Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT)

I will be taking the very first step in rebuilding my long in LMT this morning as the market sagged, and I do think that an entry level for BA is around here someplace.

If the need arises to defend, or take to offense, Lockheed is at least as important as any other firm in the nation.

Here are a number of things that I'm watching now.

There is no political will on either side of the aisle to address ever expanding deficits.

This is a good stock and a good company that I really, really like.

This coronavirus remains a China-centric problem? People are not yet dying in other countries. Do we have to worry here? That's the wrong question.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, not a man given to exaggerate, has referred to the spread of this coronavirus in China as 'a grave situation.'

Does such a large increase in Chinese spending on U.S. 'stuff' give reason to doubt that future action lives up to words on a page (or 86 pages for that matter)?

Apparently, unless the Iranian military simply does not train on their weapons, which I do not believe, the exercise was one of saving face... for now.

Analysts from the independent research firm review their picks from last year and share their new favorites.

You asked for it, so here it is: This is where to put your money if the conflict with Iran gets out of control.

What I suggest individual investors do is give their portfolios a physical. Like a visit to the doctor.

Here's how to play the defense stock right now.

What you have is a geopolitical event that markets were not positioned for.

There are two overt threats to market health and by extension to U.S. economic growth.

There is less risk if one has the conviction of opinion in expressing their own view through several options strategies than there is in staking a claim in the equity space.

If you've ever read me, you know that I have long been involved with almost all of these defense stocks at one time or another.

Here's a salute to our best and brightest, who keep this nation's economy -- and our livelihoods -- going strong.

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Defense stocks offer both downside protection and potential upside.

Markets are watching what Fed Chair Powell will signal for future rate cuts during this afternoon's FOMC rate decision.

There is a chance that Presidents Trump and Xi sign something when they meet up at the APEC summit this November in Santiago, Chile.

The Trump and Xi administrations are at least looking at the same page. That's more than nothing.

'Playing defense' makes sense in this market.

The lack of accurate predictability across all of these metrics is why a certain level of diversification is always necessary.

The fact is that there are several highly significant barriers with China still to be satisfactorily addressed before any real progress might be realized.

Plus, defense contractors remain stocks to own as geopolitical risk isn't going away.