(San Francisco)

What should investors do about tech stocks? That is a big question. After an extraordinary run over the last couple of years, things have a hit a real rough patch. Worries about regulation loom. With that said, Goldman Sachs is optimistic on some large and midsize tech stocks. One of its high conviction picks is Netflix, which is down around 30% recently. Goldman is steadfastly a believer, however, saying “We believe Netflix represents one of the best risk/reward propositions in the Internet sector”. Other names to look at from Goldman include Expedia and Etsy.

FINSUM: What we like about these three names is that they seem the least likely to be impacted by any new privacy regulations.

(New York)

Retail stocks are in a tenuous position. They thrived to begin 2018, and for three quarters rolled to solid gains. Then in the fourth quarter they got rocked despite the fact that they had been gaining momentum from healthier consumer spending and a stronger than expected holiday shopping season. So what to do? Jefferies says it is time to buy the dip, based on the fact that “The consumer is strong, Amazon isn’t killing retail, the Federal Reserve is more dovish, oil down, first-half weather compares easy, free cash flow piling up, margins are moving up and consumer discretionary stocks are cheap on absolute and relative basis”. Check out these names: Gap, American Eagle Outfitters, Five Below, Foot Locker, Kohl’s, Urban Outfitters, Under Armour, Tapestry, and Lululemon Athletica.

FINSUM: Our view is that at some point soon (has it already happened?), ecommerce and brick and mortar are going to fall into equilibrium. When that happens, it will be good for traditional retailing stocks.

(New York)

The big market rout has left no shortage of stocks trading at large discounts to their previous valuations. The important question is which ones are actually a good value given the eruption in markets. With that in mind, here are four well-known names to take a look at. They are General Motors, CVS Health, Macy’s, and American Airlines. GM and AA are trading at near 5x earnings, the latter despite a thriving business. AT&T is interesting too, as shares have fallen 20% in the last year, and the dividend has swelled to 6.7%.

FINSUM: This seems like a good chance to pick up some healthy stocks that have been heavily dented by a selloff, but are poised to recover. We particularly like American Airlines and AT&T.

(New York)

One of the most well-known finance professors in the nation, Jeremy Siegel of Wharton, says that the market looks sets for a great stretch. The catch is in order for that great run to happen, we need to avoid a recession. According to Professor Siegel, “My feeling is that the market is virtually positioned for a mild recession, but I just don’t think that it’s going to happen … If we avoid a recession, we’re going to have a really good market”. He continued “I think we swung too positive last summer and now I think we’ve swung too negative”. Siegel believes that if a recession does hit, the market is in for another 5-10% fall.

FINSUM: We would have to agree. This selloff, which has corresponded with great earnings in 2018, is basically a recession already being priced in (maybe not quite), so if the recession never comes, at some point there is going to be an “all clear” rally.

(Beijing)

Happy new year—the Dow opened down 350 points this morning on fears over a Chinese slowdown. New data is out of the country which shows that Beijing’s manufacturing sector is contracting, a sign that tariffs may be flowing through to the economy. That makes markets hope more than ever for a trade agreement between the US and Beijing, which would likely alleviate the economic strain. The S&P 500 has fallen 20.2% on an intraday basis, an official bear market.

FINSUM: The implications of a big Chinese slowdown are serious. Firstly, how does the country react politically to what they likely view (or will project) as a US-imposed slowdown? Secondly, how much does the slowdown drag down the global economy?