Weekend reads: AMC and GameStop rocket again

More about the “meme stocks:”

Here’s another bitcoin risk

The price of bitcoin BTCUSD, -7.26% in U.S. dollars is down 44% from its peak on April 21, in part because of a warning from the People’s Bank of China against using bitcoin to make payments and signals from China’s government that tighter regulations on the cryptocurrency are coming.

But what about bitcoin mining, upon which so much of investors and traders’ belief in its pricing is based? Mark Hulbert explains how the miners — and bitcoin’s price — can be disrupted by China’s government.

More cryptocoverage:

The Epic-Apple battle continues

There won’t be a verdict in the lawsuit by Epic Games against Apple Inc. AAPL, -0.20% until August, but R “Ray” Wang believes there is already a clear winner.

Time to jump on tech stocks?

So far this year, the S&P 500 has returned 12.5% (with dividends reinvested), while the normally high-flying information technology sector has returned only 6%. Looking back, the full S&P 500 hasn’t beaten its technology sector for a calendar year since 2013, when the index soared 32% and the tech group was up “only” 28%.

Michael Brush gives five reasons to jump on tech stocks now as a contrarian play.

More on tech companies and their stocks:

Looking for a quaint place and lots of nature

Continuing her series about retirement locations, Silvia Ascarelli helps a woman who says she’s had a gypsy-like past and now wants to find a place with “a tribe that connects with my vibe.”

Which of the three suggestions would you pick?

For your own retirement location search, try MarketWatch’s upgraded retirement location tool, which now includes data for more than 3,000 U.S. counties.

Should you buy … Tesla?

Jeff Reeves takes a close look at Tesla Inc. TSLA, -0.05%, whose shares have slumped 31% from their record high set on Jan. 25. A decision on whether to buy may hinge on how many years out you can look.

More StockWatch stories:

MarketWatch premium

In an exclusive for MarketWatch subscribers, Mark Hulbert digs into eight indicators that explain the likely action for small-cap stocks over the next year.

Michael Arone, the chief investment strategist for State Street Global Advisors’ U.S. SPDR exchange-traded fund business, recommends investors track the labor market rather than worrying about inflation — and then focus on these four sectors of the stock market.

This ‘new’ stimulus might keep coming

It isn’t a really a new benefit, but it is one that many parents may not realize is part of the $1.9 trillion stimulus federal stimulus package that President Joe Biden signed into law in March: Monthly payments to families of $300 per child under age 6 and $250 per child aged 6 to 17 that will run for six months beginning in July. 

Victor Reklaitis looks into the likelihood that this may turn out to be a benefit with a much longer life.

Booster shots and opportunities for vaccine makers

Jaimy Lee digs deep into efforts by Moderna Inc. MRNA, +3.56%, Pfizer Inc. PFE, +0.48%, Johnson & Johnson JNJ, +0.49% and BioNTech SE BNTX, +4.23% to figure how long their successful vaccines can remain effective and what type of booster shots will be needed.

Just in time for the big holiday weekend — shortages

As we head into Memorial Day weekend, Andrew Keshner lists the five items or services are are the most difficult to obtain for a reasonable price.

And what’s up with that $34 lobster roll?

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