Election Uncertainty, Confusing Markets, and Six Stocks to Keep You Grounded

Well, here we are. The polling places are long-closed, the USPS swears the ballots are in the mail, yet we do not have a name to etch into the trophy for the 46^th President of the United States. 

Eh, not that big a deal. 

I had to run an errand this morning. I drove past what looked like a father, maybe 60, dressed appropriately for a Baltimore autumn, which typically means plenty of flannel with just the right amount of tweed to say, “I’ve done OK in my time.”

He was trailing either his son or son-in-law. Between them staggered what my fatherly experience tells me was the man’s 14-month-old granddaughter. She had that wobbly confidence that tends to come just after the first birthday — like she’s announcing herself to the world in the Navajo tradition. “I made it through the trial period, I’m now one of the people.”

I didn’t need any experience to tell me this was a little girl. The pink hat and off-the-scale cuteness were dead giveaways.

She was enthralled by the pine twig she was swinging around, hitting the ground with it or at least coming close — one of the magical moments where you’re just captivated. I almost veered into the cars parked on the right side of the road. 

My fatherly experience chimed in again and said, “You know, she’s gonna hit herself in the face with that stick and cry bloody murder.” Life: You can’t live without it…

This Too Shall Pass 

That little girl reminded me that all politics are local, and I like the way the future looks here in Baltimore and my hometown of Richmond, Virginia. We’re gonna pass this world to a pretty bright bunch of kids who have some strong ideas about what they wanna see in it.

It might seem like they have more in common with each other than the members of my generation. But let ‘em get a mortgage and a couple of stick-waving kids and they’ll probably be most concerned with hustling to work, feeding their families, and trying to show their kids that there is still magic in the small moments… like us.

Anyway… time for me to leave that moment and GET TO WORK!

That means talking about how we make some loot. 

First thing: I will confess that the market action over the last week was a bit confusing. The market is supposed to be a pretty good prognosticator, but I couldn’t figure out what the message was.

Seemed to me the market liked the Trump presidency. It doesn’t like change, so the strength seemed to be forecasting a Trump win. But then we got some big drops last week. Did that mean investors were suddenly believing the polls?

I owe the market an apology for thinking it was sending mixed messages. Turns out it was me, market, not you.

Biden Stocks

As you might expect, I have thoughts. And I will share them.

First, we have achieved gridlock. Markets like that because it will prevent radical change. 

We will likely get some kind of stimulus sooner than later. GOP can now let Biden have an easy win in exchange for… a delay on those corporate tax cuts? 

I’ve talked to you already about China. I know, the stock I mentioned, Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX), is down today. It’s still at five-year highs and this run ain’t done. 

Big tech obviously likes a softer stance on China. So does Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX). 

Biden has been cast as anti-oil, anti-fracking. Eh, the market has been doing this work for him anyway. And if Biden actually moves to restrict drilling, that will be good for oil prices. A U.S. oil company with assets that aren’t dependent on fracking — like Apache (NASDAQ: APA) — could work well. 

COVID: Biden will likely make this his first priority. A company that makes PPE, like Alpha Pro Tech (NYSE: APT), could be a good play.

Five states said yes to marijuana. Big dog for cultivation. Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE: SMG) likes this. If you don’t wanna grow it, a smaller medical marijuana stock like Cresco Labs (OTC: CRLBF) seems pretty happy today.

OK, that’s what I got so far. Take good care.

Until next time,

Briton Ryle

@BritonRyle on Twitter

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A 21-year veteran of the newsletter business, Briton Ryle is the editor of The Wealth Advisory income stock newsletter, with a focus on top-quality dividend growth stocks and REITs. Briton also manages the Real Income Trader advisory service, where his readers take regular cash payouts using a low-risk covered call option strategy. He is also the managing editor of the Wealth Daily e-letter. To learn more about Briton, click here.