
Defensive Plays with a Domestic Focus Could Perform Strongly in Today’s Environment
The past few weeks has seen a flurry of US companies announcing the termination of their business in Russia. That will impact the bottom line of some companies more than others, given the state of Russia’s economy. For some players, like fast food operations, the loss of the Russian market can have a big impact. For other sectors, there may not be much more than a symbolic gesture. One surprising winner in today’s environment could be The Wendy’s Company (WEN). The fast-food ...
Read More
Read More

Uncertain Economic Outlooks Play Well for Discount-Themed Plays
With high inflation, rising interest rates, and a geopolitical drama unfolding, there’s a lot of uncertainty in markets right now. It may not take much for the economy to potentially slip into a recession, even as some see low odds of that occurring. When markets get uncertain, investors get defensive. One way to stay on the offense is to buy companies that have built a business model around being a discount player. In the retail space, one such name is Dollar General ...
Read More
Read More

Rising Interest Rates Won’t End the Boom In this Sector (For Now)
For the first time since 2018, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates. With yields at just 0.25 percent, however, it’s unlikely to do much more than start to cool the high inflation rates we’ve been seeing over the course of months. Some traders see a number of sectors traditionally slow down when interest rates rise, and have started to place their bets accordingly. However, while history often rhymes, it doesn’t usually directly repeat itself. One case right now is the housing ...
Read More
Read More

Don’t Bet Against Global Consumers and Buy Quality Companies on Sale
The stock market decline has caused nearly all companies to drop. That means that even strong global companies are trading at their best valuation in over a year. That’s particularly true with consumer discretionary firms. While a market pullback may bring some traders to a company like a grocery store, consumers are still going to need other products, even if at a slower pace compared to a roaring economy. As the economy recovers, these companies should recover handily. A number of such ...
Read More
Read More

Time to Buy a “Blood in the Streets” Play
The stock market pullback is getting ugly. With pullbacks deepening into corrections, investors want to know where to go for the best returns on the market’s next rebound. Historically, a handful of companies have used these dire and fearful market conditions to set themselves up for big profits when the outlook is much brighter. A select group of investment managers in particular tend to have a great track record for navigating tough markets. One such player is Blackstone (BX). The asset manager’s ...
Read More
Read More

Buybacks Make This Value Play a Potential Winner on a Market Rebound
Share buybacks can add a lot of value for investors, provided that management only buys when shares look undervalued rather than indiscriminately buying at any price. Since share buybacks can increase earnings per share, even when a company doesn’t increase earnings. As a result, many companies have embraced share buybacks, but only a handful have been able to responsibly buy back shares and avoid the temptation of overpaying just to keep a share price high. One company that’s done buybacks right is ...
Read More
Read More

A Higher-Margin Twist on Rising Commodities Looks Attractive Here
Commodities are taking off as investor interest soars. All sorts of raw goods from metals to agricultural to energy commodities have been rising. But investors who look beyond the raw commodities to more advanced materials could be ahead of the curve on this move. That’s because materials companies tend to be good about raising prices to stay ahead of commodity moves. And they tend to have a built-in profit margin that keeps them going when times are lean. That’s why specialty material ...
Read More
Read More

The Best Way to Profit in This Market Is with a Solid Offense
Traders have been defensive lately. Capital has been rushing into commodity stocks amid high inflation, and companies like telecoms and utilities have been stronger performers rather than risk-on tech names. However, in this market, even a tech company that’s posting unexpectedly strong growth can be a big winner here. And returns can be even better with shares knocked down so much from their highs. One clear example is CrowdStrike (CRWD). The security software provider seems like the perfect play for today’s digitized ...
Read More
Read More