The stakes for getting this right could not be higher. COVID-19 has sickened more than seven million people around the world so far, and at least 405,400 people have lost their lives to the pandemic. Innovative biotechnology companies have stepped up to the plate and are racing to create what could become a life-saving treatment for hundreds of thousands in the form of a vaccine. I’m optimistic we could see one as soon as the end of the year. The speed with which vaccine efforts got underway shows how far science has come. Researchers are currently working on 224 candidates , according to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. About 10 of those have advanced to human trials.

Insurance has been referred to as a “necessary evil.” And for good reason. We pay money – sometimes a lot of money – but hope we never have to use it. Seems crazy, but on the rare occasion we do need it, we’re glad we have it. The right insurance can save us a lot of money… and even save us from financial ruin. But… wouldn’t it be better to be able to get insurance that protects our investments and can make us a lot of money? Now we’re talking. Here’s what you need to know… Inflation is a silent portfolio killer. It is one of the greatest dangers a person saving for retirement faces. That’s why I recommend owning some “insurance” against it – just in case things go haywire.

When I write to you about the Roaring 2020s and the coming technological breakthroughs, they all have one thing in common. The need for better batteries. Without better batteries that allow for longer driving ranges and more charges, it will be difficult if not impossible for electric vehicles (EVs) to replace gas-powered vehicles. Self-driving vehicles will be powered by batteries, and so will most of the other components – cameras, sensors, video screens, seats, and more. Healthcare will be transformed by wearable medical devices and even implantable devices that gather and transmit data in real time… all of which will be powered by batteries. I could go on and on.

At the start of the COVID-19 crisis and the historic market sell-off, I laid out a Recovery Road Map that predicted how stocks would react throughout the pandemic. It was a four-phase process that I expected would play out over the following 12 to 18 months. Boy was I wrong… but boy was I right, too! Less than three months after the indices crashed to unprecedented lows, the Nasdaq 100 reached a new all-time high today. That’s right, folks. We’ve entered the final phase of recovery. The Recovery Road Map and the rapid return to all-time highs is my main area of focus in today’s new episode of MoneyLine.

Take a moment and look around your home. I will guess you have at least one smartphone, a laptop computer, and probably an e-reader or two. I’m sure there are remote controls, smoke detectors, clocks and watches, small appliances, flashlights, maybe children’s toys, and your car outside your window. On some level, our daily lives all run on batteries. And a lot of them still use the lithium-ion technology introduced in 1980 by John Goodenough. Just last year, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for it. There have been improvements in size and density, but no revolutionary breakthroughs for the last 40 years… Until now. At the age of 97, John Goodenough continues to work on the next battery technology.

America is starting to reopen. That’s good news, and something we need to talk about… which is exactly why it’s the focus of today’s new episode of MoneyLine. After months of shuttered businesses and “shelter in place” orders, retailers are dusting off their storefronts and people are getting back out into the world – albeit cautiously. For the first time in months, restaurants near my Baltimore home will be allowed to offer services to guests as long as they sit outside. Selfishly, I’m excited to get back out there. But it also makes me smile to know that the service workers here in Baltimore and around the country are getting back to work.

I’m a born optimist. So if there’s one thing I hate, it’s when journalists only give you the “bad news.” That’s just what’s happening now with the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. If you go by mainstream news reports, you’d think that we’re all too busy bickering over when to reopen the economy to actually do something about the virus. That is simply not the case. Healthcare workers and researchers have been working day and night to combat COVID-19. We all owe nurses and doctors on the front lines a huge debt of gratitude. And in the labs, pharmaceutical workers have supercharged the development of treatments and vaccines to fight and prevent COVID-19. You may have heard the news yesterday about Novavax (NVAX).

The S&P 500 rallied to its best level in over two months this week as news surrounding the pandemic continues to improve. We’ll take it, right? In fact, since the dip a little over a week ago, the index has bounced 5%, thanks mostly to a huge rally on Monday. In this week’s MoneyLine podcast, we’ll dive into some interesting stocks that are breaking out and look ahead at what to expect the next couple of weeks. Monday’s surge came on positive news about a potential COVID-19 vaccine. I have been asked repeatedly about this the last few weeks, so in this episode I will break down the eight top contenders in the race for the first approved vaccine.

To truly understand where the big opportunities in 5G will come from, you must know what this technology is really about. Think of a wireless communication network like 5G as you do a highway system. But instead of cars and trucks traveling on these highways, it’s phone calls, texts, emails, and payments. The massive upgrade to 5G will allow us to shoot all that information back and forth 100 times faster — as fast as the blink of an eye. In other words, you’ll be able to send and download huge amounts of data in near real-time. That’s the untold game changer coming with 5G. But many folks seem to be looking at this historic stock investing opportunity the wrong way.

“The time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets.” That sounds harsh, but it is an often-quoted investing axiom credited to Baron Rothschild. Maybe he could have put it a little more gently, but history tells us he’s right. When there is crisis in the markets, there is also great opportunity. The member of the wealthy Rothschild family made a fortune in the early 19th century when he bought investments during the famous Battle of Waterloo that ended Napoleon’s reign. That very same strategy of buying when everyone else is selling helped mint many millionaires and even billionaires over the years. I had that in mind seven weeks ago when I started a portfolio that’s up 23.4% since.

The world has been living under “social distancing” rules for two months now – even longer in some places. It typically involves staying at least six feet away from others and avoiding crowded spaces. The good thing about social distancing is that it’s a proven tool for fighting pandemics and preventing new outbreaks. But from a financial perspective – which is our perspective – the bad thing is that social distancing forces a lot of great businesses to set out the “Closed” sign. The good news is that some of these businesses are already showing early signs of roaring right back. In tomorrow’s Monthly Issue of Early Stage Investor, I explain how this meteoric rebound is creating the best opportunities.