(New York)

For years robotics was pigeonholed into major US manufacturing duties but new technology and artificial intelligence are turning that around…see the full story on our partner Magnifi’s site

(New York)

It is pretty easy to sum up what seems like it will be a forthcoming bull market in high yield bonds: “2021 will be the year of the upgrade”. That quote comes from Matt Brill, head of North America investment-grade at Invesco. Ratings agencies are reportedly on the cusp of upgrading between $100 bn and $300 bn of junk bonds to investment grade this year and next. Fund managers are trying to buy the bonds they think will be upgraded as such a move will cause a lot of arbitrary buying by index trackers.

FINSUM: There were huge downgrades last year as the pandemic wiped out prices in big parts of the sector. Now, with the economy resurgent, big upgrades look likely, which should give the whole asset class wings.

(Washington)

Biden’s new proposed $2 tn infrastructure package is a gargantuan bill (coming right after the newest pandemic relief package) that will have significant effects on stocks generally, and specific ones more narrowly. The plan is so big that it harkens back to 1950s era spending. Barron’s described it best, saying “At 10% of current gross domestic product, doled out over eight years, the plan reads like a Rooseveltian blueprint for economic and social engineering”. The big winners are pretty clear: infrastructure stocks, and more specifically construction and industrials. The Invesco DWA Industrials Momentum (PRN) and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) are great ways to play the rise in these types of shares, with the latter offering more large-cap exposure. In terms of specific names, look for MasTec, Aecom, and Jacobs Engineering Group.

FINSUM: Biden is setting up infrastructure stocks to have a golden run over the next few years. As the package inches closer to passing, these sectors should rise.

(New York)

Let’s be clear, value stocks have been doing great over the last six months as growth stocks have started to fizzle. Accordingly, a lot of the small cap value stocks you could have found at the end of last summer have already risen strongly. However, there are a number of them that still look great buys according to fund managers. Here are a few names to explore: Citizens Financial Group, a strong regional bank; United Community Banks, a quick-growing regional bank; Sunstone Hotel Investors, a REIT that owns hotel buildings and leases them to big hotel chains; Herc Holdings, a construction and earth-moving equipment rental company; Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp, a timeshare operator; and Ultra Clean Holdings, which makes chemicals and equipment for the semiconductor industry.

FINSUM: A bounce back in leisure travel is quite an interesting play for us, so Sunstone and Marriott Vacations look interesting, but all of these are worth a deeper dive.

(New York)

Investors have been looking for assets poised for a rally as the economy begins to open. Many specific sub-industries like…read the full story on our partner Magnifi’s site