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It's happening again. The stock market is bending but not breaking. After a weak opening on Monday, stocks started recovering around noon as bond yields subsided. While the S&P 500 (SPX) was able to finish flat, the Nasdaq dropped 0.4%, the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) fell 0.3%, and the Information Technology sector gave back 0.7%. Unfortunately, after the 10-year yield dropped from 4.8% to 4.77% midday, yields went right back up to the highs for the day. If we look at the stocks in both the SPX and QQQ over the past week, some of the biggest 2024 winners are getting hit the hardest -- with many down from 4% to 16%. We wrote about the market hanging in there until the end of the year as investors wanted to wait until 2025 to sell their big winners and put off paying capital-gains tax. We thought that tax-selling decisions should not be part of a selling rationale. And some indeed are paying the price! Vickers Stock Research, a sister company of Argus Research, publishes the Weekly Insider Report, detailing trends in insider sentiment. Vickers one-week sell/buy ratio for the Nasdaq moved into negative territory last week -- and in a manner that calls for some attention. The ratio is now an eye-popping 15.57 compared to 4.54 the week before, this on a scale where any reading above 6.00 is bearish. That is an ominous result under any circumstances, but we especially hate to see it just as earnings season is starting and insiders will be prohibited from trading for multiple weeks. Indeed, the ratio is not the "final word" we wanted from executives, directors, and beneficial owners just as 4Q results start to hit the tape. Yesterday's big winners must deal with sellers on two fronts. (Mark Arbeter, CMT)

The Argus team of analysts has presented its Best Picks for 2025. Each analyst surveyed their coverage universe, reviewed forward-looking indicators for those companies, and made decisions about which seemingly have the most growth and investment promise for the year. Our team is deeply experienced, as each analyst has spent on average 25 years on Wall Street and 15 years at Argus Research. As such, they are well-versed in our proprietary fundamental six-point valuation process and have deep knowledge of the sectors they cover. They also have solid relationships with many of the management teams they cover. The Argus Investment Policy Committee, made up of our most senior staff, is comprised of Jim Kelleher, CFA, our director of research; President John Eade; Senior Fixed-Income Analyst Kevin Heal, Director of Financial Institutions Research Steve Biggar, and Chris Graja, CFA, our senior economist. The committee provides macro outlooks for the economy, interest rates, earnings, and the stock market. Here is the Argus Best Picks list for 2025.

National Grid owns and operates the electric transmission system in England and Wales. It sold the bulk of its UK gas transmission business in fiscal 2023 to fund the acquisition of PPL's UK power distribution assets. In the Northeastern United States, it serves electricity and gas customers combined in three states. It also owns regulated transmission and electricity generation in the United States, metering services, merchant transmission lines in the UK, and the Grain (UK) liquefied natural gas facility.

Portland General Electric is a regulated electric utility providing generation, transmission, and distribution services in a service territory that includes about half of all Oregon residents and two thirds of the state's business activity. The company owns (wholly or through joint ventures) 3.5 gigawatts of gas, coal, wind, and hydro generation.