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STOCKS/ACCIONES & ETFS (Note: Text in brown below are clickable links.   (D) means the stock/ETF has daily options with high liquidity. (W) means the stock/ETF has weekly options with high liquidity. (F) means that there is a corresponding futures contract. --- (D) significa que la acción/ETF tiene opciones diarias con alta liquidez. (W) significa que la acción/ETF tiene opciones semanales con alta liquidez. (F) significa que existe un contrato de futuros correspondiente. The numbers in brackets, '[]', are the dividend (if any), the rough cost of a one-week/one-month option.
[trend up / trend down: tendencia al alza / tendencia a la baja] )

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Links to industrial sectors below: Big Tech, Financials, Metals, Cryptocurrencies, Drugs/Biotech, Energy, Oil, Industrials, Retail, Dividends, Colombia, India/Bharat, China, Nihon/Japan, Currencies, Commodities, Insurance

Links to special collections: zombie Can't Beat SPY/GLD, and no-alpha vices Drugs, Dopamine & Guns

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INDEXES / ÍNDICES

• SPY (D)(F) - SPDR SP500 ETF Trust [1.27%, $4/$6] (NYSE) (trend up)
       The leader of State Street's SPDR ETFS. For over 20 years, Berkshire Hathway (BRB-B) (see below) has outperform the SPY, and thus better for stock trading. SPY still better for options trading. For long term holders, it has a higher annual fee (0.09%). It has $672 billion in assets.
• VOO (W) (trend up)
       - the Vanguard SP500 ETF exactly tracks the SPY. VOO is the biggest of the three, with $1.4 trillion in assets, a slightly higher dividend than the SPY (1.15%) and a lower annual fee (0.03%). Only has weekly options, as does the IVV.
• IVV (W) (trend up)
       - the Blackrock's iShares Core SP500 ETF tracks the SPY. Second in AUMs with $701 billion, also a slightly higher dividend (1.16%), and the same lower annual fee (0.03%).

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• SPLG (M) - SPDR Portfolio SP500 ETF [1.27%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       this exactly tracks the SPY, but costs about 1/8th as much. SPDR funds are offered by State Street.
• SPX (D) - SP500 Index (trend up)
       The SPX is the actual SP500 index. There are no shares corresponding to the SPX, so all settlements are in cash. It has daily expiring options, and good volume/liquidity, but unlike SPY options, SPX options are traded European-style - you have to hold them until expiry. SPX raw prices are multiplied by 0.1 to scale the graphs to the SPY.
• VIX (W) - CBOE Volatility Index
  VIXY (W) - VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (trend down)
       The VIX is the 30-day expected volatilty of the SP500, based on call and put options. There are no shares corresponding to the VIX, so all settlements are in cash. It has weekly expiring options, and good volume/liquidity, and like the SPX options, VIX options are traded European-style - you have to hold them until expiry. The VXX ETN (below) is a horrible investment, steadily declining since its inception - it is created with futures. Much the same for the VIXY.
• VXX - iPath SP500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN [0.0%, $0.40/$0.60] (CBOE) (trend down)
       The VXX ETN is a horrible investment, steadily declining since its inception - it is created with futures. From a close of 969 in in March 2020 to 12 in July 2024. Just as horrible is the VIXY (a VIX ETF), VXZ and VIXM.

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• QQQ (D)(F) - Invesco QQQ (Nasdaq 100) Trust [0.53%, $4/$7] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       Since the dot-com crash of 2000, the QQQ has somewhat outperformed the SPY, the QQQ surfing the wave of tech bubbles. Interestingly, the owner of QQQ, Invesco, has a lousy stock performance, pretty much flat for the last 30 years.
• NDX (D) - Nasdaq 100 Index (trend up)
       The NDX is the actual Nasdaq index. There are no shares corresponding to the NDX, so all settlements are in cash. It has daily expiring options, and good volume/liquidity, but unlike QQQ options, NDX options are traded European-style - you have to hold them until expiry. NDX raw prices are multiplied by 0.0245 to scale the graphs to the QQQ.
• TQQQ - Invesco ProShares Ultrapro QQQ (Nasdaq 100) Trust [0.75%a] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       The QQQ on sterioids, tripled leveraged.
• SCHG - Schwab US Large-Cap Growth ETF (M) [0.4%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       SCHG has outperformed the SPY since 2010, by closely tracking the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index. But as its five biggest holdings are Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms, it is as much a Nasdaq clone and/or an AI bubble rider, since it has much tracked the QQQ.

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• IWM (D)(F) - Russell 2000 ETF [1.27% $3/$4] (NYSE) (trend up)
       The SP600 index, often discussed, much tracks the IWM, so if you want to trade based on the SP600 index, you can use the IWN.
• RUT (D) - Russell 2000 Index (trend up)
       The RUT is the actual Russell 2000 index. There are no shares corresponding to RUT, so all settlements are in cash. It has daily expiring options, and good volume/liquidity, but unlike IWM options, RUT options are traded European-style - you have to hold them until expiry. RUT raw prices are multiplied by 0.10 to scale the graphs to the QQQ.
• DIA (W) - SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF [1.7%] (NYSE) (trend up)

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• EAF - (trend up)
       A BlackRock ETF whose price and yield performance of publicly traded securities in the European, Australasian and Far Eastern markets. Since launch in 2001, it has underperformed the SPY even with its somewhat higher yield.
• DAX - DAX (German Stock Exchange) ETF [2.3%% $1/$2] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• XRT - SPDR S&P Retail ETF [1.22%, $1/$1.50] (NYSE) (trend up)
• SH - ProShares Short SP500 [6.02%] (NYSE) (trend down)
       One can also use the signals for SPY, but do the opposite, since SH moves in the opposite direction from SPY.
• SDY - SPDR S&P Dividend ETF [2.54%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• BTAL - AGF USA Market Neural Anti-Beta Fund [3.3%] (NYSE) (trend flat)
       The Fund seeks performance results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Thematic Market Neutral Anti-Beta Index (symbol: ^DJTMNSV). The Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in common stocks that are in the Target Anti-Beta Index. The index is designed to measure the performance of a long/short strategy utilizing long positions in value companies and short positions in growth companies.

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• BRK-B - Berkshire Hathaway (W) [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       For decades, Berkshire outperformed the SPY, though with no dividend. Since October 2023, the SPY has been outperforming BRK-B, with BRK-B being flat from October 2024 to October 2025 while the SPY is up 20%. Has Buffett lost his magic touch? Berkshire Hathaway stock gets rare downgrade - and a major concern is Warren Buffett's departure as CEO. While Berkshire is much an insurance company, it stock price tracks the major indexes, and 43% of its holding is one Big Tech company, Apple (70% of its holdings are Apple, Bank of America, American Express and Coca-Cola). CNBC maintains a tracker of the portfolio of Berkshire's stocks. There are two funds that try to track BRK-B: the VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (MOAT) and the iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL), but both are somewhat outperformed by BRK-B, so why bother? However, a new ETF, VistaShares Target 15 Berkshire Select Income tracks Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio but also provides a dividend of 3.8%. Since it launched in December 2024, it is down 8.8% while BRK-B is down about 3%.

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BOND INDEXES

• TMV - Direxion Daily 20+ Year Treasury Bear 3X Shares [3.2%] (NYSE) (trend up)

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• SPY/QQQ EQUIVALENTS
  These are funds that pretty much track the SPY or QQQ, with similar or lower dividends. If their management fees are more than 0.095% (for the SPY) or 0.20% (for the QQQ), buy the SPY or QQQ. For the curious, ETFs gradually subtract their fee during the year, so you don't notice, and don't see a fee charge when you buy the ETF at a broker. We provide links to the CNBC charts for these items. Some individual stocks also track/outperform the SPY. See: TRV in Insurance (tracks), STLD in Metals (outperforms), CALM in Industrials (tracks).
  

  ARTYX - Artisan Developing World Fund Investor Shares. Invests in emerging markets. From 2015, other than during the Covid bubble, it has tracked, but somewhat underperformed, the SPY, with NO dividend. Boring.
  AWR - American States Water. Mostly has tracked the SPY in the last 20 years, though has been flat since 2019. Has a 2.7% dividend, not enough for its recent flatness. Boring.
  BN - Brookfield Corporation. An investment fund "focused on building long-term weatlh for institutions and individuals". However, since 2009, it has mostly tracked the SPY, with a smaller dividend. Boring
  CATH - Global X S&P 500 Catholic Values ETF. Since 2016, it has exactly tracked the SP500 but only with half the dividend, and the portfolio is much the same as the SP500. There is nothing Catholic-values-ish about this fund. More honestly named the 'SP500 Average Values ETF'.
  DWAS - the Invesco Dorsey Wright SmallCap Momentum ETF. Pretty much tracked the SPY until 2024, flat since then. Dividend 0.73%. Boringly chasing momentum.
  GSLC - the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta US Large Cap Equity ETF. Pretty much tracks the SPY, with a similar dividend of 1.00%. Boring - apparently not a lot of active beta.
  MTUM - iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF. Since 2014, it has mostly tracked the SPY with half the dividend - boring.
  NOBL - Proshare's SP500 Dividend Aristocrats, has tracked SP500 since 2014, it has somewhat underperformed the SPY, but with a slightly higher dividend (1.9% versus 1.3%). NOBL and SDY much track each other, but the SDY has a higher dividend at 2.5%.
  SCHD - Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF. Tracks, but underperforms, the SPY, with a higher dividend of 3.6% - not enough to compensate for the SPY's better return.
  SPHQ - Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF. Pretty much tracks the SPY, with a similar dividend of 1.04%. Boring - apparently, not a lot of quality.
  SPTM - SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF. Pretty much tracks the SPY, with a similar dividend of 1.18%. Boring.
  TTAC - FCF US Quality ETF, "seeks to generate long-term returns in excess of the total return of the Russell 3000 Index, with less volatility than the Index". Tracks the SP500 since 2017, boring dividend of 0.69%.
  VIG - the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund - mostly tracks the SPY. It has a 1.79% dividend (versus 1.22% for SPY). Why dividend investors should buy VIG (at 1.8%) versus AGNC (at 15%).
  VGT - the Vanguard Information Technology ETF. This tracks the QQQ, but since 2004 the QQQ has slightly outperformed. The QQQ now has a dividend of 0.51% while the VGT has a measily higher dividend of 0.63%.
  VOOG - the Vanguard SP500 Growth Index ETF. Mostly tracks the SPY, but performs a bit better. Has a low dividend at 0.50%. As boring as Vanguard's VOO.
  VXF - the Vanguard Extended Market Index ETF. Another SPY tracker. Up until 2010, it slightly outpeformed the SPY, since then SPY is slightly outperformed. Have the same dividend yield.
  VYM - Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index Fund - since 2007, it has been outperformed by GLD and SPY. Its 2.9% dividend (versus 1.22% for SPY) doesn't make it attractive.
  XLK - State Street's clone of the QQQ, also has pretty much tracked the QQQ for the last 20 years, and only has a slight higher dividend.

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LOUSY EXCUSES TO EXIST AS A FUND
Side note: unlike Berkshire, many actively managed (stock picking) investment funds have a horrible track record. Over the last 15 years, 79% of large-cap funds didn't beat the return of the SP500, so save money (no fees) and buy the SPY. Same for mid-cap and small-cap funds/ETFs. Investors finally throw in the towel on active fund managers (IBD, May 2024). Indeed, according to a Morningstar study, of 370 asset allocation funds, only 1 has managed to beat the SP500 on a risk-adjusted basis since 2009 (see The SP500 rules everything around me). Indeed, most actively managed funds find it hard to justify their existence. In the last 24 years, every year on the average, 62% of all actively managed funds didn't beat the SPY.
• BEN - Franklin Resources [5.30%] (NYSE) (trend down since November 2021)
       Since 2000, both the SPY and TROW have outperformed BEN. Buy the SPY. Franklin Resources (better known as Franklin Templeton) is currently struggling. In the fall of 2024, there were damaging reports about the firm in the wake of an SEC probe into suspicious trading at its fixed-income unit, and having the worst quarter for financial outflows in its history. As of November 2024, $55 billion of customers' monies have been withdrawn from Franklin Templeton's Western Asset Management.
• CBDRX - Columbia Balanced Fund [1.89%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       Invests (ineptly) in common stocks and debt securities. Since 2013, the SPY has outperformed CBDRX, and GLD has mostly outperformed CBDRX. Maybe the managers use too much CBD to relax. Buy the SPY and GLD.
• TROW - T. Rowe Price Group [4.25%] (Nasdaq) (trend down since September 2021)
       Since 2005, the SPY has outperformed TROW. Buy the SPY.

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WHY WE DON'T USE FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS
The existence of the many ETFs above and below are one reason that we don't use fundamental analysis to generate our buy/sell signals (along with fraudulent touting of EBITDA, the fact that over 80% of all patents are invalid reflecting the fact that profit-earning innovation is next to dead, manipulated earnings estimates gamed by accounting tricks to meet earnings expectations, and the markets much dependent on real cocaine and Fed 'cocaine' [rate cuts, QE/moneyprinting, etc.]). In November 2024, Klement on Investing had a nice article on how niche ETFs pretty much make fundamental analysis meaningless. In his article, The Rise of Ponzi ETFs, he writes how niche-ETFs, legal Ponzi schemes, have destroyed fundamental analysis. An asset management firm that launches such a niche thematic ETF necessarily has to invest in a very concentrated portfolio of stocks, many of which may be very illiquid. If this ETF then attracts investor money, it must invest this money into the few illiquid stocks it holds. Lots of money chasing these illiquid stocks means their share prices rise, not because of fundamentals but because of a lack of supply. This in turn creates stronger performance for thematic ETF. Themes with strong performance attract media attention and investor attention. If there are enough investors that find the theme attractive, more money will flow into the ETF and the underlying stocks, pushing prices even higher. Result? We have created a Ponzi scheme where new investors pay for the gains of previous investors.

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BIG TECHNOLOGY / GRAN TECNOLOGÍA

• See in Can't-Beat-Gold section: ABNB, CSCO, DBX, DIS, EB, EXPE, IBM, INTC, MRVL, OPEN, PYPL, QRVO, SONY, TSLA, W

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• AAPL (W) - Apple [0.52%, $3.50/$4.50] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• ADBE - Adobe [0.0%, $17/$21.50] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• ADSK - Autodesk [0.0%, $1/$6] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• AMD (W) - Advanced Micro Devices [0.0%, $4/$7] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       In November 2024, AMD announces plans to fire about 1000 people, 4% of the company, as it struggles to compete with Nvidia.
• AMT (W) - American Tower [3.35%, $4/$7] (NYSE) (trend down)
       AMT is an REIT, but its real estate holdings are for the telecommunications industry. From 2000 to 2010, it mostly beat the SPY and gold. But underperformed since then and on a downtrend since September 2021.
• AMZN (W) - Amazon [0.0%, $2.50/$5] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• ASML - ASML [0.68%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• AVGO - Broadcom [1.2%, $12/$75] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• AXON - Axon Enterprise [0.0%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       Since 2014, has signficantly outperformed the SPY. Sells hardware and software for law enforcement. Reasonable debt and margins.

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• BKNG - Booking Holdings [0.9%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       Has done well against GLD and SPY. Subsidiaries include Priceline, Kayak and OpenTable.
• LYV - Live Nation Entertainment [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       From 2006 to 2020, Live Nation and gold tracked each other, but since then, Live Nation has done better. Curious minds wonder, how? We don't know. In unrelated news, in May 2024, the Justice Department and 30 states sued Live Nation under criminal antitrust laws, alleging that Live Nation controls roughly 80% of "major concert venues' primary ticketing for concerts". Oh.

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• BR - Broadridge Financial Solutions [1.6%] (NYSE) (trend up)     In the last 20 years, mostly has tracked the SPY.
• CRM - Salesforce [0.68%, $4/$6] (NYSE) (trend up)
• CRWD - Crowdstrike [0.0%, $6/$18] (Nasdaq) (July 2024 crash)
       On 18 July 2024, Crowdstrike caused a global crash of corporate computer systems. Already in a downtrend from 390 on 05 July, by 26 July, CRWD was down to 260, a 33% loss. Will lawsuits push the price down lower?
• DELL - Dell [1.35%, $3.50/$7.00] (NYSE) (trend up)
• GOOGL - Google [0.46%, $2.50/$4] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• LRCX - Lam Research [0.86%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• MARA - Mara Holdings [0.0%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       Mostly flat since 2022, trying to ride the blockchain/bitcoin bubble, though not very successfully.
• MELI - Mercado Libre [0.0%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       Generally up since 2008, spiked up/down in 2020 due to Covid, has recovered.
• META - Facebook [0.41%, $10/$17] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       From September 2021 to October 2022, META dropped from $380 to almost $80, after Apple made it harder for META (and others) to spy on you, make ads of META less valueable. However, META road the AI bubble from $80 to $480 by September 2023.
• MSFT - Microsoft [0.73%, $4.50/$7.50] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• MU (W) - Micron [0.38%, $2/$4] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       Micron is been riding the AI bubble selling memory chips for Nvidia's processors, but Barron's argues that Micron could face fiercer competition from Samsung, including Samsung selling more memory chips to Nvidia.
• NFLX - Netflix [0.0%, $9/$17] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
      An interesting September 2024 article argues that Netflix's main competition is not Disney nor Amazon Prime, but rather Google's YouTube.
• NXPI (W) - NXP Semiconductors [1.7%, $4.5/$9.0] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• ORCL - Oracle [1.1%, $1.1/$3.3] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• PANW - Palo Alto Networks [0.0%, $4.50/$9] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• PLTR - Palantir Technologies [0.0] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• QCOM - Qualcomm [2.5%, $4/$8] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• SAP - SAP AG [1.2%, $4/$8] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       Since 2000, has generally tracked the SPY and GLD, a less bubbly stock.
• SHOP - Shopify [0.0%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• SMH - VanEck Semiconductor ETF [0.43%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       Since 2000, the SMH has generally outperformed the QQQ while having a slightly lower dividend (0.43% versus 0.53%).
• SNPS - Synopsys [0.0%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• SOXX (M) - iShares Semiconductor ETF [0.6%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• TNET - TriNet Group [1.0%, $4/??] (NYSE) (trend up)
• TSM (W) - Taiwan Semi. Manu. [1.26%, $3/$6] (NYSE) (trend up)
• TTD (W) - Trade Desk [0.0%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)      A cloud-based ad buying platform. Outperfomed the SPY since 2017. No debt, good margins. Motley Fool: Trade Desk should continue rising in the next five years.
• TXN (W) - Texas Instruments [2.69%, $3/$6] (Nasdaq) (trend up)

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• NVDA (W) - Nvidia [0.02%, $4/$8] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       How much of Nvidia is innovation, and how much a financially engineered bubble? A good June 2024 article exploring the financial engineering games of Nvidia is at Macro Butler: Dark Pooled Artificial Accounting. We are also tracking NVDL, a 2-times long NVDA Daily ETF, which started trading in 2023. It has a 3.6% dividend yield and weekly options. Winter 2025: after explosive growth, around June 2024, the stock price of Nvidia started plateauing around $130, with a very weak pattern of head-and-shoulders centered around 17 November 2024. Is this the peak of Nvidia, and the AI bubble? Some articles: Nvidia stock's correction has accelerated since Microsoft's CEO hinted the frenzied (bubbling) demand for AI chips may be waning, and Nvidia stock slides amid AI spending slowdown fears, increased competition, an anti-trust investigation in China, and most AI companies not seeing a meaningful return for their AI investments.

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POPPING UP THE AI BUBBLE
Some news articles for AI-bubble skeptics: Shares of Dell and HP plunge after generative AI fails to ignite a 'PC refresh cycle', A majority of tech job seekers call "bullshit" on the workplace AI revolution, with survey respondents doubt it boosts performance of even lightens the workload. Turns out, the generative AI upgrade 'supercycle' is not happening with the iPhone or Android. The AI bubble is bursting. Here is how we know. Technology customers are apparently already getting bored of smart devices with generative AI. Mentioning "AI" actively lowered emotional trust, decreasing purchase intentions. December 2024: Most iPhone owners see little to no value in Apple Intelligence so far, and eveb more Samsung smartphone owners say that they cannot see much point in the AI features offered. These AI investments are a waste of shareholder money, if the companies are not profitting. Despite the hundreds of billions invested in AI hardware - "Across the software industry, SI revenue remains theoretical". As AI-generated slop art pollutes everything, AI hype (for profits) plumments over a cliff with costs continue to soar. AI companies are spending more and more to develop GenAI despite growing market skepticism of any profits to be generated. 27 January 2025 - mini-AI-bubble pop due to China. An upstart company in Zhōngguó, OpenSeek, OpenSeek, sparks a $1 trillion market loss, with its new lost cost AI technology, days after Trump idiotically hypes a $500 billion megadeal poposed by job-killer OpenAI. 67% of software companies surveyed (43 out of 64) reported decelerating revenue growth. See our article: Will AI ever be useful for technical analysis? Part 1 - it is not a given. March 2025, New York Times - The technology fantasy that powers AI is running on fumes.

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• ARKK - Ark Invest invests in the oxymoronic "disruptive technology". Other than riding the Tesla bubble in 2020-2021, ARKK has underperformed the SPY and GLD. Cathie Wood's Ark Invest has destroyed $14 billion in wealth over the past decade, according to a Morningstar study, which also reported billions in wealth destroyed by the ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG). October 2024: China ETFs Join Cathie Woods's ETFs as the biggest wealth destroyers for investors in the USA. Prudent then for Cathie Woods to say that her "volatile" ARK Innovation Fund should NOT be a huge percentage of anyone's investment portfolio. July 2025: despite ARKK and ARKX being up in 2025, investors have withdrawn almost $1 billion from her funds. This shows "a greater skepticism of Wood's long-term performance".
• AI ETFs - One reason much of the recent AI bubble is a bubble is that their "Artificially Intelligence" really isn't that intelligent. One test of this thesis is the performance of AI ETFs, ETFs that solely use AI algorithms to manage a stock portfolio. Not that intelligent here. A September 2024 MarketWatch article (and other analyses) reported that most AI-traded ETFs have horrible performance, with many not beating the trivially intelligent strategy of buying the SPY. One of the first, AIEG, formed in January 2017, has had an annual return of 7.85%, while during the same time, the SP500 returned 14%. Avoid ETFs that use AI - one more reason much of the AI bubble is a bubble.
• CHEGG - Chegg [0%] (NYSE) (trend down)
       The AI bubble will pop when it has profited from the firing of as many humans as possible (there isn't much profit in generative porn, generative lousy advice, etc.). Canary in the coal mine is Chegg, for many years an online tutoring site with 2000 employees as of December 2022. As of December 2024, it will probably have no humans working for it, as students can freely/very-cheaply get the same advice from generative AI systems. From a high of around $90 in December 2022, its stock has plummeted to 98% to $2. Chegg has huge negative net margins, and debt/equit of 1.6. Bye-bye!
• SMCI - Super Micro Computer [0%] (Nasdaq) (trend down)
       Super Micro in early 2024 rode the AI bubble from $10 at the beginning of 2023 to $110 in March 2024. Since then, it has fallen over 50% to the 40s in October 2024. On 30 October 2024, shares of Super Micro plummet 30%, after its accounting firm, Ernst and Young, ended its relationship with Super Micro, mostly because E&Y doesn't trust financial reports of management. Could be a "canary in the mine" for the popping of the AI bubble: Super Micro's $50 billion stock collapse underscores risk of AI hype. 06 November 2024: Shares of Super Micro drop 19% on sinks on weaker-than-expected outlook, uncertainty over annual filing. Nvidia's last move to use other IT infrastructure companies just gave Supermicro investors some epically bad news. In December 2024, SMCI was removed from the Nasdaq.
• SNOW - Snowflake [0%] (NYSE) (trend flat since 2022)
       an AI cloud services company, that while popping after its IPO in 2020, reaching a high of 350 in September 2021, has plummeted to $130 in November 2024. Not a good sign for the AI bubble as a whole for a child of Google. In November 2024, Google, the parent of Snowflake, sells 79% of its share in Snowflake.
  
• 005930.KS - Samsung Electronics [1.8%%] (KSC/KSX) (trend up)
       005930.KS is quoted in Korean won, which we adjusted to US dollars by a factor of 0.0008. One of the first AI-bubble companies to pop (Bloomberg - Oct 2024): Shares of Samsung drop 32% in four months. The stock price is flat since October 2020. 07 Nov. 2024 at CNBC: How Samsung fell behind in the AI boom leading to a $126 billion wipeout.

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FINANCIALS / FINANCIEROS

Side note: since 2000, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs have generally tracked each other, and both have mostly had better returns than Bank of America and State Street. Since Blackstone went public in 2007, it has performed similarly to JPMorgan.

• See in Can't-Beat-Gold section: WU
• JPM - JPMorgan Chase [2.28%, $2.25/$4.25] (NYSE) (trend up)
• GS - Goldman Sachs [2.42%, $5/$10] (NYSE) (trend up)
• BAC - Bank of America [2.41%, $0.50/$1.00] (NYSE) (trend up)
• BLK - BlackRock [2.4%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Over the last twenty years, it outperformed SPY and GLD. In the last ten years, it has pretty much tracked the SPY - it has become so big as to become a SP500 proxy.
• BMO - BMO (was Bank of Montreal) [5.08%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• STT - State Street [3.66%] (NYSE) (trend down since January 2022)

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• APO - Apollo Global Management [1.5%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Global alternative asset manager and retirement services providers. Since launch in 2010, has outperformed SPY, and quietly has mostly outperformed Berkshire Hathaway - both with a similar dividend.
• ARES - Ares Management Corp [2.3%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• AXP - American Express [1.1%, $4/$8] (NYSE) (trend up)
      Before 2000, MA and V outperformed AXP. Since 2000, AXP has outperformed.
• BX - Blackstone [2.82%, $2/$4] (NYSE) (trend up)
• COF - Capital One [1.2%, $2/$6] (NYSE) (trend up)
• EMIRATESNBD.AE - Emirates NBD Bank [6.2%] (ADX) (trend up)
       Since 2014, much tracks the SPY, with a higher dividend.
• FICO - Fair Isaac [$0] (NYSE) (trend up)
• MA - Mastercard [0.60%, $4/$8] (NYSE) (trend up)
• MCO - Moody's Corp. [0.80%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• TPG - TPG Inc. [2.8%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       Since it IPOed in January 2022, it has somewhat outperformed SPY and GLD with a yield greater than SPY. An alternative asset management company. A nice review in the 24 July Barron's: This private equity giant is expanding. Its stock is a buy.
• V - Visa [0.77%, $2.50/$5] (NYSE) (trend up)
      Mastercard and Visa pretty much track each other, with Mastercard having a higher long term return. On 25 Sept 2024, Visa was sued by the US government for violating criminal antitrust laws. Two weeks later, a group of merchants filed a second criminal antitrust lawsuit against Visa.
• XLF - Financial Sector (banks) SPDR Fund [1.55%, $0.40/$0.60] (NYSE) (trend up)

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FINANCIALS TO AVOID

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• JHEQX - JPMorgan Hedged Equity Fund Class I [0.83%]
  Note: JPMorgan's JHEQX fund trades common stocks, but uses call/put options to increase returns. Apparently not very well, for all of JPMorgan's expertise, since from its inception in 2014, the SPY has outperformed JHEQX, and GLD has mostly outperformed JHEQX. See JEPI, JPMorgan's Equity Premium Income ETF in the Dividends section, mostly flat for four years, 7% not worth underpeformance re SPY.
• See in Can't-Beat-Gold section: ONB, WFC, ZION
• See in Dividends section: IEP

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METALS / METALES

• See in Can't-Beat-Gold section: PPLT (platinum)

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• GLD - SPDR Gold Shares [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend up)
Side note: GLD pretty much tracks the spot price of gold, a reasonable proxy. GLD also pretty much tracks the non-tradeable S&P GSCI Gold Spot index. Granite Shares, which sponsors a variety of ETFs, has an ETF that tracks GLD, BAR, which has less than $1 billion in assets and has no options. Gold has been the champion asset for the 21st century. From 2000 to the end of 2024, the S&P500 recorded an annualized return of 7.7%, while GLD/GSCIGold recorded an annualized return of 8.5% annually. Click here for KukaXoco Gold News Gold generally outperforms silver. But when silver is too cheap compared to gold, some traders like buying silver.
• AEM - Agnico Eagle Mines [1.95%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       AEM and GLD pretty much track each other, and so AEM pretty much beats many stocks. Further, it has a 1.9% dividend, making all stocks that underperform gold less attractive. AEM is a gold mining company based in Canada, mines in 4 countries, has paid dividends for 41 years, and has 54 million ounces of provable reserves.
• GDX - VanEck Vector Gold Miners [1.41%] (NYSE) (trend down since August 2020)
• GOLD - Barrick Gold Corporation [2.17%] (NYSE)
       See in Can't-Beat-Gold section.

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• SLV - iShares Silver Trust [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• CPER - US Copper Index Fund [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• SCCO - Southern Copper [2.74%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Side note: SCCO has performed well against other miners, such as Barrick Gold. SCCO has done well against gold prices. And the renewable boom will increase the demand for copper. A nice chart: Copper will be the next 'oil', as demand rises to 40 million tons by 2040 (up from 24 million tons in 2020), while demand for oil will drop to 66 million barrels/day by 2040 (down from 90 million in 2020).
• ATI - ATI Inc. [0%, $1.50/$2.00] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       ATI is big into titanium, and titanium is becoming a more popular metal (it is very useful) as its production costs come down. From 2000 to 2018, ATI was beaten by the SPY and GLD, but since then, it has outpeformed both.
• STLD - Steel Dynamics [1.4%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       Since 2015 it has outperformed the SPY, with a slightly higher dividend. Big into steel and metal recycling.
• X - US Steel Corp. [0.52%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       In 2024, Nippon Steel made an offer to buyout US Steel. Click here: latest news on takeover. In June 2025, X was delisted after being taken over by Nippon Steel.
• See in Can't-Beat-Gold section:AA (Alcoa), NEM (Newmont), AAL.K (Anglo American - focusing on copper, buy SCCO instead)

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CRYPTOCURRENCIES / CRYPTOMONEDAS

Side note: we mostly don't cover casino-based stocks and ETFs, but the cryptocurrency casino is too popular to ignore.

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• BTC-USD - Bitcoin spot price (trend up since May 2022)
• COIN - Coinbase [0.0%, $7/$19] (NYSE) (trend up since April 2022)
       COIN mostly tracks bitcoin and GBTC prices (though underperforms, but has tradeable options, which are a bit pricey. Click here for: KukaXoco Bitcoin News.
• GBTC - Grayscale Bitcoin Trust [0.0%] (Nasdaq) (trend up since Nov 2022)
       GBTC outpeformed bitcoin from 2022 to 2024, but since then has mostly tracked bitcoin prices. But there are no options for GBTC, only for COIN. Some other bitcoin ETFs include BITO (started in October 2021) which GBTC has outperformed, and IBIT and FBTC started in 2024 which have tracked GBTC, with Blackrock's IBIT now with more assets than GBTC.
• HOOD - Robinhood Markets [0.0%] (Nasdaq) (trend up since January 2024)
       From its IPO to the end of 2024, it mostly underperformed SPY and GLD. Since then it is being inflated with the cryptocurrency bubble, and its launching of tokenized stocks.
• IBIT - iShares Bitcoin Trust [0.0%] (Nasdaq) (trend up since January 2024)
       Since December 2024, it has mostly tracked GLD AND SPY.
• MSTR (W) - Strategy (was MicroStrategy) [0.0%] (Nasdaq) (trend up since Jun 2022)
       MicroStrategy is a bitcoin development company, with most of its worth due to its large holdings of bitcoin. For some time, MicroStrategy has had a premium 200% to 300% over the price of bitcoin, because it is a tradeable stock for conservative investors. But as CoinDesk summarizes a Steno Research report: "The launch of options on spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the USA will reduce the incentives for investors to hold MicroStrategy stock over these ETFs" (Oct 2024). There are also tax problems. MicroStrategy owns about $47 billion worth of bitcoin, which includes $18 billion of unrealized gains. But even if it doesn't sell a single bitcoin to obtain realized gains, it might have to pay billions in taxes on those unrealized earnings, difficult for a company with a lot of debt, and negative earnings. For true gamblers in cryptocurrencies, there is the MSTX doubled leveraged version of MSTR, one of the worst investments on the planet, having dropped from 8000 in September 2024 to 30 in February 2025. MSTR hasn't done much better, from almost 480 in November 2024 to 240 in Febrruay 2025.
  
  In March 2025, GameStop announced that it will become another bitcoin casino, by using its corporate cash to buy a lot of bitcoin, the strategy of the MicroStrategy casino.
  Microstrategy offers two preferred stocks, STRF and STRK, with yields over 7%. See DIVIDENDS section.
• HOOD - Robinhood Markets [0.0%] (Nasdaq) (trend up since Nov 2022)
       Want to gamble on cryptocurrencies, meme stocks, and now democracy? The Robinhood casino is the place to be. It crashed after its 2021 IPO, and never rose above its open IPO price. Since March 2022, it has most tracked the price of bitcoin. Better casino stocks to invest in.

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• BRPHF Galaxy Digital Holdings[0.0%] (OTC) (trend flat since 2009)
       a digital asset and blockchain company. IPOed at around $500 in 2006, plummeted to $18 in 2008 (that was quick!), and ranged between $2 and $20 (now $11) since 2021. Another way to gamble on cryptocurrencies.

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DRUGS, BIOTECH / DROGAS, BIOTECHNOLOGÍA

• AZN - Astra Zeneca [1.8%, $0.80/$1.60] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
• BSX - Boston Scientific [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• HIMS - Hims & Hers Health [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• LLY - Eli Lilly [0.6%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Like Novo Nordisk, booming since 2023 due to weight loss drugs.
• NVO - Novo Nordisk [1.0%] () (trend up)
       Like Eli Lilly, booming since 2023 due to weight loss drugs.

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• RPRX - Royalty Pharma [3.1%] (Nasdaq) (trend down)
       Since its IPO in 2020, it has declined from around 40 to 27. RPRX buys royalty streams on patented biotech profits. Not very well.

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ENERGY / ENERGÍA

• CCJ - Cameco [0.17%, $1.20/$2.40] (NYSE) (trend up)
      Cameco sells both uranium for fueling nuclear power plants, and components for nuclear reactors.
• FCG (F) - First Trust Natural Gas ETF [2.39%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• FSLR - First Solar [0%, $7/$12] (NYSE) (trend up)
• GEV - GE Vernova [0.0%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       In the electric power business, including generation from natural gas, nuclear, and hydropower. IPO'd December 2023, up over 25% since then. Similar to VRT and VST, riding the AI bubble.
• NEE (F) - Nextera Energy [2.85%, $1.00/$2.00] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
      Electric power and energy infrastructure company. A sister company, NextEra Energy Partners is mentioned in the dividends section.
• TPL - Texas Pacific Land Corporation [0.5%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       One of the leading socialist companies in the United States (along with Tesla), in the sense that with no debt, a near insane P/E ratio of 68 (if the paid 100% of their profits in dividends, you wuold need 68 years to recoup your investment), while paying and paying 0.5% dividend, it has incredibly outperformed the SPY in the last 10 years - more so that almost every publicly traded company. How? Much of its income is from royalties on oil and natural gas extracted from its 850,000+ acres of land. It profits incredibly from sales of oil and natural gas, without having to pay anything to deal with the CO2 pollution from such fossil fuels which fuels global heating. Capitalistic profits, socialistic expenses - well done, comrades!
• UGA (F) - United States Gasoline Fund [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• VRT - Vertiv Holdings [0.1%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Stock price was flat from 2019 to 2023, then boomed thanks to the AI bubble.
• VST - Vistra [0.9%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Stock price was flat from 2015 to 2023, then boomed thanks to the AI bubble.
• WEC - WEC Energy Group [3.4%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Supplies electricity and natural gas to the MidWest USA. For the last 20 years, it has outpeformed or tracked the SPY, with almost three times the dividend.

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OIL / PETRÓLEO

Side note: most of the major oil companies have similar stock price performances and dividends. Choose whichever one tickles your fancy.

• COP - Conoco-Philips [2.87%, $1/$2] (NYSE) (trend flat)
• CVX - Chevron [4.14%, $1.50/$3] (NYSE) (trend flat)
• EOG - EOG (was part of Enron) [2.99%, 1$/4$] (NYSE) (trend flat)
• SLB - Schlumberger [2.45%, $0.50/$1.25] (NYSE) (trend flat)
       A long-term lousy stock. In 1997, SLB was around $40. 28 years later, SLB was around $40, i.e., flat flat flat. In that time period, GLD and SPY were up over 600%, while SLB was only up 50% at most.
• XOM - Exxon-Mobil [3.3%, $1.00/$2.50] (NYSE) (trend flat)
• USO (F) - United States Oil Fund [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend flat)
• See in Dividends section: USOI
• BNO (F) - United States Brent Oil Fund [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend flat)

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INDUSTRIALS / INDUSTRIALES

• See in Can't-Beat-Gold section: IFF, JWN, LYB, UPS, VZ

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• AER - Aercap Holdings [1.07%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• AIR.PA - Airbus SE [0.99%] (Paris) (trend up)
       Since 2005, it has outperformed gold and even more so outperformed the troubled Boeing. Better yet, Airbus has a 1% dividend, while Boeing has no dividend.
• APD - Air Product [2.2%] (NYSE) (trend up)
  They provide industrial gases and equipment. Has mostly tracked GLD and SPY over the decades. In October 2023, at least one activist fund (D.E. Shaw) took a billion dollar stake in the company, and wants to help build long-term value.
• AZO - Autozone [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Has done well against GLD and SPY. However, in October 2024, Goldman Sachs changed its "Buy" recommendation to "Sell", because of low-income consumers being financially under pressure.
• BLDR - Builders FirstSource [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• CALM - Cal-Maine Foods [9.1%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       Big producers of eggs in the USA. Generally tracks the SPY, while offering a nice dividend.
• CMG - Chiptotle Mexican Grill [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Has done well against GLD and SPY.
• DBD - Diebold Nixdorf [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• DECK - Deckers Outdoors [0.0%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       Has done well against GLD and SPY.
• IDXX (M) - IDEXX Laboratories [0.0%, $12] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       It has performed well over the last 20 years. IDEXX develops, manufactures and distributes products and provides services primarily for the companion animal veterinary, livestock and poultry, dairy and water testing industries. Based in the lovely city of Portland, Maine.

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• WMT (W) - Walmart [1.26%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Since 2000, Costco (below) has tended to outperform Walmart.
• COST (W) - Costco [1.26%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Costo and Walmart track each other, but over the years, COST has tended to outperform Walmart.
• CASY - Casey's General Stores [0.44%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       Casey's has done well in recent decades, tracking the SPY and Walmart, having outperformed both in the last 10 years. It is a general convenience store operating in 17 states. Small dividend at 0.44% compared to the SPY, but has appreciated enough to compensate for the SPY's larger dividend.
• HD (W) - Home Depot [2.2%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Much tracks the stock price and dividends of SPY.
• RL (W) - Ralph Lauren [1.2%, $5/$10] (NYSE) (trend up)
• TJX (W) - The TJX Companies [1.28%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       An off-price apparel and home fashions retailer. Sounds boring, but has mostly outpeformed the SPY and GLD in the last 20 years. CNBC (October 2024): Americans love TJ Maxx. Here is why big brands do, too.
• KR - Kroger [1.9%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Since 2004, it has mostly tracked the SPY with a higher dividend. Kroger and Walmart have tracked each other for 20 years, with KR sometimes more than WMT, and sometimes less, with a slightly higher dividend. Kroger is a good stock to diversify with in the retail industry space.
• PG (W) - Procter & Gamble [2.32%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       While PG has underperformed SPY and GLD since 2014 it has been a steady riser, with a decent dividend. It performs better than a peer, Unilever (UL).
• ROCK - Gibraltar Industries [0%] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       ROCK and SPY oscillate around each other, bur ROCK has no dividend.
• UL (W) - Unilever [2.85%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       A bouncy stock, from 60 in 2020/2021, to 45 in 2022, to over 55 in 2024.

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DEFENSE
Investing in defense stocks is a no-brainer. For the last 20 years, the prices of aerospace and defense stocks has been highly correlated with defense spending in the USA ( click here for a graph of this correlation). Since both Democrats and Republicans will continue to increase the budget of the military, these stocks will continue to increase. Let us be honest - helping to kill people is always profitable, and none of these companies, however, are "beating swords into plowshares". However, for the criminally managed socialist (no competition while living off of government contracts, often with guaranteed profits) defense contractors - Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics - The Big 5 Must Die. They missed out on AI. They missed out (and fear) drones. They are not innovative anymore.

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• ITA - iShares US Aerospace & Defense ETF [0.84%] (CBOE) (trend up)
       ITA tracks the Dow Jones US Aerospace and Defense Index (SPDJI). For the last 20 years or so, ITA has much tracked the SPY with a lower dividend (0.84% versus 1.2%), doing a bit better due the recent wars going on around the world.
• GD - General Dynamics [1.90%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       If you want to profit from government military waste, GD is your investment. In the last 20 years, it has beaten gold and steadily increased its dividends (now at 1.9%). The US Navy has ordered 12 nuclear ballistic submarines from GD for $130 billion to be delivered by 2042. With other military orders, the future is good for GD earnings and dividend increases.
• LMT - Lockheed Martin [2.69%] (NYSE) (trend down since April 2023)
       If you want to profit from government military waste, LMT is your investment. In the last 20 years, it has beaten gold and steadily increased its dividends (now at 2.69%). Brilliant management? Innovative technology? Nope (don't look at their patents)! LMT is the lead contractor on the most wasteful military expenditure in the history of the world, the F-35 program, which will end up costing American taxpayers $2 trillion dollars ( Has the Pentagon learned from the F-35 debacle? - June 2023).
• NOC (M) - Northrup Grumman [1.94%] (NYSE) (trend up since 2020)
       Another government defense contractor that has also steadily beat GLD and SPY.
• RTX - RTX [2.06%] (NYSE) (trend up since 2020)
       Another government defense contractor that has also steadily beat GLD and SPY - a merger of Raytheon, Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney.
• RHM-DE - Rheinmetall AG [1.0%] (XETRA) (trend up since 2021)
       giant weapons company Germany. Strange stock behavior. It pretty much tracked the SPY from 2004 to 2021. From 2022 forward, it has hugely outperformed the SPY, maybe due the war between Russia and Ukraine.
• BA - Boeing [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend down since February 2020)
       Since 2000, gold has mostly beaten Boeing, a poorly managed company. See Boeing in the Can't Beat Gold" section.
• See in Can't-Beat-Gold section: LHX

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DIVIDENDS / DIVIDENDOS

Side note: these are stocks whose prices don't have much long-term increases, but pay 'good' dividends, say, over 5%/year to make them more interesting than yields on Treasury bonds. We don't like them, but everyone is always touting them. Dividends below 5%/year (stocks listed in the "STUPIDITY" section), well, you might as well buy one of the Treasury Bond funds. Especially if a T. Rowe Price prediction comes true: Treasury 10-year yields may climb to 6% for the first time in more than two decades, with other large money manager predicting T-Bond yields over 5% next year. Another observation: when inflation is high, stocks and bonds become more correlated, and can have similar returns. During these periods, stocks with strong dividends and deccent growth, such as Ares Capital below, become more attractive.

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• ARCC - Ares Capital [9.1%] (NASDAQ) (trend up since 2008)
       A specialty finance company focused on providing direct loans and other investments in private middle market companies in the United States. Mostly over $15 during the last 20 years, now at $21, steadily up from 2010. May 2025 good recommendation by Motley Fool
• CUBE - CubeSmart [4.1%] (NYSE) REIT focusing on self-storage properties. They have a decent dividend at 4%, and the stock price has steadily risen sicne 2014. Mostly beaten by the SPY and GLD over the years, but at least it has more stock appreciation than other dividend plays.
• EMIRATESNBD.AE - Emirates NDB Bank [6.2%] (ADX) Nice dividend, see entry in Financials section
• ENB - Enbridge [6.6%] (NYSE) (trend flat in last ten years - pipeline and utility company in Canada, has paid dividends for 69 years)
• EPD - Enterprise Products Partners [7.2%] (NYSE) (trend flat in last ten years - provides midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil, petrochemicals and refined products.
• ET - Energy Transfer LP [7.6%] (NYSE) (trend up since 2020) - concentrates on natural gas deliveries and storage. Up over 150% since 2020, comparable to the SPY, with a better dividend. A bouncystock over the last 20 years. May 2025 good recommendation by Motley Fool
• HYT - BlackRock Corporate High Yield [10%] (NYSE) has averaged around $11.50 since 2010. Junk-bond fund.
• NEP - NextEra Energy Partners [19%] (NYSE) has averaged around $20 for the last ten years, rising to $80 in 2021, and now down to $20. An October 2024 Motley Fool article argues that dividend cuts are coming for NEP as it addresses the high cost of capital, and use cash for organic expansion investments.
• PFLT - PennantPark Floating Rate Capital [12%] (NYSE) has averaged around $12 for the last fourteen years, dropping to $5 during the Covid pandemic and now up to $11. Mostly provides floating-rate loans to middle-market private companies.
• PYLD - PIMCO Multisector Bond Active ETF [5.9%] (NYSE) Launched in March 2023, it has gradually drifted up from $25 to $27, while offering a nice 5.9% dividend. One to track for the long-haul.
• RITM - Rithm Capital [9.8%] (NYSE) has averaged around $11 for the last ten years, dropping to $5 during the Covid pandemic and now up to $10. It is a REIT.
• TCPC - BlackRock TCP Capital [14.7%] (NYSE) has a high yield because its price has dropped from 14 in 2021 to 7 in 2025. But even if it rises back to 14, the yield is still a healthy 7%.
• WBA - Walgreens Boots Alliance [9%] (Nasdaq) (trend down)
       Walgreens is a pharmacy retailer, nearly as ubiquitous as CVS. From 1996 to 2016 it rose from $10 to nearly $100, but since then it has dropped back to $10. High dividend yield of little comfort.

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• IEP - Icahn Enterprises [16%] (Nasdaq) For the last 16 years, IEP has mostly averaged $50, underperforming SPY and GLD. But it offered a nice dividend of about 16%. However, in May 2023, it plummeted from $50 to $20, and then to $12 by November 2024. While it pushed the dividend to 32%, in November 2024 it announced it will cut the dividend in half to fund a purchase. Debt/equity of about 2.5, and negative net margins. If you like catching knives, chase its dividends.
• JEPI - JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF [8.0%] (NYSE) (trend mostly flat in four years of existence) - CNBC: "The Fund seeks to provide the majority of the returns associated with the Fund's primary benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, while exposing investors to less risk through lower volatility and still offering incremental income." NOT! JEPI has been outperformed by SPY and GLD in most of its existance, enough to make the higher dividend not too attractive. Range bound between $52 and $62 since 2021.
• MPLX - MPLX LP [7.7%] (NYSE)
  Owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets and provides fuels distribution services. Subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum Company. Since 2016, it has averaged around $30, down to $10 in 2020, now at $50. May 2025 good recommendation by Motley Fool
• MPW - Medical Properties Trust [7.9%] (NYSE)
  Leases facilities to healthcare companies. While it now has a high dividend, it is only because the stock has plummeted in recent years, from averaging around $10 from 2006 to 2022, peaking at $23 in 2021, now down to $4. Find a better dividend roller coaster.
• PSEC - Prospect Capital Corporation [13.7%] (Nasdaq)
  While it has a high dividend, it is only because the stock has been a steady decliner, from $18 in 2007 to $4.50 in 2024. It provides credit to private businesses. Shares of Prospect Capital, a $7.6 billion publicly-traded private credit fund, tumbled more than 16% Friday after the firm reduced its dividend by 25% for the first time in seven years.
• STRF, STRK - MicroStrategy - Preferred stocks (Nasdaq)
       STRF and STRK are two preferred stocks sold by MicroStrategy. The current yields are over 7%. Unlike other preferred, these two are not backed by earnings to pay annual dividends, but instead the dividends are paid with appreciation in the price of bitcoin. The initial offering, known as Strike (ticker: STRK) has a face value of $100 and an 8% annual dividend, but now changes hands at about $87, for a yield of about 9.2%. MicroStrategy is willing to pay such high yields because it feels that bitcoin with rise at a 20%-plus annual rate, exceeding the 10% or so dividend on the preferred stocks. Another way to gamble in the cryptocurrency casino.
• USOI - UBS ETRACS Crude Oil Shares Covered Call ETN [23%] (Nasdaq)
       One of the economists. Since June 2020, USOI is down about 50%. But it recently has been offering a 23% dividend, now at $13. One to buy and hold?

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• See in Can't-Beat-Gold section: LYB

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• IEF - iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond [3.7%] (Nasdaq) (trend flat since October 2022)
       Trend down since 2012, trend up since 2002.
• TLT - iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond [4.47%] (Nasdaq) (trend down since March 2020)
       Note: TLT is down about 50% since March 2020, and its 4.4% dividend provides little comfort. Since 2007, the Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury Index Fund ETF (EDV) has tracked TLT, though TLT's return has been somewhat higher, since it is down 60% since March 2020. If you want to trade something like this, trade SGOV, iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF, which has fluctuated around $100 since March 2023, and offers a 4.5% dividend.
• TBT - ProShares Ultrashort 20+ Year Treasury [4.39%] (NYSE) (trend up since March 2020)

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COLOMBIA

Side note: Colombian stocks, at least those traded in New York, mostly are losers - declining in price for years, trending down, though some with good dividends.

• TGLS - Tecnoglas [0.86%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Note: one of the best performing Colombian stocks. Its main product lines involve glass and windows for residential and commercial buildings. The stock was mostly flat from 2012 to 2021, but since then has risen nicely in price, from around $10 in 2020 to $50 in 2024.
• BBVA - BBVA - Banco Bilbao [5.6%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Note: not based in Colombia, but has many retail branches in Colombia.

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• AVAL - Grupo Aval [7.8%] (NYSE) (trend down)
• BBD - Banco Bradesco [1.7%] (NYSE) (trend down)
       From a high of $15 in 2008, it has to under $3 in 2014. Insider Monkey, Sept. 2024: Banco Bradesco: among the worst affordable stocks to buy under $10.
• CIB - Bancolombia [10.20%] (NYSE) (trend down)
• CPA - Copa Holdings [6.9%] (NYSE) (trend down)
       Note: based in Panama, but does a lot of business in Colombia through its subsidiary, AeroRepublica (Copa Colombia).
• EC - Ecopetrol [30%] (NYSE) (trend down)
       Note: after peaking in 2012 over 50, it has spent the last ten years averaging around 10. One of the largest dividends available.
• EWB - iShares Brazil ETF [6.37%] (NYSE)
       Since 2005, EWB has been flat. It has a 6.37% dividend, but across 20 years, that return is still less than gold. Too bad, if it performed better, you could write off your 'research' trips to Rio.
• COLO - Global X MSCI Colombia ETF [5.6%] (NYSE Arca) (trend down)
       Note: another lousy play on Colombia. After peaking in the 80s from 2010 to 2014, it has dropped down to an average of $30 or so. Its former symbol was GXG.
• LTM - LATAM Airlines [0%] (NYSE) (trend down)
       Note: after peaking at $30 in 2010, it has become a penny stock, now trading around $0.50. "LTMAY" was delisted by the New York Stock Exchange in June 2020, and became a penny stock, and relisted in July 2024. We will start tracking in 2025. While LATAM is based in Chile, it has a lot of operations in Colombia.
• TIMB - Tim S.A. [5.5%] (NYSE) (trend down)
       Note: a Brazilian company, a subsidary of Telecom Italia Finance, which provides mobile and fixed telephony services. Despite some ups and downs, the stock is basically flat in the last 20 years.

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BHARAT / INDIA

Side note: most stocks of companies based in Bharat, and that are traded on the NYSE or NASDAQ, have underperformed SPY and GLD over the last 10 to 20 years, and don't have high dividends. Fun for short term speculative trrading.

• INFY - Infosys LTD [2.3%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       The big computer services company of India. Since 2014, mostly tracks the SPY, and outpeforms GLD. Probably the best of the stocks listed here to invest in.
• IBN - ICICI Bank LTD [0.8%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Second largest bank in India. Since 2014, has somewhat outperformed HDB (HDFC Bank).
• HDB - HDFC Bank LTD [1.0%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       The largest bank in India. Slightly outperformed by IBN, by slightly higher dividend. Since 2014, outperformed by GLD and SPY. You can invest in either of these without my thought.
• WIT - Wipro LTD [0.2%] (NYSE) (trend flat)
       Another big computer services compant based in India. Since 2004, outpeformed by GLD and SPY, and mostly flat since 2010. Not worth investing in.
• RDY - Dr. Reddy's Laboratories [0.6%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       India's big pharmaceutical and generic drug company. Since 2014, mostly outperformed by GLD and SPY, with low dividend.
• MMYT - MakeMyTrip LTD [0%] (Nasdaq) (trend flat/spike)
       The Expedia of India, focusing on online travel services. A weird stock. From 2010 to 2013, the stock price has horribly flat. But up 250% in 2014, hopefully on good earnings.
• YTRA - Yatra Online [0%] (NYSE) (trend down)
       A smaller travel services company in India. Horrible stock performance, from from 11 in 2017 to 1.5 in 2024.
• WNS - WNS Holdings [0%] (NYSE) (trend down)
       A business management services company. Since 2015, mostly outperformed by SPY and GLD, peaked in March 2023, and since then is down 60%
• SIFY - Sify Technologies LTD [0%] (NYSE) (trend flat)
       A computer network services company. It quickly peaked after its IPO in 2000 (probably riding the dot-com boom), but crashed shortly thereafter. Since 2009, the stock price has been mostly flat with no dividend. Not worth investing in.

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ZHŌNGGUÓ / CHINA

• AAPL (W) - Apple [0.52%, $3.50/$4.50] (Nasdaq) (trend up)
       A New York Post article argues: How Apple invested big, profited greatly, and sold itself to China. A bit ironic for one of the largest (dopamine apps) drug traffickers in history being so dependent on a country that suffered horribly due to England's opium wars.
• AMZN - Amazon (trend up)
  See Amazon in the BigTech section. Amazon obtains 71% of the goods it sells from China. It is as much a Chinese company as other Chinese companies listed here.
• BABA - Alibaba [1.28%] (NYSE) (trend down since October 2020, flat since October 2022)
• BYD - BYD [0.48%] (Shenzhen) (trend up)
       Long term - go long BYD, short Tesla. In October 2024, BYD launched a $14,000 plug-in hybrid vehicle, as it continues to dominate foreign rivals. It makes its batteries and processor chips in-house.
• FXI - IShares China Large-Cap ETF [2.85%] (NYSE) (trend down since February 2021)

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NIHON / JAPAN
Itochu, Marubeni, Mitsui, Sumitomo and Mitsubishi are the Big Five trading houses in Nihon. They have good stock price appreciation and good dividends. How good? Reuters, May 2025: Warren Buffett endorses trading houses in Japan, could hold them "forever". His Berkshire Hathaway owns over $25 billion of shares of these companies as of 2024. In context, Berkshire Hathaway owns about $100 billion of shares of two of the biggest legal drug traffickers: Apple (dopamine) and CocaCola (sugar). Toyota manufactures the most automobiles in the industry, and wisely is pursuing hybrid vehicle technology (electric with gasoline).

• 8001.T (Tokyo) - Itochu Corp [2.8%] (Tokyo) (trend up)
• 8002.T (Tokyo) - Marubeni Corp [3.6%] (Tokyo) (trend up)
• 8031.T (Tokyo) - Mitsui & Comp. [4.1%] (Tokyo) (trend up)
• 8053.T (Tokyo) - Sumitomo Corp [3.8%] (Tokyo) (trend up)
• 8058.T (Tokyo) - Mitsubishi Corp [3.8%] (Tokyo) (trend up)

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• 6902.T (Tokyo) - Denso Corp [3.3%] (Tokyo) (trend up)
       Develops, manufactures and sells automotive parts in the areas of thermal systems, powertrain systems, mobility electronics, electrification systems, advanced devices, and non-automotive business. Mostly underperforms the SPY.
• TM (Tokyo) - Toyota Motor [3.3%] (Tokyo) (trend up)
       From 1995 to 2015, Toyota outperformed the SPY. Since then, it has underperformed, though it has a decent dividend.

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CROSS-LISTED in Can't Beat SPY/GLD

• SONY - Sony Group [0.6%] (NYSE)
• 9984.T - SoftBank Group [0.48%] (Tokyo)

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CURRENCIES / MONEDAS

• FXB (F) - Invesco British Pound Trust [3.15%] (NYSE) (trend down since May 2021)
       Since 2018, FXA and FXC have pretty much tracked FXB.
• FXA (F) - Invesco Australian Dollar Trust [1.39%] (NYSE) (trend down since February 2021)
• FXC (F) - Invesco Canadian Dollar Trust [2.36%] (NYSE) (trend down since May 2021)
• FXE (F) - Invesco Euro Currency Trust [2.19%] (NYSE) (trend down since May 2021)
• FXF (F) - Invesco Swiss Franc Currency Trust [0.05%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• FXY (F) - Invesco Japanese Yen Currency Trust [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend down since January 2021)
• UUP (F) - Invesco US Dollar Bullish Fund [6.12%] (NYSE) (trend up since May 2021, trend down since September 2022)
• UDN (F) - Invesco US Dollar Bearish Fund [5.28%] (NYSE) (trend down since May 2021, trend up since September 2022)

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COMMODITIES / MATERIAS PRIMAS

• COCO.L - Wisdom Tree Cocoa ETF [0.0%] (LSE) (trend up)
• MJ - Alternative Harvest ETF (marijuana) [4.66%] (NYSE) (trend down since February 2021)
• CGW (F) - Invesco SP Global Water Index ETF [1.45%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• WEAT (F) - Teucrium Wheat [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend down since March 2022)
• SOYB (F) - Teucrium Soybean [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• CORN (F) - Teucrium Corn [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• CANE (F) - Teucrium Sugar [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• ECL - Ecolab [0.9%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Ecolab offers water, hygiene and infection protection services. From 2004 to 2014, it outperfomed SPY. Since 2014, SPY has outperformed ECL. From 2010, they pretty much track each other. Biggest shareholder is Bill Gates (owns 10%). Can't go wrong with investing in water in the long-term.
• UEC - Uranium Energy [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       A uranium mining company, should be able to profit from the renewed interest in nuclear power, and a desire of the West to buy less uranium from Russia. Since 2014, it has outperformed the SPY.

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INSURANCE / SEGURO

• ALL - Allstate [2.24%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• AON - Aon PLC [0.96%] (NYSE) (trend up)
• CB - Chubb [1.37%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Chubb has pretty much tracked the price of gold since 2000, but has had a dividend over 1%. Berkshire Hathway invested significantly in Chubb in 2014.
• MKL - Markel Group [0.0%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       In the last 20 years, it has much tracked SPY, though with no dividend. Not a lot of debt.
• RYAN - Ryan Specialty Holding [0.65%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Since it went public in 2021, it has done somewhat better than the SPY, with about half the dividend yield. A lot of debt-to-equity at over 500%.
• TRV - Travelers Companies [1.6%] (NYSE) (trend up)
       Since 1995, TRV has pretty much tracked the SPY, while offering a slightly higher dividend. Reasonable debt-to-equity ratio. A way to spread risk for a SPY-and-equivalents strategy.
• UNH - United Health Group [1.51%] (NASDAQ) (trend up)
       From 1991 to 2021, UHN outperformed the SPY, but since then SPY has outperformed (and the SPY has a higher dividend). One secret of UHN's success. In December 2024, the CEO of UNH was murdered in public. The CEO, Brian Thompson (who became CEO in 2021), had deployed an AI system to automatically deny benefits to sick people, AI misantropy at its worst. A lawsuit alleged that his insurance company, United Healthcare, used an AI algorithm to deny and override claims to elderly patients that had been approved by their doctors. The algorithm in question, known as nH Predict, allegedly had a 90 percent error rate. Who murdered him? Such callous corporate behavior created "only about 50 million customers of the reigning medical monopoly in the USA might have a motive to exact revenge upon the UnitedHealthcare CEO".

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