Some companies lead their sectors to new areas of growth. Others may hold back, to determine where the best prospect for growth is right now. Both can have their merits, if successful. A handful of today’s top tech trends should benefit all companies. That includes the rollout of the 5G network, the ongoing growth of electric vehicles, and the digitization of the economy. In the EV space, the past few years has seen a big shift by traditional automakers into the EV space. The latest to make the move isToyota Motors (TM). The automaker has been the leading producer of hybrid vehicl...

Typically, the fall season isn’t good for the stock market. Much like a harvest season, it’s a time for reaping, not sowing. But in some parts of the economy, the fall can be a favorite time of year. Why? Because the pumpkin spice must flow. A favorite flavor of the fall season, pumpkin-themed flavoring in a variety of foods and beverages has exploded in recent years. That tends to bode well for the bottom line for a number of companies. The most obvious beneficiary isStarbucks (SBUX). The coffee chain has decided to release its fall flavors this week, well before the calendar hits a...

Inflation is still running hot. While that may change in the coming months, it will still take a long time to get back to a pre-pandemic level. Investors who are mindful of inflation know that they have a few ways to protect their wealth. One way is with commodities. These are physical goods that have a real use as the building blocks of the economy, in everything from construction to food to energy. While demand for these goods may decline in a recession, they always have an underlying value. And with improving technologies, they can find new ways to be used. Right now, high ener...

Investors expecting a turnaround in stocks this fall just had their hopes dashed. But investors who continue to stick with companies with great long-term potential can fare well. In today’s environment, companies that play to a defensive nature – where consumers tend to spend no matter how the economy performs—offer good returns relative to today’s risks. Investing in these companies now, with share prices down, can offer moderate gains with less potential downside going forward. One traditional place where investors can be defensive is with telecom companies. Right now, the rollout ...

It’s a challenging market, but a few themes have been playing out in recent weeks. Great companies are holding up better than lower-quality ones in the same industry. And even with all the uncertainty out there right now, investors are willing to buy great companies well off of last year’s highs. That theme is playing out this earnings season. Companies that have been reporting poor numbers may be selling of, but investors have been swooping in to buy. One such players is graphics processing giantNvidia (NVDA). The company’s quarterly numbers came in poorly – but the company provided...

The economy is slowing down, and even meets the technical definition of a recession. But every recession is different. This time, the economy is slowing as pandemic stimulus wears off and as central bankers look to tackle inflation. That trend won’t end the technology transformations underway today. A number of promising news ideas are coming to fruition in the coming years, and investors who buy when the market is down now can get a high reward later. One area is in the development of electric vehicles. For the most part, the focus has been on cars and sedans. But the growing EV tru...

In a bull market, investors may ignore valuation in the hope of getting into a deal with more upside potential. However, in a bear market, deals get much more scrutiny, and potentially offer more upside with less downside risk. So those companies inking deals now are likely getting good, if not great, deals. That means they can benefit over time as the deal plays out, and as markets get bullish once again. ChipmakerIntel (INTC) just inked a deal withBrookfield Asset Management (BAM). Brookfield will invest up to $30 billion for chipmaking facilities. This plays to Brookfield’s streng...

Investors don’t need to get caught in a trap between a growth stock or a value stock. In a bear market, many fast-growing companies can have their valuation knocked down until they’re a potential bargain. That gives investors the best of both worlds – a reasonable value, with some upside when the market recovers. Right now, a number of mid-sized companies fit the bill. The trick is to finding firms that are leading their industry while also still offering upside potential. One such player in the banking industry isPNC Financial Services Group (PNC). The bank isn’t one of the major Wa...

Every quarter, hedge funds, investment firms, and other notable individuals have to update their stock holdings with the SEC, via a 13F filing. The data can show what moves investors have made in the past few months. With the market still coming off a correction, looking at the data as a whole, investors can see where the broadest number of major investors were the most bullish. Following this smart money can tend to outperform the market over time. While 13F data may be incomplete, or even out of date for some funds by the time they’re published, a number of companies saw interest f...

When times get tough, some types of companies have some big problems. Others tend to fare well. Those that do well succeed in part because they’re in a recession-resistant industry. One type of company fitting that bill is one that offers pick and shovel plays. While that can mean those specific tools, the broader concept is the infrastructure and tools needed to keep an economy or sector going. These stocks tend to hold up well, even in fearful markets. One such play isDeere (DE). The agricultural equipment maker may not trade like a growth stock, but with food prices rising, the co...