Update for September 20 With One New Pick: Glitches and opportunities abound in the green initiatives of the Inflation Reduction Act–here’s how to profit from them ( 3 battery minerals picks)

Update for September 20 With One New Pick: Glitches and opportunities abound in the green initiatives of the Inflation Reduction Act–here’s how to profit from them ( 3 battery minerals picks)

It’s time to move on from relief/enthusiasm/grudging acceptance of the $369 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act for programs designed to speed up the transition to clean energy and to de-carbonize the economy. The surprise–and in many quarters–appreciation that the United States is doing anything–and it’s a big anything–about climate change has led to big rallies in the stocks of electric vehicle charging companies and hydrogen-economy pioneers. For example, EVgo (EVGO), obviously, I think< an electric vehicle charging stock is up 48.14% in the last month as of the close on August 17. Plug Power (PLUG), one of those hydrogen economy pioneers, is up 84,15% in the last month as of the August 17 close.But I think it's time to go from the general amazement stage to an examination of what companies--and stocks--are actually going to be winners because of the Inflation Reduction Act. (And I say that not only because some of these early winners have started to show some weakness--profit taking perhaps. But also I would pay attention to these near-term trends. EVgo, for example, fell to $10.74 a share on August 17 from $12.02 on August 16. That's a 10.6% tumble.) The bill as finally passed is a masterpiece of compromises and add-ons that mean that many of the top line dollars won't wind up where recent headlines have suggested. My take?

My stock pick lithium producer Albemarle hits all time high before pulling back to close with 2.71% gain on the day

My stock pick lithium producer Albemarle hits all time high before pulling back to close with 2.71% gain on the day

Lithium producer Albemarle (ALB) closed up 2.71% today after hitting an all-time high of $298.17 in intraday trading. The shares closed at $295.68. The gains for Albemarle, and across the lithium sector, came as Goldman Sachs upgraded lithium battery maker Freyr Battery (FREY) on projected higher demand for lithium batteries after the Inflation Reduction Act. Albemarle is a member of my Jubak Picks Portfolio where it is up 200.18% since my August 10, 2018 stock pick. The stock is also a member of my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio where it is up 221.67% since February 17, 2017.

Please watch my new YouTube video: Trend of the Week Danger of a Lithium Drought

Please watch my new YouTube video: Trend of the Week Danger of a Lithium Drought

My one-hundredth-and-forty-first YouTube video “Trend of the Week: Danger of a Lithium Drought” went up today. My Trend of the Week video looks at the effects of Chile’s 15-year drought on global lithium production and prices. In particular, I look at Chilean-based national producer SQM in comparison with Albemarle (ALB.) Albemarle has more diversified production and I think it is a better bet due to this diversity of supply, but lithium will still be a volatile area for the short term. Albemarle is a member of my Jubak Picks Portfolio (up 162% from August 10, 2018) and my long-term, 50 Stocks Portfolio (up 180% from February 17, 2017.)

My stock pick lithium producer Albemarle hits all time high before pulling back to close with 2.71% gain on the day

Albemarle as a test case: Can a “special situation” go up in a bear market?

Lithium producer Albemarle (ALB) has been staging a very important experiment over the last few days. Here’s the question being tested: The overall market is in a serious decline–a bear or almost bear market depending on what index you track–that looks likely to go on for a while. In this environment can any individual stock deliver enough good news to buck the market trend and post gains for more than a day or two? On May 4 Albemarle raised its sales guidance for 2022 when it reported first quarter earnings. And then Monday, May 23, the company raised estimates again to a range of $5.8 billion to $6.2 billion. That was up from a previous estimated range of $5.2 billion to $5.6 billion. In total, the midpoint for the company’s estimate of 2022 revenue 38% higher than it was a month ago. And what happened to the shares?

Please watch my YouTube video: The Death of the Global Economic Order

Please watch my YouTube video: The Death of the Global Economic Order

I’m starting up my videos on JubakAM.com again–this time using YouTube as a platform. My one-hundredth-and seventeenth YouTube video “The Death of the Global Economic Order” went up today. Is it forward to the 16th century? One of the lessons that many countries seem to be drawing from the Russian invasion of Ukraine is that relying on countries that might be hostile or competitive to you for crucial resources (ahem, natural gas) is not a good idea. I think we might see a return to the ideas of a previous economic order that focused on countries controlling the production of supplies they need, and the latest example is President Biden’s use of the Defense Production Act to invest in battery metals and rare earth minerals. I think this will be a boon for companies like Li-Cycle (LICY), a lithium battery recycler which isn’t destined for profit soon, and MP Materials, the U.S.’s only rare earth producer.

In today’s rally everyone loves risk–which isn’t necessarily a good thing

In today’s rally everyone loves risk–which isn’t necessarily a good thing

If you look only at the major indexes, today was a mildly positive day. The Standard & Poor’s 500 closed up 0.30%, although the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat. The NASDAQ Composite gained 0.73% at the close and the NASDAQ 100 added 0.77%. The small cap Russell 2000 ended ahead 0.34%. But take a look at some of the frankly outlandish gains in the market’s hottest sectors. It’s not difficult to find gains of 5% or more today