Markets are volatile again but is this sell-off creating the next generation of multi-bagger stocks? In this episode of In the Money with Amber Kanwar, Optimist Fund’s Jordan McNamee breaks down why he’s staying aggressively bullish despite market panic driven by AI disruption fears, geopolitical tension with Iran, and rising interest rate uncertainty.
One of my big accomplishments last year was putting up the Christmas lights on my own. Every night I’d glance outside and feel quiet pride in my hard work. Well…its almost April. And the lights are still up. Pride has turned to knowing procrastination. My husband hasn’t said anything (yet), but I can feel the judgement building. I’m currently workshopping my arguments for why he should be the one to take them down since I put them up. Suggestions welcome.
Here are five things to know today:
According to plan: Stocks and gold are higher this morning as the US has floated a 15-point peace plan to end the war with Iran. Oil prices are falling about 6% to $87/barrel. Reports suggest the US delivered the proposal via Pakistani officials and is awaiting a response from Iran. In the meantime, Iran continues its barrage of attacks on Israel and the Gulf States. Words like “peace” and “ceasefire” are enough to whet the risk appetite of investors this morning. Gold is advancing after a nine-session losing streak. It’s decline has been curious given its perceived safe haven in times of crisis and inflation. Volatility scared off retail investors, argued TD in a note to clients on March 23rd. In addition, Middle Eastern countries were taking their US dollars and buying gold. “Now, Middle Eastern nations’ are facing deep economic pain, and energy importers will struggle to keep this trend alive as their USDs are being spent on elevated energy costs,” said TD noting “The Iran conflict blew this dynamic up.”
Cracks in the foundation: Shares of KB Home dipping 2% in the pre-market after home deliveries missed expectations and cut its forecast for the year. The homebuilder said the war in Iran is deterring prospective home buyers. Which sounds like an excuse, however, the CEO said momentum was solid in January and February but the last few weeks have been “softer.” As a result of the softness, the company warned it will deliver fewer homes and reduced its revenue outlook for the year. The reported quarter, which predates the war, was also soft. Home deliveries declined 14% and sales plunged 23%, both were worse than feared. Homebuilders were rallying on hopes a rate cut this year would stoke some demand, but the war forced a recalibration of that because it will lead to inflation and possibly higher rates. Shares of KB Home are down 23% over the past month.
Lean times: Shares of Ag Growth International could come significant pressure after the company’s profit plunged more than feared, announced it is slashing the leadership team in half, and suspended its dividend. Raymond James and National Bank both downgraded the grain handling company following results. These results will likely stunt the nascent recovery in the stock after a disasterous 2025. Recall, in November the stock plunged because of accounting issues around its Brazilian operations, activist pressure that led to the ouster of the CEO and persistent headwinds in selling equipment to North American farmers. “This is a rather brutal quarter / outlook – that to be precise – came on the back of a material Q3/25 beat that was reported, as you might recall, on Jan. 9, 2026,” wrote Maxim Sytchev of National Bank in his downgrade, “How the nature of cost overruns, warranty charges and bad debt write-offs came to light just now is rather bewildering.”
Take a hike: Shares of Intel (+4%) and AMD (+3%) are popping in the pre-market on reports they are preparing to hike the price of their CPUs by 10%. These chips are effectively the brain of the computer and tell other chips what to do. Its another blow to the PC sector which is already facing price pressures from soaring memory chips. I own Intel.
That was quick: One day after Boralex announced it was putting itself up for sale it has announced it has agreed to a sale to Brookfield Asset Management and Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec. The renwable power producer acknowledged reports yesterday that it was pursuing strategic alternatives with typical boiler plate language including “there can be no assurance that such a review will result in a transaction.” Clearly they were far along in the process with BAM and the Caisse for a deal to be announced today. The pair will buy Boralex for $37.25/share in a deal that values the company at $9 billion. This is a 13% premium to yesterday’s close and a 32% premium to the unaffected price on March 20th. Shares of Boralex had been languishing hitting a 5-year low at the end of 2025. Caisse, meanwhile, has been scooping up these assets having bought rival Innergex in July.
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