May 24: It seems that economic cross-currents remain and provide no clear answer for the future path of stocks. The May 20, 2026, Fidelity Viewpoints notes the following:
- Soaring earnings and AI spending are fueling a bull market with signs of resilience.
- An extended oil crunch could lead to higher rates and inflation that might weigh on stocks.
- Investors may be underestimating the severity of global energy supply stress.
- The path of oil prices could determine whether stocks soar or stumble.
Thus, “Energy prices may hold the keys to where the stock market goes next.”
A chart illustrating the causes of the oil supply crunch, as presented in the Fidelity Viewpoints article, appears below.
Source: Bloomberg, as of May 10, 2026
Compounding the economic situation with economic and political policies that are dependent upon our kakistocracy government, we cannot make any sure bets regarding future stock prices. I would continue to build up cash reserves using a fund such as BOXX, for example.
Given that we are in something of an investment purgatory, there are still some vetted stocks to consider. For growth, stocks such as CENX, ALB, DRD, MU, YPF, LYB, SBLK, MTDR, INR, VIST, PBF, and MEOH should be given closer attention. For growth and dividends, consider: BP, ECO, SBLK, SHIP, ABEV, BBDC, CURI, and DEC. From the highest rate of growth to the lowest, the ETFs that performed best over the previous three months were: XSD, FTXL, PSI, SOXX, and SOXQ.
Many of these stocks and funds are related to energy prices and the AI investment boom. Investing in those two areas is likely to pay off the most. As always, good investing!
