Investors sometimes get overly enthusiastic about a new technology. When that happens, rapid growth can occur, and stock valuations related to that technology can soar. But overly fast growth can lead to a quick crash. For long-term adaptations, however, long-term growth can lead to great results, especially for investors who allocate capital to these technologies after they’ve been proven, but while investors have left the trend for dead. For instance, solar technology has been improving at a rapid pace, with panel costs significantly declining over the past few years. Yet investors...

While market uncertainty is on the rise, some companies operate in more certain environments than others. A few even manage to thrive when uncertainty rears higher. Today, spending priorities are changing as global trade recedes and nation states work to reassert themselves. Countries are thinking about how they spend their money, including money on defense spending amid rising global tensions and shaken trust in alliances. As a result, military spending is likely to increase, but in a fractured way among nation states rather than blocs like NATO. That could still bode well for defen...

Market uncertainty has soared in recent weeks. Rising tariff rates have led to a pullback in global trade. Over the long-term, the plan is to restructure the global economy to include more domestic manufacturing. Domestic manufacturing will require significant infrastructure spending. That’s already underway as some chipmakers have moved to produce their chips domestically. But there’s more plans underway, and many companies have already made billions in commitments that will take years to play out. That’s why engineering companies like Jacobs (J) could be a buy here. The company has...

Bond yields moved lower last year, ahead of the Federal Reserve’s commitment to cut interest rates. Yet, even as the Fed lowered rates by a full percentage point, bond yields have ticked higher. In theory, rising bond yields are a sign of a healthy economy. That’s at odds with declining inflation and rising fears of a recession amid renewed trade wars. So, investors may want to bet that when bond yields change, it’ll be for lower yields. That means today’s investors can lock in relatively higher yields with bonds. It doesn’t matter if those bonds are junk bonds, commercial-grade cred...

Consumers may be starting to pull back on spending, either from rising prices on goods resulting from tariffs, or simply from rising uncertainty about tariffs and the overall economy. However, breaking down consumer trends, one pattern emerges. Simply put, consumers aren’t ready to cut back on entertainment spending quite yet. That includes spending on media, particularly for streaming services. With a relatively low monthly cost, that may be one of the last places consumers cut back on. This trend can clearly be seen with the big earnings beat from Netflix (NFLX). The company report...

Investors looking to stay invested in volatile markets should think defensively. One way to do that is by investing in insurance companies. These firms are heavily regulated, but don’t carry the risks in a downturn that the banking sector has. Insurance premiums tend to get paid no matter what. And while there’s usually some event that causes a spike in claims, that ends up being temporary over time. For instance, Travelers (TRV) beat estimates on first-quarter earnings, even as the company had a substantial loss from its exposure to California wildfires. Travelers was up on its l...

The souring stock market has created an environment where many stocks are sold off even if new developments don’t specifically impact them. While the high near-term uncertainty makes for a poor investing environment, it won’t always be this way. When markets do recover, great companies will trend higher. Companies that are in an oligopoly space with few competitors should fare even better. Investors who pick up shares of these companies during current fears can likely see market-beating returns. For instance, the airline space has dropped heavily following fears of a slowdown in cons...

Since the start of the year, health care has been a leading sector for the economy. It’s a defensive sector, and tends to perform well over time. What’s more, it tends to have some insulation from global trade, providing some safety amid the current tariff fears. As long as this sector continues to lead, investors can likely see reasonable returns on health care stocks. And it will likely provide more stability compared to other sectors getting whipsawed right now. In the health care space, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is a steady player. JNJ just beat on its latest earnings buy about...

While markets remain volatile, investors can take advantage of the market’s big swings. That includes targeting and buying shares of high-quality, industry-leading companies when the market is down. With earnings season underway, companies can show how they were faring going into the recent uncertainty, which may point the way towards how they’ll fare once this uncertainty ends. That could lead to great returns for investors who buy great companies that have been hit hard in this selloff. For instance, Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS) is profiting from a surge in tradin...

The fear of a recession has increased in recent weeks. Investors are uncertain over the impact of tariffs and trade policy on the economy. However, investors who buy companies that largely provide goods and services domestically should hold up far better. Most of today’s big trends still remain in place. As long as that holds, patient investors who buy great companies playing to long-term trends should be able to make good returns buying sold-off stocks today. For instance, utility companies tend to be defensive players under most market conditions. With the rise of AI and data cente...