What Valentine's Day Means for Stocks

February 14 is a great day for businesses around the country...

According to the National Retail Federation, consumers are expected to spend a record $27.5 billion on flowers, chocolates, jewelry, and more.

But while business activity gets a boost, stocks don't usually get a lot of love on Valentine's Day. Howard Silverblatt, a senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices, found that stocks are only up around 41.7% of the time on February 14 – compared with an average of 52.2%. And when they do rise, it's only for an average gain of 0.62%.

Of course, this Valentine's Day, nothing about the markets is exactly normal. With President Donald Trump announcing new initiatives daily – and sometimes quickly reversing course – the markets have reacted with equal confusion. But it's clear that his administration has huge changes planned.

And that means a lot of unique investment opportunities...

According to my friend Joel Litman over at our corporate affiliate Altimetry, Trump's plan to deregulate the American economy could send a group of little-known stocks soaring as soon as March 3.

Luckily, Joel has developed a system to identify exactly which stocks may benefit, so you can get in before that crucial date.

In a recently released interview, Joel explained...

• Why his system is one of the best stock-rating tools in America today.
• How it works, and how he has previously used it to uncover huge stock market gains.
• How Trump's deregulation agenda could give investors their biggest potential gains yet.

On top of all that, you'll receive one of Joel's best picks for free, just for tuning in. Get all the details here.

Now, let's get into this week's Q&A... As always, keep sending your comments, questions, and topic suggestions to feedback@healthandwealthbulletin.com. My team and I read every e-mail.

Q: I always look forward to your health updates. What do you think of the Suja uber greens drink? It's got a lot of good veggies, including cucumbers, celery, grapefruit, chard, lettuce, and lemon, and it has only five grams of sugar, and it actually tastes pretty good. Thanks in advance. – K.L.

A: Thanks for your question, K.L.

Longtime readers know I advise against drinking juices in place of whole produce, and green drinks like this Suja one you mentioned are a good example of why... They always look super healthy until you really break down the nutrients you're getting per bottle.

One of the biggest issues is the lack of fiber. When you eat a piece of fruit – like an orange – the fiber in the fruit helps slow the absorption of sugar. But when you're drinking something with sugar, there's no fiber to slow the absorption, so your body gets a glucose spike. (These spikes increase your risk of developing diabetes and cancer.)

And the amount of nutrients you're getting from these drinks isn't impressive. Let's compare one bottle of Suja – which the company says contains 1.5 servings of fruits and vegetables – with a cup of raw kale (one of the vegetables listed as an ingredient):

You can see that for almost every nutrient, kale wins. That cup of kale also gives you fiber, calcium, magnesium, and folate. Of course, while kale is a superfood, it's not exactly the tastiest thing to eat. So let's also compare a bottle of Suja with one small grapefruit:

Grapefruit doesn't come out as well, but it does still contain fiber (which, again, helps slow the absorption of sugar), beta-carotene (which helps with eye health), and lycopene (which helps protect against certain types of cancer).

I'm not saying this Suja juice is harmful, especially if you're not downing several bottles a day. (That sugar would start to add up.) If you enjoy drinking it, it's certainly a healthier treat than a can of soda. Just don't use it as a replacement for whole fruits and veggies.

What We're Reading...

• Did you miss it? The most hated bull market is happening today.
• Something different: If you want to keep your brain healthy, play music.

Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,

Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
February 14, 2025

P.S. Our offices are closed for Presidents Day next Monday. Expect your next Health & Wealth Bulletin issue on Tuesday, February 18.