Taking up a high-intensity sport like squash later in life comes with a familiar medical warning: check your blood pressure before stepping on the court. The risks are well understood.

But who offers the same advice to investors? With the U.S. Federal Reserve navigating an uncertain path under new leadership, the strain on markets has become too hard to ignore for some observers, and the macroeconomic arteries are showing early signs of plaque buildup. 

That said, regular monitoring helps. My blood pressure is checked and firmly in the green.

In the Weekly Market Digest, the focus was on the last day of the week, when uncertainty triggered profit-taking and a sharp correction in precious metals and equities levered to them. 

The Exploration Insights Portfolio declined last week. Although it outperformed the precious metal equity ETFs, it lagged the base metal ones. I have decided to make several changes to the portfolio, including divesting a grassroots precious metal explorer in northern Europe, downgrading a silver-gold developer in Argentina from a Top Pick, and replacing it with a grassroots copper explorer in northern Canada. Finally, I will fund the addition of a grassroots copper explorer in Peru with a partial sale of a REE developer in South America. 

In Stock Talk, I review the investment thesis behind the new portfolio addition. I also cover drill results from an advanced gold-antimony explorer, a silver-gold developer in Argentina, and a newly minted Top Pick grassroots copper explorer.