Articles

Here’s something most people forget about interest rates: The Fed does not call all the shots here.

This means that, in the coming months, we may see a setup where the Fed’s rate—the “overnight” rate at which financial institutions lend to each other—and the 10-year Treasury rate (pacesetter for business and consumer loans) part company.

Today we’re going to dig into a “stealth” 5.7%-paying stock that’s a perfect contrarian play on this situation. This one pays us every month, too.

Fed Cuts … and Rates Soar!?

I say that this “rate split” is possible because, well, it’s already happened in the last few months.… Read more

The AI boom still has plenty of room to run—but investing purely in AI stocks is not the best way to tap into it.

NVIDIA (NVDA) and friends yield next to nothing! And these are crowded trades.

Luckily for us, there’s another way to get in. Bargains are still available in the corner of the market we’ll get into below—as are 10%+ dividends. It’s all tied into AI’s voracious appetite for electricity. Yes, utilities are part of this play, but we want to go a little bit deeper and zero in on stocks specifically tied into nuclear power.

We’re going to tap into those through high-yield closed-end funds (CEFs) that both trade at discounts and send huge payouts our way, too.… Read more

The Nasdaq has been rallying nonstop since April. Let’s discuss three payouts up to 11.2% that play the rally.

The catalyst is the “rise of the machines” with companies replacing expensive humans with cheaper robots and AI tools. Hiring numbers are down and (paradoxically to some) the Nasdaq continues to levitate higher.

This summer heater in tech stocks is no surprise to us contrarians. The Naz tech giants are enjoying expanding profit margins! Amazon (AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy recently admitted the company’s workforce will shrink, replaced by AI. This is bad for those who work at Amazon, but great for those who own AMZN.… Read more

By now you’ve no doubt heard the argument that AI is a bubble, and there’s no way Big Tech will make a significant profit from it, given the massive amounts of cash they’ve already piled in.

That take is just plain wrong—truth is, the tech giants are already booking profits from AI. And we closed-end fund (CEF) investors can grab our share at a discount—and at dividend rates running all the way up to 13%, too.

This next chart tells us straight-up why the “AI-is-unprofitable” theory is off the mark.

Look at the far left of this chart and you see that communication-services stocks led in profit growth in the second quarter of 2025.… Read more

Holding low-yielding shares? Here’s how to boost dividends up to 35%—no buying or selling needed.

We’ll use boring ol’ SPY—SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY)—as our first example. The fund yields a sleepy 1.1%, yet it’s the most owned ticker in America.

Here’s how we fix SPY’s yield problem.

On Monday, I received an email from OptionSignals, the timing system I developed for Contrarian Outlook readers who write covered calls and sell puts to generate income. OptionSignals tells us when it is a promising time to write calls or sell puts on an index, fund or individual stock.… Read more

I have to laugh when I hear the phrase “return to the office.”

I mean, COVID started more than five years ago. With the turnover in Corporate America since then, we can hardly call what’s happening now a “return.”

Most of those “returning” aren’t even the same people!

Nonetheless, the, shall we say, revenge, of the office is real. My wife and I saw it firsthand when we went to an open house here in Sacramento a few months ago. Staring into the front room, labeled “home office,” my wife said, “Programmer.”

“They’re hoping for a rentback,” said the realtor.… Read more

Brand new dividends are often the best divvies to buy. Here why.

Companies typically initiate a new payout when they are serious about it. This means not only is management going to make sure the dividend is adequately funded, but they are also likely to raise it in a year.

Perennial raises command our attention because these growing payouts tend to pull their stock prices higher. This is the “Dividend Magnet” phenomenon we often discuss and highlight in my Hidden Yields research advisory. The most lucrative stocks to buy today are the ones that are growing their payouts the fastest tomorrow.… Read more

Today we’re going to talk about a unique fund that’s soared 69.4% so far this year—but despite that huge run, it’s still not a buy.

That said, there is a route to a buy here that I think will surprise you.

So what’s the name of this high-flyer? ASA Gold and Precious Metals Ltd. (ASA). It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, and the fund itself isn’t very well-known.

The details: ASA has a bit more than $600 million in assets under management, making it small compared to most ETFs, CEFs’ more popular cousins. As you can likely tell from the name, ASA focuses on gold and other precious metals.… Read more

Fire Powell? Keep him around? The question never seems to go away—and the markets, fueled by the so-called “TACO” trade (“Trump always chickens out,” as the acronym goes), are shrugging it all off.

But what if Trump calls Wall Street’s bluff? Luckily, there are not one but three ways for us to hedge ourselves from the “TACO trade” going cold. Below, we’ll look at all three and I’ll name my favorite of this trio. Plus we’ll grab ourselves tidy dividends of 7%+, too.

Powell Has Been On His Way Out (or Not!) for Months

If you’re experiencing déjà vu, it’s because this same story happened back in April, and it sent stocks plunging back then.… Read more

Money market accounts still offer 5%, but these rates won’t last. Short-term yields are dropping, fast.

With the “safe 5% party” ending, you and I should skedaddle to the “11% yield afterparty” now. Fear not, my fellow contrarian—I have an extra dividend VIP pass for you.

Fed Chair Jay Powell’s tenure is in the homestretch. Whether or not ol’ Jay makes it to the finish or gets hauled off prematurely, the Chair is a lame duck as far as the markets are concerned.

Traders are pricing in two Fed cuts over the next nine months. Meanwhile, the industry projects money market rates to plummet to 3.8% by year end, with the 2-year Treasury yield also trending down, currently at 3.9%.… Read more