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carl-delfeld

Carl Delfeld

Chief Analyst, Cabot Explorer

Carl Delfeld is a member of the Cabot investment team, and chief analyst of Cabot Explorer.

He received his Masters in Law and Diplomacy at the Tufts Fletcher School; worked for the First National Bank of Boston (now Bank of America) in London, serving as director of the Japan and South Korea Group; served as vice president at the investment bank Robert W. Baird & Company, developing new business in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney; was Asia advisor to the U.S. Congressional Joint Economic Committee, the U.S. Finance Committee and the U.S. Department of the Treasury; wrote for Forbes Asia and the Far Eastern Economic Review; served as a member on the U.S. National Committee on Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission; was chairman of the Asian Pension Forum and wrote a book, titled, Red, White & Bold; the New American Century.

From this author
Southeast Asia is perhaps the biggest growth region of the 21st century. And most Southeast Asian stocks have only begun to grow. Here are 2.
As the world races to combat global warming, it will need nuclear power to do it. And these three nuclear energy stocks should benefit.
This week the Fed left interests rates again unchanged and Super Micro Computer (SMCI) became part of the S&P 500 index. An announcement of a two million convertible shares offering by Super Micro led to a pullback in the stock though long term, it’s smart to raise capital after the sharp rise in the share price.

Elsewhere, Washington is fixated on the potential push to force a change in the ownership of TikTok while China, as strongly expected, objects. This is a bit ironic since X, Instagram, Facebook, and Google aren’t available to Chinese citizens.
Contrary to the belief of many Americans, Tesla (TSLA) is not the world’s largest EV maker, that honor belongs to BYD. But is BYD (BYDDY) stock a buy?
Luxury leader LVMH Moët Hennessy (LVMUY) CEO Bernard Arnault has a mantra that can be applied to business and investing: “In times of uncertainty, be patient.”

I would add that this requires playing both defense and offense.

Our offense has been working quite well of late: Super Micro Computer’s (SMCI) share price was up another 40% this week and is now up 300% since the start of the year. Sea (SE) had a good first week in our portfolio as well, up 22% after an encouraging financial report.
Investing in monopolies is a good way to make money. But it can be difficult for U.S. investors. Where to find them? Start overseas.
It was a relatively quiet week for Explorer stocks as a financial media frenzy focused an unprecedented amount of attention on the expected financials of one stock – Nvidia (NDVA).

Nvidia has quickly become the third most valuable company in the United States.

As of last Friday, about 30% of the S&P 500’s gain for the year was due to Nvidia, according to an S&P analyst.
U.S. stocks, buoyed by positive earnings, continued their move higher this week with the S&P 500 within striking distance of the 5,000 milestone.

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) shares performed even better, surging another 26% this week alone, and are now up over 100% in 2024. I suggest that you seriously consider taking some partial profits and letting the balance run. Super Micro is a leveraged play on Nvidia (NVDA) and other advanced chips for AI since it sells to the servers and systems that incorporate and support those premium chips in data centers.
Given recent market volatility, it’s time to refocus on managing portfolios and reducing stock investing risk. These tips will help.
In my view, the best strategy for overseas markets is to play the trends with a contrarian value approach. For example, the Hang Seng China Enterprises index, a closely followed gauge of large Chinese listings in Hong Kong, has fallen about 11% so far this month after losing 14% last year. Foreign investors have sold about 90% of the $33 billion worth of Chinese stocks that they had purchased earlier in 2023 and have continued selling this year.

So today, we go against the grain on China.
Emerging markets are a great investment, but frontier markets have even higher growth potential. Here are seven reasons they’re not as risky as you think.
Moat stocks are shares of companies with powerful economic moats that help ensure profitability for the long haul. They’re also a favorite of legendary investor Warren Buffett.
A major challenge in 2024 for investors and analysts alike will be separating the artificial intelligence (AI) “pretenders” from the “contenders.” Super Micro Computer (SMCI), a recent Explorer recommendation, was up 23% this week, and Exscientia (EXAI) shares were up 13% yesterday.
Winston Churchill’s amazing life offers some useful lessons that can be applied to investing. Here are 7 investing lessons we can take away.
Harvard University has the largest endowment in the world, and there’s one key difference that differentiates it from how we might run our own portfolios.
Welcome news: The Fed holds interest rates steady in a sign tightening has peaked and that rates cuts may be coming in 2024. Big positive for stocks.

One of the Explorer’s themes is the exciting and potentially profitable sector of medicine and life sciences. A success story is Novo Nordisk (NVO), which is up about 45% this year. The Denmark-based company has been the talk of the pharma and medical world and even Hollywood with stars trying the firm’s diabetes and weight-loss medicines, Ozempic and Wegovy.
Nvidia has surpassed Intel as the largest semiconductor company by market cap. So let’s break down Intel vs. Nvidia stock.
Many analysts now expect a “Goldilocks scenario,” with the economy growing nicely but not too fast. This would mean that the Fed does not need to worry about raising interest rates further to combat inflation. Good news for stocks.

I would like to clarify there are two reasons that I remove a stock as an Explorer recommendation. When I recommend a stock, I expect that it will deliver appreciation and dividends over the long haul unless I highlight that it is a more of a short-term trading opportunity.
With a 29% average annual rate of return over 13 years at Fidelity, Peter Lynch certainly earned his status as a legendary investor.

Recently, Lynch revealed that indexes like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have been propped up by a handful of high-flying tech stocks. “The truth is, we’ve been in a stealth bear market for a long while now if you don’t count those 10 or so darling mega-caps,” Lynch remarked with his trademark sarcasm.

That may soon be coming to an end.
When considering electric vehicle (EV) stocks, investors would be well-served to broaden their horizons and look internationally.
Tech investors need to understand the linkage between companies and stocks, such as Apple (AAPL) and its two most critical inputs: Taiwan Semi (TSM) and Foxconn.
Over the past month Tesla (TSLA) has struggled as continued price cuts have boosted sales but narrowed profit margins. It is also failing to live up to its brand as more than just a maker of electric cars (EVs).

Higher interest rates are eating into EV demand. Competition is catching up as Tesla last launched a new passenger vehicle in 2020. In October, BYD (BYDDY) outsold Tesla for the first time.
America is often called the breadbasket of the world, and these two food stocks can help ensure it remains a food superpower for years to come.
This was an encouraging week for Explorer stocks with almost all making gains and Novo Nordisk (NVO) shares up 10%. Chile’s lithium and food fertilizer play, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM), also got off to a nice start in its first week as an Explorer recommendation.

And today, we get into America’s decline as a food superpower - and reveal which emerging market is filling the void.
An economic moat can be the difference between a company that soars and one that stumbles or fails completely. Here’s why you should add some stocks with moats to your portfolio.
The market and most Explorer positions struggled a bit this week except Conoco (COP), which is benefitting from crude oil hitting 2023 highs. Consumers and businesses are looking forward to the Fed ending interest rate increases as the inflation fight continues. Food inflation slowed to about 3% year-over-year in August, down from a troubling 13% a year earlier. Those topics, plus Japan, China and the electric vehicle arms race, in today’s Cabot Explorer update.
Robots aren’t taking over the world the way some had feared, but robotics are a big industry. Play the trend with this Japanese robot stock.
The global middle class is expanding, and many of those consumers like to buy luxury items. And that bodes well for these 3 luxury stocks.
The Chinese economy is stronger than it’s getting credit for, but is it strong enough to make shares of China’s largest Internet and consumer stock Alibaba (BABA) a buy?
This was an interesting week with news ranging from inflation to AI, tech struggles between the U.S. and China, and Tesla’s edge in terms of labor costs.

On Capitol Hill in Washington, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates and others worth an estimated $500 billion, according to Forbes, met for a closed-door Senate summit on AI.

Consumer prices rose 0.6% in August, the largest increase since June of 2022. An 11% jump in gasoline prices was the main problem, which led to a fall in average real earnings.