While the other 493 stocks in the S&P 500 may seem “ordinary” by comparison, I think they are anything but. In fact, a few show the promise of star quality themselves.

John Jagerson and Wade Hansen here. Over the past year, we’ve had the amazing opportunity to lead Predictive Alpha... But we’re not here to talk about what An-E has helped us do since April of 2023…

These impressive achievements by Nvidia and U.S. stocks certainly deserve praise, if not also a ticker-tape parade. At the same time, though, we must not forget that all glory is fleeting… not least the glory of high-flying stocks. Lofty valuations do not last forever.

As I mentioned earlier this week, a remarkable lithium discovery has been made in a deserted area of Nevada. It’s the site of an ancient volcano that likely holds the single largest deposit of lithium anywhere on Earth! This discovery is so important because lithium, as the lightest metal on earth, is very valuable.

Battery metals are such a critical enabler of the energy transition that the scale of demand growth for some of them is mind-boggling. It will require newer technologies that increase the scale of production, without compromising the sustainable extraction of these metals.

There is an old Japanese saying that goes, “There are many paths to the top of Mount Fuji.” But I like to focus on the path to the top – because the first half of the saying also applies to investing. Today, I want to spotlight the path of lithium stocks.

On Tuesday, I chronicled my now decades-long quest for stocks of value. Specifically, India stocks vs. Intel Corp. (INTC). To quote Cheryl Crow, “No one said it would be easy, but no one said it would be this hard.” But, as it is, that is the nature of a worthy quest. While I initially sang the praises of India stocks, I have since changed my tune in favor of Intel.

Nearly three decades ago, I ventured out on a quest. In a speech entitled, “Intel vs. India – The Quest for Value,” I argued that Indian stocks were woefully underappreciated… at least in relation to Intel Corp. (INTC). But I would not be a buyer at today’s lofty levels.

Much like the internet did for efficiency and automation, AI is set to transform shopping, work, and travel, among many other industries. And there's one industry in particular that is in for a major AI-related shakeup...

Will AI usher in an era of unprecedented prosperity and abundance, or will it dominate society, rendering humans obsolete?

Amidst all the well-deserved hoopla for AI plays, most non-AI stocks are receiving little attention from investors. Energy stocks fall into that bucket, but I believe they deserve a fresh look.

Every New Year always tempts us to engage in a bit of future-gazing, no matter how fruitless and frivolous that gazing might prove to be. Here at Smart Money, we could not – and did not – resist that temptation.

Is gold really as dazzling as it appears? I say, not so much. Gold is not an investment in the classic sense of the word; it is a cult leader.

AI revolutionizing different industries, from healthcare to semiconductor chips. And now, artificial intelligence has come to change biotech’s game in unfathomable ways.

AI is building an entirely new foundation for explosive growth of such incalculable proportions that it could add trillions of dollars to the trillion-dollar market value Amazon already possesses…

Throughout the so-called Rust Belt states of the Upper Midwest (which include Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan, to name a few), vibrant new high-tech industries – including AI – are emerging from the crumbling foundations of ancient ones.

We can pretend that rational minds, coupled with societal self-preservation, will thwart the dark side of AI. But we’ve read this story before, and we know how it proceeds.

AI will create passageways to sweeping, even mind-blowing, change. But as it does so, it will disrupt the status quo and leave behind the wreckage of dated technologies and hollowed-out industries.

As InvestorPlace’s macro investing specialist, I look for big-picture trends that drive huge, multiyear moves in entire sectors of the market. And after waiting in the wings for years, AI has taken center stage and is stoking investors’ imaginations with visions of lavish stock market gains for years to come.