Investors have several ways to hedge themselves from inflation. Owning shares of great companies that can pay an increasing dividend over time is one way. But when inflation spikes suddenly, companies can also take a hit to their profits. Owning a small position in gold can reduce the impact of sudden inflationary jolts. And it can ensure that investors protect their purchasing power over time. Inflation is down but not out. Gold is in a similar situation today. After making new all-time highs earlier this year, it’s pulled back. And now the metal may be in a buy range. Given the ...

The past decade has seen retailers shift heavily into online sales. While there’s still demand for many goods at brick-and-mortar stores, investors are more willing to buy online. Catering to that growing demand in new and innovative ways can give any retailer an opportunity to profit over time. It also means a retailer can continue to expand their market share as the world goes increasingly digital. Discount store chain Target (TGT) has been shifting with digital trends in recent years. Now, it’s partnering with Shopify (SHOP) to improve its e-commerce experience. The fit looks l...

The stock market’s returns this year have been concentrated heavily into tech stocks. That’s created an opportunity, as there’s are still several values in other segments of the market, even with stocks near all-time highs. Astute investors will be able to find opportunities likely to trend higher in the coming months outside of tech. One place that could be ripe for big returns comes from companies with strong brands. That’s because a strong brand tends to grow the most when the economy does well, and hold up relatively well even in down times. It’s been a down time forNike (NKE)...

The first wave of AI investments has been centered around big-tech companies providing hardware or software needed to run AI programs. The next wave is unfolding, and will create new investment opportunities elsewhere. While the current generation of AI programs requires significant processing power, the next wave will include simpler programs that can be run on-the-go. That’s what creates new investment opportunities for investors today. For those looking for an AI system that can run on a piece of hardware like a smartphone, communication chips are key. In the wireless chip space,Q...

The stock market’s return has been massively influenced by the returns inNvidia (NVDA). The designer of GPUs and other hardware has surged thanks to an interest in AI. But with the share split over, the stock price may slow its gains from here. That will allow other chipmakers also seeing a big boost in business right now to see massive returns in their share price. A few could even outperform Nvidia in the second half of the year. One contender is memory chip manufacturerMicron (MU). While shares are already up 130% over the past year, the stock trades at just 10 times earnings. ...

Supply and demand are the key elements to understanding economics. It can also be the key to understanding an investment opportunity. Right now, demand for semiconductor chips for AI is soaring. That will make those companies more profitable over time. And that’s why their share prices continue to soar. But that’s just one part of the overall market. Other sectors likewise are seeing some big shifts in supply and demand. And those shifts can also lead to big profits. One such sector is the homebuilder stocks. Housing is a tight market right now. Demand is also likely pent up due to h...

Commodities have had a strong performance this year. However, prices in everything from gold and silver to base metals have pulled back in the past few weeks. For investors interested in the long-term opportunity in the commodity space, it may be close to a buying point. That’s because the slight pullback in commodity prices has hit many commodity stocks even harder. With many of these stocks now in a correction off their recent highs, it may be time to buy. One potential place to buy right now is with steel companies. While China has been stockpiling the metal, the potential for tha...

The best returns in the AI space have come from semiconductor designers and manufacturers. However, that’s just part of the hardware needed for AI programs to succeed. Investors have started to branch out, rewarding companies that make power distribution systems and  server racks. That’s still just scratching the surface. New devices will be needed to best utilize AI systems, and building out the next generation of technology will expand the hardware investment opportunities even further. One such opportunity might be inCorning (GLW). The producer of glass has been a major producer o...

The first phase of the AI rollout was centered around generative AI. This is simply a prompt that users could provide questions to, and receive information from a database. Now, AI is already rapidly improving. One major change is the rise of better prompting. These tools can allow creative workers to generate images, and even videos from a prompt, far beyond the level of a text response. It’s also a strong sign for some companies. One big winner that we’ve noted before isAdobe (ADBE). Investors were originally skeptical that Adobe could benefit from AI. But the company’s push for...

Usually, when a company breaks to new all-time highs, it’s likely going to trend higher for some time later. That’s especially true when a company can point to a positive trend such as growing earnings, a new product, or a new partnership. Investors who typically might not be interested in a great company at all-time highs can carve out an exception when a great company has made it clear their business is on the rise. That looks like the case withOracle (ORCL). The database giant has made tremendous strides in transitioning to cloud services. Now, they’ve announced a partnership w...