The Latest Picks And Pans From Barron's Include Airlines, Energy, Steel And More

This weekend's Barron's cover story explores how big the impact of supply chain bottlenecks and shortages will be on holiday sales.

Other featured articles discuss how to play the worldwide energy crunch and which dividend stocks provide some protection from inflation.

Also, see the prospects for an overlooked electric vehicle play, a rebound in steel stocks, and airlines as the pandemic wanes.

Cover story "Will Shortages Ruin the Holidays? What You Need to Know" by Jack Hough makes the case that big store chains like Walmart Inc WMT are coping with the bottlenecks, which means that the outlook for holiday sales is looking brighter. That is good news for the likes of Hasbro, Inc. HAS and Nike Inc NKE?

In "There's a Worldwide Energy Crunch. Here's How to Play It," Avi Salzman suggests that investors looking to get exposure to surging prices for natural gas and other fuel sources might consider Marathon Oil Corporation MRO, Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A). See which other energy stocks Barron's thinks are worth considering now.

Al Root's "An Electric-Vehicle Play That's Stuck In Neutral" points out that heavy-duty truck components from Meritor Inc MTOR have a bright future in electric vehicles, but investors have yet to give this Rockwell International spin-off the credit it deserves. Find out what Barron's believes may be next for the Michigan-based company.

Steel companies are benefiting from surging demand and prices, and the future looks bright, according to "The Steel Industry Is Undergoing a Rebirth. 5 Stocks That Could Shine" by Andrew Bary. Yet, says the article, the stocks remain among Wall Street's cheapest. Is Cleveland-Cliffs Inc CLF or United States Steel Corporation X a bargain?

In Jack Hough's "Airlines May Get a Business-Travel Boost. Buy Shares, but Don't Hold Them for Long," find out why, even if the airlines leave COVID-19 behind, all the industry's old problems remain. Investor should keep this in mind as bookings for carriers like JetBlue Airways Corporation JLBU are creeping up, and business travelers actually might be returning.

"Try These Dividend Stocks for Some Inflation Protection" by Lawrence C. Strauss features two financial pros who discuss why Citigroup Inc C, Coca-Cola Co KO, ConocoPhillips COP and others could be good investments as inflation picks up. Which ones offer the best protection again rising prices?

Also in this week's Barron's: