On Monday on my subscription JubakAM.com site, I made Lynas Rare Earths (LYSDY) the eighth pick in my Special Report: 9 Picks to Make Money in This Bear Market and said that I would add it to the Jubak Picks Portfolio today. This is what I wrote in my Special Report: “This isn’t a Fed pick, an economic growth pick, or a Bear Market bottom pick. It’s a straightforward U.S.-China trade war pick
If you liked the Trump administration’s trade war with China, you’ll love the Biden administration’s new, more dangerous, escalated version. Rather than slapping tariffs on Chinese goods, and inviting retaliatory tariffs by China on American products, the Biden administration war limits the same of advanced semiconductors and chip-making equipment to Chines companies. The action is aimed straight at the heart of China’s efforts to build its own chip industry. And it plays right into a belief, stoked by China’s President Xi Jinping, that China is the victim of a Western plot to prevent the country’s rise to its rightful place in the global order. And the opening blows in this trade war come just as President Xi aims to be installed as China’s newest preeminent leader with a status near that of Mao. I don’t know what the retaliation from China will be, but it is unlikely to stop with a few restrictions on how U.S. companies, such as Tesla (TSLA) and Apple (AAPL) operate in China. The situation is so dangerous because it is so uncertain and so open-ended.
After the market close on October 5, Costco Wholesale (COST) reported that sales for September had climbed 10.1% to $21.46 billion. Total same-store sales rose 8.5% in September, beating Wall Street’s estimate of 6.3% growth.
I added Freyr Battery to my 10 Perfect Stock Special Report today. Tomorrow I’m adding the stock to my Jubak Picks Portfolio with a target price of $21 a share. This is what I wrote about Freyr in my Special Report.
Yesterday I added General Motors to my 10 Perfect Stock Picks Special Report. Here’s what I wrote in that Special Report on the buy.
Is there such a thing as a perfect stock? Depends. Not a chance, if you mean a stock that will be perfect in every market for every time period. No way, if you mean a stock that will go up steadily from the day you buy it. Nah, if you mean a “Buy and Hold Forever Stock.” But there are stocks that are “perfect” for a specific kind of market. And there are stocks that are “perfect” for a specific holding period. And there are stocks that are “perfect” for investors with a specific portfolio goal. And in this Special Report, I’m going to give you 10 of those Perfect Picks.
Apple (AAPL), which once urged suppliers to increase production of its new iPhone, is now telling them “Never mind,” according to Bloomberg. The anticipated surge in demand has failed to materialize. the company had told suppliers to increase production in the second half of the year ahead of a projected increase in iPhone sales in the second half of 2022. Now Apple is aiming to produce 90 million iPhones in the period. That’s roughly the same level as in the second half of 2021 and in line with Apple’s original forecast this summer.
Shares of Eli Lilly (LLY), a pick for my Jubak Pick’s Portfolio in a post yesterday, are up 8.89% today as of noon New York time, September 28, on news that an experimental Alzheimer’s drug from Biogen (BIIB) and Japan’s Eisai(ESALY) slowed cognitive and functional decline by 27 percent in a clinical trial. Today shares of Biogen are up 38.07% and shares of Eisai are up 62.6% on the news. Why the pop in Lilly? As I explained in my post yesterday, Lilly has its own Alzheimer’s drug in development and positive results out of Biogen/Eisai are thought to be a positive for that drug too.
I’m extremely reluctant to add any stocks to any portfolios right now. There’s just too much near-term uncertainty and we remain locked in the grip of a pushing Bear Market. But I do want to upgrade my portfolios when possible to increase their future upside. So tomorrow September 28, I’ll be adding shares of drug maker Eli Lilly (LLY) to my Jubak Picks Portfolio; To make this an upgrade rather than an addition to this portfolio, I will also be selling shares of biotech Incyte (INCY) out of that portfolio. In this paired trade I think I’m adding a comparatively stronger drug pipeline to my holdings.
Shares of Costco Wholesale closed up 2.98% on September 26. The advance against the grain of a generally down market comes after the company announced a beat on both revenue and earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter on Thursday, September 22.
My one-hundred-and-seventy-sixth YouTube video: “Quick Pick Kroger” went up today. Grocery stocks aren’t very volatile. Normally. So when shares of Kroger, the nation’s free-standing largest grocery chain, went up almost 7.5% on Friday, September 9, it got my attention. A huge increase in sales of store-brand goods, cheaper for the consumer but more profitable for Kroger led to a very strong second quarter. And the sentiment among investors that this was a good stock to own during inflationary times. I’ll be adding it to my Jubak Picks Portfolio tomorrow, September 16.
Asian traders bid down futures for Japanese stocks by almost 2% and by 1.5% for Australian stocks ahead of the Monday opening of New York markets. On Friday, after a hawkish speech on interest rates and inflation by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell the Standard & Poor’s 500 lost 3.37%.
