Category Penny Stocks

First, I want to thank everyone who joined me for our special event last week: the Next 50X NVIDIA Call.

During the briefing, we dove deep into everything from NVIDIA Corporation’s (NVDA) upcoming Quantum Day (Q Day) event, to how quantum computing could revolutionize AI – and I even told you a little about my No. 1 pick that has the potential to deliver life-changing returns, NVIDIA did before AI went mainstream.

Now, before I held my Next 50X NVIDIA Call special summit, my team and I put together a special series on quantum investing. Since I released these articles, readers submitted a host of questions.

Frankly, I was impressed by the quality of your questions, and I have to admit I was surprised by just how much investors are interested in quantum computing right now.

But when you’re talking about potentially getting in on the next great technological breakthrough of our lifetimes, it makes sense…

After all, who wouldn’t want another shot at getting in early on a groundbreaking opportunity like AI?

Who wouldn’t want to go back in time and buy NVIDIA – like I recommended to my premium readers in 2016?

So, in today’s Market 360, I’d like to spend some time tackling your most pressing questions about NVIDIA’s Q Day, quantum computing and how you can position your portfolio to benefit from this fascinating opportunity. (And don’t forget to check out the replay of the Next 50X NVIDIA Call here.)

Let’s get started…

The Fed give Wall Street what it wanted … how many rate cuts will we get this year? … why Louis is betting on four … tomorrow’s deadline of “Q-Day”

This afternoon, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at the current target range of 4.25% – 4.50%.

This was widely expected. The uncertainty (and risk to the stock market) centered around two questions:

• How would tariffs, federal layoffs, and the risk of reinflation impact projections for rate cuts, growth, and inflation in the updated “Dot Plot”?
• Would Federal Reserve Chaiman Jerome Powell sound dovish or hawkish in his press conference?

Well, we got answers – and Wall Street liked ‘em.

All three major indexes jumped this afternoon, led by the Nasdaq’s 1.4% pop. We’ll circle back to this momentarily.

Digging into the details of the “answers” that Wall Street liked, let’s begin with the Fed’s official policy statement and the Dot Plot.

As noted a moment ago, the Fed maintained the current target rate. Perhaps more importantly, the Fed maintained its projection of two quarter-point cuts in 2025.

Similarly, the Dot Plot maintained that two more quarter-point rate cuts are expected in 2026. This is the same expectation as the last Dot Plot from December.

Now, there were some changes.

Fed members project the economy will now grow at just a 1.7% pace this year. That’s down from the 2.1% estimate in December. And core inflation is now expected to grow 2.8%, up from 2.5%.

Plus, the Fed will scale back its “quantitative tightening” program in which it reduces its bond holdings. Instead of allowing $25 billion of Treasurys to roll off its balance sheet each month, the new number is just $5 billion.

Altogether, there was nothing in the updated numbers that spooked Wall Street

Fortunately, neither was there anything “spooky” from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in his live press conference.

Here are the highlights (I’m paraphrasing):

• The economy remains strong and long-term inflation expectations are well-anchored
• The labor market is in good shape. Though it’s a “low hiring, low firing” market, it’s sturdy
• Though it’s early, the Fed isn’t seeing the DOGE/Trump federal job cuts making a major impact on the overall labor market
• The Fed’s base case is that any price increases from tariffs will result in a one-time bump rather than be the beginning of sustained price increases. That could change, but pass-through inflation is the current expectation
• It will be challenging to isolate and measure the inflationary impact of tariffs
• While there’s always some chance of a recession, and recent recession forecasts have climbed slightly, the odds are still “not high”
• While the “soft data” (such as consumer/investor sentiment surveys) show weakening conditions, the Fed is not seeing any material weakening in the “hard data”

I’ll note that part of the Fed’s decision to maintain the projection of two quarter-point cuts this year (and two more next year) was due to uncertainty.

Several times during the press conference, Powell noted that we’re in a highly uncertain environment, so maintaining the prior forecast was the default position.

Plus, slightly rising inflation and slightly cooling growth largely cancelled each other out – resulting in a maintain-the-status-quo “inertia” for some Fed presidents.

In any case, Wall Street liked what it heard, and stocks roared higher.

In the wake of today’s FOMC meeting, traders can’t decide whether we’ll get two or three quarter-point cuts this year

Sure, the Dot Plot projects only two cuts, but traders are going bigger.

The CME Group’s FedWatch Tool shows us the probabilities that traders are assigning to various target interest rates from the Fed at different dates in the future.

As you can see below, traders are now putting nearly identical odds (30%/32%) on the Fed cutting rates two and three times by December 2025.

But if legendary investor Louis Navellier is right, these traders should go even bigger.

Here’s Louis from yesterday:

It’s widely expected…that the dot plot will signal two more key interest rate cuts this year.

Personally, I think this outlook may be a little conservative. I still expect four key interest rate cuts this year.

The reality is that global interest rates will collapse given weak economic growth in Asia, as well as economic contractions in the U.K., Canada, France, Germany and Mexico.

Global central banks like the Bank of England and the European Central Bank will need to continue cutting key interest rates to shore up their respective economies.

And Treasury yields will continue to decline as global central banks slash key interest rates. Since the Fed does not fight market rates, I expect our central bank will follow suit and cut rates four times this year.

Now, at face value, four quarter-point cuts would be bullish for stocks. After all, lower interest rates reduce borrowing costs for companies, boosting bottom-line profits. Plus, investors often are willing to pay higher price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples in low-rate environments.

But what’s the risk that four rate cuts produces a bearish outcome?

The question that will tip the market up or down

Do outsized cut rates represent 1) a bearish, reactionary Fed that’s playing defense against a looming recession, or 2) a bullish, proactive Fed that’s promoting steady growth by aligning interest rates with the neutral rate?

(For newer Digest readers, the neutral rate is the theoretical Fed interest rate that neither helps nor hurts the economy. It cannot be directly measured, and it changes per economic conditions.)

In 1995 and 2019, the interpretation of Fed rate cuts was bullish. That led to a 34% climb for the S&P in 1995, and a 29% gain in 2019.

But in 2001 and 2008, the interpretation was bearish. Investors suffered top-to-bottom intra-year losses of 30% in 2001, and 57% losses in 2008/2009.

Now, we’re not expecting anything like 2001 or 2008. Corporate balance sheets and income statements are in far better shape than during those years. And Powell’s commentary today didn’t reflect any significant concern about a major downturn, much less a recession.

However, as we pointed out in last Friday’s Digest, in the short-term, sentiment is the primary driver of a stock price – not earnings.

See for yourself. The chart below shows that over a one-year period, investor sentiment (referenced on the chart as “multiple” in red) accounts for nearly half of a stock’s performance. Earnings (as represented by “revenue growth” in blue) accounts for just 29%.

So, even though we just finished a strong earnings season – and earnings are expected to remain strong – negative sentiment can do a lot of damage in the short-term.

Has recent, dour sentiment set up an amazing buying opportunity?

Let’s follow the breadcrumbs…

As we noted last Friday, sourcing data from FactSet, for Q2 2025 through Q4 2025, analysts forecast earnings growth rates of 9.7%, 12.1%, and 11.6%, respectively. And for calendar year 2025, analysts predict earnings growth of 11.6%.

Those are robust forecasts, supportive of continued bullishness.

But in the meantime, we’ve been grappling with downbeat sentiment. And what if this recent negative sentiment becomes self-fulfilling (especially if trade wars intensify)?

That potential has us facing two potential scenarios…

• Recent bearish sentiment proves to be justified as trade wars escalate, eventually hitting earnings (the true market driver). In that case, investors who have been selling are wisely sidestepping a more painful drawdown to come.
• Recent bearish sentiment proves to be unwarranted as the threat of a recession disappears when trade wars and recession fears fade away. In this case, investors who buy today are wisely taking advantage of the temporary “sale” on great stocks thanks to recent bearish sentiment.

Which will it be?

Circling back to Louis, he just outlined why he’s betting on the bullish scenario

Let’s jump to Louis’ Flash Alert in Breakthrough Stocks yesterday:

Scott Bessett, our Treasury Secretary, was on Maria [Bartiromo]’s show [yesterday] morning and made it clear that we are probably not going to have a recession, and that’s true.

ISM Manufacturing has been growing, so has services. Retail sales were disappointing, but they were heavily impacted by weather again – spending at bars and restaurants were down 1.5% but online shopping was up 2.4%.

So, it wasn’t a bad retail sales report when you look at what we call core spending.

Moving to Louis’ thoughts on tariffs, he added:

All this tariff talk that was jerking Wall Street around has died.

Mark Carney, the new Canadian Prime Minister, said that there’s only so much Canada can do. They really don’t have the ability to do retaliatory tariffs, even though they were threatened, because Canda is a tenth of the size of America which means that America doesn’t care…

All the tariff talk has gone behind the scenes, behind closed doors. I know [Secretary of Commerce] Howard Lutnick personally. I think he is a phenomenal Commerce Secretary and he will do a great job.

This leaves Louis doing what he always does – overlooking fleeting, shifting sentiment and focusing on earnings strength:

I am not worried about all these gyrations and the things distracting people…

As we get closer to the end of earnings announcement season, the crème de la crème rises, which are the stocks with strong sales and earnings…

We have a lot to be excited about.

As we’ve been highlighting in the Digest since last week, one thing that Louis is especially excited about is tomorrow’s “Quantum Day” from Nvidia

If you’re new to the Digest, tomorrow, Nvidia will hold the first ever “Quantum Day” (or what Louis has been calling “Q-Day”) during its annual AI conference this week.

It’s going to bring together industry leaders, developers, and partners to explore the future of quantum computing.

Last week, Louis held a live event where he detailed his belief that Nvidia will announce a big move into quantum computing tomorrow. He also highlighted a tiny, small-cap stock that could be a major beneficiary of any Nvidia quantum initiative.

Here’s Louis:

I believe NVIDIA is about to stake its claim in the quantum computing space. And when it does, a little-known top pick could erupt overnight.

This is a small-cap stock protected by 102 patents with close ties to NVIDIA. It already works closely with NVIDIA, Microsoft, Amazon, and NASA.

Don’t wait until the market fully catches on after tomorrow’s event. Watch the replay of my Next 50X NVIDIA Call now for all the details – before it’s taken down.

As I highlighted in the Digest last week, history shows that partnerships with Nvidia can be lucrative for investors who own the smaller stock that partners with Nvidia.

Sometimes, the gains are great but not lifechanging.

For example, Nvidia’s investment in Applied Digital (APLD) led to a 100%+ increase. And after SoundHound AI (SOUN) partnered with Nvidia, its stock price nearly tripled.

But on certain occasions, the partnerships produce lifechanging wealth.

Quanta Services (PWR) surged 1,000% following its NVIDIA deal. And Super Micro Computer (SMCI) shot up 2,460% after the two companies got into bed.

Louis believes that if Nvidia announces a partnership with his favorite small-cap quantum play, 50X returns are on the table.

For more details, click here for the replay of last week’s event. Tomorrow is Q-Day, so we’re cutting it close to the wire.

We’ll keep you updated on all these stories here in the Digest.

Have a good evening,

Jeff Remsburg

More than 55 years after NASA’s Apollo 11 mission achieved the historic milestone of sending humans to the moon, Elon Musk has his sights set on something even bigger… 

Colonizing Mars. 

In a post on X this past weekend, Musk said that his SpaceX Starship will set a course to Mars at the end of next year. This initial voyage will have Tesla’s (TSLA) Optimus robots pave the path first, making way for human landings to begin as early as 2029. 

To many, that may sound rather ambitious. After all, humans haven’t even set foot on the moon since 1972. And our lunar satellite is just ~240,000 miles from Earth. 

Mars is about 140 million miles away – roughly 586 times farther. 

So, yes, Musk proclaiming that SpaceX will send humans to Mars in as soon as four years is bold. 

But ultimately, we’re talking about a guy known for accomplishing the seemingly impossible…

Elon Musk Sets His Sights High

Elon Musk co-founded PayPal (PYPL), the world’s largest digital payment platform, at a time when most people were using cash for transactions. Now the company is worth more than $70 billion.  

He created SpaceX, the world’s largest private space company, which is now beating NASA at its own game – and is valued at $180 billion. 

He persevered through consistent ridicule and criticism to pioneer one of the world’s largest automakers in Tesla… worth more than the next 10 biggest automakers combined.

And he’s also the man behind Neuralink, The Boring Company, and X.

Musk has influenced how we pay for things, what cars we drive, how we communicate online, how we see space… 

I’d venture to say that he is one of the most influential business figures of the past 20 years.

And if he’s good at anything, it is turning the absurd into reality. 

Of course, the billionaire is also known for his overzealousness and track record of missing deadlines. For example, while Tesla’s Cybertruck was initially slated to debut in 2019, it didn’t enter production until 2023. And though he has repeatedly stated that the firm’s full self-driving technology will be available ‘soon,’ it remains in beta testing.

As Medium noted – among other things – Musk “originally aimed to send an unmanned mission to Mars by 2018 and put humans on the red planet by 2024.” As we know, that goal failed to launch.

However… the Cybertruck is now on our roads. Full self-driving technology exists and is being thoroughly tested. And as of March 17, 2025, SpaceX has had 456 successful launches out of 459 total – a success rate of 99.35%. 

Musk may not always hit the mark when it comes to timelines. But he does deliver. 

And when this new era of space development does launch, it’ll create a whole new universe of investment opportunities – pun intended. 

A Space Bursting With Potential

We believe that the prospect for Mars’ colonization and broader interstellar settlement will lead to the creation of several new and important companies. 

For example, such extraordinary travel will necessitate reliable and cost-effective launch systems to transport both humans and cargo throughout space. As such, for the firms specializing in spacecraft capable of long-duration travel and planetary landings, the economic opportunities will likely be bountiful. 

There will also be a great need for myriad new technologies. Things like: 

• Sustainable life-support systems that recycle air and water and shield inhabitants from cosmic radiation 
• New deep-space communication infrastructure and satellites for data transmission and navigation
• Controlled environment agricultural systems for food production and preservation
• Modular habitat construction using materials that are strong, lightweight, and resistant to a harsh environment

Additionally, Mars has a lot of natural resources and is also much closer to the asteroid belt than Earth. Therefore, humans would likely need to develop novel resource utilization technologies and asteroid mining techniques. 

In other words… when humanity arrives on Mars… an entirely new economy could come into being. 

If you’re a fan of college basketball, then you’re likely familiar with the term “March Madness.” It’s seven rounds of a single-elimination tournament where 68 teams go head-to-head for the national championship.

Well, the tournament kicks off tonight for the men’s bracket and starts tomorrow for the women’s. But basketball fans aren’t the only folks going through some March Madness right now…

You see, as I write this, the S&P 500, the Dow and NASDAQ are all down 8.5%, 6.95% and 12.6%, respectively, for March. But the tides could change this week. The reality is we have a couple of items on the docket that could change the tone of the market…

I should note that yesterday we had a fresh retail sales report. It showed that headline retail sales rose 0.2% in February, missing expectations for a 0.6% rise. Additionally, retail sales for January were revised lower from a prior reading of 0.9% to a 1.2% decline.

Now, the “control group” in this report excludes a few volatile categories in the retail sector, and it actually showed a 1% rise. Economists were expecting a 0.4% gain. That’s significant, because this gets factored into the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ gross domestic product (GDP) estimate for the quarter.

Meanwhile, NVIDIA Corporation’s (NVDA) GTC event started today. CEO Jensen Huang kicked things off with the opening remarks this afternoon. Look for my follow-up Market 360 later this week, because I expect there to be some big announcements during this conference – especially with Thursday’s Quantum Computing Day.

Lastly, we have the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting beginning today, with the latest interest rate decision coming tomorrow. While I’ll cover all the important things to note from this meeting in Market 360, know that there are two key things I will be watching…

First, any comments on the Trump tariffs. The Federal Reserve is guaranteed to address these, but the question remains: Do they change how the Fed sees the economy?

Second, as it is almost certain the Fed will keep rates unchanged, I am most interested in looking at the latest “dot plot” chart. As I have said, I am expecting four key interest rate cuts this year. And while I don’t expect the dot plot to show this (the Fed isn’t looking that far out), it will be interesting to see where they currently stand.

Get ready for humanoids … gold sets a new all-time high … why gold miners could be a better bet … a deeper dive into tariffs with Charles Sizemore

As I write Tuesday morning, gold is setting another all-time high.

This doesn’t come as a surprise to regular Digest readers. We’ve been tracking the yellow metal for years. And even when investors wanted nothing to do with it, we were urging readers to recognize the eventual rally that would come – and establish at least a small position.

Here’s how our global macro expert Eric Fry described those gold-price doldrums back in summer 2022:

The yellow metal is barely registering a pulse at the moment. Most of the wax figures inside Madame Tussauds museum seem more vibrant and lifelike.

But that’s simply how gold behaves from time to time. It “does nothing” for such extended periods of time that investors begin to doubt it could fog a mirror.

Gradually, they turn their back on the comatose metal and leave it for dead. But that’s usually about the time it comes to life.

Well, gold has certainly “come to life.” It’s jumped 40% over the last 12 months while the S&P has returned less than a quarter of that amount.

But today, there is a more profitable way to look at gold.

Start looking at gold miners

At the beginning of the month, we urged readers to look at top-tier miners. We highlighted a break in the relationship between gold’s price and the price of leading gold mining stocks.

Typically, top miners make moves that are 2X- 3X the size of gold’s move (for good and bad). This reflects the swelling profits that miners enjoy as gold’s market price rises above breakeven costs…or the snowballing losses they suffer when prices swing the opposite way.

But in recent years, miners haven’t fallen in line with this historical price relationship.

Here’s Mining.com:

The gold miners’ stock prices have largely decoupled from their metal, which overwhelmingly drives their profits.

This fundamental disconnect has spawned a shocking valuation anomaly, with gold stocks far too low relative to gold. But this aberration won’t last, as markets abhor extreme deviations from precedent.

Mean reversions and proportional overshoots soon follow, so gold stocks will soar to reflect their record earnings.

The “catch up” has begun

Below, we compare the performance of the VanEck Gold Miners ETF, GDX, to gold over the last three months (disclosure: I own GDX).

While gold’s 14% climb – and fresh all-time highs – are receiving all the headlines, GDX has nearly doubled that return, clocking in with 27% gains.

Source: TradingView

Better still, it appears there’s plenty more juice in the tank since miner valuations have been so depressed in recent quarters.

On that note, here’s Barron’s from last month:

Gold stocks, despite their gains, really do look like bargains.

The VanEck ETF trades at just over 12 times 12-month forward earnings, a 44% discount to the S&P 500’s 22 times, a much wider gap than the 10-year average of 20%.

Narrowing the price/earnings gap to that average discount would bring the ETF up to just over 16 times, landing it, once again, at $51.

If you’re looking to play this, GDX is still an option.

On March 5, I also highlighted Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) and Alamos Gold (AGI). Since then, AGI is up 6.6% and AEM is up 7.6% while the S&P has fallen 3.5%.

Circling back to Eric, he put his Investment Report subscribers into Westgold Resources (WGXRF) in mid-January. They’re already sitting on 48% returns.

To learn more about joining Eric in Investment Report, click here.

We’ll keep you updated as gold and gold miners continue climbing.

Can a mission to Mars help this stock?

Last Friday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote that Starship will head to Mars at the end of next year carrying Optimus.

Humans aren’t far behind.

From Musk:

If those landings go well, then human landings may start as soon as 2029, although 2031 is more likely.

To make sure we’re all on the same page, Starship is the world’s largest, most powerful rocket from Musk’s company SpaceX.

Optimus – from Musk’s company Tesla – is an advanced humanoid robot.

Space travel will be big business…eventually.

But long before we’re taking vacations to Mars, we’ll be living in a world filled with humanoids.

For more on Optimus and humanoids, let’s go to our technology expert, Luke Lango, editor of Innovation Investor:

Everyone who’s anyone in the tech world is betting on humanoid robots being the next big AI breakthrough. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is certainly all-in on them. 

His firm Tesla (TSLA) has created a humanoid robot called Optimus, which is already being used inside Tesla factories to complete a variety of tasks.

The company plans to ramp Optimus production to use them in its factories worldwide. It’s said that next year, it will start selling its robots to outside companies. And after that, it aims to offer them to consumers like you and me.

Humanoids are going to be big business

Multi-trillion-dollar business, in fact.

Here’s some of what Musk said about them on Tesla’s Q2 earnings call:

• Long-term, Optimus has the potential to generate $10 trillion in revenue.
• It won’t be many years before we’re making 100 million robots a year.
• My long-term prediction is that Optimus will overwhelmingly be the value of [Tesla].
• I see a path for Tesla to be the most valuable company in the world, possibly bigger than the next five companies combined, overwhelmingly due to autonomous vehicles and autonomous humanoid robots.

This isn’t just hyperbole.

Independent research on the potential market size for humanoids support Musk’s enormous vision. Let’s go to ETF provider and research shop, GlobalX:

The potential market opportunity for humanoids is massive, and it’s accelerating.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and industry stakeholders believe there could be over 1 billion humanoids on Earth by the 2040s…

The potential of general-purpose humanoid robotics remains largely untapped, with their appeal being their versatility.

To estimate the market for general-purpose humanoids, GlobalX assumes 15% household penetration and a price point of $10,000 – $15,000. That results in a market size of almost $3 trillion by 2035.

When we consider the size of the market for industrial humanoids, GlobalX puts the total addressable market size at nearly $2 trillion over the next decade.

Plus, we’ll see additional bespoke humanoids created for a variety of sectors.

Bottom line: We’re looking at an enormous market only a handful of years from now…and it’s barely in its infancy today.

So, how do you invest?

Looking beyond Tesla, Luke writes Meta, Apple, Alphabet, Nvidia, and OpenAI are just a few of the companies working on aspects of humanoid technology.

If you’d prefer to spread your money around, you could go the ETF route. There are a handful of “robot” ETFs, with one example being the First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence & Robotics ETF (ROBT).

However, Tesla is still the front-runner. I’ll add that Tesla’s stock is down 51% from Christmas!

But before you open your brokerage account to buy, Luke has a related idea to consider:

I think Elon Musk and his AI robot Optimus have the potential to profoundly change the world and go down in history as Musk’s greatest achievement. 

And I’ve found a “backdoor” way to invest in this new Optimus project. 

For more on this stealth robotics play, Luke put together a free research video. You can check it out right here.

Stepping back, whether the idea of intermingling with humanoids everyday thrills or terrifies you, get ready – it’s headed our way.

Checking in on the tariff wars…

As we’ve been covering in recent Digests, tariffs have the potential to kneecap today’s relatively healthy economy.

If used briefly as negotiating leverage, our economy will likely ride through the turbulence with little more than some bumps and a few bruises.

But the longer that tariffs are in place, the greater the risk they: 1) reignite inflation, 2) drag down corporate profits, and 3) push some lower-income Americans over the financial cliff, increasing our chances of a recession.

To help you contextualize tariff-related headlines, let’s look a little closer.

On Sunday, on CBS’s Face the Nation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said:

For 30 or 40 years we have allowed countries to treat us unfairly in global trade…

But now that has to change… I understand why these countries don’t like it. The status quo of trade benefits them, they like the status quo. We don’t like the status quo.

We are going to put tariffs on countries reciprocal to what they put on us.

Theoretically, I’m on board if the ultimate goal is to force fewer trade restrictions.

But on a trade case-by-case basis, how unfairly have we been treated?

For example, as you’re aware, the Trump administration implemented a 25% tariff on imports from Canada.

Does this new levy match a 25% tariff that Canada has had in place on the U.S., per Rubio’s general suggestion?

Not from what I can tell. According to the World Trade Organization’s 2023 data, Canada’s simple average Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) applied tariff was 3.8% for all products. For agricultural products, the tariff was 14.8%.

For added perspective, prior to Trump’s 25% tariff on Canadian goods, U.S. tariffs toward Canada were somewhat like Canadian tariffs toward the U.S.

According to the Tax Foundation, the average U.S. tariff on all U.S. imports (including Canada) was approximately 2.5% in 2024. However, certain Canadian products had higher tariffs, such as softwood lumber. Last summer, President Biden raised its tariff from 8.05% to 14.54%.

Now, perhaps I’ve missed it. If you’re aware of Canada having taxed U.S. goods at 25%, email us at [email protected]. But if that’s not what was happening, then the blanket 25% tariff seems inconsistent with what we heard from Rubio.

A pushback is that the elevated Canadian tariffs are due to Canada’s inability to stop fentanyl smuggling

If this is the case, some perspective is needed.

From the Canadian government:

Fentanyl seizures by the United States Customs and Border Patrol at the Canada-U.S. border Represent less than 0.1% of U.S. fentanyl seizures between 2022 and 2024.

And for added context, between 2022 and 2024, approximately 61,900 pounds were seized at the U.S.’s southwest border with Mexico.

Meanwhile, the total weight of seizures at the Canadian border clocked in at just 59 pounds.

To be clear, we’re not against tariffs…we’re against tariffs that could tip us into a recession

On that note, let’s turn to our geopolitical expert, Charles Sizemore.

For newer Digest readers, Charles is the Chief Investment Strategist at our corporate partner, The Freeport Investor, where he marries political and macro analysis with the investment markets.

From Charles:

The general consensus going into the election was that Trump’s threat of tariffs was a negotiating tool. Many thought he wasn’t really going to slap 25% tariffs on our trading partners. It was just a warning shot to get their attention.

Trump made similar threats in 2016. And he eventually settled on a renegotiated NAFTA, rebranded as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in 2020. The USMCA created slightly better trading terms for the U.S. than the original NAFTA, but the overall agreement didn’t change all that much.

While something similar might happen this time around, it’s not looking that way. Our trading partners aren’t in a deal-making mood. They’re angry.

And businesses – American and foreign – don’t know what to do or how to plan because the tariff rates and potential starting dates are changing by the day.

Investments are frozen. Hiring is stalled. Decision makers are paralyzed. They’re waiting for the dust to settle before they do anything.

Those aren’t favorable conditions for the robust earnings that stocks need to sustain a bull market.

Charles isn’t recommending getting out of the market in The Freeport Investor. However, he is hedging his bets today while recommending investors focus on high-quality blue-chips, as well as well as energy stocks, infrastructure plays, and – you guessed it – gold stocks.

Charles’ subscribers are up 30% in one gold miner they opened last September. They’re up 49% in a second gold play opened in 2023. And Charles’ latest golden recommendation from about this time last month is up almost 6%.

To learn more about The Freeport Investor, click here. If you’re interested in how politics impacts the markets, this is a fantastic resource.

We’ll keep you updated on Charles’ latest analysis, gold, and additional tariff details here in the Digest.

Have a good evening,

Jeff Remsburg

Editor’s note: “The Top Stocks to Buy Under Trump Come From Elon Musk’s ‘BRAIN’” was previously published with the title, “The Elon Musk Method: Your Path to Peak Performance in 2025” It has since been updated to include the most relevant information available.

While Donald Trump’s second presidency is off to a volatile start on Wall Street, we think the volatility is creating some fabulous buying opportunities. And when it comes to looking for the top stocks to buy under Trump, I have a simple idea: Follow Elon Musk.

The world’s richest man has allied himself very closely with Trump. That relationship has paid off, with Musk being named the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He’s been spending a lot of time down at Mar-a-Lago. Some are even jokingly calling him “President Musk.”

His sphere of economic and political influence, if you will, seems likely to grow significantly, to arguably unprecedented levels, in 2025.

What will Musk do with that sphere of influence?

Probably a lot. But among some of the things he may do is support the industries in which he does business.

Makes sense, right?

Indeed, this appears to be already happening with Elon’s biggest company, Tesla (TSLA).

Tesla has recently made a pivot to becoming an self-driving company with the reveal of its Cybercab and Robovan cars—two autonomous cars without steering wheels. Musk’s big vision for Tesla is to roll out a robotaxi fleet of these Tesla cars to autonomously drive people all around the map.

And just recently, reports leaked that the Trump administration is considering easing regulations on self-driving cars to make it easier for companies like Tesla to roll out such autonomous fleets.

If those regulations are reduced, of course, the result will be rapid growth across the whole autonomous vehicle industry, including at Elon’s crown jewel, Tesla.

We think that is merely a microcosm of what could happen in 2025 and 2026.

The Elon Musk Playbook for 2025

Here’s what we anticipate as Musk assumes a position of power within the next administration.

He’ll likely exert his sphere of influence to help pass legislation that benefits the various industries in which he does business. Those industries will experience rapid growth, and many of the businesses therein will see enormous success.

So, maybe the best investment strategy to find the top stocks to buy under Trump in 2025 is to just follow Elon Musk.

What does that strategy involve?

I like to call it Elon’s “BRAIN” plan, which stands for the five big industries in which Elon Musk is involved:

• Biotech,
• Robotics,
• Autonomous Vehicles,
• Interplanetary Travel, and
• Nuclear.

Top Stocks to Buy Under Trump: Biotech

Elon is heavily involved in the biotech world with his promising startup Neuralink — a neurotechnology company creating implantable devices that connect the human brain directly to computers or external devices, enabling communication between the nervous system and digital systems.

The biotech world is heavily regulated, and those regulations can stall technical progress. In 2022, for example, Musk’s Neuralink applied to start human trials and was rejected by regulators.

Maybe Musk can exert his influence to help reduce the regulatory hurdles in the biotech world, thereby speeding the progress of biotech breakthroughs and potentially serving as a huge tailwind for biotech stocks.

For that reason, among various others, we like biotech stocks for 2025.

One potential pick in that space: Tempus AI (TEM). It’s a company at the cutting edge of applying AI to healthcare to create a new era of personalized healthcare. We think they’re doing some very cool stuff. If the biotech industry does catch fire in 2025, we expect TEM stock to lead the way.

Robotics

Musk has also recently leaned heavily into the robotics world, creating a new humanoid robot at Tesla called Optimus, which he believes will be the biggest part of the Tesla business over time. While robotics are still in their infancy, one can imagine that the deployment of a humanoid robot will face massive regulatory hurdles.

Maybe Musk will exert his influence to reduce those hurdles. If he does, that could create a clearer path for mass robotics adoption, which would drive more talent and money into the robotics industry, speed up technical progress, and ultimately serve as a tailwind for robotics stocks.

That’s one reason we really like robotics stocks for 2025, too.

A potential pick in that space is Symbotic (SYM). They make full robotic systems to automate fulfillment in warehouses and are already working to automate pretty much all of Walmart’s regional distribution centers in the U.S. We think that stock has a bright future.

Autonomous Vehicles

We’ve already discussed Elon’s involvement in the autonomous vehicle space. He is essentially betting Tesla’s whole future on autonomy, and we think Elon, therefore, has a huge financial incentive to help make self-driving cars not just a reality across America, but a ubiquity, too.

Tesla stock is an attractive option in the world of autonomous vehicles, but our favorite pick may be Aurora (AUR), an autonomous trucking startup set to launch America’s first fully self-driving truck in just a few months.

Aurora recently announced a big partnership with Nvidia (NVDA) to help accelerate its autonomous trucking ambitions. Very cool firm.

Interplanetary Travel

And then there’s interplanetary travel—or, more broadly, the space economy—which Elon is very much involved in through his second-biggest company, SpaceX.

We think it is entirely possible that a push emerges over the next few years to increasingly privatize space travel and exploration, which could lead to an increasing number of space business contracts for companies like SpaceX, Rocket Lab (RKLB), Planet Labs (PL), AST SpaceMobile (ASTS), and more.

Those space stocks could see huge success in 2025.

Nuclear

Lastly, there’s nuclear. Nuclear energy has emerged as a favorite energy source among Big Tech firms to power their energy-intensive AI data centers. Elon Musk is not directly involved with any nuclear energy company, but he is involved with creating massive AI data centers, and he has said previously that shutting down nuclear plants is “total madness” and that modern nuclear power plants are “extremely safe.” He has also said that he is a “believer in nuclear fission.”

From the looks of it, Musk is pro-nuclear. Nuclear energy, of course, is subject to massive regulations. For example, just a few months ago, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected a proposal from Amazon to secure more power for one of its major data centers from a nearby nuclear power plant.

Musk and Trump could collectively reduce those regulations and allow for more nuclear energy plant construction and power generation. That would, obviously, provide a huge boost to nuclear energy stocks like Constellation Energy (CEG) and Vistra (VST).

The Final Word on BRAIN: the Musk Method

The big takeaway here is that perhaps the best investment strategy in 2025 is to follow Elon’s BRAIN: invest in biotech, robotics, autonomous vehicles, interplanetary travel, and nuclear energy—the five industries in which we believe Musk has the most incentive to boost through political means.

Perhaps our favorite part of the Elon BRAIN strategy is the “R”—robotics—mostly because it appears to be Elon’s favorite, too.

Elon said on a conference call with Wall Street a few weeks ago that he thinks “Optimus will be the overwhelmingly value of [Tesla]” and that “Optimus has the potential to be north of $10 trillion in revenue.”

We think robotics represent the next big breakthrough in AI, and Elon is betting the farm on it with Optimus.

Does that mean you should buy Tesla stock?

Maybe, but we think there are better ways to play Optimus…

Learn all about these lesser-known investment opportunities.

_{On the date of publication, Luke Lango did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.}

P.S. You can stay up to speed with Luke’s latest market analysis by reading our Daily Notes! Check out the latest issue on your Innovation Investor or Early Stage Investor subscriber site.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, folks!

Unfortunately, luck was not on investors’ sides last week, as the markets experienced another bout of brutal selloffs. In fact, the S&P 500 briefly closed in correction territory on Thursday. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ is still in one and has led the overall market lower the past two weeks.

So, in the latest Navellier Market Buzz, I discuss what’s going on in the market and why I’m not bothered by strategists lowering their S&P 500 price targets. I also talk about China’s deflation problems, the U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity surge (and the stocks benefitting from it), what to expect from the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC), as well as answer a few investor questions.

Plus, I review NVIDIA Corporation’s (NVDA) performance last week and touch on its AI Developer Conference, which started today. Developers from all over the country are coming together in San Jose, California, to share their insights and ambitions for the future of AI.

Now, the most important event of NVIDIA’s conference will come on Thursday, when CEO Jensen Huang hosts Quantum Day, or “Q Day.” Industry leaders will come together to talk about the future of quantum computing and what they plan to do with it. I held a special summit – The Next Nvidia 50X Call – last week to share what I expect from Q Day. Click here to view the replay.

Click the play button below to watch now!

Hello, Reader.

If we had to sum up the last several weeks into one unifying theme, I think we could all agree that “unpredictable” does the trick.

But as we’ve seen with the recent selloffs, unpredictability is one major reason why the stock market has been struggling to stay on track.

It doesn’t like uncertainty. Never has, never will… especially not when that uncertainty is self-inflicted.

The good news is that even a small dose of consistency from the White House would go a long way toward helping the stock market stabilize. The bad news is that no one can predict when, or even if, that might occur.

As investors, we can only guess what might happen next, then do our best to set a course that is as immune as possible to the rapid-fire edicts and policy revisions issuing forth from the White House.

During the months leading up to Trump’s inauguration, I made a few guesses about how stock market trends might unfold in 2025… and I wasn’t entirely wrong.

For instance, I predicted that “lowly valued… foreign stock markets [would] outperform the S&P 500 this year… the Japanese stock market, for example, could deliver a surprisingly strong performance.”

When I wrote about the opportunity coming from the Japanese stocks here at Smart Money back in January, I mentioned that the resurgence of Japan’s Nikkei 225 index over the last couple of years could be signaling a new era of superior economic growth. Already, the Japanese economy has regained a solid financial footing.

Japanese businesses are also opening their wallets and spending. Capital investment rose 8.1% last year and is trending sharply higher. Expressed as a percentage of GDP, capital investment has climbed to 26%, which is the highest level in 16 years.

Japanese stocks are beginning to reflect these positive trends. That is why, at the time, I had recommended a play on Japanese stocks to my Fry’s Investment Report subscribers.

And since issuing my forecast, that recommendation has advanced 6.5%, compared to the S&P 500’s 4.0% loss over the same time frame. I expect this outperformance to continue.

This trade offers a compelling way to diversify from U.S. stocks. Assuming the Japanese economy continues its current growth trajectory, this play could produce solid double-digit gains for several years – even if the U.S. stock market falters somewhat.

We will continue to keep an eye on ever-changing current events and White House pronouncements. But we will keep a closer eye on the factors we can control, like buying solid stocks with superior investment prospects, no matter if they be tech stocks or non-tech stocks… and no matter if they trade here in the U.S. or in a foreign market.

These are the types of companies that I have, and will continue to, focus on at Fry’s Investment Report. To learn more about becoming a member today, click here.

Now, let’s look at what we covered here at Smart Money this past week…

Smart Money Roundup

How to Escape the ‘Tyranny of the Immediate’ in Investing

The market has experienced significant declines, with major indexes falling to multi-month lows and numerous stocks entering bear market territory. While these conditions are challenging, history shows that corrections inevitably create future investment opportunities. In this issue, I caution against the “Tyranny of the Immediate” mindset that develops during bull markets and share how one Wall Street legend isn’t falling for it, either… and where he’s looking instead.

The Selloff Continues – Here’s Why and What to Do Now

In Thursday’s Smart Money, Tom Yeung discusses last week’s severe market turmoil due to selloffs triggered by President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. But America’s issues go beyond tariff news. Read on as Tom explains the unsteady market and reveals why we’re still bullish on certain companies… and where you can find them.

Quantum Stocks Just Had Their Breakout Moment – This Is Only the Beginning

Last week, the company D-Wave Quantum achieved quantum supremacy by completing a complex scientific simulation in 20 minutes that would take a traditional supercomputer nearly a million years. As a result, D-Wave’s shares popped 11% on the news. As this technology is rapidly advancing from theoretical to practical applications, major tech companies like Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) are investing heavily in quantum computing. Continue reading for more on why Louis Navellier wants you to get in on a specific investment opportunity before the market fully catches on.

Why Awful Consumer Sentiment Data Makes Us Excited About Stocks

Consumer sentiment has dropped sharply, hitting its lowest level since November 2022. Despite the pessimism, economic fundamentals remain solid: positive GDP growth, steady customer spending, low unemployment, declining inflation, strong wage growth, and healthy corporate profits. This disconnect has Luke Lango suggesting sentiment may rebound soon, potentially lifting stocks.

Looking Ahead

With all the recent market volatility, everyone may be wondering, “Is the AI boom over?”

The short answer: no.

In fact, I’ve been keeping my eye on new AI technology so powerful that it could secure America’s supremacy in the 21st century… and that’s no exaggeration.

This technology comes from Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI. It’s a supercomputer that Musk called “the most powerful AI training system in the world.” And I’ve found company that has partnered with Musk in this new project.

I’ll share more about this project in your next Smart Money. Stay tuned.

Regards,

Eric Fry

Earnings forecasts are robust, but are there blind spots? … low-income homeowners are on shaky ground … mounting delinquencies … tariffs are the wildcard

As we noted in last Friday’s Digest, our recently completed earnings season was strong, and earnings forecasts are robust.

Our economy appears to be in solid shape.

But as we’ve highlighted in numerous past Digests, we have a K-shaped economy. Higher-income Americans have done quite well in recent years as their assets float atop inflation. However, lower-income Americans have struggled to make ends meet as high prices continue to stretch budgets.

Do the struggles of lower-income Americans signal cracks in our economy that aren’t fully represented in robust earnings forecasts?

Let’s begin by looking at the housing sector.

Low-income homeowners are on shaky ground

In 2013, as part of the broader Ability-to-Repay (ATR) requirements of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, lenders targeted a debt-to-income (DTI) ratio threshold of 43% when evaluating qualifying borrowers.

A DTI above 43% was seen as increasingly risky since those borrowers have a harder time making payments if financial stress increases.

However, this underwriting standard loosened for loans eligible for purchase by government-sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Unfortunately, this paved the way for a marked ramp-up in risky loans.

Here’s The Wall Street Journal:

In 2007, 35% of new FHA [Federal Housing Administration] borrowers had debt-to-income ratios above 43%.

By 2020, 54% did.

As housing prices and inflation surged, borrowers became more stretched.

The FHA kept insuring mortgages to borrowers who were increasingly leveraged. About 64% of FHA borrowers last year exceeded the 43% threshold.

The FHA loan portfolio is far riskier than it was before the 2008 housing crisis.

The WSJ article highlights American Enterprise Institute analysis that estimates that 79% of FHA first-time borrowers have one month or less in financial reserves. Given today’s inflation-elevated prices, this leaves little-to-no financial cushion for many of these borrowers to make their mortgage payments if household expenses rise.

Back to the WSJ:

No surprise, many are missing payments, especially recent borrowers.

About 7.05% of FHA mortgages issued last year went seriously delinquent—90 or more days past when a payment is due—within 12 months. That’s more than at the 2008 peak of the subprime bubble (7.02%).

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, while the “seriously delinquent” rate for conventional loans climbed just 2 basis points over the year ending in Q4 2024, the “seriously delinquent” rate for FHA and VA loans exploded 70 basis points.

In February, the Intercontinental Exchange monthly report on the housing market concluded that FHA and Veterans Affairs loans delinquencies are “likely to serve as canaries in the coal mine for mortgage performance in this cycle.”

So, why haven’t these delinquencies been a major problem so far?

The WSJ has an answer:

Under the guise of Covid relief, the Biden administration masked the growing troubles in the housing market by paying off borrowers and mortgage servicers to prevent foreclosures.

Of the 52,531 FHA loans last year that went seriously delinquent within their first year, only nine resulted in foreclosure.

The FHA instituted a program that pays mortgage servicers to make borrowers’ missed payments for them. Missed payments are added to the loan’s principal, but without interest…

One result is that many FHA borrowers owe more than their original mortgage and more than their homes are worth. They are essentially trapped in their homes even if they want to sell and move…

Another result is that home prices keep increasing because borrowers who don’t pay their mortgages—and never should have qualified for loans—can’t get foreclosed on or be forced to sell their homes. 

Without these protective policies in place, we’d likely be seeing significantly more delinquencies, and potentially, foreclosures. Instead, these policies have masked growing weakness in this part of our K-shaped economy.

But we are seeing evidence of this weakness in many other areas.

Growing pain points for millions of Americans

Millions of Americans are having increasing trouble making their payments on…well, just about everything.

In March of 2020, President Trump initiated a student loan repayment pause under the CARES Act due to Covid-19.

President Biden extended that pause several times, even attempting to implement several initiatives aimed at reducing or eliminating many student loans. Altogether, his efforts targeted roughly 4.3 million borrowers with a loan amount of approximately $153 billion.

Most of those loan cancellations were struck down by the Supreme Court. And with the pause in student loans having ended last September, delinquency payments are back on the rise.

From Forbes, two weeks ago:

After the three-year pandemic pause and resumption of federal student loan repayments, delinquency rates have doubled in just a few months, according to Education Department data obtained by The Washington Post.

Millions of borrowers are struggling to keep up with their monthly bills now that payments are required again.

Roughly four million federal student loan borrowers are already behind on payments, a sharp spike in distress that has alarmed policymakers and advocates. 

Meanwhile, car loan delinquencies are rising.

Here’s Axios from January:

Americans are missing their car payments at the highest rate in decades, according to Fitch Ratings data…

Car costs, including loans and insurance, have soared in an economy where consumers are showing mounting signs of stress.

6.6% of subprime auto borrowers were at least 60 days past due on their loans as of January 2025.

This is the highest level since the agency began collecting data. The fall and winter of 2024 saw the next highest subprime delinquency rates.

Credit card delinquency rates are up too.

Here’s PYMNTS, last month:

Consumers loaded up on their credit cards in the fourth quarter of the year – which encompassed the holiday shopping season lasting through November and December.

Card balances surged by $45 billion, even while delinquency rates are, per the Fed’s language, “elevated” …

We haven’t seen these levels of delinquency in years — and in fact, not since the fourth quarter of 2011.

Let’s not forget home insurance premiums.

Insurance companies are getting hammered on claims as the last 12 months have brought a series of high-impact insurance events (hurricanes, floods, fires). And this means most homeowners are getting hammered on premiums – even if they don’t live in those high-impact areas.

Here’s CBC News:

The average homeowners insurance premium jumped 33% from 2020 to 2023, rising from $1,902 per year to $2,530, according to 2024 research from economists at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and the University of Wisconsin. By comparison, inflation rose about 18% during that same time period…

Yet even property owners in states considered less vulnerable to climate disasters are now grappling with increased insurance costs and dropped policies — issues that threaten to undermine property values…

“One thing that is surprising is that Kansas and Nebraska and these places in the middle of the country are also seeing these huge increases in insurance.”

Bottom line: Altogether, lower-income Americans are feeling increased financial pressure. Have we captured this risk fully in our earnings projections?

Now, let’s add tens of thousands of Americans who are, or will be, out of jobs as DOGE trims the federal workforce

The good news is that the unemployment rate remains relatively low. The bad news is that employers aren’t eager to hire. Last December, a Bank of America analyst referred to today’s market situation as a “low-hire, low-fire environment.”

What’s going to happen when tens of thousands of now-fired federal workers enter this “low-hire” labor pool?

What are the knock-on effects for their mortgage payments… student loans… credit card bills… and overall monthly budgets?

The uncertainty of our escalating trade war

As we’ve been highlighting in today’s Digest, lower-income Americans are running out of room to absorb additional financial pressure. But it appears that’s what’s on the way with tariffs.

As I’ve noted before, if tariffs are a brief tool used to negotiate lower reciprocal tariffs from other nations, that’s one thing. But the longer that tariffs remain in effect (and/or the threat of tariffs), the greater the risk of meaningful economic damage.

We’re running long today, so I’ll let former President Ronald Reagan make this point.

From Reagan in 1987:

At first, when someone says “let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports, it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes, for short while it works. But only for a short time…

High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. The result is more and more tariffs. Higher and higher trade barriers and less and less competition.

Soon, because of the prices made artificially high by tariffs that subsidize inefficiency and poor management, people stop buying.

Then the worst happens.

Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries shut down, and millions of people lose their jobs…

Over the long run, [tariffs] hurt every American worker and consumer.

To be clear, we’re not predicting this grim outcome.

But the U.S. consumers in the lower half of our K-shaped economy are running out of financial breathing room. So, tariff-related economic damage doesn’t need to be severe to push these consumers over the proverbial cliff-edge, impacting corporate profits…our economy…and our portfolios.

For everyone’s sake, let’s hope we avoid this.

We’ll continue to monitor these developments in the Digest.

Shifting gears, a quick reminder before we sign off…

This Thursday is Nvidia’s “Quantum Day.” It’s going to bring together industry leaders, developers, and partners to explore the future of quantum computing.

Legendary investor Louis Navellier believes Nvidia will also announce a big move into quantum computing – and potentially, a partnership with one specific small-cap quantum company. If this happens, Louis believes that this company’s small-cap stock has 50X-return potential.

Last week, Louis held a live event to fill in the details. If you missed it, you can catch the free replay right here.

From Louis:

This Thursday,I believe Nvidia will stake its claim in the quantum computing space. And when it does, this little-known top pick could erupt overnight.

Last week, I revealed everything you need to know about Q-Day – including details on my No. 1 stock pick that could explode in the wake of NVIDIA’s announcement.

I’m telling folks about it before Nvidia’s Q-Day on March 20.

My goal for this briefing is to get you AHEAD of the crowd… AHEAD of the news outlets…

Here’s the link again for Louis free briefing.

Have a good evening,

Jeff Remsburg

During these busy times, it pays to stay on top of the latest profit opportunities. And today’s blog post should be a great place to start. After taking a close look at the latest data on institutional buying pressure and each company’s fundamental health, I decided to revise my Stock Grader recommendations for 133 big blue chips. Chances are that you have at least one of these stocks in your portfolio, so you may want to give this list a skim and act accordingly.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/market360/2025/03/20250317-blue-chip-upgrades-downgrades/.

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