December 21: Winter is now here. More importantly, it appears more and more like an inflection point in the stock markets. The underlying economy is strong and the housing market is even better. Above trend growth is projected into next year and even with the end of the Fed taper and raising short-term rates 3 times, real-interest rates will remain negative. Negative real rates do not portend a recession. The Omicron variant is going to infect everyone, but those who are vaccinated and with boosters will be fine.

As for the Omicron stock swoon into correction territory, I wouldn’t be concerned it will continue unabated. Supply-chain constraints are rapidly disappearing, including those in the micro-chip industry. That means new cars will soon begin to show up at dealerships. Companies have also shown they are getting much better at working around and managing supply constraints. Eventually, more will be positive than negative and the stock markets will begin to reflect this.

Some growth stocks to consider are: AMKBY, MATX, BLDR, CTRN, BCC, DFIN, LAD, TITN, and GMS. Some good dividend stocks to take a look at are: SPH, ZIM, APTS, GOGL, GES, and KRO. Over the last 3 months the three top ETFs were XSD, SOXX, and FTXL. Some CEFs you might want to buy include HYB, ECC, BSTZ, BST, BME, BMEZ, BUI, and UTG. Good Investing!