to a BUY this week: U.S. Bancorp (USB), Visa Inc. (V) and One Liberty Properties (OLP). All the stocks have some momentum and strong reasons why the rally may continue.

After a better than 30% plunge at record speed, the market has staged an epic rally from the bottom. The S&P 500 has moved more than 20% higher from the lows in late March. It is likely sensing an end to the economic shutdown sooner rather than later.
That’s good news, and the market usually gets it right. But even if the economy opens back up in May and June, there is a good chance of more trouble ahead. Terrible earnings and economic reports will come and consumers will be wounded for a while.


While I believe the economy and the markets will recover, there is a good chance of another down leg in the market. In this issue, I seek to take advantage of that possibility by targeting great companies to buy and below current prices. These are fantastic companies to own that are only ever cheap in bear markets like this.


The market will come back, but probably not yet. Taking advantage of another down move is a fantastic way to profit from the market’s eventual recovery.

The market has been strong over the last month. In fact, the S&P 500 has rebounded more than 9% from the June lows. Is this rally for real?

I doubt it.



There was the normal bounce off the lows and now investors can focus on earnings. The bad inflation report is out of the way and the Fed has tipped its hand that there will be a 0.75% rate hike later this month, which is better than the 1% hike that was expected after the 9.1% June inflation report.