Barron’s Weekend Summary: Self-driving cars are becoming a reality, and while Tesla made them popular, investors have many stocks to buy, and to avoid.
* Cover Story: While the technology to develop fully automated, or self-driving cars, has advanced considerably, it has been constrained by a series of factors. Therefore, cars must still rely on drivers even if the Ford Motor Co. had predicted that it would be selling a car without the ubiquitous steering wheel in 2021. Despite the boastful and unfulfilled promises, however, a “fully automated car is closer than investors might realize,” and many companies are ready to offer it in forthcoming models.
* Tech Trader: The threat of tech regulation can no longer be ignored as President Biden has sent a strong signal by appointing Columbia Law School Professor Lina Khan as the new chair of the Federal Trade Commission. Khan has been a vocal critic of the tech industry and its tendency toward monopolization, which has many tech investors worried.
* Trader: The markets suffered their worst week since October 2020. But the situation can only worsen, given that the Federal Reserve, unexpectedly, indicated that interest rate hikes and monetary tightening are have begun, catching investors off guard and concerned that the long-feared stock market correction may have already begun.
* Profile: Debbie Jorgensen, an advisor at Merrill Lynch, who started at Merrill Lynch in 1984, at the age of 23, as one of the first two employees to earn a designation as a Certified Financial Planner after graduating from Stanford University with a degree in economics. “Now, of course, Merrill encourages people to get their CFP certification,” she said. Asked about her biggest challenge as an advisor, she said that it is: “Building a client base from scratch.” She also noted that it’s challenging to find serve clients “who have complex financial lives and many moving parts.” And this is why she limits the number of clients to less than 100 in order to work closely with them.
* Features: positive on LEN: says Lennar is well positioned to capitalize on the US housing shortage. Despite elevated lumber prices the company still expanded gross margins by 4.5ppt in its latest quarter.Positive on SIX: 1.3M people showed up at Six Flags amusement parks in Q1, more than double the analyst consensus, which bodes well for the summer season as the US fully reopens.Positive on FDX: articles says Fedex will be able to charge higher fees as demand strengthens, though it may need to report a big beat on earnings this week to move the stock higher in the near term.