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Alexandria Real Estate Equities

Stocks

The 3 Best REITs to Buy in September

After months of stress due to the coronavirus, people are ready for a break.

Until then, we're focused on strategies to help you make money now.

With volatility rising into the fall and uncertainty in the economy sticking around, REITs offer a way for investors to add some stability – and cash income – to their portfolios.

That's not the only reason to buy REITs right now either.

By buying now you can lock in next quarters dividend payment.

Read more...

Marijuana Industry

As This Cannabis Bill Gains Momentum, These 3 Stocks Are Hotter Than Ever

It's something we say a lot here.

"Only in California."

In this case, it was a former federal bureaucrat being given "rock star" treatment.

And I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been there to witness it.

I was at the annabis Business Summit & Expo in San Jose, Calif., on July 26, finishing up watching the keynote address from James M. Cole – the then-deputy U.S. attorney general who authored the 2013 "Cole Memo" shielding states with legalized marijuana from federal intervention.

I've spoken with Cole before – so I approached the stage hoping to shake hands, catch up, and maybe make plans for a later meetup.

However, everyone else at the McEnery Convention Center had similar plans.

Hundreds of folks rushed the stage – but summit organizers quickly pulled out their walkie-talkies, surrounded Cole, and rushed him out of the building as if he was Mick Jagger.

Sure, I was a bit disappointed – but I also had to laugh.

It was yet another example of the amount of excitement surrounding the legal cannabis industry.

And like so many of legal weed's timeline events, I was there to witness it.

In today's report, I'll tell you what else I saw at the summit.

And now that we're apparently at the "rock star" stage of legal cannabis' lifespan, I'll give you my top three pot stocks to get you started.

Take a look...

Washington

This Trade War Could Tank the Market - Are You Prepared?

The first volley of shots in the America versus China trade war was fired on July 6, 2018.

America fired first. China fired right back.

U.S. equity markets, after sliding on tariff threats, rallied once again as the first round of 25% tariffs were levied.

If initial tit-for-tat tariffs lead to negotiations and an end to a potential war, the market will continue to rally, and we're probably heading for new all-time highs.

But, look out below if both sides start lobbing the equivalent of tariff nukes, as President Trump has threatened.

That would likely take stocks down hard and possibly lead to a U.S. recession.

Here's what shots were fired and how to prepare for the worst...

Marijuana Industry

Pot Stocks Are About to Soar Again, and Here's Why

I try to avoid talking politics here.

My job is to help you make money no matter who's occupying the White House and Congress.

I'm not here to comment on what they're doing except on how it will affect your money.

And even though I could score some points if I did so, I'm certainly not here to endorse one party or the other.

I say all that so you don't think I'm a knee-jerk "Trump basher." I'm quite conservative myself – and have vocally supported the president on a number of matters (a tough thing to do sometimes in liberal Silicon Valley).

But I cannot hold my tongue any longer as President Donald Trump keeps damaging Main Street investors and their retirement holdings.

Of course, I'm talking about the president's misguided attacks on Amazon.com Inc.

I want to show you how these attacks are part of a pattern for this administration.

In fact, they're related to the pressure we've seen on pot stocks of late.

Today I'm going to show you that's playing out.

But more importantly, I'm going to show you how to profit...

Oil

Derivatives Are Becoming a Problem... Again

Recently, I gave a briefing to some finance folks associated with the trading of global oil.

The topic was the escalating problem with derivatives in that trade, and the difficulty that usage was creating in determining a market value for the underlying commodity.

We have discussed this matter a few times here.

However, a recent uptick in the intermediary paper used to arbitrage oil trade – that is, bringing the values of a "paper barrel" (a futures contract) with a "wet barrel" (the actual consignment of oil in the market) together when the former is expiring – has created a concern.

The matter is getting worse, masked only by the prolonged period of languishing crude prices that is now coming to an end...

Trading Strategies

Don't Fall for These Buyback Schemes - This Is Where the Real Profits Are

When it comes to corporate tax cuts and repatriated cash from overseas, a lot has been written about how much will go into share buybacks. But not enough has been said about dividend growth.

Investors need to look past buyback schemes and look to which companies are increasing their dividends from tax cuts and repatriation – especially investors who like a steady income.

Dividend growers will be the big, long-term winners in the tax cut and repatriation game.

Here's why dividend growth is a hugely important, yet consistently overlooked, factor in profiting in the best and easiest way this year...

Options

The Best Sector to Play When the Markets Are Volatile

To say the markets have been volatile is quite the understatement.

For instance, The Dow Jones Industrial Average has seen a 1,000-point price swing in one day. It's not uncommon to see less "severe" price swings of 300 to 400 points these days, too. And while the S&P 500 is up, it's only by 0.66% – a measly less than 1% that was far more stressful for many people to attain than just sitting out altogether.

To make things even more difficult for investors and traders alike – these aren't one-directional swings. So one second, the market's skyrocketing 400 points, and the next, it's taking a 500-point plunge.  

Needless to say, 2018 has not provided us with the consistent and stable market that 2017 did at one time.

But there's one sector that's been ignoring these turbulent conditions - and could deliver your next triple-digit win...

Economic Data

Trump's Tax Cuts Are "Hiding" This Critical Stock Prediction

Federal tax collections data gives us a leg up on the market because it tells us what to expect when the lagging economic data indicators are released later. That puts us ahead of the crowd, which is waiting for biased Wall Street pundits to interpret already stale, manipulated data when it's finally released. Meanwhile we already know what the facts are.

Tax data has told us whether the lagging economic indicators are promoting a false narrative. Thanks to statistically massaged data and deliberate or unknowing misinterpretation by the talking heads, that can go on for months. But we know the facts.

More importantly perhaps, the tax data has told us what the Fed will be seeing when it gets the lagging economic data. That helped us to know whether incoming economic data will keep the Fed on track or not.

Now, however, the picture has gotten fuzzy. The big tax cuts enacted into law at the end of 2017 have begun to impact tax collections. That makes it virtually impossible to analyze year-to-year changes on a like-versus-like basis. It will be several months, and perhaps the whole year, before we can make these year-to-year comparisons in a way that reflects the actual trend of the U.S. economy.

In other words, Trump's tax cuts are hiding the "big picture" right now when it comes to market predictions.

But fortunately, there's another "bonus" indicator that tells us what's going on...

The Fed

The Markets Are Breaking Up with Trump Growth; Here's Our Next Step

No one knows where our anatomically inaccurate "heart" symbol really came from – there are a number of theories – but one of the prettier ones is that the shape comes from two human hearts side by side, fused together in eternal love.

That seems apropos for the chart I'm about to show you today – because it's really two completely different market narratives side by side, fused together to the point of overlapping. Right now, we are in the narrow space between them – and we're about to head from Trump Growth into a completely new narrative phase, "Fed Unwinding."

I keep harping on market narratives because they're crucially important – they enable us to understand market movement and, from there, how to profit.

That's exactly what I'm going to show you today...