Author: Editor

We may be nearing an infrastructure bill.

In fact, the Senate could vote as soon as tonight to advance it.

“With respect to infrastructure, senators continue to make good progress on both tracks of legislation,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, as quoted by CBS News. “Members should be prepared to vote again on cloture on the motion to proceed to the bipartisan infrastructure bill as early as tonight.”

The current $1.2 trillion proposal could include $600 billion in new spending for infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, and the Internet.

Should we see progress on a bill, some of the top stocks to consider include ETFs, like the SPDR S&P Global Infrastructure ETF (GII), the iShares Global Infrastructure Index ETF (IGF), Vulcan Materials (VMC), Fluor Corp. (FLR), United States Steel (X), Caterpillar (CAT), Nucor (NUE), and Freeport McMoRan (FCX).

Unfortunately, current infrastructure can’t wait any longer.

“A lot of our bridges were built in the ’50s and the ’60s, which just means that they’re reaching the end of their useful life,” said Cathy Farrell, the American Society of Civil Engineers Pennsylvania infrastructure report card chair, as also quoted by CBS News. “Unfortunately, people only realize that infrastructure isn’t working when it breaks.”

The post The U.S. Senate Could Vote Tonight on Infrastructure Bill appeared first on Morningology.

With rising CV-19 rates, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to recommend that even fully vaccinated people should wear masks again.

“Federal health officials still believe fully vaccinated individuals represent a very small amount of transmission, according to the sources. Still, some vaccinated people could be carrying higher levels of the virus than previously understood and potentially transmit the virus to others,” as noted by CNBC.

All ahead of the fall season, when the delta variant is expected to cause a surge in cases – part of the reason the stock market is falling apart today.

Worse, according to CNBC, “With new mutations discovered every few weeks, many scientists now predict that Covid will continue circulating around the world for at least the next two to three years, requiring nations to reinstitute public health measures on an ad hoc basis for the foreseeable future. Authorities in Australia, South Africa and Asia have recently reintroduced curfews or other measures to curb rising delta outbreaks.”

One of the top stocks already moving on mask news is Alpha Pro Tech (APT), which is up about 11% today. The last time masks were recommended, shares of APT exploded from about $3.50 to a high of $41.59. Vaccine stocks like Pfizer (PFE) are also pushing higher on the news.

Even CV-19 testing stocks are pushing higher on the news. At the moment, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) is up about $1.40. Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is up $1.50. Plus, should the virus get worse – and we see another round of lockdowns, investors may want to look at stocks, such as Zoom Video Communications (ZM) and Teladoc Health (TDOC).

The post U.S. CDC Expected to Recommend CV-19 Masks Again appeared first on Morningology.

Keep an eye on nickel stocks.

With the electric vehicle boom accelerating, Tesla just inked a nickel deal with BHP Group.

“Demand for nickel in batteries is estimated to grow by over 500 per cent over the next decade, in large part to support the world’s rising demand for electric vehicles,” said BHP Chief Commercial Officer Vandita Pant, as quoted by Barron’s. “We are delighted to sign this agreement …and to collaborate with them on ways to make the battery supply chain more sustainable through our shared focus on technology and innovation.”

Moving forward, Tesla wants to increase its volume by about 50%.

However, for that to happen, Tesla must have raw materials on hand, including lithium, cobalt, graphite, silver, copper, and nickel.

Plus, according to a new study by Ernst & Young, electric vehicles could outpace combustion engines in the next 12 years in the U.S., Europe, and China, according to The Street. “By 2045, non-EV sales were seen plummeting to less than 1% of the global car market.”

In addition, according to Global Trader Magazine:

“According to World Bank, the average nickel price in the first half of 2021 reached $17,489 per tonne, which was 27% higher than the 2020’s average price of $13,787 per tonne. Rising demand from the recovering steel industry and from emerging electric car manufacturing provokes the price rally, while the supply is expected to be insufficient in the immediate term due to a decrease in the mined output.”

Other than BHP, some of the other top nickel stocks include Vale SA (VALE), FPX Nickel (PFOCF), Talon Metals (TLOFF), and nickel ETNs such as the iPath Series B Bloomberg Nickel Subindex Total Return ETN (JJN). Another hot EV metals stock to consider is the Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (LIT), which last traded at $80 a share.

The post Why Tesla Just Secured a Massive Deal for Nickel Supply appeared first on Morningology.

Governments around the world are pushing for a greener future.

One full of renewables and electric vehicles.

However, for it to happen, we must get our hands on far more rare earth supply outside of China, as we noted on February 22 — especially as “tensions mount between China and the United States, automakers in the West are trying to reduce their reliance on a key driver of the electric vehicle revolution – permanent magnets, sometimes smaller than a pack of cards, that power electric engines,” as noted by Reuters.

In addition, as noted by ABC News, “As China’s relationships with a number of countries — Australia, Japan, the US, and Europe — has steadily gotten worse over the past 12 months, there’s a present threat that China may use its monopoly to deploy the rare earths weapon to punish others if they fall into diplomatic disagreements.”

That’s why the U.S. – which relies on 80% of China for rare earth imports is trying to find alternative sources. It’s also why stocks such as Lynas Corp. (LYSCF), MP Materials (MP), Rare Element Resources Ltd. (REEMF), and the VanEck Vectors Rare Earth / Strategic Metals ETF (REMX) could push aggressively higher.

Lynas, for example, is up another 8% today after receiving a $10.9 million grant from Australia to commercialize a new mineral refining process that produces high-purity rare-earth carbonate, according to Reuters.

The post The Top Rare Earth Trades to Consider Immediately appeared first on Morningology.

One of the worst things an investor can do is to get caught up in the glitz of an IPO.

Or the idea that an IPO will make them rich beyond their wildest dreams. Sure, some IPOs may do quite well out of the gate. But that’s not always the case.

Look at Twitter (TWTR). Days after its IPO, the stock plummeted from a high of about $75 to less than $15. Even Facebook (FB) initially fell apart in its first few months of trading. Or look at Airbnb Inc. (ABNB) which now sits at its IPO price.

Over the next few days, Robinhood will IPO with an expected valuation of $33 billion.

Plus, according to The Wall Street Journal:

“Robinhood’s growth continued into the second quarter, driven by new users opening accounts and an increase in options and cryptocurrency trading. The company expects to report second-quarter revenue between $546 million and $574 million, more than double what it generated a year earlier. The number of funded Robinhood accounts increased by 4.5 million between the end of March and the end of June, reaching 22.5 million in total.”

But don’t get caught up in the good news.

Growth is slowing year to date. “In stock trading, it reported a decrease in activity relative to a year earlier. That slowdown is set to continue, with Robinhood expecting overall revenue in the third quarter to be below the second quarter’s level,” added the Journal.

That said, I wouldn’t touch the stock until the smoke clears.

The best way to trade an IPO is to not buy an IPO at all.

Instead, I would opt to trade the very ETFs that could benefit the from the IPO excitement.

One way is with the First Trust IPO Index Fund (FPX).

The FPX tracks hot IPOs in their first 1,000 days of trading. Plus, as you can see on an FPX chart, the stock has done well with winning and losing IPOs. In fact, over the last year, the FPX ETF ran from a low of $55 to about $135. With the FPX, it doesn’t matter if the stock is hot or a dud, the excitement surrounding IPOs could send the ETF higher.

The other way is with the Renaissance IPO ETF (IPO), which holds the most liquid U.S. listed IPOs for a period of two years, according to Renaissance Capital. Over the last year, this ETF ran from a low of about $20.31 to a high of $75. Recent weakness may be a great opportunity.

The post A Better Way to Trade the Hotly Anticipated Robinhood IPO appeared first on Morningology.

The Dow is down about 700 points, as the NASDAQ falls 221.

All thanks to surging fears of a pandemic rebound around the world, including every U.S. state.

According to USA Today, “In some states the increases were startling. New cases in Rhode Island almost tripled week over week, a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins data shows. Maine and Vermont’s hikes were almost as large. New cases in Massachusetts, Alaska and Kentucky more than doubled their case counts in one week.”

Worse, according to the World Health Organization, the uptick in cases can be attributed to low vaccination rates, lax mask rules, and the spread of the delta variant, which has now been found in 111 countries, and could become a global issue in months.

“Amid the surge, the death toll in hard-hit Argentina surpassed 100,000. Daily coronavirus deaths in Russia hit record highs this week. In Belgium, infections, driven by the delta variant among the young, have almost doubled over the past week. Britain recorded a one-day total of more than 40,000 new cases for the first time in six months,” adds U.S. News & World Report.

Short Side Opportunities

All are raising concerns we could see another round of global lockdowns, and economic slowdowns, which is already negatively impacting cruise stocks, like Royal Caribbean (RCL) and Carnival, and hotel stocks, like Hilton Hotels. It’s also taking its toll on travel site stocks, such as Trip Advisor (TRIP) and Expedia (EXPE). In fact, at the moment, all are great short ideas.

Long Side Opportunities

As for opportunities on the long side of the pandemic, investors should pay close attention to work and school from home stocks, including Zoom Video Communications (ZM) and Slack Technologies Inc. (WORK). Another hot stock to keep an eye on with the work/school at home trend is Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).

Advanced Micro Devices is benefiting from cloud-computing service demand. As companies race to invest in infrastructure to handle the demand from everyone staying at home, as we noted in July 2020. “If you look at Amazon or Azure and how much infrastructure usage increased over the past two weeks, it would probably blow your mind how much capacity they’ve had to spin up to keep the world operating,” said Dave McJannet, HashiCorp Inc., which provides tools for both cloud and traditional servers. “Moments like this accelerate the move to the cloud.”

The post The Top Ways to Trade Another Round of the Pandemic appeared first on Morningology.

Keep an eye on cannabis stocks.

The sector could see higher highs on a push for federal legalization.

With Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pushing for legalization, and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas saying national prohibition is unnecessary, the U.S. may be nearing a turning point. Helping, later today, Schumer, Cory Booker and Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden will unveil the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act.

According to Bloomberg, the bill “is expected to remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances. The bill would also tax and regulate marijuana on the federal level, while leaving states able to enforce their own laws regarding the drug.”

Helping, “Two-thirds of Americans say the use of marijuana should be legal, reflecting a steady increase over the past decade. The share of U.S. adults who oppose legalization has fallen from 52% in 2010 to 32% today,” says Pew Research.

In addition, Jefferies’ analyst Owen Bennett says cannabis stocks are a “generational wealth opportunity,” says Barron’s. He also launched coverage with buy ratings on Curaleaf (CURLF), Green Thumb Industries (GTBIF), Trulieve Cannabis (TCNNF), Cresco Labs (CRLBF), Columbia Care (CCHWF), TerrAscend (TRSSF), and Ayr Wellness (AYRWF).

Other top stocks to watch include Canopy Growth (CGC), Tilray (TLRY), Aurora Cannabis (ACB), HEXO Corp. (HEXO), and ETFs, such as the Advisor Shares Pure Cannabis ETF (YOLO).

The post Top Ways to Trade Senate’s Cannabis Legalization Bill appeared first on Morningology.

Investors are headed back to the safe havens of gold.

All thanks to inflation.

Consumer prices jumped 5.4% in June – the biggest monthly gain in about 13 years. Excluding food and energy, core inflation jumped 4.5% – the biggest move since 1991.

“Inflation has been escalating due to a number of factors, including supply chain bottlenecks, extraordinarily high demand as the pandemic eases, and year-over-year comparisons to a time when the economy was struggling to reopen in the early months of the crisis,” reported CNBC.

So, it may be a good idea to push back into gold.

After all, “Inflation is a significant risk facing investors, which is why now might be the best time to turn to safe-haven assets such as gold, said Adam Trexler, founder and president of Valaurum, as quoted by Kitco. “The best time to buy gold is before a crisis. This is now a really good time for people to be stocking up, as it were. Because in the event of widespread inflation, we think the gold price will go up much more.”

Little wonder there’s such strong interest in gold stocks, such as:

• Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. (KL)
• Barrick Gold Corp. (GOLD)
• Newmont Corporation (NEM)
• Global X Gold Explorers ETF (GOEX)
• VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)

The post Inflationary Concerns Could Send these Gold Stocks Higher appeared first on Morningology.

Over the weekend, Virgin Galactic (SPCE) successfully flew a full crew into suborbital space – a major milestone for the company’s goal of commercial service by 2022.

Even better, “The flight is symbolically important for building consumer confidence in and demand for space tourism,” said AB Bernstein analyst Douglas Harned, as quoted by CNBC. “A successful test flight by Blue Origin including founder Jeff Bezos, scheduled for July 20, should generate further interest in the industry, which would benefit both companies.”

While the SPCE stock is down 11%, or $5.41 at the moment, don’t write it off. It’s down on news the company just filed to sell up to $500 million in common stock.

With the success, we may be looking at a potential $1.1 trillion space tourism opportunity.

Remember, according to analysts at Cowen, “39% of people with a net worth of more than $5 million are interested in paying at least $250,000 for a flight.” In addition, by 2040, Morgan Stanley believes the space tourism industry could be worth about $1 trillion.

In addition, Virgin Galactic already has 600 customers ready to blast off at $250,000 a ticket. All for a 90-minute trip that will take them about 60 miles above the Earth. If all goes well for the company’s test launch with Branson, SPCE could be an “out of this world” buying opportunity.

Should Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin have similar success, the industry could be cleared for take-off.

The post Use Weakness in Virgin Galactic as Opportunity appeared first on Morningology.

Keep an eye on cannabis stocks.

Weeks after Mexico legalized cannabis, the U.S. may be next.

Not only is Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pushing for legalization, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says U.S. prohibition is unnecessary.

Helping, about 92% of Americans are supportive of legalization, too.

In fact, according to Pew Research, “Two-thirds of Americans say the use of marijuana should be legal, reflecting a steady increase over the past decade. The share of U.S. adults who oppose legalization has fallen from 52% in 2010 to 32% today.”

In addition, Jefferies’ analyst Owen Bennett says cannabis stocks are a “generational wealth opportunity,” says Barron’s. He also launched coverage with buy ratings on Curaleaf (CURLF), Green Thumb Industries (GTBIF), Trulieve Cannabis (TCNNF), Cresco Labs (CRLBF), Columbia Care (CCHWF), TerrAscend (TRSSF), and Ayr Wellness (AYRWF).

“Bennett thinks U.S. industry annual retail sales of $17.2 billion in 2020 will reach $36 billion by 2025, and $64 billion by 2030. He thinks growth will be driven by conversion from the illicit market to the legal market, the increasing normalization of cannabis use, and the disruption of the alcohol and pharmaceuticals industries. He assumes national penetration can hit 30%, with annual spending per user at $1,750—compared to Colorado at $2,683 and alcohol at $1,378. Such assumptions equate to a market of $172 billion,” added Barron’s.

In addition to the cannabis stocks mentioned above, the news could open a world of opportunity for Canopy Growth (CGC), Tilray (TLRY), Aurora Cannabis (ACB), HEXO Corp. (HEXO), and ETFs, such as the Advisor Shares Pure Cannabis ETF (YOLO).

The post U.S. Legalization Could Send These Cannabis Stocks to Higher Highs appeared first on Morningology.