Investors are gravitating towards the idea that the Federal Reserve is pulling off a soft landing. Aggressively raising interest rates is pushing inflation back down. But it’s doing so at a rate that isn’t leading to a recession. Ideally, that creates a scenario where the economy can continue to grow from a low-inflation base. That’s played out before, when the Fed’s moves in the early 1990s led to a soft landing that allowed the economy to take off in the late 1990s. One sign that this trend may be playing out is with shipping and logistics providerFedEx (FDX). FedEx just reported b...

For the past 15 months, AI stocks have boomed. And companies related to that trade have soared. While many of these chipmakers are hitting new highs, there’s still room to run. That’s being seen by continued strong earnings. That indicates customers continue to demand the hardware needed to run today’s data-intensive AI programs. And as long as earnings continue to remain strong, the rally can continue indefinitely. One sign of continued strength is from memory chipmakerMicron (MU). Shares soared following a positive earnings surprise. It was even strong enough to drive up the entire...

New technologies require massive amounts of capital for research, development, and production. The rise of AI-related trades also means that many chipmakers need to get better at making more advanced semiconductors, and more quickly. Companies in the sector working on that challenge are eligible for funding from the Chips Act, which is designed to increase semiconductor production in the United States and improve competitiveness. It could also be a sign that some chipmakers could be more successful in the years ahead. The most recent beneficiary isIntel (INTC). The chipmaker will get...

Laws change all the time. And lawsuits may not change laws, but they can impact how they’re interpreted. When there’s a big change, some groups stand to profit, while others stand to see a loss. Recently, a lawsuit and settlement changed how real estate listings would be handled by real estate agents. That could drive down the commission costs for buying and selling a home. But it could also mean that another group may profit. That group is real estate websites geared towards homeowners, not professional agents. Among them isZillow (Z). The company had its rating reiterated by ana...

Last year’s rising bond yields made many defensive, dividend-paying stocks sell off. That’s because their yields needed to move higher to match rising bond yields. That trend largely peaked last October, but many stocks are still well off their old highs, or still look like a value today. That’s especially true for food and snack companies. These stocks were also impacted by the early results of new weight-loss drugs and their uncertainty on sales. That fear is now subsiding. That’s led one analyst to even upgradePepsiCo (PEP), the snack and beverage giant. Shares are still down 1...

Every company handles earnings season differently. Some companies will look to avoid big swings in earnings. Others won’t. And when it comes to guidance, some companies will always look at the glass as half full, others as half empty. When a company reports great earnings but is cautious on guidance, shares may sell off. If that happens, investors should get in, because over the long term, strong earnings are what drives shares higher. That situation just happened with software giantAdobe (ADBE). The company reported a record revenue, but was cautious on guidance. Plus, Adobe stil...

Investors have a variety of ways to beat the market. One way is to look for oversold companies moving higher. Such companies tend to perform better over shorter periods of time. For stocks that can beat the market over a number of months to over a year, three criteria come into play. Such a stock needs to be cheap, hated by the market, and also trending higher. When those three criteria are met, big returns can follow. Today, payment companyPayPal (PYPL) meets those criteria. The market doesn’t care for the stock, which is down 16 percent over the past year. But shares are in an u...

Investors remain bullish, even as inflation remains stubbornly high. One sign that investors are content is with the spending on luxury goods. These areas don’t see as much of a drop during a recession, and during a boom they can fare quite well. Luxury trends show that we’re still in the boom. That’s good for most stocks trending higher today. It also means companies catering to high-income customers should continue to go on a tear. High-end retailerWilliams-Sonoma (WSM) just soared following an earnings beat. They also raised their dividend and increased their share buyback, two si...

Investors looking for market-beating returns over a multimonth period can find plenty of opportunities during earnings season. That’s because many companies will often have a solid earnings season, but shares sell off. That could happen because the stock already rallied hard going into earnings. Or the market didn’t like what it heard on guidance. But over time, higher earnings should drive shares of a stock higher. With earnings season winding down, a few such trades remain. One of those is with department store operatorKohl’s (KSS). The chain beat on earnings estimates, but the ...

Many of today’s big tech trends have one thing in common. They require massive amounts of data to process. It doesn’t matter if it’s for autonomous vehicles, or state-of-the-art AI software, or simply storing data such as photos and videos. If anything, these big tech trends suggest that data needs will accelerate. Companies that can organize, sort, store, and quickly recall data will continue to benefit from this trend. And that means increasing profits for investors. One of the most important components of data is its storage and management. That’s where database giantOracle (ORCL)...