A 446% gain in Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) propelled Christy Anderson to a victory in the 2024-2025 running of Dorfman’s Three-Stock Derby, an annual stock-picking contest. Anderson, a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, is chief operating officer for a small company that makes radio frequency amplifiers with military applications. As such, she became familiar with Palantir, an analytical software company whose Gotham platform is used by the U.S. military and Western-allied nations. Her company doesn’t do business with Palantir, and she doesn’t own the stock. In fact, Anderson doesn’t own any stocks. “The stock market to me is just gambling,”…

Interest rates have been held steady as the Federal Open Market Committee have held three of its eight scheduled meetings of 2025. Markets expect that the FOMC will cut rates from their current level of 4.25% to 4.5% by December, probably to under 4%. However, any potential cuts are now expected for interest rates depending on how the economy performs. Expectations For Interest Rate Cuts Prior expectations were for the first interest rate cut of 2025 to perhaps come in June, but based on recent comments from policymakers, a July or September cut is now more likely. The challenge is…

Throughout my 60+ year investing experience, I have seen numerous attempts to use technology to make successful investment decisions. While all the technology advances were welcome tools, they could never replace the human brain. Why not? Because the relevant areas, necessary ingredients and proper logic for making accurate investing analysis, outlooks and decisions are forever changing. But AI knows more and thinks faster, right? Nope. It does not “know,” nor does it “think.” That is why the many AI teams cannot stop their programs from producing “hallucinations” – i.e., wildly incorrect results. The teams are now trying to get those…

While vanilla income investors limit their search to mere “common” dividends, we contrarians know where the real payout party is at—with preferred stock divvies. Let’s talk about three preferred-stock vehicles that pay from 6.9% to 9.4%. All three of these funds dish monthly dividends. And these payouts receive preferential treatment over common-stock dividends, making them safer than the common payouts offered by regular ol’ equities. There are four main ways to buy preferreds, and three of them have some serious headaches and drawbacks: Individual preferred stocks: Research resources for individual preferred shares are few, far between and often require expensive…

Michael Saylor is hands down one of the fiercest Bitcoin advocates on the planet. Earlier this year, the Strategy founder predicted Bitcoin could reach $13 million by 2045. Even his so-called “bear case” puts the price at $3 million. That’s a far cry from where we are now. Although Bitcoin has taken big strides during this month’s rally, it’s still well below the all-time highs hit after President Trump’s inauguration — let alone Saylor’s long-term targets. Saylor has a theory for what’s holding it back: a massive rotation among Bitcoin holders that’s weighing on price. “I think we’re going through…

Can you and I beat the legendary returns of Warren Buffett? Absolutely. What’s more, we can do it while “translating” a slice of our gains into a big income stream (with special dividends on the table, too). I’ll show you how in a moment. First, we need to talk about how the 94-year-old Oracle of Omaha, who is now stepping back from the position of president and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), has changed the course of investing over the years. Every year, as you likely know, Buffett releases a simple letter to investors showing what’s happened with Berkshire’s portfolio.…

The president’s erratic policies are raising concerns the economy might be headed for a downturn, but history suggests that franchise values will continue to climb regardless. When the Boston Red Sox took the field for a belated Opening Day in 2020, there were no fans cheering in the stands, or lined up at the concession stands, or browsing the team shop. The streets around Fenway Park, usually bustling in July, had become a ghost town. That was the norm in Major League Baseball—and countless other sports leagues around the globe—as the Covid-19 pandemic emptied stadiums, canceled games and otherwise decimated…

With an ever-growing list of similar-sounding ETFs to choose from, finding the best is an increasingly difficult task. How can investors change the game to shift the odds in their favor? Don’t Trust ETF Labels There are at least 108 different Technology ETFs and at least 346 ETFs across eleven sectors. Do investors need 31+ choices on average per sector? How different can the ETFs be? Those 108 Technology ETFs are very different from each other. With anywhere from 2 to 442 holdings, many of these Technology ETFs have drastically different portfolios with differing risk profiles and performance outlooks. The…

Historical Bull and Bear Setups The S&P 500 has had a strong rally from its April 7 intraday low of 4,835. As of intraday Thursday, May 8, the market has moved up towards 5,700 and is approaching its 200-Daily Moving Average (DMA) at 5,748. A move above the 200 DMA would be a bullish signal and increase the odds that a new bull run has begun. Given this, we think it is a good time to re-circulate our work on U.S. market corrections and bear market rallies. For historical purposes, we use the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) as our…

Week in Review Asian equities were mostly higher this week on the beginning of trade talks between the US and China, as Japan and China outperformed, while Pakistan and India underperformed as conflict flared up in Kashmir. As of the market close on Thursday, both Hong Kong and Mainland China had fully recovered losses after the April 2nd “Liberation Day” tariff announcements. China executed on multiple policy easing measures on Wednesday, including cutting the reserve requirement ratio (RRR), the 7-day reverse repo rate, and commercial bank lending rates. China’s May Day holiday, which concluded this week, saw increased travel and…