President Trump’s economic policies have created significant market turbulence as his administration reshapes America’s global relationships. The US withdrawal from NATO has sent shockwaves through international alliances, with European countries now scrambling to increase defense spending to unprecedented levels. What these sweeping changes will ultimately mean for investors isn’t clear. The forces driving the equity, bond, currency and commodity markets will change in ways that cannot yet be predicted. So far, the main effect has been a $3 trillion reduction in the value of US stocks since the January 20 inauguration. The only rational response for investors is to stay…

After a lengthy rise, homebuilder stocks have dropped around 30%. Time to buy? Probably not. Fundamentals began weakening last year as homebuilders continued to build their significantly large inventories even as sales tapered off. (See Oct. 4 article, “Homebuilder Optimism May Be Ending As Conditions Weaken”) The homebuilder cycles New home buying tends to run in lengthy cycles. The current trend is now downwards as the number of buyers shrinks. Likely, the cause is more than a high mortgage rate. New home prices are no longer rising, thereby removing a key driver of buyer interest. Add in today’s high uncertainties…

The logic for potential interest rate cuts in 2025 may be changing as some early recession indicators pick up while disinflation remains possible. Current expectations are that the Federal Open Market Committee may cut again in May or June. Entering 2025 markets anticipated that inflation might trend closer to the FOMC’s 2% annual target and policymakers would patiently wait for that before cutting interest rates. That’s still a probable outcome, but now the FOMC might consider cutting rates in response to economic weakness, rather than cooling inflation. Heightened Economic Uncertainty Adds Risk Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently sounded a…

When it comes to the economy, we’re in a bit of a weird spot: The data tells us that, despite inflation fears, interest rates are likely to fall in the year ahead. Falling rates point in one clear direction for us contrarian income-seekers: corporate bonds. Our preferred way to tap into them? Discounted closed-end funds (CEFs) with big dividend yields. If investors know any corporate-bond CEFs at all, they probably know the PIMCO Dynamic Income Fund (PDI). It’s the biggest of the bunch, with a $5.1-billion market cap and a monster 13.3% yield. With that in mind, PDI is a…

Looking to History for Clues of a New Rally Uncertainty about the state of the U.S. and global economy, corporate profitability and spending of AI, as well as the forward path of inflation and U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cuts led to a decline in the U.S. stock market. Currently, as of March 6 intraday, the S&P 500 is down -2.3%, the Nasdaq Composite is down –6.4% and the small cap Russell 2000 is down –7.3% for the year. The S&P 500 is testing its 200-DMA and looks increasingly likely to breach that level. As a result, we think it…

Artificial intelligence has been dominating investment discussions, with some claiming it will revolutionize industries and others warning of a speculative bubble. As a disciplined, long-term investor, I take a measured approach—assessing AI’s impact on businesses while ensuring I don’t overpay for future potential. While AI is transforming certain industries, I evaluate its impact on individual companies with the same rigorous analysis I apply to any investment. Rather than chasing the latest AI-driven rally, I focus on how companies integrate AI into their operations to enhance productivity, expand margins or improve competitive positioning. Some companies, like Cisco Systems (CSCO), a stock…

Week in Review Asian equities were mixed but mostly higher for the week as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Tech Index was the region’s top-performing benchmark, up +8.43%, followed by Indonesia, while Australia and Korea underperformed. China’s National People’s Congress, also known as the “Two Sessions,” kicked off this week. Leaders from five separate ministries held a preliminary joint press conference to provide more details on how expanding the fiscal deficit will boost consumption, investment, and confidence in the stock market. JD.com reported earnings that beat expectations for both top-line revenue and bottom-line net income as management noted increasing demand for…

The DividendRank formula at Dividend Channel ranks a coverage universe of thousands of dividend stocks, according to a proprietary formula designed to identify those stocks that combine two important characteristics — strong fundamentals and a valuation that looks inexpensive. JPMorgan Chase presently has an excellent rank, in the top 25% of the coverage universe, which suggests it is among the top most “interesting” ideas that merit further research by investors. 10 Oversold Dividend Stocks » But making JPMorgan Chase & Co an even more interesting and timely stock to look at, is the fact that in trading on Friday, shares…

An acquaintance who lives in a suburb of Philadelphia remembers the day in August 2021 when the first Amazon Fresh store opened in Pennsylvania, sporting the company’s bright, modern graphic signage. In the seven miles between the town where he lived and the new Amazon Fresh, there were four major grocery chain outlets (Acme, Weis, Giant, and Wegmans) plus a Target and a locally owned produce store with wholesale prices for bulk fruits and vegetables. Less than a mile beyond Fresh was a BJ’s Wholesale Club with its deep-discounted gas, a full-scale Walmart, and an Aldi’s. The hype for Amazon…

Earnings season and economic news got you feeling flipped upside down? Throw in the latest GDP data and the Fed’s newly cautious approach to rate cuts moving forward, and it’s enough datapoints to make your head spin. Looking for ideas you can trust during earnings season? I’ve got you covered. My firm cuts through the cheerleading and hype from the media and Wall Street. I dig past the headiness with the first and best AI for investing. My firm’s proven-superior Stock Ratings find undervalued gems even in a market filled with overvalued stocks. There are not many good stocks left…