text stringlengths 1 675k ⌀ |
|---|
What Percentage Of Lightspeed POS Inc. (TSE:LSPD) Shares Do Insiders Own?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
Every investor in Lightspeed POS Inc. (TSE:LSPD) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. Warren Buffett said that he likes 'a business with enduring competitive advantages that is run by able and owner-oriented people'. So it's nice to see some insider ownership, because it may suggest that management is owner-oriented.
With a market capitalization of CA$2.8b, Lightspeed POS is a decent size, so it is probably on the radar of institutional investors. In the chart below below, we can see that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about LSPD.
See our latest analysis for Lightspeed POS
Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.
As you can see, institutional investors own 38% of Lightspeed POS. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Lightspeed POS's historic earnings and revenue, below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Lightspeed POS is not owned by hedge funds. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
The definition of company insiders can be subjective, and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer to the board; and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board, themselves.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Lightspeed POS Inc.. Insiders own CA$557m worth of shares in the CA$2.8b company. That's quite meaningful. It is good to see this level of investment. You cancheck here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.
The general public, with a 42% stake in the company, will not easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too.
I always like to check for ahistory of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart ofhistoric revenue and earnings in thisdetailed graph.
If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss thisfreereport on analyst forecasts.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Top Amazon Lawyer: 'Justice for All' Requires More Funding and Innovation
The rule of law paves the way for prosperity, and American corporations have a major stake in keeping the country’s promise of equal justice under law. Without it, the communities where we work and live are less prosperous, and so are the customers we serve. If our civil justice system is any indication, however, America isn’t living up to that promise, and we are all suffering the consequences. Every day, problems that have fundamentally legal solutions—like a debt collector wrongfully garnishing hard-earned wages—derail the lives of people who are already struggling to make ends meet. Too often it happens because they don’t know their rights or can’t get legal help or information. In three out of four state civil court cases today, one or both parties are without legal representation, tipping the scales of justice toward those who can afford an attorney. The results are devastating: Families are wrongfully evicted from their homes, disaster survivors can’t get back on their feet, and veterans aren’t able to obtain benefits for mental and physical challenges. Millions of Americans lose civil cases every year simply because they can’t find their way through the maze that is the U.S. civil court system. Corporations have a responsibility to the communities they serve. Providing pro bono legal assistance is one piece of a patchwork of solutions to the current crisis of civil injustice. At Amazon , we‘re partnering with a variety of nonprofits and law firms to expand the efforts of our in-house lawyers to represent clients in need. In Seattle, for example, we are building shelter space in one of our new downtown Seattle offices for Mary’s Place , a nonprofit dedicated to supporting families experiencing homelessness, which will include a pro bono legal clinic to provide legal help to families staying in the shelter. This effort aligns with Amazon’s broader corporate focus on alleviating homelessness to provide more consistent, regular support to those in immediate need, and meet the challenge of homelessness in innovative new ways. Story continues But with an estimated 6,415 people in need per legal aid attorney in the U.S., there simply aren’t enough corporate lawyers to solve this crisis on a pro bono basis. That is why it’s critical to increase funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), which funds legal aid for Americans living in poverty. With the House of Representatives poised to pass a historic $135 million increase in LSC’s funding in this year’s budget, it will soon be up to the Senate to make this critical investment a reality. It costs more to care for people after injustice occurs than it does to ensure equal access to justice, so investing in the expansion of civil justice yields a real return on investment. In Alabama, every $1 of investments in civil legal aid yielded $11.95 in immediate and long-term benefits, such as lowering foreclosure and eviction costs for the government and homeowners. Florida tells a similar story : Every dollar spent on legal aid generated more than $7 in similar economic benefits. Beyond funding, addressing the root causes of our civil justice crisis will require collaboration between the public and private sectors. Until recently , Washington state’s eviction code allowed landlords to kick tenants out of their homes and onto the streets with just three days’ notice for being late on their monthly rent. The code, which hadn’t been updated in more than 40 years, stacked the deck against tenants who couldn’t afford legal representation. Half of these evictions resulted in a default judgment because tenants didn’t—or couldn’t—contest the eviction in court. Homelessness in the U.S. has been increasing , despite a tight labor market. In Washington, it’s clear our outdated eviction laws have contributed to the problem. When Washington’s state legislature began reviewing these laws this year, I partnered with general counsel and chief legal officers from some of the state’s most important employers, including Starbucks , Microsoft , Alaska Airlines, and Expedia , to successfully encourage common sense reforms of Washington’s eviction code. The package of reforms, which among other factors extended the eviction notice deadline to 14 days, was signed into law in May. When businesses, government, the courts, legal aid, and community partners work together, it’s possible to create a continuum of services to offer appropriate help that makes justice for all possible. With simplified paperwork, clearer court processes, and better access to legal self-help technology, people can get the information they need and handle some problems themselves, without having to seek advice or representation from a lawyer in the first place. States and cities must also consider appropriate legislative solutions, like we saw in Washington state, to break down needless barriers to justice. The inequities plaguing our country’s civil justice system should transcend any partisan divide. All parties should agree—as do some of the country’s biggest and most successful corporations—that every American, regardless of economic status or zip code, deserves access to legal help. The private and public sectors need to work together to fix the broken civil justice system and ensure justice for all. David Zapolsky is senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary at Amazon. More opinion in Fortune : —Western Union CEO: Cashless banking marginalizes much of the global economy —The Uber IPO was not a failure, but IPOs in general are a mess —Democrats shouldn’t be skeptical of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement —Does the SEC’s ICO lawsuit against Kik go too far ? —How to stop automation from leaving women behind Listen to our new audio briefing, Fortune 500 Daily |
Here's Why Biohaven Pharmaceutical Plummeted Today
Shares ofBiohaven Pharmaceutical(NYSE: BHVN)are down 24% at 11:47 a.m. EDT after the biotech said it plans to sell $300 million worth of shares in asecondary offering. The underwriters also have an option to buy an additional $45 million of shares.
Shares often go down in anticipation of a secondary offering since large institutional investors typically want a discount to the current price because the new shares cause dilution with every share now representing a smaller piece of the pie. A 24% decline is a bigger discount than is typical, although there's a pretty wide range and the price can even go up after a secondary if it's oversubscribed.
While it's a large drop, Biohaven Pharmaceutical's price change today is understandable considering that shares were up 55% in 2019 through yesterday, due in large part torumorsthat the company was attracting interest from potential bidders. If a sale announcement was imminent, there would be no reason for Biohaven to raise capital, so today's drop is a combination of the typical dilution plus investors giving up on the idea of a quick sale.
Image source: Getty Images.
While it doesn't look like Biohaven Pharmaceutical is likely to be sold anytime soon, it's possible negotiations are ongoing and management is raising the cash as a bargaining chip. With cash on hand, Biohaven will be in a position to launch its migraine treatment, rimegepant, on its own after the Food and Drug Administration approves the drug toward the end of this year or early next year.
With $217 million in the bank at the end of the first quarter, the biotech likely needed to raise cash at some point soon. The acquisition rumor-fueled increase in share price is a pretty good time to raise the capital even if it has to give up much of the increase to get investors to buy into the secondary.
More From The Motley Fool
• 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today
• The $16,728 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss
• 20 of the Top Stocks to Buy (Including the Two Every Investor Should Own)
• What Is an ETF?
• 5 Recession-Proof Stocks
• How to Beat the Market
Brian Orelliand The Motley Fool have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
European Central Bank hints at stimulus _ drawing Trump ire
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank could unleash more stimulus if the economy doesn't pick up soon, its president warned Tuesday, sparking a sharp drop in the euro and drawing an angry tweet from U.S. President Donald Trump. Mario Draghi told a conference in Sintra, Portugal, that the ECB was not resigned in its quest to perk up the economy and said that "in the absence of improvement... additional stimulus will be required." Europe's top central banker even held out the prospect of cutting interest rates, though they are already at record lows. "Further cuts in policy rates... remain part of our tools," he said. Draghi noted it was also possible to re-start a bond-buying stimulus program that had been halted only in December. Investors read the comments as a clear step toward more stimulus in coming months, causing stock markets to rally and sending the euro lower against the dollar. Draghi's statement was met with anger from Trump, who suggested it was an effort to boost European exports by weakening the currency. Trump wrote on Twitter that the lower euro was "making it unfairly easier for them to compete against the USA. They have been getting away with this for years, along with China and others." Asked about the tweet by a conference moderator, Draghi said that the European Central Bank was ready to use all available tools to achieve its mandate of stable prices and added that "we do not target the exchange rate." The euro traded at $1.1187 by late afternoon in Europe, down from $1.1241 before Draghi's speech. Germany's main stock index surged over 2%. Rate cuts and monetary stimulus are aimed at loosening credit for businesses and consumers and at the same time can send a currency's exchange rate lower. Since stimulus measures can do both, it can be a matter of debate about how much intent there was to lower the currency. A weaker euro can give European exporters a price advantage over U.S businesses. Story continues Trump has cited the currency issue in his criticism of Europe over what he describes as unfair trade practices. Talk of re-starting stimulus comes only six months after the ECB phased out a 2.6 trillion euro ($2.9 trillion) bond-purchase program that pumped new money into the economy over almost four years in an attempt to drive inflation higher. The ECB's shift to a pro-stimulus stance mirrors that of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which has halted a series of interest rate hikes. Fed Chair Jay Powell has said that the Fed is prepared to respond if it decides the U.S.-China trade conflict is threatening the U.S. economy. Investors read his remarks as a signal that the Fed will likely cut interest rates this year. Both the ECB and the Fed, which holds a policy meeting Tuesday and Wednesday, have cited similar reasons for their policy shift — the threat of a softening global economy if Trump and the Chinese don't reach agreement on trade. Any rate cuts by the Fed could in theory add to pressure on the ECB if they result in a weaker dollar against the euro. Eurozone inflation of 1.2% is below the European Central Bank's goal of just under 2%, considered best for the economy, while growth prospects are under pressure from uncertainty about issues such as the U.S.-China trade dispute, which could lead to more tariffs and less trade. There is also no clarity on the terms of Britain's planned departure from the European Union. Draghi said that in the absence of stronger inflation "additional stimulus will be required" and that the bank would "use all the flexibility in our mandate" to push inflation toward the goal. The remarks largely echoed statements at his news conference following the bank's last policy meeting on June 6. On Tuesday he emphasized that bank officials "are not resigned to having a low rate of inflation forever, or even now." At the June 6 meeting the central bank extended the earliest date for an interest rate increase from year-end to the middle of next year. The bank's key policy rates are at record lows: zero for lending to banks and minus 0.4% on deposits left overnight at the ECB by commercial banks. The negative rate is a penalty aimed at pushing banks to lend the money. The Frankfurt-based ECB sets monetary policy for the 19 European Union countries that have joined the shared euro currency. It tries to steer inflation by adjusting interest rate benchmarks and, if needed, by purchasing financial assets. Central bank actions have wide-ranging impact on consumer pocketbooks and the finances of banks, companies and governments. Lower rates and monetary stimulus measures mean cheaper borrowing, but scantier returns for savers. Stimulus can also push up the prices of assets such as stocks and bonds. |
What Type Of Shareholder Owns Condor Hospitality Trust, Inc.'s (NYSEMKT:CDOR)?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
If you want to know who really controls Condor Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSEMKT:CDOR), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. We also tend to see lower insider ownership in companies that were previously publicly owned.
Condor Hospitality Trust is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of US$115m, which means it wouldn't have the attention of many institutional investors. In the chart below below, we can see that institutional investors have bought into the company. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about CDOR.
View our latest analysis for Condor Hospitality Trust
Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.
As you can see, institutional investors own 28% of Condor Hospitality Trust. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Condor Hospitality Trust's earnings history, below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Condor Hospitality Trust is not owned by hedge funds. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board; and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board, themselves.
Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.
Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Condor Hospitality Trust, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$115m, and insiders have US$2.9m worth of shares, in their own names. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but I usually like to see higher insider holdings. It might be worth checkingif those insiders have been buying.
With a 17% ownership, the general public have some degree of sway over CDOR. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.
With a stake of 24%, private equity firms could influence the CDOR board. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.
Public companies currently own 28% of CDOR stock. We can't be certain, but this is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.
I always like to check for ahistory of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart ofhistoric revenue and earnings in thisdetailed graph.
But ultimatelyit is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look atthis free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Wells Fargo is dismissed from municipal bond lawsuit by Philadelphia, Baltimore
NEW YORK, June 18 (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co was dismissed as a defendant in a lawsuit by the cities of Philadelphia and Baltimore, which accused large banks of conspiring to inflate interest rates for variable-rate demand obligations, a type of tax-exempt bond.
The dismissal came after Wells Fargo represented that it did not remarket, provide letters of credit for, or manage money market funds that invested in the bonds, according to a Tuesday filing in Manhattan federal court.
JPMorgan Chase & Co and Fifth Third Bancorp were previously dismissed as defendants.
The remaining defendants are Bank of America Corp, Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Royal Bank of Canada, court records show.
Philadelphia, which said it issued more than $1.6 billion of VRDOs, and Baltimore, which said it issued $261 million, said the collusion enabled banks to collect hundreds of millions of dollars in fees they did not earn.
The cities said this reduced critical funding for hospitals, power and water supplies, schools, transportation and other municipal services. Their proposed class action covers the period from Feb. 2008 to June 2016.
The case is Philadelphia et al v Bank of America Corp et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 19-01608. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum) |
The Best State in the Country for Summer Road Trips, According to WalletHub
Gearing up for a summer road trip? You might want to set your sights on North Carolina. A new survey from personal finance site, WalletHub , has named North Carolina the best state for summer road trips based on an in-depth review of costs, safety, and activities. And NC is no rookie to this accolade — in 2018, North Carolina was also ranked numero uno . In their analysis, WalletHub evaluated 33 metrics and weighted them accordingly, including things like lowest price of three-star hotel room in the costs realm, quality of bridges in the safety category, and share of total acre designated as national parkland on the activities front. Though North Carolina came in first, several Southern states made the top 10, including Virginia in fourth, Texas in fifth, and Louisiana in seventh. Read the complete rankings and full methodology here . So, who's with us and ready to bust out the ole road trip checklist and hit the road? WATCH: North Carolina's Blue Ridge Parkway By The Numbers With so many amazing Southern destinations, it can sometimes be tough to narrow down your road trip ideas. Where will your travels take you this summer? |
College students are overestimating how much money they can make after graduation
College students have “seriously unrealistic expectations” for their starting and mid-career salaries, according to a newreportcommissioned by Clever Real Estate and conducted by online polling software Pollfish.
“In particular, we labeled business students as the most ‘delusional majors’ because they overestimate how much they'll be making out of college by $14,585 and how much they'll make 10 years into their career by $47,070,” Tommy O'Shaughnessy, head of research at Clever Real Estate Analyst and the author of the report, told Yahoo Finance.
The report, which asked 1,000 college undergraduates about their salary expectations, stated: “It seems the next generation of college graduates might be in for a rude awakening … the average college student has seriously unrealistic expectations for both their early and mid-career salaries.”
The average Gen Z college student pursuing their bachelor’s degree expects $57,964 just one year out of college. The national median salary on the other hand, is nearly $11,000 lower at $47,000 for recent graduates with zero to five years of work experience.
Computer science majors on the other hand, actually underestimated their potential, as seen in the graphic below:
The average undergraduate also overestimated their mid-career salary by about $15,000.
The disconnect between expectation and reality was “definitely due to a lack of information,” O'Shaughnessy explained.
And while “college graduates [who] get further along in their education… learn more about different job opportunities and can start to estimate how much they'll earn, … there's a phenomenon known as ‘illusory superiority,’ which is the tendency for people to overestimate their qualities and abilities,” O'Shaughnessy added. “I think we're seeing that tendency come through in this study.”
Part of this may also have to do with the need to pay offstudent loans.
The cost of college has been rising steadily over the last 30 years while wages for graduates with a bachelor’s have largely stagnated, as seen in the chart below:
With millions of Americans having taken out student loans to finance their higher education, many borrowers are now facing tough repayment deadlines with the average debt load hovering around nearly $30,000 according toStudent Loan Hero— together contributing to about$1.6 trillionin outstanding student loans.
Many borrowers areincreasingly missing payments, with delinquencies and defaults rising, causing them to fall behind on major life milestones likebuying a houseorgetting married.
Borrowers in the South (i.e., south of the Mason-Dixon line and east of the Mississippi River) are facingeven more stresswith high levels of debt, coupled with relatively low earnings.
O'Shaughnessy also pointed out that women were more realistic than men when it came to earnings potential.
Women holding a bachelor’s or graduate degree expected $4,338 less than men with similar degrees early on in their career. That expectation gap increases to a gaping $10,836 difference when it came to mid-career expectations.
The differences were most obvious in male-dominated fields like economics, engineering, finance, and accounting, the report stated.
But notable exceptions were in less male-dominated fields like nursing, life sciences, and communications. “This implies that women expect higher salaries when they go into professions that aren’t dominated by men,” the report noted.
Aarthi is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter@aarthiswami.
Read more:
• College students are carrying an alarming amount of debt
• Social media is spoiling Millennial and Gen Z finances, Charles Schwab survey finds
• Household debt hits $13.6 trillion as student loan and credit card delinquencies rise
• 'The clock is ticking' on U.S. consumer loans — and that could mean a slowdown, Deutsche Bank warns
• Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,SmartNews,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit. |
Loss-Making Cinedigm Corp. (NASDAQ:CIDM) Expected To Breakeven
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
Cinedigm Corp.'s (NASDAQ:CIDM): Cinedigm Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as distributor and aggregator of independent movie, television, and other short form content primarily in the United States. The US$46m market-cap company’s loss lessens since it announced a -US$18.8m bottom-line in the full financial year, compared to the latest trailing-twelve-month loss of -US$10.3m, as it approaches breakeven. Many investors are wondering the rate at which CIDM will turn a profit, with the big question being “when will the company breakeven?” In this article, I will touch on the expectations for CIDM’s growth and when analysts expect the company to become profitable.
Check out our latest analysis for Cinedigm
CIDM is bordering on breakeven, according to the 3 Entertainment analysts. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2020, before generating positive profits of US$14m in 2021. Therefore, CIDM is expected to breakeven roughly 2 years from now. How fast will CIDM have to grow each year in order to reach the breakeven point by 2021? Working backwards from analyst estimates, it turns out that they expect the company to grow 64% year-on-year, on average, which is rather optimistic! Should the business grow at a slower rate, it will become profitable at a later date than expected.
I’m not going to go through company-specific developments for CIDM given that this is a high-level summary, though, take into account that by and large a high forecast growth rate is not unusual for a company that is currently undergoing an investment period.
Before I wrap up, there’s one issue worth mentioning. CIDM currently has negative equity on its balance sheet. This can sometimes arise from accounting methods used to deal with accumulated losses from prior years, which are viewed as liabilities carried forward until it cancels out in the future. These losses tend to occur only on paper, however, in other cases it can be forewarning.
There are key fundamentals of CIDM which are not covered in this article, but I must stress again that this is merely a basic overview. For a more comprehensive look at CIDM, take a look atCIDM’s company page on Simply Wall St. I’ve also put together a list of essential aspects you should look at:
1. Valuation: What is CIDM worth today? Has the future growth potential already been factored into the price? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether CIDM is currently mispriced by the market.
2. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look atwho sits on Cinedigm’s board and the CEO’s back ground.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Nine-year-old boy with autism kicked out of chapel for making too much noise
Paul Rimmer described how his son, who has autism, was ejected from the chapel (Facebook/Getty) A prestigious chapel in Cambridge has been forced to issue a public apology after a nine-year-old child with autism was kicked out of its Fathers Day service. Paul Rimmer, an American academic who works at Cambridge University, wrote an open letter to the dean of Kings College outlining an incident during the chapels Evensong service on Sunday. In the letter, which he posted to Facebook on Monday, Mr Rimmer said he had decided to take his two children, one of whom has autism, to the service. He wrote: I chose to attend Evensong on Trinity Sunday, also Fathers Day, with my two sons, one of whom is autistic. Tristan is nine years old, and is a clever and joyful child, who loves church buildings, services, and choral music. He is also non-verbal, and expresses his excitement by calling out and laughing. His expressions are often loud and uncontainable. It is part of who he is, so there is no realistic way for him to be quiet. Many autistic people are like Tristan in this way. Right before the Kyrie, one of the ushers informed me that you had instructed him to remove us. Paul Rimmer: 'Might I suggest that you place a sign at the front of the chapel, clearly identifying which categories of people are welcome and which are not?' Tristans expressions were apparently interfering with the enjoyment of some of the other visitors. The usher seemed embarrassed but insistent as he asked us to leave, though Im not sure if it was because of my sons vocalisations, or because of the nature of the directive you had given him. He added: Might I suggest that you place a sign at the front of the chapel, clearly identifying which categories of people are welcome and which are not? I can only imagine how terrible it would be if autistic people, others with disabilities, those with mental illnesses, and people with dementia, were all equally welcome to attend Evensong, how this would get in the way of the choirs performance, how it would distract the choristers, and how upsetting seeing these sorts of people at the chapel would be for the tourists who have come such a long way. The Church of England website My son might not be able to talk, but he knows perfectly well what is going on around him. This is not the first time my family has been asked to leave a church on account of his being too disruptive for other worshipers. Mr Rimmer uses the post to link to a page on the Church of England website titled: Welcoming Disabled People which states one of the key areas in which it wants to increase the welcome and participation of disabled people. In response, the dean of Kings College, Revd Dr Stephen Cherry apologised on his blog , saying he was devastated by the letter. He wrote: I have looked into what happened and now more fully appreciate that there is more that we can do to support and help the staff who are responsible for the welcome that we give those who come to share our services with us. Story continues The apology was also shared by the Kings College Twitter account. Hi John, please find here a public apology in respect of this: https://t.co/Fit8VX1VYG King's College (@Kings_College) June 18, 2019 Dr Cherry added that the instruction to remove Tristan was not given by him and said he has requested a meeting with Mr Rimmer. The initial Facebook post has since been widely shared, with many displaying despair at the incident. Mr Rimmer has since updated his original post, saying he may have been wrong that the instruction to leave the chapel came directly from Dr Cherry. Yahoo News UK has contacted Mr Rimmer and Dr Cherry for comment. ---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK--- View comments |
Findit Announces Launch of New Twist25.com Website Owned By Health 2Go Inc.
ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / June 18, 2019 /Findit, Inc. (OTC PINK:FDIT) a Nevada Corporation was chosen to build out a new website for Health 2Go Inc, owner of Twist 25. The web address iswww.twist25.com. Having completed the new site, Findit will continue to provide on-going online marketing services for Twist 25 in an effort to help improve overall indexing in search engines and drive more traffic toTwist25.comthrough social media marketing, video production and more.
Twist 25 is bioidentical DHEA cream scientifically formulated with a small particle size for better absorption and stability. DHEA is a pro-hormone - a naturally occurring base building block for hormones and sebum (skin oil).
Health 2Go Inc. retained Findit in 2009 to build out and developwww.twist25.com, as well as produce content and marketing material in an on-going marketing campaign. Health 2Go Inc, which produces DHEA Cream marketed and labeled as Twist 25 DHEA Cream, wanted to improve overall indexing online and drive traffic toTwist25.comto purchase Twist 25 DHEA Cream online. Earlier this year, Health 2 Go Inc. selected Findit to create a newTwist25website that would be more mobile and user-friendly which would allow visitors to the site to more easily click around, view content, and purchase Twist 25 DHEA Cream directly from the website.
Hugh Woodward, President Health 2Go Inc., stated, "We have been working on a daily basis with Findit for over 10 years now. They have been providing us with online marketing, SEO and web design and development. One of the reasons we continue to work with them is their availability by phone, email and even text and their attention to results of what we, as a business, need to be profitable."
About Twsit 25
Twist 25 DHEA Cream is a healthy, all natural, bioidentical DHEA supplement that is intended to be used twice daily by men and women over the age of 25 who are looking to maintain DHEA levels past age 35. UsingTwist 25 daily can provide us with numerous health benefits such as better sleep, more energy, improved sex drive, ability to help reduce belly fat, softer skin and more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUhqm6Ayt0U
Findit has been managing Health 2Go's online marketing campaign for over 10 years and will continue to do for Twist 25's social media marketing, website development, and monthly content creation. This includes over 50 pieces of fresh content on theFindit platformas well as video creation for Google My Business, Youtube and Facebook.
Peter Tosto stated, "We love working for Hugh and his team that head up Twist 25. Helping them improve their online presence by increasing organic search results in search engines to drive more traffic for Twist 25 is the overall goal. The completion of the new website will help with additional and improved indexing and conversions as the new site loads faster and is more user friendly both on mobile and desktop."
Findit also works with other online retailers, general contractors, roofing companies, and pool builders that include CBD Unlimited, American Craftsman Renovations in Savannah, Titan Roofing, LLC in Charleston, and Carolina Pool Consultants in North Carolina. The Findit Platform, as well as the marketing services provided, are not limited to one sector or industry; anyone can use Findit either on their own or purchasing our paid for services to help increase their online presence and build brand awareness. Moreover, anyone from companies to individuals looking to have their marketing portfolio managed by us can do so by calling 404-443-3224.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awsos8L1O4E
From website development and design to content creation, Findit can build a customized marketing campaign to meet your specific needs and budget. Discuss your marketing needs and get your questions answered at 404-443-3224.
Overview
Findit is a social media content management platform offers paid for services such as web design and development, PPC campaign management, content creation, and Findit Vanity URLs in addition to providing members of Findit a content driven tools through every members dashboard, where they can use Findit for free to create Right Now Status Updates in their own Findit Site pages. A right now status update is a piece of content that can contain a description, photos, a video link, an audio file, and a press release. Content on Findit can be shared to other social sites by members and visitors and can also be crawled and indexed in outside search engines.
About Findit, Inc.
Findit, Inc., ownsFindit.comwhich is a Social Media Content Management Platform that provides an interactive search engine for all content posted in Findit to appear in Findit search. The site is an open platform that provides access to Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines access to its content posted to Findit so it can be indexed in these search engines as well. Findit provides Members the ability to post, share and manage their content. Once they have posted in Findit, we ensure the content gets indexed in Findit Search results. Findit provides an option for anyone to submit URLs that they want indexed in Findit search result, along with posting status updates through Findit Right Now. Status Updates posted in Findit can be crawled by outside search engines which can result in additional organic indexing. All posts on Findit can be shared to other social and bookmarking sites by members and non-members. Findit provides Real Estate Agents the ability to create their own Findit Site where they can pull in their listing and others through their IDX account. Findit offers News and Press Release Distribution. Findit, Inc., is focused on the development of monetized Internet-based web products that can provide an increased brand awareness of our members. Findit, Inc., trades under the stock symbol FDIT on the OTC Pinksheets.
Safe Harbor
This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), including statements regarding potential sales, the success of the company's business, as well as statements that include the word believe or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Findit, Inc. to differ materially from those implied or expressed by such forward-looking statements. This press release speaks as of the date first set forth above, and Findit, Inc. assumes no responsibility to update the information included herein for events occurring after the date hereof. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to factors such as the lack of capital, timely development of products, inability to deliver products when ordered, inability of potential customers to pay for ordered products, and political and economic risks inherent in international trade.
Contact:
Peter TostoTel: 1-404-443-3224
SOURCE:Findit, Inc.
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/549119/Findit-Announces-Launch-of-New-Twist25com-Website-Owned-By-Health-2Go-Inc |
Man who died in Dominican Republic reportedly had green foam coming out of his mouth
An Arizona man claims his father, who died while vacationing in the Dominican Republic last June, had "something green" foaming from his mouth when he died. Mark Hurlbut Jr. told AZ Family last Saturday that his father, 62-year-old Mark Hurlbut Sr., and his wife were in Punta Cana when both became sick the night before Hurlbut Sr. passed away. "She woke up, and he didn't," Hurlbut Jr. said. "She told me that as she found him that he had something green coming from his mouth. It was something that came way out of left field. It was not something that any of us thought was going to happen." Hurlbut Jr. said his father was healthy before he died but is unsure whether Hurlbut Sr.'s death is related to the latest string of deaths that have taken place across the Caribbean island. Hurlbut Sr.'s cause of death was officially listed as a heart attack, although his son is now suspicious. "Having known then what I know now I would have fought tooth and nail to have his remains brought back here and had his autopsy done here in America," Hurlbut Jr. said. Hurlbut Sr.'s death is one of several puzzling incidents to have occurred in Punta Cana over the past several months. Yvette Monique Sport of Glenside, Pa., died on June 23, 2018, after allegedly drinking from the minibar at the Bahia Principe Hotel. Her fiancé reportedly tried to wake her up but found that she was unresponsive. Officials later determined that Sport died of a heart attack, although Sport's sister insisted that she was healthy prior to her passing. One month later, on July 14, 2018, David Harrison of Charles County, Md., died after complaining of being sick one night while staying at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana. A doctor had purportedly taken 25 minutes to provide treatment and arrived too late to save the victim. Authorities concluded shortly after that Harrison died of a heart attack and pulmonary edema. Story continues On April 14, 2018, Robert Wallace of Turlock, Calif., died at the same resort as Harrison. Wallace's niece told Fox News that he fell sick almost immediately after having a scotch from his room's minibar. The family has yet to learn Wallace's official cause of death. That same month, nearly 50 members of a Jimmy Buffett fan club got sick after lounging by a pool at the Hotel Riu Palace Macao. One member told KFOR that he lost 14 pounds due to his illness, which he says occurred not too long after he had a drink from a swim-up bar. Some group members also allegedly tested positive for salmonella. Last month, Jerry Martin of Plant City, Fla., told WTVT that he, too, became sick after swimming at a pool in Punta Cana. Since returning to the U.S., he has reportedly been to the emergency room five times. On June 9, several high school graduates from Oklahoma became violently ill after eating at a Japanese restaurant at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Six members of the group were taken to a hospital, hooked up to IVs and given antibiotics and anti-nausea medicine. The string of incidents has left Dominican authorities scrambling to quell fears over safety concerns at the island's resorts. |
If You Had Bought Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Stock Five Years Ago, You Could Pocket A 346% Gain Today
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
We think all investors should try to buy and hold high quality multi-year winners. While the best companies are hard to find, but they can generate massive returns over long periods. For example, theLululemon Athletica Inc.(NASDAQ:LULU) share price is up a whopping 346% in the last half decade, a handsome return for long term holders. And this is just one example of the epic gains achieved by some long term investors. It's also good to see the share price up 27% over the last quarter. The company reported its financial results recently; you can catch up on the latest numbers by readingour company report.
See our latest analysis for Lululemon Athletica
While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.
Over half a decade, Lululemon Athletica managed to grow its earnings per share at 17% a year. This EPS growth is slower than the share price growth of 35% per year, over the same period. This suggests that market participants hold the company in higher regard, these days. That's not necessarily surprising considering the five-year track record of earnings growth. This optimism is visible in its fairly high P/E ratio of 47.98.
You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
We know that Lululemon Athletica has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? Check if analysts think Lululemon Athletica willgrow revenue in the future.
It's nice to see that Lululemon Athletica shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 43% over the last year. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 35%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. Before spending more time on Lululemon Athleticait might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares.
Of courseLululemon Athletica may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see thisfreecollection of growth stocks.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
REFILE- Canadian crude Gulf Coast exports rise as Venezuelan gap is filled -trade sources
(Refiles to remove extraneous words in 5th paragraph)
By Collin Eaton
HOUSTON, June 18 (Reuters) - Heavy crudes have poured into the United States this spring, offsetting the loss of Venezuelan oil and producing a mini-surplus, with Canadian heavy crude this month being exported from the U.S. Gulf Coast.
U.S. refiners have lined up larger supplies from Canada, Iraq and Colombia since Washington in January began choking off the flow of dollars to Venezuela's socialist government by barring transactions with PDVSA, Venezuela's state oil company and once among the top three providers of heavy crude to U.S. refiners. The United States went from importing 561,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Venezuelan oil in January to zero barrels in May.
This month, more than 130,000 bpd of heavy Canadian crude is scheduled to depart from Texas, four times the average exported in 2018, trade sources said.
U.S. Gulf Coast imports of Mexico’s heavy Maya crude increased 12% to 459,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May from January, according to Refinitiv Eikon and U.S. Customs data.
Mexico reduced its Maya crude export price to the U.S. Gulf Coast buyers by $1 a barrel for July deliveries after back-to-back increases in May and June.
"Refiners probably over-imported a bit" of heavy crudes, said a trader familiar with the exports, noting the resulting surplus and a larger discount to the U.S. benchmark for the Canadian crude "opens the arb (arbitrage) for export."
Crude-by-rail loadings from Western Canada - much of it bound for U.S. refiners - rose to an average 231,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May, from 144,000 bpd in February, according to market intelligence firm Genscape.
The May increase came as Western Canadian Select's (WCS) discount to U.S. crude widened to an average of minus $14.03 a barrel in May, from $10.40 a barrel between February and April, Genscape data showed. The wider discount makes the oil more attractive to potential buyers.
Crude inventories in the U.S. Gulf Coast last month also rose to 248.3 million barrels, from 219.9 million barrels a year ago, according to U.S. Energy Department data.
The tanker New Dream, chartered by commodities trader Mercuria Energy Group, departed on June 16 from Galveston loaded with more than 1 million barrels of heavy Canadian crude, and is headed to Asia, according to vessel tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon and ClipperData.
Another 3 million barrels of Canadian crude are due to be exported from the Gulf Coast by June 30, according to an oil trader familiar with the matter. Their destinations could not immediately be learned.
The exports are surprising given the Alberta government this year required producers to curb production. The restrictions narrowed Western Canadian Select's discount to the U.S. benchmark, to $11.25 a barrel discount to WTI on Friday, a difference that had reached as much as $50 a barrel below last October.
In a sign of how quickly refiners were able to replace Venezuelan barrels, Citgo Petroleum Corp, a subsidiary of PDVSA, is now sourcing all the heavy oil it needs from Canadian, Mexican and Colombian suppliers, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.
Citgo and PBF Energy each imported more than 1 million barrels of Colombian Castilla crude in total last month to their Gulf Coast plants, said a person familiar with the matter.
Following U.S. sanctions on PDVSA, imports of heavy Colombian crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast rose in May to nearly 228,000 bpd, from about 118,000 bpd in January, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.
Phillips 66, another Gulf Coast refiner, has become the largest U.S. purchaser of Canadian crude. It relies on a combination of U.S., Canadian and foreign crude for "a pretty balanced slate across our system," spokesman Dennis Nuss said. (Reporting by Collin Eaton, additional reporting by Arpan Varghese and Marianna Parraga in Mexico City; editing by Steve Orlofsky) |
The Countries Most At Risk Of A Trade War
This article was originally published onETFTrends.com.
By Gary Stringer, Kim Escue and Chad Keller,Stringer Asset Management
We wrote a piece a year ago about tariffs and the potential economic implications of a trade war. Though details of tariff policies and the responses from affected countries were not clear at that time, we thought that the tariffs would have little economic impact based on available policy information.
Now that we are a year into this new tariff regime, we can see some of the implications. For example, soybean exports spiked ahead of new tariffs, then collapsed. Soybean exports have now recovered to levels closer to historical norms, as you can see in the graph below. Further fluctuations in the agriculture space are as likely to be weather related as anything.
Regarding the current round of tariff escalations with China, we expect the economic implications to be limited and not helpful for either side. For example, total trade with China represents only 3.26% of U.S. GDP (imports 2.59%, exports 0.67%) and 5.19% of China’s GDP (imports: 1.06%, exports 4.13%), so the impact of tariffs and accompanying trade adjustments are likely to be minor compared to other more impactful influences. However, if we end up in a full global trade war, the playing field looks very different for each player and country.
How to Determine Who is at Risk
As a general framework, the countries that heavily rely on international trade are the most at risk in a global trade war. Though the details of how such an event might playout are not clear at this time, investors should consider the broad risk of a trade war to a country by examining their trade as a percentage of their economy. In doing so, it is important to consider both imports and exports since focusing only on exports ignores the benefits that countries receive through imports. For example, domestic consumers often benefit from imports by lower prices and a broader selection of goods and services than could be created only through domestic sources. A reduction in imports would likely result in higher prices and fewer choices for domestic consumers.
Trade as a percentage of the global economy has been steadily growing since 1960 but may have peaked a few years ago at more than 60% (exhibit 3). The latest figure of nearly 58% for calendar year 2017 represents a slight pullback but is still reflective of a globally integrated economic system.
If this trade system were to be disrupted through a global trade war or other phenomenon, certain countries would likely be more at risk than others. Fundamentally, the overall impact on the U.S. economy is likely to be minimal. Yes, the raw numbers look large, but all things must be taken into context. For example, the amount of trade relative to the size of the economy: exports make up just 12% of U.S. GDP while imports are 15% of GDP, so total trade (imports plus exports, and a good estimate of the total impact from trade frictions) accounts for 27% of U.S. GDP.
For China, exports account for 20% of GDP while imports are 17%, so 37% total trade relative to GDP. The average for the OECD is 28% each for exports and imports, so 56% total.
Clearly, the impact of trade frictions on the U.S economy would be less than the average OECD nation. The U.S. is just not a trading nation. In fact, among the OECD nations, measured as a % of GDP, no one trades less than we do. It seems like the market has been looking for a reason to sell off, but tariffs are not a fundamental risk for us. Other countries are even more exposed, such as Singapore at 322%, Vietnam at 200%, Hungary at 169%, Mexico at 78%, Canada at 64%, and the United Kingdom at 61%.
An Overview of GDP and Trade Figures
Obviously, trade is not a zero-sum game, so trade can represent more than 100% of their economy for some countries. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is a favored measure of economic activity, is calculated using the following five components: Consumption [plus] Investment [plus] Government Spending [plus] Exports [minus] Imports, or C+I+G+X-M. Consider a small country that has $1 billion of consumption, $1 billion of investment, and $1 billion of government spending. Next, we analyze their exports and imports. This country has a large factory that produces more goods than the country consumes, and exports $2 billion of goods. GDP is now $5 billion ($1B+$1B+$1B +$2B). The country uses that money from exports to import goods and services worth $2 billion. Imports are subtracted from GDP, so total GDP is again $3 billion ($5B - $2B).
What to Look for Next
In general terms, the larger the ratio of trade to the size of an economy, the more important trade is to the success of that economy. It makes sense then that the greater the proportion of trade is to an economy, the more vulnerable that economy is to a disruption in trade, such as a trade war. Of course, the size of the impact will be dependent on the nature of the trading relationships.
For example, though trade represents 64% of the Canadian economy, much of that trade is with the U.S. and is unlikely to be affected by a trade war. Other countries are likely to be more vulnerable. Based upon the facts as we know them today, we do not see a large-scale trade war in the future. More importantly, we do not think these tariff talks, and trade threats will cause a major disruption in the global economy. As we mentioned after the surprise Brexit vote and the following market selloff, the people who negotiate these deals understand their economic history and the importance of trade to economic wellbeing. Though markets may go through bouts of panic, we expect global trade to continue largely unabated and economic fundamentals to remain solid.
This article was written by Gary Stringer, CIO, Kim Escue, Senior Portfolio Manager, and Chad Keller, COO and CCO atStringer Asset Management, a participant in theETF Strategist Channel.
Disclosures
Any forecasts, figures, opinions or investment techniques and strategies explained are Stringer Asset Management, LLC’s as of the date of publication. They are considered to be accurate at the time of writing, but no warranty of accuracy is given and no liability in respect to error or omission is accepted. They are subject to change without reference or notification. The views contained herein are not be taken as an advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any investment and the material should not be relied upon as containing sufficient information to support an investment decision. It should be noted that the value of investments and the income from them may fluctuate in accordance with market conditions and taxation agreements and investors may not get back the full amount invested.
Past performance and yield may not be a reliable guide to future performance. Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance quoted.
The securities identified and described may not represent all of the securities purchased, sold or recommended for client accounts. The reader should not assume that an investment in the securities identified was or will be profitable.
Data is provided by various sources and prepared by Stringer Asset Management, LLC and has not been verified or audited by an independent accountant.
POPULAR ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM
• SPY ETF Quote
• VOO ETF Quote
• QQQ ETF Quote
• VTI ETF Quote
• JNUG ETF Quote
• Top 34 Gold ETFs
• Top 34 Oil ETFs
• Top 57 Financials ETFs
• The Secure Act and Retirement Accounts
• Pet Food IPO Chewy May Put Amazon On Its Heels
• Mark Cuban: Success Comes From Outworking Everyone
• A Piece Of Advice From Warren Buffett
• CNBC’s ETF Edge Panel Discusses Non-Transparent ETFs
READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > |
Here’s How Amazon Stock Pays Practically Nothing in Taxes
It’s not difficult to useAmazon.com(NASDAQ:AMZN) as a proverbial punching bag. Not only does the internet behemoth pay practically nothing in corporate income taxes, but with Amazon stock at its current price, CEO Jeff Bezos is the world’s wealthiest man. Such a high profile keeps everything he and his company does under constant scrutiny.
Source: Shutterstock
The world has not been shy about doing so either, consistently pointing out how little the big company hands over to the IRS in any given year. Presidential candidate Joe Biden was themost recent to chime in, echoing similar sentiments served up by fellow Democrats Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
It’s been straw man for years though.
InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips
Whatever the history of the criticism, as is so often the case in the game of political rhetoric, inconvenient details are omitted as needed. The reality is Amazon pays every penny of taxes it owes.
And, perhaps more prescient to current and prospective owners of Amazon stock, there’s going to come a point in time when the company is forced to pay a tax bill that looks a little more like those paid by comparable corporations.
Last year’s tax bill? Nada. Zip. In fact, Amazonreceived a refund of $129 milliondespite a pretax profit of $10.8 billion. That was only a little less than its 2017 refund, when itbooked a pretax profit of $5.4 billion.
• 5 Stocks to Buy for $20 or Less
Investors need to be careful about lumping all tax liabilities into one aggregate sum though. While it’s true that Amazon hasn’t paid any Federal income tax since 2016 (and even before then paid very little), there is more to a corporate tax liability than just Federal taxes on profits. The frustration is ultimately rooted in deductions that have been reducing corporate tax liabilities since well before President Donald Trump’s business-friendly tax code overhaul went into effect in 2017. Namely, thecompany’s investments in research and development(R&D), its investment in property and equipment, and the cost of shares granted to employees as part of compensation packages all whittle down Amazon’s tax liability in any given year. In most cases, that spending pares back tax bills on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
For 2018, R&D spending shaved $419 million from its tax liability. Stock-based compensation took it down another $1.1 billion.
Then there’s the historical losses being carried forward to offset future profits.
Although with a different schedule, as is the case for personal income taxes, losses that would exceed maximums permitted in any given year can be saved and then applied in later years, until fully extinguished.
Amazon.com operated in the red for years since its inception in 1994,only turning a reliably recurring profit after 2014. There are still past losses on the books that will be used to offset future earnings’ incurred taxes. With profits now the new norm, Amazon is using up the remainder of those past losses at a healthy clip.
Most important: Amazon has, to the best of its ability, remained 100% compliant with U.S. and state tax laws, paying every penny it owes even if not one cent more.
To that end, it’s unfair to acknowledge-but-excuse Amazon’s modest tax burden without pointing out a bigger-picture upside. That is, while Amazon may owe little to no taxes in any given year, it’s still responsible for facilitating an enormous degree of tax revenue that might never take shape if the company didn’t exist.
Case in point: Amazon turned over $1.18 billion worthof state, local, and international tax receipts to the appropriate entities in 2018.
Perhaps the most relevant but most overlooked nuance of Amazon’s tax-revenue driving capacity is the write-down of its stock-based compensation plan. While the program reduces income that would otherwise be taxed at a maximum of 21%, it’s passed along to high-earning employees who may pay a marginal rate of as much as 37% on the entire amount of Amazon stock granted them.
In a sense, by paying less in corporate income tax, it’s possible Amazon is generating even more tax revenue than it would by spurring greater personal income tax receipts.
Less directly, the tax-reducing spending on research and property — an option offered to all corporations — helps create jobs that spur more tax collection. That’s why such spending is incentivized.
For the record, it’s not just Amazon that hasn’t paid Federal income tax.General Motors(NYSE:GM),Netflix(NASDAQ:NFLX),Southwest Airlines(NYSE:LUV) and a whole slew of other major corporations have sidestepped at least one year’s worth of tax liability of late; many have sidestepped a tax bill more than once.
Amazon has proven to be the poster child for the problem, however, by virtue of being the most pervasive brand name among the major offenders. The fact that it has been accused ofunderpaying and overworking many of its employeeshasn’t helped keep the public’s eye off of the organization.
While Amazon stock owners are enjoying the limited amount of taxes the company has been paying, it is not a situation that will last indefinitely. Sooner or later the carry-forward losses will be used up.
In the meantime, to continue the growth-investment-oriented tax breaks, Amazon.com has to continue capital spending rather than passing income along to shareholders. Eventually the company may run out of things worth buying for the purpose of driving growth. Most of those funds would, for most other outfits, be passed along directly to shareholders. That’s no small trade-off.
Stock-based compensation also proves dilutive to existing shareholders.
Amazon may not be paying Federal income taxes, but that advantage is still coming at a price, of sorts.
As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. You can learn more about James at his site,jamesbrumley.com, orfollow him on Twitterat @jbrumley.
• 4 Top American Penny Pot Stocks (Buy Before June 21)
• 5 Red-Hot IPO Stocks to Buy for the Long Run
• 5 Stocks to Buy for $20 or Less
• 4 Dow Jones Stocks Ready to Rise
Compare Brokers
The postHere’s How Amazon Stock Pays Practically Nothing in Taxesappeared first onInvestorPlace. |
Cara Delevingne Recalls Producers Saying That Being Queer Will Hurt Her Career
Hollywood may be celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month with displays of the rainbow flag and lots of talk about supporting diversity and inclusion, but Cara Delevingne says there’s still work to be done. “Behind closed doors, we are still being told, as I have, by powerful Hollywood producers that we can’t make it if we’re queer,” Delevingne said on Monday night while being honored at the TrevorLive Gala in New York City. “We’re told that we’re not normal, that we’re undeserving of love even by the ones we’re supposed to love the most.” Related stories Cara Delevingne Gushes Over Taylor Swift's 'Brilliant' 'You Need to Calm Down' Video 'The Bachelorette' Hannah Brown on Why She Feels Empowered to Own Her Sexuality on National TV Ellen Pompeo Slams 'The Bachelor' Creator Mike Fleiss for Kelly Ripa Comment Delevingne received this year’s Hero Award from the Trevor Project , a worldwide suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ youth. During her acceptance speech she shared that she “slowly began to realize” she was queer about six years ago, but questioning her sexuality made her feel “like an alien.” “Love is an incredible thing. It is what the world needs most but understands the least,” Delevingne said. “It is not a construct, it is a constant. And it can conquer all but it is certainly not easy.” The evening’s program also included Kelly Ripa and husband Mark Consuelos being presented with the Champions Award for their support of the LGBTQ community. “We are so honored, but we have to admit we are a little bit uneasy accepting this award. I mean, what did we do really? We are two cis-gendered heteros married for 23 years,” Ripa said. “What could we possibly know about alienation from community or fear of having our rights taken away?” “Well, you are a woman,” Consuelos said. “Yes, and you are Mexican.” Ripa responded, to which the audience erupted in raucous laughter and applause. Afterwards, Rich Jeanneret of the accounting firm EY (Ernst & Young), honored with the 20/20 Visionary award, hit the stage with his family to talk about what he’s learned from the LGBTQ community and his trans son. “As a parent and an advocate, I’ve learned much more from this community than I could ever teach you,” Jeanneret said. “But I also realize that I have not had to endure the challenges that many in this room have had to face. I’m a straight, white, cis gendered male, father of four, raised Catholic, leader of 12,000 people. But I want to say that I have your back for all time.” Story continues The gala, held at Cipriani Wall Street, also included performances from the cast of the Broadway musical “The Prom” and Grammy-award winning pop-star Daya. Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . View comments |
Rolls-Royce boss laments Brexit distraction at Paris Airshow
By Alistair Smout
PARIS (Reuters) - Rolls-Royce chief executive Warren East said on Tuesday that uncertainties over Brexit remain an unwelcome distraction for the aerospace industry three years after Britain voted to leave the European Union.
A delay to Britain's EU departure and the possibility of it leaving without a deal in October has kept Brexit center stage at the Paris Airshow, where East said it had dominated a meeting with heads of aerospace companies and a European commissioner.
"It's nuts that at a meeting like we had this morning, when we were meant to be talking about new technologies, dealing with global competition, that instead we spend half the time talking about Brexit. It's hugely disruptive," East told Reuters.
Britain voted to leave the EU in June 2016 but has failed to do so, with Prime Minister Theresa May resigning after repeatedly failing to pass a Brexit deal. Some leading candidates to replace May suggest the deal can be reopened, although the EU insists it is not open for renegotiation.
Brexit has been delayed until October 31 from March 29, and East said Rolls-Royce had spent money on contingency plans for a March departure that it will not get back.
The prospect of a "no-deal" Brexit is a headache for the global aerospace industry, which relies heavily on integrated supply chains and parts distribution centers.
East said that he was prepared for the possibility, but was unlikely to make specific plans for the October deadline in the same way as he had done for March.
"I'm not sure we're going to spend as much preparing for some deadline that might never happen. It's just an unnecessary distraction for businesses," he said.
East, who took over as CEO of Rolls-Royce in 2015 after previously running chip designer ARM, has been leading a transformation program which he said was on schedule.
"Everything I can see at the moment suggests that we're going to tell the market that we're absolutely on track," East said ahead of half-year results due on Aug 6.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Alexander Smith) |
Can Cadence Design Systems, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:CDNS) ROE Continue To Surpass The Industry Average?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
One of the best investments we can make is in our own knowledge and skill set. With that in mind, this article will work through how we can use Return On Equity (ROE) to better understand a business. By way of learning-by-doing, we'll look at ROE to gain a better understanding of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS).
Cadence Design Systems has a ROE of 29%, based on the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this, is that for each $1 of shareholders' equity it has, the company made $0.29 in profit.
View our latest analysis for Cadence Design Systems
Theformula for return on equityis:
Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders' Equity
Or for Cadence Design Systems:
29% = US$393m ÷ US$1.4b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.)
Most know that net profit is the total earnings after all expenses, but the concept of shareholders' equity is a little more complicated. It is the capital paid in by shareholders, plus any retained earnings. The easiest way to calculate shareholders' equity is to subtract the company's total liabilities from the total assets.
ROE looks at the amount a company earns relative to the money it has kept within the business. The 'return' is the yearly profit. A higher profit will lead to a higher ROE. So, all else equal,investors should like a high ROE. That means ROE can be used to compare two businesses.
By comparing a company's ROE with its industry average, we can get a quick measure of how good it is. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. As you can see in the graphic below, Cadence Design Systems has a higher ROE than the average (9.7%) in the Software industry.
That's what I like to see. In my book, a high ROE almost always warrants a closer look. One data point to check is ifinsiders have bought shares recently.
Most companies need money -- from somewhere -- to grow their profits. That cash can come from issuing shares, retained earnings, or debt. In the first two cases, the ROE will capture this use of capital to grow. In the latter case, the debt required for growth will boost returns, but will not impact the shareholders' equity. Thus the use of debt can improve ROE, albeit along with extra risk in the case of stormy weather, metaphorically speaking.
Cadence Design Systems has a debt to equity ratio of 0.29, which is far from excessive. When I see a high ROE, fuelled by only modest debt, I suspect the business is high quality. Careful use of debt to boost returns is often very good for shareholders. However, it could reduce the company's ability to take advantage of future opportunities.
Return on equity is a useful indicator of the ability of a business to generate profits and return them to shareholders. In my book the highest quality companies have high return on equity, despite low debt. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt.
But when a business is high quality, the market often bids it up to a price that reflects this. The rate at which profits are likely to grow, relative to the expectations of profit growth reflected in the current price, must be considered, too. So you might want to check this FREEvisualization of analyst forecasts for the company.
If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss thisfreelist of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
AOC decries concentration camps on the southern border
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., on Tuesday sharply criticized the Trump administration's practice of holding migrants seeking asylum in what she called concentration camps. "This administration has established concentration camps on the southern border of the United States for immigrants, where they are being brutalized with dehumanizing conditions and dying," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted . On Monday night, she posted a video to Instagram expressing the same concerns. "The fact that concentration camps are now an institutionalized practice in the home of the free is extraordinarily disturbing," Ocasio-Cortez said. Several conservatives, including Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., quickly denounced what they described as her loose and inaccurate language. (Yahoo News photo Illustration; photos: AP, Getty Images) "Please @AOC do us all a favor and spend just a few minutes learning some actual history," Cheney tweeted . "6 million Jews were exterminated in the Holocaust. You demean their memory and disgrace yourself with comments like this." Ocasio-Cortez responded. "Hey Rep. Cheney, since youre so eager to 'educate me,' Im curious," she tweeted . What do YOU call building mass camps of people being detained without a trial?" "For the shrieking Republicans who dont know the difference: concentration camps are not the same as death camps," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter . "Concentration camps are considered by experts as 'the mass detention of civilians without trial.' And thats exactly what this administration is doing." Rep. Liz Cheney speaks during a news conference after a GOP leadership election on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images) The freshman Democrat pointed to a recent Esquire article in which several historians referred to the detention centers along the U.S. southern border as "concentration camps." We have what I would call a concentration camp system, Andrea Pitzer, author of "One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps," told the magazine. This is not the first time a Republican legislator has gone after Ocasio-Cortez for her likening of the administrations border camps to the early stages of the Holocaust. In November, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham scolded Ocasio-Cortez for likening the refugees fleeing Central America to Jewish families fleeing Germany, among others. Story continues I recommend she take a tour of the Holocaust Museum in DC, said Graham . Might help her better understand the differences between the Holocaust and the caravan in Tijuana. In February 2017, the U.S. Holocaust Museum issued a statement condemning Trumps proposal to ban refugees from entering the United States. Ocasio-Cortez then rebutted Graham. The point of such a treasured museum is to bring its lessons to present day, wrote Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter. This administration has jailed children and violated human rights. Perhaps we should stop pretending that authoritarianism + violence is a historical event instead of a growing force. Ocasio-Cortezs position is consistent with the Auschwitz memorials history of the Holocaust. When we look at Auschwitz we see the end of the process, said a November 2018 statement from the Twitter account of the memorial for the Nazi camp where as many as a million Jews and other undesirables were killed . It's important to remember that the Holocaust actually did not start from gas chambers. This hatred gradually developed from words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanisation & escalating violence. People who have been taken into custody related to cases of illegal entry into the United States sit in one of the cages at a facility in McAllen, Texas, Sunday, June 17, 2018. (Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Rio Grande Valley Sector via AP) Bend the Arc, a progressive Jewish group, also came to Ocasio-Cortezs defense by referring to the The Voyage of the Damned , when 900 European Jews were turned away by both Cuba and the United States. They were returned to Europe where more than 250 of them died in the Holocaust. We recommend you read about the MS St. Louis in 1939, and countless other examples of the United States turning away Jewish refugees before and during the Holocaust, wrote the groups account in a retweet of Grahams comments. Might help you better understand why people seeking asylum always deserve dignity and our compassion. Concentration camps are not necessarily death camps, a delineation Ocasio-Cortez was clear to make. "What's required is a little bit of demystification of it," says Waitman Wade Beorn, a Holocaust and genocide studies historian and a lecturer at the University of Virginia, in an interview with Esquire. "Things can be concentration camps without being Dachau or Auschwitz. Concentration camps in general have always been designed at the most basic level to separate one group of people from another group. Usually, because the majority group, or the creators of the camp, deem the people they're putting in it to be dangerous or undesirable in some way." Concentration camps predate Nazi Germany and were employed by Spanish colonial officials in Cuba during the war for independence in the late 19th century and by the British in South Africa during the turn-of-the-century Boer War. The United States housed Japanese-Americans, including American-born citizens, in camps around the West after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Ocasio-Cortez noted that just last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that Fort Sill, an Army base in Oklahoma that was used to intern Japanese-Americans during World War II, will be used to detain as many as 1,400 children until they can be turned over to an adult relative. "This is a crisis for ourselves," she said. "This is a crisis on whether America will remain America." Read more from Yahoo News: Trump wants his next press secretary to be a cable news 'street fighter' For politicians, the D.C. elite and even a presidential candidate, a Navy program has been an attractive fast-track path to military service Trump admits his Cabinet had 'some clinkers' Confronted with multiple errors in his new Trump book, a testy Michael Wolff says, 'You have to trust me' Why are people willing to risk death for a selfie? PHOTOS: Dancing under the stars |
From Boardroom to Ballot: How One Group Is Getting More Women to Run for Office
Following the 2018 midterm elections, the U.S. has more women than ever in Congress:125 women won seatsto the House or Senate. Thousands more ran.
But we have a long way to go until we reachgender parity. Women continue to be vastly underrepresented at every level of government—they are just 23.7% of Congress despite last year’s big wins.
The problem isn’t that women don’t win—it’s that they don’t run at the same rate as men.
That’s whereShe Should Runcomes in. The organization has found that while thousands of women consider a run for office, only 13% actually file the paperwork needed to run—meaning that to see one woman run for office, eight need to consider the possibility. In other words, to reach gender parity in public office in our lifetime, 1 million women need to explore a run for office.
One of the biggest obstacles for women is imposter syndrome, letting doubt prevent them from running, questioning whether they are qualified, know the issues well enough, or if they can afford to run, according to She Should Run founder Erin Loos Cutraro. This is despite history showing that a background in politics is not necessary to run, win, and effect change. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for instance, demonstrated this in the last election, going from working as a bartender to winning her race and sitting on important House committees on financial services and oversight and reform.
“She should run helps them see what is possible,” Cutraro toldFortune.“When women get clear on their why that helps everything else fall into place, connecting the current fire in the belly with leadership roles.”
While She Should Run has already seen more than 16,000 women go through its incubator program since 2016, it will take a lot more than that to create a large enough pool of women. To increase that pipeline, the organization is now focusing on meeting women where they are—at their current jobs.
They are now calling on companies to play their own role in helping women meet their leadership potential—in the private and public sectors. She Should Run is partnering with companies like MZ Wallace, Birchbox, and Lingua Franca to educate and motivate women through a new program called She Should Run Professional Development Series.
The series has two tracks of engagement. The first, combating imposter syndrome, focuses on helping women identify their personal barriers and the steps they need to overcome them. It is also about getting clear on their why, helping women see the differences they can make in elected office. Cutraro explained toFortunethat women comprise the majority of volunteers, voters, and philanthropic donors, but they’re not the majority of individuals running for office. So they have to make women understand that if we want to see the smartest policies, we need women equally represented.
The second track is around promoting equal representation, driving a wider conversation about the importance of women’s representation in office. This more educational facet seeks to encourage more people to join the conversation and gain a better understanding of the role they play. This includes naming the barriers women face real or imagined, overcoming them, and sincerely encouraging other women to run for office. 99% of public office roles are at the local level, Erin explained. And oftentimes these positions are not full-time. She Should Run hopes to bust the myth that running for office is a full-time job and allow women to understand that there are numerous ways to give back to their community—not just being elected to federal office.
The ultimate goal is to see 250,000 women run for office by 2030—but the companies that sign up for the workshops are bound to see positive effects for themselves as well. Erin noted that research shows that organizations that invest in women’s leadership see improved performance, increased profitability, and reduced turnover.
“Ultimately, getting women in office stands to benefit everyone,” Cutraro said.
—2020Democratic primary debates: Everything you need to know
—The campaign finance power behindTrump impeachment efforts
—Not every state is restrictingabortion rights—some are expanding them
—Richard Nixon‘s “Western White House” is back on the market—at a discount
—Trump administration to use former Japanese internment camp to housemigrant children
Get up to speed on your morning commute withFortune’sCEO Dailynewsletter. |
CFTC brings action against purported $147 million UK-based investment scheme
According to the complaint filed by The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), UK-based cryptocurrency company Control-Finance Limited and its CEO Benjamin Reynolds misappropriated $147 million in bitcoin,Finance Feeds writes. The defendants have been charged with fraud.
CFTC claims in 2017 Control-Finance and Reynolds defrauded more than 1,000 people out of 22,858.822 bitcoin (~$147 million). Victims were asked to exchange their funds for bitcoin and deposit them with Control-Finance. The company promised returns on investment, with “guaranteed daily trading profits.” It claimed to have employed advertised claiming to have employed “expert virtual currency traders.”
The company allegedly operated a Ponzi scheme, diverting some of the funds while telling customers they were profits generated from their investments. CFTC says it also ran a pyramid scheme it advertised as an “Affiliate Program.”
The alleged scam operated from at least May 1, 2017 to Oct. 31, 2017; afterwards, the company’s website and social media were taken down, and customers stopped receiving their rewards. The defendants failed to return their clients’ funds, purportedly making off with approximately $150 million.
CFTC launched the action against the firm, seeking “civil monetary penalties and ancillary relief, including but not limited to permanent trading and registration bans, restitution, and disgorgement.” |
If You Had Bought LexinFintech Holdings (NASDAQ:LX) Stock A Year Ago, You'd Be Sitting On A 30% Loss, Today
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
It's easy to match the overall market return by buying an index fund. While individual stocks can be big winners, plenty more fail to generate satisfactory returns. That downside risk was realized byLexinFintech Holdings Ltd.(NASDAQ:LX) shareholders over the last year, as the share price declined 30%. That's well bellow the market return of 3.4%. Because LexinFintech Holdings hasn't been listed for many years, the market is still learning about how the business performs. Unfortunately the share price momentum is still quite negative, with prices down 16% in thirty days.
Check out our latest analysis for LexinFintech Holdings
There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.
LexinFintech Holdings stole the show with its EPS rocketing, in the last year. We don't think the growth guide to the sustainable growth rate in this case, but we do think this sort of increase is impressive. So we are surprised the share price is down. Some different data might shed some more light on the situation.
LexinFintech Holdings's revenue is actually up 72% over the last year. Since we can't easily explain the share price movement based on these metrics, it might be worth considering how market sentiment has changed towards the stock.
The chart below shows how revenue and earnings have changed with time, (if you click on the chart you can see the actual values).
We know that LexinFintech Holdings has improved its bottom line lately, but what does the future have in store? So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think LexinFintech Holdings willearn in the future (free profit forecasts).
While LexinFintech Holdings shareholders are down 30% for the year, the market itself is up 3.4%. While the aim is to do better than that, it's worth recalling that even great long-term investments sometimes underperform for a year or more. Putting aside the last twelve months, it's good to see the share price has rebounded by 1.0%, in the last ninety days. This could just be a bounce because the selling was too aggressive, but fingers crossed it's the start of a new trend. Before forming an opinion on LexinFintech Holdings you might want to consider these3 valuation metrics.
We will like LexinFintech Holdings better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out thisfreelist of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
How Facebook's Libra Will Turbo-Charge Its Ad Empire
Facebookhas revealedthe details of its Project Libra crypto coin, an ambitious plan to bring digital currency like Bitcoin to billions of people worldwide. The plan will be carried out with dozens of partners, including Uber and MasterCard, and could remake the global payment industry. But what’s in it for Facebook?
For starters, Facebook will be able to useCalibra, its new digital wallet, to compete with the likes of PayPal’s digital payment app Venmo, while also offering cheaper cross-border payments. Facebook’s new currency, called Libra, could also help the company save on transaction costs. But if you had to guess Facebook’s main motive, the best answer is that Project Libra will help the social network do what it does best: collect data and sell advertising.
Specifically, the new currency gives Facebook an opportunity to bolt a payment service on top of Instagram and WhatsApp, and let customers make instant purchases in response to ads they see on those platforms.
Marketing and e-commerce executives tellFortunethis will be a boon for Facebook and its advertisers. According to Will Luttrell, CEO of payments startup Amino, the digital currency will let the company better compete with Amazon’s growing ad business. He predicts that Facebook will have unprecedented insight into when a user makes a purchase in response to an ad—delivering specific “return on investment” metrics that marketers crave.
Jeremy Epstein, who has worked with marketing technology for decades, likewise mentionsAmazonupon hearing a description of Facebook’s project.
“It makes sense in terms of a closed loop. It will bring payments back in house and show Facebook who’s buying what,” Epstein says. “Right now, Facebook doesn’t know the last mile like Amazon does.”
All of this, however, is premised on Facebook having access to the payment data of its users. And in its Project Libra announcement, the company explicitly stated the two systems are not connected, and that its Calibra wallet will be operated as a separate subsidiary.
That may well be, but Facebook’s promise comes with an important disclaimer. As my colleagueRobert Hackett explains, the data can be blended if users give the go-ahead. “If someone were to explicitly agree to link their Calibra account to another Facebook product—importing their WhatsApp contacts, say—then this would open up the data pipe for sharing,” Hackett writes.
It’s a good bet most users will give this permission, especially if the company asks them if they would like to use Facebook to add friends to the Calibra wallet, or to connect the wallet to Instagram to make purchases.
The upshot is that Facebook is likely to gain a trove of new data about how its users spend their money, while merchants that accept Libra will gain the ability to target specific ads, as well as see exactly how effective those ads turned out to be. Effectively, it will be like opening a cash register at the end of the day and knowing the source of every dollar.
None of this is a sure bet, of course. Facebook has much work to do in getting the Libra currency ready for its 2020 rollout, which includes building out a blockchain network with an unwieldy consortium of partners. And then it must also persuade its users to give the cryptocurrency a try.
According to Alanna Gombert, who leads ad tech at the blockchain group Consensys, Facebook will likely introduce rewards systems that give users Libra to spend in return for doing tasks like watching videos.
“There has to be an ease of use that you didn’t have before, such as when you can useApplePay to sign up for the New York Times,” she says. “It’s really hard to force people to adopt as a currency.”
—What dobitcoin and Las Vegashave in common? The size of their carbon footprints
—Ripple takes$50 million stake in MoneyGramin push to deploy XRP
—Facebook’s Project Libra: 5 things to know about the new cryptocurrency
—Scammed porn watchers have paid nearly $1 million inbitcoin blackmail
—Fintech startupTally raises $50 millionto automate people’s finances
Sign up forThe Ledger, a weekly newsletter on the intersection of technology and finance. |
Germany's Siemens announces 2,700 job cuts
BERLIN (AP) — German industrial equipment maker Siemens says it is cutting 2,700 jobs globally at its power and gas company as it seeks to make cost savings. Siemens said Tuesday that the cuts include 1,400 jobs in Germany and would take place over the course of several years. The layoffs come in addition to the 10,400 from its core units that the company already announced last month. Siemens in May said it was undertaking a major restructuring that would involve spinning off its oil, gas and power generation business and creating new areas of growth. The company plans to save 2.2 billion euros ($2.5 billion) in costs by 2023. |
Southern states that voted for Trump see lower incomes than rest of U.S.
Since President Trump took office, Southern states have seen stronger employment growth than Northeastern states that voted for Hillary Clinton.
But the positive job growth masks a grim reality: Southerners are seeing lower wages and earning less than the rest of the country.
During Trump’s administration, personal income in the South has grown by 1.7% a year, trailing Clinton-voting Northeastern states that have grown by 2% over the same period. And in 2018, personal income in Southern states was lower than the rest of the country. The average income earned per person in Texas was $49,161; $45,834 in North Carolina; and $37,994 in Mississippi, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
“That’s the story of the South. It’s still adding jobs a little bit faster, but income growth is slower,” Mark Muro, senior fellow and policy director at the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program, told Yahoo Finance. “What I think has happened since 1980, the economy has become more and more digital, and thereby more and more rewarded education, well-skilled, technical workers, college graduates. The South has less of those.”
The share of adults with a bachelor’s degree in the southern states that voted for Trump is significantly lower than the rest of the country – 28.2% vs. 33.2%.
How people feel about the economy and their own financial situation factors into how they vote, which could spell trouble for Trump’s reelection efforts. “There’s a lot of evidence that the trend on personal income is what most determines political behavior. Forthcoming data is going to show a slowing of the economy and that may be badly timed for Trump’s re-election,” says Muro.
Although personal income in the South is below the rest of the U.S., it has seen better job growth by offering lower incomes and investing less in education, according to Brookings.
“This reflects the fact that the South created an economic miracle by committing to being a low-cost, low-regulation area. Low-cost growth was the name of the game,” says Muro.
Southern states saw job growth of 1.8% a year since 2010, according to Brookings, compared with 1.6% for the rest of the U.S. during that time.
Since Trump has been in office, employment in the South grew at nearly 2% per year, compared with the rest of the country which grew at 1.5%.
Follow Sibile Marcellus on@SibileTV
More from Sibile:
Trump is to blame for strong dollar, not the Fed: Economist
Trump ‘is playing with fire’ as more tariffs are threatened: JP Morgan
How U.S. importers are avoiding Trump’s tariffs
New Trump tariffs would affect nearly 70% of consumer goods: Citi
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit. |
What Rory Stewart's latest surprise victory means for the rest of the Tory leadership race
Rory Stewart goes on making the news, going from last place to overtaking Dominic Raab and Sajid Javid in the second Tory leadership ballot. Stewart is now in contention for the right to take on Boris Johnson in the final vote among Conservative Party members. This sets up an interesting TV debate on the BBC tonight. It means that Johnson, in his first big public test of this campaign, will have to face Stewart, his fiercest critic. And it also means more potential cliffhangers to come, starting at 6pm tomorrow, when the result of the third ballot will be announced. Before then, I expect Javid to have withdrawn. I think he will take part in the TV debate, because he thinks he has something to say, but tomorrow he can retire with honour, having secured the 33 votes needed to give him the option of going to the next round. In doing so he avoided joining Raab in the relegation zone. We can assume that most of Raab’s votes will switch to Johnson, his rival for the hard-Brexit vote among Tory MPs, which means the important question is what will happen to Javid’s votes. It is possible that the largest number will switch to Stewart. So, if Gove can continue to gain ground on Hunt, the three of them could end up pretty much tied for second place. Don’t pay too much attention to stories of Johnson’s campaign “lending” votes to Hunt because he would be the easiest candidate for their man to beat. Hunt’s people accuse Gove’s people of putting the story about to draw attention to their candidate’s claim to be best placed to take on the frontrunner in the final round. Even if Johnson’s campaign were thinking about it, they would probably think better of it. That kind of tactic has a habit of backfiring, as some of the Labour MPs who nominated Jeremy Corbyn for the leadership to “broaden the contest” can confirm. And in any case, it is not clear who is the candidate that Johnson most fears in the final round, to be decided by the 160,000 party members around the country. Story continues We had two significant opinion polls of party members earlier today. One, by YouGov for The Times , attracted a lot of attention for its finding that Tory members would be prepared to see Scotland and Northern Ireland leave the UK if that were the price of getting England out of the EU. This poll also found a high level of support for a candidate who isn’t even in the leadership contest. It found that 46 per cent of Tory members would be “happy” if Nigel Farage were to become leader of their party. All of which goes to underline the weakness of any candidate who isn’t seen as being totally committed to Brexit. Stewart shouldn’t stand a chance, except that he has managed to upset expectations at every stage so far; Hunt should not fare much better in party members’ minds; and even Gove, co-leader with Johnson of the official Leave campaign, is now being described as a Remainer by Brexit activists on social media – because he voted for Theresa May’s Brexit deal all three times and stayed in government to defend it. Johnson voted for it only once, with a great show of reluctance. The other survey of party members, by Conservative Home, confirms that Johnson has a huge advantage over any of his rivals. Testing all the possible combinations of names for the final two, about 70 per cent of them say they would vote for Johnson if his name were one of them, against about 25 per cent for anyone else. |
Why SunPower Corporation's Shares Popped 25% Today
What happened Shares of solar manufacturer SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR) jumped as much as 24.6% in trading Tuesday after getting an upgrade from Wall Street. Shares were hitting their daily high at 12:30 p.m. EDT. So what Analyst Brian Lee at Goldman Sachs upgraded SunPower's stock from neutral to a buy rating and increased his price target from $6 to $11 per share. He said there are volume tailwinds that will drive growth, such as a solar mandate on new homes in California and people installing solar ahead of declining federal tax credits next year. Solar carport in a parking lot. Image source: SunPower. The upgrade coincides with a report from the SEIA and Wood Mackenzie that says the U.S. installed 2.7 gigawatts (GW) of solar in the first quarter, the most ever in the first three months of the year. Analysts at Wood Mackenzie are also increasing expected installations this year by 1.2 GW. Now what I wouldn't read much into the upgrade from Goldman Sachs because the sentiment of Wall Street regarding solar energy can rise and fall. The more important data point is a record quarter for solar in the U.S. and a very bullish sentiment long term. If installations rise, particularly in residential markets, SunPower will be one of the biggest beneficiaries. That's a reason to own the stock long term, and it's why I'm still bullish on this leading solar stock. More From The Motley Fool 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,728 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss 20 of the Top Stocks to Buy (Including the Two Every Investor Should Own) What Is an ETF? 5 Recession-Proof Stocks How to Beat the Market Travis Hoium owns shares of SunPower. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . |
Is News Corporation's (NASDAQ:NWSA) CEO Paid Enough Relative To Peers?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
Robert Thomson became the CEO of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) in 2013. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.
Check out our latest analysis for News
At the time of writing our data says that News Corporation has a market cap of US$7.2b, and is paying total annual CEO compensation of US$13m. (This is based on the year to June 2018). We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at US$2.0m. As part of our analysis we looked at companies in the same jurisdiction, with market capitalizations of US$4.0b to US$12b. The median total CEO compensation was US$6.9m.
As you can see, Robert Thomson is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean News Corporation is paying too much. A closer look at the performance of the underlying business will give us a better idea about whether the pay is particularly generous.
The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at News has changed from year to year.
News Corporation has reduced its earnings per share by an average of 68% a year, over the last three years (measured with a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 22% over the last year.
Unfortunately, earnings per share have trended lower over the last three years. And while it's good to see some good revenue growth recently, the growth isn't really fast enough for me to put aside my concerns around earnings. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. Shareholders might be interested inthisfreevisualization of analyst forecasts.
News Corporation has generated a total shareholder return of 11% over three years, so most shareholders would be reasonably content. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.
We compared total CEO remuneration at News Corporation with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. Our data suggests that it pays above the median CEO pay within that group.
Earnings per share have not grown in three years, and the revenue growth fails to impress us.
While shareholder returns are acceptable, they don't delight. So you may want to delve deeper, because we don't think the CEO pay is too low. Shareholders may want tocheck for free if News insiders are buying or selling shares.
If you want to buy a stock that is better than News, thisfreelist of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Facebook releases plan for its Libra cryptocurrency to ‘meet the daily financial needs of billions of people’
In 2004, Harvard University drop-out Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook, a dorm-built site that would trigger and drive the social-media revolution. Fifteen years later, Zuckerberg’s Facebook is hoping to jump-start a new revolution with its own cryptocurrency, finally revealing its plans in detail today. It remains to be seen if Facebook’s cryptocurrency, Libra , will have the same impact as its social network, but there’s no doubt this is one of the most noteworthy moves to date from a mainstream Fortune 100 company in the nascent digital assets market. Libra is just part of the picture. Backed by a basket of currencies and government bonds, Libra will be part of a broader ecosystem, a new financial infrastructure Facebook hopes will play a role in the transformation of the lives of billions of people. Libra itself, and the network underpinning it, are set to launch in 2020. “Libra holds the potential to provide billions of people around the world with access to a more inclusive, more open financial ecosystem,” said David Marcus, the Facebook executive at the helm of its cryptocurrency operation, Calibra, a Facebook spin-out aimed at building solutions and products related Libra. Better than bitcoin? Following in the footsteps of Ethereum, Tezos, and the myriad offerings in the cryptocurrency landscape, at the heart of Libra is the Libra Association, a Switzerland-based organization that oversees the currency's development and its network's maintenance. The governance structure isn’t unique to the crypto world, but its inaugural members — each of which will have their own node granting them access to the network — include heavy hitters like Uber, PayPal, Visa, and Andreessen Horowitz. By the time Libra network fully launches, the association hopes to have 100 members, according to its white paper. Founding members had to meet strict guidelines in line with its Evaluation Criteria. For instance, crypto hedge funds had to have an AUM above $1 billion while digital asset-focused custodians had to store at least $100 million. Non-crypto firms needed to have a market cap of more than $1 billion or boast customer balances equaling more than $500 million. A source familiar with Facebook’s ambitions said it was originally looking to involve Wall Street institutions such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, but it was unable to secure their interest. JPMorgan announced the launch of its own settlement JPM Coin in February. Story continues As for its network design, Libra will start off on a permissioned blockchain, meaning only members of the Libra Association will be permitted to run the validator hardware required to participate in the consensus process. This is akin to the private blockchain instantiations supported by enterprise-focused firms like R3 and ConsenSys Solutions. In Facebook's view, permissionless systems like Bitcoin are not ready for the big leagues — for now. “The challenge is that as of today we do not believe that there is a proven solution that can deliver the scale, stability, and security needed to support billions of people and transactions across the globe through a permissionless network,” the whitepaper notes, conservatively quoting a throughput capacity of 1,000 transactions per second and a 10-second finality upon launch. The permissioned nature of the Libra blockchain, with each of its 100 validator nodes operated by highly public entities, also means that it will be easier for stakeholders to coordinate in order to censor certain transactions. The Libra team anticipates that most people will choose to use custodial wallets, such as Facebook’s Calibra, in which case the wallet providers manage their customers' private keys and can choose to provide protections such as insurance, fraud protection, and customer service. The Block found that Calibra is already registered as an MSB with the FinCEN in all U.S. states. Alternatively, s imilar to other public cryptocurrencies, users can choose to use non-custodial wallets where they are responsible for their own keys and funds. In many instances, Libra’s blockchain takes inspiration from others, using Ethereum’s account, gas, and smart contract model. Libra will also be open-source under an Apache 2.0 license, allowing developers to read, build, provide feedback, and take part in a bug bounty program. And yet Libra also brings its own innovations to the table in the form of its proprietary programming language and virtual machine, Move. Meanwhile, its LibraBFT consensus algorithm is closely modeled from the VMware's designed protocol, HotStuff . While the firm plans to transition Libra to a permissionless Proof-of-Stake based network within the next five years, the current estimated $280,000 annual cost to run a validator node may price out hobbyists. It’s also not clear how smooth the transition will be. As Facebook admits, such a process could face numerous economic, technical, and governance-related hurdles. For instance, the Libra network will have to evolve its governance and consensus systems to account for increased validator distribution without giving up the performance guarantees required of a global payment processor. The association will also have to iron-out the details of automating the management of its reserves - the assets that back the Libra currency (a collection of low-volatility government bonds and currencies from central banks, likely starting with USD, GBP, EUR, and JPY). For now, the whitepaper mentions further exploration of how to automate both the verification of assets in the basket and the minting and burning of coins. Libra is not alone in this: the difficulty of bringing verifiably correct real-world data onto a blockchain is commonly known as the ‘oracle problem.’ Security token offering Every cryptocurrency community touts its promise to revolutionize financial services by bringing the borderless virtues of the Internet to money. Facebook is also betting that Libra will provide the foundations to meet the financial needs of billions of accounts. To that end, Libra will have a war chest to execute on the firm's lofty goals with reserves from two sources: investors in the Libra Investment Token and Libra's users. The issuance of the security token will cover the expenses of managing the network and supply members with coins which they can use to spur adoption among merchants and developers. Investors in the STO will receive rewards in the form of interest generated from the Libra reserves. Depending on the size of the Libra reserves, these dividends could be significant: with just 1.00% APR, a reserve of $160 billion worth of assets, the approximate size of Bitcoin’s network value, would generate $1.6 billion per year in relatively low overhead income, as per The Block's estimates. Elephant in the room Despite controlling just 1% of the network, Facebook’s controversial brand could serve as a challenge to user adoption. The social media giant has been marred by privacy concerns since the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018, and has struggled to properly manage its users’ information. More recently, internal emails unearthed by The Wall Street Journal found potential connections between CEO Mark Zuckerberg and “problematic” practices regarding privacy. Still, documents from the company suggest it has prioritized privacy and security. All non-custodial transactions will be pseudo-anonymous; much like other public cryptocurrencies. In materials presented to reporters, Facebook addressed the privacy concerns of potential users, noting that the Libra Association will not “hold personal data on people who use the blockchain... Further, all nodes will be run by Founding Members, who will be responsible for complying with applicable data protection laws.” However, documents suggest that Facebook’s consumer-facing custodial wallet, Calibra, will require each user to comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations. What to expect next? As is often good practice in the Wild West world of digital assets, readers would be smart to curb their enthusiasm. There's no doubt today's headlines will be effective in pushing digital currencies further into the mainstream, but Facebook and Libra Association's ambition plan is far from close to being executed. Indeed, members of the consortium aren't even up to speed on how the project works, as noted by The Wall Street Journal . On the regulatory front, it is an open-ended question about how governments and regulatory authorities will feel about their currencies being challenged by a non-sovereign rival — even if Libra doesn't purport to be one. The documents explicitly say that Libra Blockchain itself will not be regulated but rather it will be developers building on the Libra Blockchain who will be responsible for complying with the laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which they operate. Moreover, the Libra Association itself does not offer any insights into the tax implications but says that " [it looks] forward to working with policymakers as they clarify the application of existing tax laws to cryptocurrencies, or in some cases to update those laws." For those of us familiar with the stars, however, this all lines up. As Horoscope.com notes, Libras often are "up in the clouds, and while he or she is amazing at making big plans, follow through can be tricky." |
All the data self-driving cars take in from cameras looks like this
Self-driving cars are almost too observant, taking in information from light-emitting LiDAR sensors, radar equipment, microphones, and cameras. But all the information a car gleans from the outside world still has to be wrangled to be useful.
Cruise's fleet of self-driving cars testing in San Francisco take inpetabytesof data each month from its sensor suite on the road and in simulation, similar to other configurations other self-driving car companies have on autonomous vehicles. A petabyte is a million gigabytes, by the way.
So to corral all this information, Cruise — through a hackathon event — created anopen-source data visualization platformcalled Webviz. Other autonomous vehicle companies offer different aspects of the self-driving process, like Baidu's Apollo open-source autonomous driving platform. Now Cruise is opening up its application for anyone who works with robotics.Read more...
More aboutCruise,Self Driving Cars,Data Visualization,Tech, andTransportation |
U.S. markets regulator seeks public comment on expanding private offerings framework
By Katanga Johnson
WASHINGTON, June 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday invited the public to comment on whether it should expand its private offering framework, a move to consider boosting the number of investors in private companies, the agency said.
The agency's request for feedback comes after SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said the agency would address his concern with the large amount of capital raised in the private versus public markets, and the way it bars some investors from participating.
"We are taking a critical look at our exemptions from registration to ensure that our multifaceted private offering framework works for investors and entrepreneurs alike, no matter where they are located in the United States,” said Clayton.
He added that the goal is to expand investment opportunities while maintaining appropriate protections.
The agency said it welcomes responses from startups, entrepreneurs and investors.
Democrat-appointed Commissioner Rob Jackson said that he hesitantly voted in favor to open the rule to comment because of the potential for fraud to less-savvy investors.
"The questions in this release involve a fundamental tradeoff: the costs families suffer when investors are victims of fraud versus the benefits of broader access to capital," Jackson said. (Reporting by Katanga Johnson Editing by Susan Thomas) |
The Momo (NASDAQ:MOMO) Share Price Has Gained 175%, So Why Not Pay It Some Attention?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
WhileMomo Inc.(NASDAQ:MOMO) shareholders are probably generally happy, the stock hasn't had particularly good run recently, with the share price falling 19% in the last quarter. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last three years have been very strong. In fact, the share price is up a full 175% compared to three years ago. It's not uncommon to see a share price retrace a bit, after a big gain. The thing to consider is whether the underlying business is doing well enough to support the current price.
See our latest analysis for Momo
To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.
Momo was able to grow its EPS at 188% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. The average annual share price increase of 40% is actually lower than the EPS growth. So it seems investors have become more cautious about the company, over time.
The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).
It is of course excellent to see how Momo has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. Take a more thorough look at Momo's financial health with thisfreereport on its balance sheet.
We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between Momo'stotal shareholder return(TSR) and itsshare price return. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Momo hasn't been paying dividends, but its TSR of 179% exceeds its share price return of 175%, implying it has either spun-off a business, or raised capital at a discount; thereby providing additional value to shareholders.
Over the last year, Momo shareholders took a loss of 39%. In contrast the market gained about 3.4%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Investors are up over three years, booking 41% per year, much better than the more recent returns. The recent sell-off could be an opportunity if the business remains sound, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long-term growth trend. Before forming an opinion on Momo you might want to consider these3 valuation metrics.
But note:Momo may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
These Are the Cities Americans Are Most Eager to Leave
When Americans browse through house listings online, 25% are looking to get outta town! They check out homes in other cities, often hundreds or thousands of miles away, says the real estate brokerage Redfin.
They might want to escape a metro area where prices, traffic and crime are out of control, and go to a place wherebuying a homeis easier, you don't face long lines everywhere you go, and streets are safer. Or, maybe they want to flee a city where it's tough to find work and relocate to one withtons of excellent opportunities.
We count down the cities people are most eager to ditch, according toRedfin's numbers from the first months of 2019. They're the places where home shoppers who want to leave most outnumber those who want to move in.
Like race car drivers in the Indy 500, some homeowners in the Indianapolis metro area can't wait to get going.
Reasons people want to put Indiana's capital city in their rearview mirror have included weather extremes (bitterly cold winters and steaming hot summers), bad roads, and all the commotion around the "greatest spectacle in racing" every Memorial Day weekend.
But homes are reasonably priced here (selling for an average $165,000), unemployment is low (3.2% in April 2019) and more jobs are on the way. FedEx plans to add 225 full-time positions at its local hub operation by 2021.
Spokane residents enjoy easy access to hiking and biking trails (including the 37-mile Centennial Trail), lakes, rivers and beautiful waterfalls. But other aspects of living here aren't quite so attractive.
Unemployment is relatively high (5.8% in April), and builders can’t keep up with the demand for rentals, condos and single-family homes. As a result, houses are selling for an average $259,000 — up 18.5% from a year ago — and renters arebeing priced out.
When you also consider downtown Spokane’s homeless problem, the region's unbearably cold winters and fairly high crime rate, maybe it’s no wonder hordes of people want to leave the area.
The Virginia capital is steeped in history and culture — and if you want more of that, Washington isn't far. But Richmond's notoriously bad schools and rapidly rising housing costs may be why more people want to move away than move in.
The school system is known for itslow test scores and graduation rates, and local home prices have jumped nearly 9% in the last year to an average $244,000.
Richmond's strong job market probably isn't driving anyone away: Unemployment was a stunningly low 2.6% in April. The area's major employers include credit cards giant Capital One and used-car retailer CarMax, which is based here.
Des Moines is the capital of Iowa, a state known for colleges (the University of Iowa, Iowa State and Drake, among others), campers (Winnebago is based here), corn (Iowa produces more than any other state) and climate extremes.
In January, the average low temperature in Des Moines is a brutal 14 degrees Fahrenheit. Summers are no picnic either: The average high in July is 86, and long-time residents say if the humidity doesn't get you, the mosquitoes will.
The unforgiving weather is a major reason people leave here, despite the availability of jobs (unemployment was just 2.2% in April) and the inexpensive home prices ($154,000, on average).
Eugene, in western Oregon, is breathtakingly gorgeous. The metro area offers mountain views, waterfalls, dense forests, and beautiful lakes and reservoirs. But living in the area has become an unsustainable dream for many.
The cost of housing — whether rented or owned — can be incredibly high, and the same goes for property taxes. Unemployment has remained above 4%, and it can be tough to find a job that will cover your housing costs.
Those who feel forced to pack their bags are eager to head to Portland or Seattle. While those metro areas are hardly more affordable, they may hold better job opportunities.
Champaign is a college town, home to the main campus of the University of Illinois. The school keeps things interesting, but once you leave town there's nothing but cornfields. Chicago is two to three hours away.
People in Champaign say the weather stinks, with just a few weeks in the spring and fall that are tolerable. "The rest of the year is either hot and sweat-dripping-down-your nose humid, or bitterly cold and windy," writes one U of I gradon Quora.
Given that more people are leaving than loving Champaign, the already low home prices are falling — they're down 2.3% from a year ago, to an average $147,000, and houses tend to languish on the market for about two months, Redfin says.
Rockford offers a low cost of living, but unemployment is on the high side (5.4% in April 2019), the public schools are infamously poor, and crime rates have gotten Rockford named one of the America's mostdangerous cities.
People started moving away in the 1970s, and the trend continues today. The area's slow recovery from the Great Recession hasn't helped.
Home prices aren't bad ($105,000, on average), but one reason houses are inexpensive is that fewer and fewer people want to live here. Homeowners who are looking to bail tend to check out houses in Chicago and Madison, Wisconsin, Redfin says.
In Houston, unemployment and housing and living costs are all above the national average. Home prices are up 6.1% in the last year, Redfin says.
But Houston’s infrastructure is so prone to flooding that property in the city has become a terrible investment. Though Hurricane Harvey was big news, the city deals with flooding almost every time there’s a rainstorm.
So these days, many Houstonians are searching for homes in Austin, Texas — and in Los Angeles, a city that's not exactly known for affordability or safety from natural disasters.
Before a certain mayor started getting himself in the news, South Bend was known as the location of the University of Notre Dame. As in the typical college town, there are tons of things to do — including cheering on the Fighting Irish football and basketball teams.
The downsides of living here include punishing winters, high rates for murder and other violent crime, and bad roads that are often criticized by the transportation research group TRIP.
For homeowners looking to sell and move somewhere else, there's this:BobVila.comrecently named South Bend one of the best cities for flipping houses, because the growth of new manufacturing companies is driving up demand for affordable housing.
Though Detroit is still far and away Michigan's biggest metro area, the population of the city itself has been shrinking for decades. In 1950, Detroit was home to 1.8 million people, but today there are only around 673,000.
A booming auto industry made Detroit a great place to live and work, but the industry's decline hurt the region's economy. The local unemployment rate is typically one of the highest among the country's largest metro areas.
Although some parts of Detroit are being revitalized and luxury condos are going up, many area residents are still eager to load up a moving van and hit the road.
Some people who live in Milwaukee will readily tell you it's a place of sharp economic divisions, with wealthy people who are super-rich and poor people who live in extreme poverty.
In middle- and low-income neighborhoods, Milwaukee lacks public transportation and decent schools. Those factors make it hard for anyone who doesn't already have money to have a high quality of life.
Millennials are most affected by the area's financial disparities and are now inclined to look to Chicago. If you're considering a relocation from your current city,see what your monthly mortgage payment would be.
The population of Connecticut's capital has slid from about 124,800 in 2010 to an estimated 122,600 in 2018. What the heck, Hartford?
Some people are being driven out by the property taxes — the highest in the Nutmeg State. Home prices can be high, too, and they've risen 12.3% in the past year. And though murders were down in 2018, the overall rate of violent crime is said to bethe worst in Connecticut.
On top of all of that, the local job market isn't great, despite the presence of financial services and insurance giants such as The Hartford. Unemployment was a stiff 6.4% in April.
Seattle is a place known for its coffee, but the metro area also is brimming with beautiful scenery and great jobs. Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks, Costco, T-Mobile and Nordstrom are just a few of the major companies that call the Seattle area home.
But Seattle is anything but cheap. Homes sell for an average $712,000, yet even at those levels they're typically snapped up in nine days.
The weather is often cloudy and rainy, which may help explain why residents who want to say goodbye are looking most at homes in sunny Los Angeles.
Housing costs are going into the stratosphere in the Mile High City. They're rising faster than wages, as new luxury homes pop up and push housing values higher across the metro area.
Redfin says the average home sells for $450,000 and is on the market just 12 days. Denver homeowners who want to sell and get out are most often considering Seattle.
"People looking to leave high-tax metros for a city with mountain views and top-notch hiking are more likely to pick Seattle over Denver because Washington state doesn’t have an income tax," says Daryl Fairweather, Redfin chief economist.
While other Midwesterners are interested in moving to the region's largest city, many who already live in Chicago are willing to move out to make room. They're looking most at homes in Los Angeles — maybe for the warmer climate.
Many Chi-Town residents complain about the cold winters, plus the horrid traffic, the property tax rates and the cost of living.
But new residents coming from Oregon or Seattle might be pleasantly surprised at how affordable things are, compared to what they’re used to. And though the traffic is soul-crushing, Chicago has good public transportation.
The nation's capital offers great amenities — like the free Smithsonian museums and National Zoo — and plenty of great job opportunities, especially for anyone who'd like a career in government. (Just be careful of the frequent shutdowns.)
But housing costs and property taxes in the D.C. metro area can be shockingly high, and going out to dinner can be an expensive ordeal.
So, people in Washington and its suburbs are voting with their feet. They're most inclined to leave for New York, a city that's certainly no bargain but where it's much easier to ignore America's never-ending political drama.
Residents of the Los Angeles metro area have to put up with a higher-than-average cost of living, soaring rents and stiff property taxes — plus the city’s legendary freeway backups.
Homes are selling for an average $725,000 in a competitive market where houses typically receive two offers, Redfin says.
Jaded L.A. locals who are weary of waiting for their big Hollywood break in such an expensive place are looking to relocate to more reasonably priced San Diego or Phoenix.
San Francisco's natural beauty and verylucrative tech jobsare a magnet for newcomers — but the horrendously expensive real estate just ends up repelling people.
The average selling price is currently $1.43 million, which is up nearly 2% from a year ago. Homes that would be undesirable elsewhere sell for hundreds of thousands over asking price in frenzied bidding wars.
Redfin says residents looking to leave are most often checking out homes in Sacramento and Seattle.
Here it is, America's most-fled metro area. Thanks to steep food and housing costs (and therats), people tend to come and go from the New York area all the time. According to Census data, almost 200,000 leave and go out of state every year.
Maybe it's at least a little surprising that the city they most want to flee to is Boston — not a place where they can expect to find low prices or more elbow room.
Now that we've shown you the cities Americans are most eager to move out of, keep reading as we count downthe 10 metro areas people are most interested in moving to.
Raleigh is North Carolina's state capital and part of the "Research Triangle" with Chapel Hill and Durham — meaning there are loads of government, technology and academic jobs in these parts.
The area added 1,500 positions in April alone, when the unemployment rate was 3.5%. The cost of living is below the national average, the weather is agreeable and relatively snow-free, and moutains and beaches aren't far away.
Raleigh is drawing a lot of homebuying interest from people in New York. The average sale price here is much lower than New Yorkers are used to: $274,000.
San Diego offers beaches, perfect weather, convenience to Southern California attractions — and costs that aren't up to the ridiculous levels you'd pay in that bigger city to the north.
Grocery prices are 10% lower than in Los Angeles, and rents are 8% cheaper. Unemployment is low, too, and hiring has been insane. Employers in San Diego County recently added nearly 8,000 jobsin one month.
The average selling price for a home here is $637,000 — 12% below what people are paying in L.A. That metro area and Seattle are the ones where people are most likely to consider a move to San Diego.
Tampa gives you Florida warmth and sunshine, plus many of the amenities you expect in a major metro area, includingNFL, NHL and Major League Baseball teams.
You get all of that, but without the high costs you pay in other big-league cities. Plus, you've got beautiful beaches nearby, and it's less than a 90-minute drive to Walt Disney World, Universal and the other central Florida theme parks.
Homes are selling here for an average $246,000. Interested in Tampa?Calculate your mortgage payment.
If you move to Dallas, you'll learn to appreciate cowboy boots, chicken-fried steak and the annual spectacle that is the Texas State Fair. You're also bound to become a rowdy fan of the NFL's Cowboys.
Dallas is big, friendly, fashionable andaffordable, especially next to those very pricey metro areas on the coasts. Rents are around 40% lower than in either Washington, D.C., or Los Angeles, reports the cost-of-living websiteNumbeo.
L.A. is the metro area with the most house shoppers looking to escape to Dallas. Homes in the "Big D" have been selling for an average of just $60,000, Redfin says — less than a tenth of what you'd pay in Los Angeles.
You're bound to see a lot of moving vans on Interstate 15 between the Los Angeles area to Las Vegas, as homeowners continue to cash in their chips in Southern California and take a gamble on life in the land of casinos.
Vegas offers not only an abundance of entertainment options but also a dry desert climate with chilly winters and sizzling summers. Ski resorts aren't far away, and neither is California's Death Valley.
Real estate is hot, hot, hot in Las Vegas, but more affordable than in Los Angeles. The average selling price for homes is $278,000, up 6.9% from a year ago.
Sunny, sticky, beautiful, booming Miami has been drawing waves of newcomers going all the way back to the Florida land frenzy of the 1920s.
Many of the latest arrivals have been coming from Orlando, and the "Magic City" of Miami also remains a popular destination for people escaping America's largest metro area, New York. New Yawk accents are almost as common as Latin American ones.
Miami homes have been selling for an average price of $324,000 — a bargain compared to the average $550,000 in New York.
About three hours south of the Dallas area, you find Austin — the bluesy, techy, hipsterish Texas state capital. The Austin metro area is home to the computer company Dell and other technology giants including Apple and Google have operations in the area.
As more workers move to Austin and similar cities, "there is a chicken and egg phenomenon where more companies open offices, which attracts even more workers," says Redfin's Fairweather.
The average selling price of a home in Austin is $402,000, and groceries cost 38% less than in the California Bay Area. Here's another plus: Texas is one of thestates without their own income tax.
Move to metro Atlanta and you might land a job in state government (it's Georgia's capital, after all) or at Coca-Cola or one of the many other Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the area.
Corporations are drawn by low taxes, a diverse and talented workforce, and theavailability of nonstop flightsto just about any corner of the world.
The big attraction for homebuyers — including many who come from New York — is real estate prices that are much lower than in other major metro areas. Homes are selling for $325,000, on average.
California's capital city is thriving as it pulls in transplants tired of trying to make ends meet in the West Coast's pricier places. In particular, they're coming from San Francisco and Seattle.
"Buyers are moving here to capitalize on their equity and put a substantial down payment or even pay cash," says Jim Hamilton, a local agent for Redfin.
Homes in Sacramento are selling, on average, for a relatively affordable $335,000 — less than half of what you'd pay in Los Angeles, and just a quarter of the average selling price in San Francisco.
It's dry heat!as they famously say. Phoenix is known for low humidity, and costs are low, too — helping to make the Phoenix metro area the No. 1 relocation destination for homebuyers.
More than a third of people searching for houses in Phoenix are from outside the region, according to Redfin's research. The area is attracting the most attention from people in Los Angeles, who are shocked to find homes selling for $262,000, on average.
"When a California resident visits Phoenix and sees how much more home they can afford here, it really gives them something to think about," says Redfin agent Vincent Shook. "Plus, Phoenix property taxes are just so much lower." |
NXPI Stock Chasing Triple-Digit Territory as Bull Signals Flash
Chip stocks are having a strong day, and one name joining in on the rally isNXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI). NXPI stock is trading up 4.7% at $93.94, as the shares move back toward the $100 level after breaching it about a month ago. They're also trading near two levels of key technical support in the 160- and 200-day moving averages. Based on data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, the moving averages have historically sparked upside moves in NXPI, and it turns out this would be bad news for recent options traders.
According to White's data, there have been six similar pullbacks to the 160-day in the past three years, and four prior signals for the 200-day. For the former, the shares have averaged a one-month gain of 6.22%, and a 6.51% gain for the latter during the same time period. This means the 200-day signal suggests the stock could rally right back to the $100 region.
The problem is that options traders at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) have been buying puts at an extreme rate. NXP Semiconductor's 10-day put/call volume ratio at these exchanges is 3.03, which not only shows three long puts crossing for every long call during this time, but it also ranks in the 100th annual percentile.
Interestingly, peak open interest sits at the July 100 call, where more than 16,000 contracts reside. Today's trading has seen more of a focus on puts, with new positions opening at the weekly 8/2 60- and 65- puts.
Looking more broadly at sentiment, a slim majority of analysts recommend buying, and the average 12-month price target is up at $115.17 -- territory not charted in a year. More short term, NXPI is up 28% in 2019. |
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) Insiders Have Been Selling
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So before you buy or sellCracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.(NASDAQ:CBRL), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.
We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Harvard Universitystudyfound that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.'
View our latest analysis for Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the , Nicholas Flanagan, sold US$728k worth of shares at a price of US$146 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$170, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling on market, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. It is worth noting that this sale was only 29.2% of Nicholas Flanagan's holding.
Over the last year, we note insiders sold 7731 shares worth US$1.1m. In the last year Cracker Barrel Old Country Store insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
I will like Cracker Barrel Old Country Store better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out thisfreelist of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 1.0% of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store shares, worth about US$42m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Cracker Barrel Old Country Store shares in the last quarter. Still, the insider transactions at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in the last 12 months are not very heartening. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at thisFREEreport showing analyst forecasts for Cracker Barrel Old Country Store.
Of course,you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere.So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
MoneyGram, Ripple Tie Up to Enhance Cross-Border Payments
MoneyGram International, Inc.MGI has entered into a pact with Ripple, a provider of leading enterprise blockchain solutions for global payments. The partnership will allow MoneyGram to leverage Ripple’s product named XRapid, in effectuating cross-border payments. The same will be done at lower cost and higher speed by the use of RippleNet—a network of more than 200 banks and payment providers—which makes it easy to connect and transact across the world.
This two-year deal will make Ripple a key partner of MoneyGram for all its cross-border settlements using digital assets. As part of this partnership, Ripple has made an initial investment of $30 million in MoneyGram equity and share warrants.
The partnership with Ripple is a win for MoneyGram, which has been facing stiff competition from fintech players such as PayPal Holdings, Inc. PYPL and Square, Inc. SQ. The company has been suffering from revenue declines for the past several quarters. In a year’s time, the stock has lost 80% compared with the industry’s decline of 3.1%.
The deal will reduce MoneyGram’s cash needs, for which it relied on traditional foreign exchange markets to meet settlement obligations. This required advance purchases of most currencies and consequent locking of funds.
Through this partnership, MoneyGram will be able to settle key currencies and match the timing of funding with its settlement requirements, reducing operating costs, working capital needs and improving earnings and free cash flow.
The deal is in vein with the company’s aim to grow its Global Funds Transfer segment, which is its primary revenue driver. It generated 49% of the company’s revenues in 2018.
Blockchain technology is fast gaining ground in the payments industry. A prominent player like Western Union WU has forged partnership with Thunes to facilitate cross-border payments via Stellar's distributed ledger technology. Western Union is also testing Ripple technology for remittances in certain corridors.
MoneyGram is also into the process of refinancing its existing first lien term and revolving facilities and expects to announce the closing of that transaction next week. This will further provide financial flexibility to it. We believe these recent developments will restore investors’ confidence on the company to some extent.
MoneyGram carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks hereBreakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit PotentialThe biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.Zacks has just releasedCentury of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Nowto help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119% and +164% in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.
See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportSquare, Inc. (SQ) : Free Stock Analysis ReportPayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMoneyGram International Inc. (MGI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportThe Western Union Company (WU) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Why Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) Could Be Worth Watching
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC), which is in the reits business, and is based in United States, saw significant share price movement during recent months on the NYSE, rising to highs of $44.22 and falling to the lows of $34.53. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Macerich's current trading price of $35.14 reflective of the actual value of the mid-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Macerich’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.
Check out our latest analysis for Macerich
Good news, investors! Macerich is still a bargain right now. My valuation model shows that the intrinsic value for the stock is $49.33, but it is currently trading at US$35.14 on the share market, meaning that there is still an opportunity to buy now. What’s more interesting is that, Macerich’s share price is theoretically quite stable, which could mean two things: firstly, it may take the share price a while to move to its intrinsic value, and secondly, there may be less chances to buy low in the future once it reaches that value. This is because the stock is less volatile than the wider market given its low beta.
Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. However, with an extremely negative double-digit change in profit expected over the next couple of years, near-term growth is certainly not a driver of a buy decision. It seems like high uncertainty is on the cards for Macerich, at least in the near future.
Are you a shareholder?Although MAC is currently undervalued, the negative outlook does bring on some uncertainty, which equates to higher risk. I recommend you think about whether you want to increase your portfolio exposure to MAC, or whether diversifying into another stock may be a better move for your total risk and return.
Are you a potential investor?If you’ve been keeping tabs on MAC for some time, but hesitant on making the leap, I recommend you research further into the stock. Given its current undervaluation, now is a great time to make a decision. But keep in mind the risks that come with negative growth prospects in the future.
Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters – the fundamentals – before you make a decision on Macerich. You can find everything you need to know about Macerich inthe latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in Macerich, you can use our free platform to see my list of over50 other stocks with a high growth potential.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Bitcoin Breaks Out, the Bull Market is in Full Swing
Bitcoin prices topped $9,000 last week and put the token on track to move higher in the near-term. The move resulted in the breakdown of a significant resistance level that had been keeping prices in check. Now that resistance is broken down prices are likely to keep rising but just how far can they go? Simple technical targets based on the peaks set in 2018 suggest $10,000, $12,000, and $16,000 are logical targets.
Projecting technical patterns like the run-up to, and subsequent break of resistance at $8,500 gives an equally optimistic target. The magnitude of that move is $5,300, projecting it from the $8,500 resistance line gives a target near $14,000. Momentum is slowing winding down but that is not a concern at this time. momentum remains firmly bullish and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. At current levels, the MACD histogram could take several months to wind down to zero and in that time BTC may have already surpassed its all-time highs.
There are several factors driving the rally in Bitcoin. Yes, Facebook’s launch of Libra is helping to support prices but no, it isn’t really that important to Bitcoin other than as a sign of growing acceptance of blockchain technology. The two things that are driving Bitcoin’s price higher is next year’s scheduled halving and this summer’s launch of Bakkt physically-settled Bitcoin futures.
The halving is an important event for Bitcoin as it will significantly reduce the number of available tokens. The halving is when the mining reward for Bitcoin is cut in half. After the halving, which occurs next May, each block will only be worth 6.5 Bitcoins. Because the cost of mining will remain the same this means the fundamental value of BTCs all over the world will increase.
Bakkt and its launch of BTC futures are important for two reasons in and of itself. First, physically settled BTC futures will increase the volume of Bitcoin trading and that will aid its liquidity. Second, Bakkt is an SEC-approved trading venue. Now that it is cleared to test its futures products we are one step closer to a BTC ETF. The approval of a BTC ETF will be a game-changing event forBitcoin.
What we can expect from the price of Bitcoin over the next few months is this. A steady increase in prices punctuated by periodic tests of resistance and minor consolidations. This should continue up to and until BTC reaches its all-time high. Once BTC reaches its all-time high I see a flood of new money come into the market that may push it up to $50,000 within the next two years.
The article was written byAnthony Darvall, Chief Market Analyst ateasyMarkets
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
• Us Dollar rallies Off Support But is this a Top Or Bottom?
• Forex Daily Recap – USD Index Slipped -0.57% over Unchanged Fed Interest Rates
• Oil Rebounds On Bullish Data, OPEC Meeting Date Set, Trade-Optimism Fuels Demand Hopes
• GBP/JPY Price Forecast – British pound showing signs of life
• Soybean and Corn Lose Steam And Ease Rallies
• Natural Gas Price Prediction – Prices Tumble Ahead of EIA Report |
'He Can’t Putt!' Everything Trump Has Said About Powell and the Fed: A Timeline
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has been publicly criticized by President Donald Trump over the central bank’s interest-rate increases in 2018 and continued shrinking of its balance sheet. Trump has said the steps will stifle the economy’s growth.Powell has avoided direct comment but has repeatedly stressed the importance of the Fed’s independence from political pressure and its commitment to transparency and accountability to Congress.
Here’s a timeline of key events and comments:
Bloomberg News reports the White House explored the legality of stripping Powell of his chairmanship and leaving him as a Fed governor. Trump’s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, subsequently says demoting Powell isn’t under consideration.
In an interview with ABC News, Trump says the rate of economic growth in the U.S. would be “at least a point and a half higher” if the Fed had not raised interest rates so much in 2018.
Asked about Powell, Trumps says: “He’s my pick — and I disagree with him entirely.”
The president tweets: “The Fed interest rate way too high, added to ridiculous quantitative tightening! They don’t have a clue!” Trump also notes the U.S. has “VERY LOW INFLATION,” calling it a “beautiful thing!”
Trump complains in an interview on CNBC Television that the Fed doesn’t listen to him, contrasting that with the control China’s leader wields over that country’s central bank.
“They devalue their currency. They have for years. It’s put them at a tremendous advantage,” Trump said of the Chinese. “We don’t have that advantage because we have a Fed that doesn’t lower interest rates.”
Trump says Fed should help offset damage to U.S. economy being caused by tariffs to “match” stimulus efforts taken by China’s government.
“China will be pumping money into their system and probably reducing interest rates,” the president tweeted. “If the Federal Reserve ever did a ‘match,’ it would be game over, we win!”
Fed leaves interest rates unchanged.
Trump calls for a drastic cut in interest rates to boost the already-healthy U.S. economy. “Our Federal Reserve has incessantly lifted interest rates, even though inflation is very low,” he says in a tweet. In a subsequent post, he adds the economy could soar “like a rocket” if the Fed lowered its benchmark rate by a full percentage point and resumed bond purchases.
With the Commerce Department reporting that first-quarter GDP grew at an annualized pace of 3.2%, the president says the figure would have been higher if not for the Fed. “If we kept the same interest rates and the same quantitative easing that the previous administration had, that 3.2 would have been much higher.”
Trump tweets: “If the Fed had done its job properly, which it has not, the Stock Market would have been up 5,000 to 10,000 additional points, and GDP would have been well over 4% instead of 3%.”
The same evening Powell reassured Democratic lawmakers he would not give in to political pressure, he received an unscheduled phone call from the president. The Fed released no details of the conversation other than to say it lasted five minutes.
Following a roundtable meeting in San Antonio, Texas, the president says his supporters would prefer a Fed chair who doesn’t raise interest rates.
Trump tells reporters the Fed should cut interest rates. “I think they really slowed us down. There’s no inflation.”
He adds that instead of reducing the size of their balance sheet, Fed officials should also be buying additional securities as a way to boost the economy. If the Fed followed his advice, “you would see a rocket ship,” he says.
Trump tweets: “Despite the unnecessary and destructive actions taken by the Fed, the economy is looking very strong.”
Trumps tweets that the U.S. economy “would be in a better place” if the central bank “not mistakenly raised interest rates, especially since there is very little inflation.” The posting followed comments the same day from White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow calling on the Fed to “immediately” cut rates by half a percentage point.
Trump tells tells Fox Business Network the U.S. economy would have grown faster if the Fed hadn’t raised interest rates. “Hopefully now we won’t do the tightening,” he said.
Fed leaves interest rates unchanged.
Powell receives a phone call from Trump the same day concerns about the U.S. jobs market helped send stocks to their biggest weekly drop of the year.
In a wide-ranging speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump took a swipe at Powell without naming him. After saying the U.S. dollar was too strong, Trump referred to “a gentleman that likes raising interest rates in the Fed, we have a gentleman that loves quantitative tightening in the Fed, we have a gentleman that likes a very strong dollar in the Fed.”
“Can you imagine if we left interest rates where they were, if we didn’t do quantitative tightening? Taking money out of the market if we didn’t do quantitative talk, and this would lead to a little bit lower dollar,” he said.
Trump hosts Powell, Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for dinner at the White House to discuss the U.S. economy. Immediately following the gathering, the Fed releases a statement saying Powell “did not discuss his expectations for monetary policy” with the president.
Fed leaves interest rates unchanged.
In Christmas Day remarks to reporters at the White House, Trump responds to a question about Powell: “Well, we’ll see. They’re raising interest rates too fast. That’s my opinion. But I certainly have confidence. But I think it will straighten. They’re raising interest rates too fast because they think the economy is so good. But I think that they will get it pretty soon. I really do. I mean, the fact is that the economy is doing so well that they raised interest rates and that is a form of safety in a way.”
“The only problem our economy has is the Fed,” Trump tweets. “They don’t have a feel for the Market, they don’t understand necessary Trade Wars or Strong Dollars or even Democrat Shutdowns over Borders. The Fed is like a powerful golfer who can’t score because he has no touch – he can’t putt!”
Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s pick for the next White House chief of staff, says he’d spoken to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and that Trump “now realizes he does not have the ability” to fire a Fed chairman.
Mnuchin, in a posting on Twitter, quotes Trump as telling him, “I never suggested firing Chairman Jay Powell, nor do I believe I have the right to do so.”
Bloomberg News reports that Trump has discussed firing Powell as his frustration intensified following the most recent interest-rate hike and months of stock-market losses.
The Fed raises interest rates by a quarter percentage point.
“It is incredible,” Trump tweets, “that with a very strong dollar and virtually no inflation, the outside world blowing up around us, Paris is burning and China way down, the Fed is even considering yet another interest rate hike. Take the Victory!”
TrumptellsReuters “I think it would be foolish” for the Fed to raise interest rates. “But what can I say?” he says. “You have to understand, we’re fighting some trade battles and we’re winning. But I need accommodation too.”
He calls Powell a “good man,” but adds that “he’s trying to do what he thinks is best. I disagree with him I think he’s being too aggressive, far too aggressive, actually far too aggressive.”
Trump tells the Washington Post he’s “not even a little bit happy with my selection of Jay.” On what threatens the U.S. economy, Trump adds, “I think the Fed is a much bigger problem than China.”
“I’m doing deals and I’m not being accommodated by the Fed,” the president says. “They’re making a mistake because I have a gut and my gut tells me more sometimes than anybody else’s brain can ever tell me.”
In aninterviewwith the Wall Street Journal, Trump says “I think the Fed right now is a much bigger problem than China. I think it’s — I think it’s incorrect what they’re doing. I don’t like what they’re doing. I don’t like the $50 billion. I don’t like what they’re doing in terms of interest rates. And they’re not being accommodative at all. And I’m doing trade deals, and they’re great trade deals, but the Fed is not helping.”
The president tells reporters that the central bank is a “problem” and that he would “like to see the Fed with a lower interest rate.”
The presidenttellsThe Wall Street Journal he “maybe” regrets appointing Powell to head the Fed. He declines to say what circumstances would cause him to want to remove Powell, but adds, “I’m not going to fire him.”
Trump says he was intentionally sending a direct message to Powell that he wanted lower interest rates, even as he acknowledged that the central bank is an independent entity.
In a Fox Business Network interview, Trump calls the Fed his “biggest threat,” again criticizing the central bank for endangering economic growth through interest-rate hikes. Trump says the central bank is “independent so I don’t speak to them, but I’m not happy with what he’s doing because it’s going too fast.”
Trump slams Fed policy during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, complaining “they’re so tight. I think the Fed has gone crazy.” He later says during a telephone interview on Fox News that the central bank was “going loco” for raising rates.
The Fed raises interest rates by a quarter percentage point.
“We are doing great as a country,” Trumpsaysat a press conference in New York. “Unfortunately they just raised interest rates a little bit because we are doing so well. I am not happy about that.”
“We are not being accommodated,” Trump says in an interview with Bloomberg News in the Oval Office. “I don’t like that.”
“That being said,” he continues, “I’m not sure the currency should be controlled by a politician.” He also says he didn’t regret appointing Powell.
In private remarks at a fund-raiser on Long Island Trump says he expected Powell to be a cheap-money Fed chairman and lamented to wealthy Republican donors that his nominee instead had raised interest rates, according to three people present.
Trump turns to social media to take another shot at the Fed. “China, the European Union and others have been manipulating their currencies and interest rates lower, while the U.S. is raising rates while the dollars gets stronger and stronger with each passing day — taking away our big competitive edge,” Trump tweets. “The United States should not be penalized because we are doing so well.”
The president makes his first critical remarks about the Fed. “I’m not thrilled” the central bank is raising borrowing costs and potentially slowing the economy, he says in an interview with CNBC. “I don’t like all of this work that we’re putting into the economy and then I see rates going up.”
The Fed raises rates by a quarter point.
The Fed raises rates by a quarter point.
The Fed raises rates by a quarter point.
At the Rose Garden ceremony marking his nomination by Trump to the chairmanship, Powell is careful to slip into his remarks a reference to the Fed’s independence: “I strongly share that sense of mission and am committed to making decisions with objectivity and based on the best available evidence, in the longstanding tradition of monetary policy independence.” Trump says he picked Powell because, “He’s strong. He’s committed. He’s smart.”
—2020Democratic primary debates: Everything you need to know
—The campaign finance power behindTrump impeachment efforts
—Not every state is restrictingabortion rights—some are expanding them
—Richard Nixon‘s “Western White House” is back on the market—at a discount
—Trump administration to use former Japanese internment camp to housemigrant children
Get up to speed on your morning commute withFortune’sCEO Dailynewsletter. |
Tory leadership race: Boris Johnson wins second ballot
Boris Johnson stormed to victory in the second round of voting of the Conservative Party leadership elections (PA Images) Boris Johnson has hurtled closer to becoming Britains next Prime Minister after winning the second round of voting in the Conservative Party leadership contest by a considerable margin. Mr Johnsons seemingly inexorable journey to victory saw him win 126 votes from Tory MPs. Dominic Raab was knocked out of the competition after failing to secure the 33 votes required to proceed to the next round. Dominic Raab was knocked out of the competition after failing to reach the required threshold (PA Images) Rory Stewart, who began the race as a clear outsider , made it through after almost doubling his share of the vote. Sajid Javid just made it past the second round after winning the minimum number of votes required. Mr Johnson increased his share of the vote from 114 in the first round. As he pulls further out in front, the real contest is now over who will join him in the final two. Mr Raab had arguably the hardest stance on Brexit out of the contenders, and his supporters are likely to flock to another Eurosceptic candidate in the form of Michael Gove or Boris Johnson. Andrea Jenkyns, a Brexiteer, says now Dominic Raab has been booted out she will vote for Boris Johnson. The full results were - Michael Gove: 41 Jeremy Hunt: 46 Sajid Javid: 33 Boris Johnson: 126 Dominic Raab: 30 Rory Stewart: 37 How did the candidates react? Dominic Raab responded to his elimination by wishing the remaining candidates luck in the debate this evening. Im very proud of all the support Ive had from colleagues in this leadership contest, and Im immensely grateful to my terrific team. Good luck to all the candidates debating tonight! Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) June 18, 2019 Immediately after the tallies were announced Mr Stewart tweeted thanks to his supporters. And thank you for all the support - we seem to have almost doubled our vote again...more to come... #walkon Rory Stewart (@RoryStewartUK) June 18, 2019 Michael Gove, who closed the gap on second-place candidate Jeremy Hunt by one vote, said: Very pleased to have made it through and closed the gap to second. Story continues Looking forward to making my case at the BBC debate shortly. The final two should be Brexiteers who are able to take on Corbyn, unite the party and deliver Brexit. Sajid Javid said he was looking forward to tonights debate after scraping through. Thank you for your support! Looking forward to tonights debate with my colleagues and @maitlis . I can lead a Conservative Party which connects with new audiences and creates opportunities for all. #TeamSaj Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) June 18, 2019 A spokesperson for Jeremy Hunt said: This is a solid result. It shows a steady step forward, which is exactly what we were expecting. It confirms that Jeremy is the best placed candidate to take on Boris. Hes the only candidate who can unite the country and the party by delivering Brexit. Mr Johnson also thanked his supporters on Twitter. Thank you to those who supported me in the second ballot. Very much look forward to taking part in tonights BBC debate #BackBoris pic.twitter.com/YJc9lYehtF Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) June 18, 2019 What next? The remaining five candidates will take part in a live debate on the BBC at 8pm this evening where rivals are expected to pile in on the frontrunner. The BBC shared a picture of the London studio where the debate featuring the contestants for the leadership of the Conservative Party will take place later today. (PA Images) It is the first time Mr Johnson has taken part in a debate during the campaign after being accused of ducking scrutiny. He failed to take part in a debate last week on Channel 4 and has refused to give interviews throughout the leadership contest. Rivals have accused Mr Johnson of making conflicting promises to different factions of the Conservative Party to win support. Conservative voters will hold another round of voting tomorrow where the least popular candidate will be knocked out. Tory MPs will continue to hold ballots until the candidates are whittled down to two. If no one drops out of the race there will be a vote on Wednesday and two more on Thursday. Conservative Party members will then vote on the final two, and the victor will become the leader of the party and the Prime Minister. |
Is Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB) Trading At A 39% Discount?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. This is done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.
We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of theSimply Wall St analysis model.
See our latest analysis for Viacom
We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.
Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:
[{"": "Levered FCF ($, Millions)", "2019": "$1.57k", "2020": "$1.66k", "2021": "$1.71k", "2022": "$1.67k", "2023": "$1.72k", "2024": "$1.74k", "2025": "$1.77k", "2026": "$1.81k", "2027": "$1.85k", "2028": "$1.89k"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2019": "Analyst x10", "2020": "Analyst x11", "2021": "Analyst x7", "2022": "Analyst x3", "2023": "Analyst x3", "2024": "Est @ 1.37%", "2025": "Est @ 1.78%", "2026": "Est @ 2.06%", "2027": "Est @ 2.26%", "2028": "Est @ 2.4%"}, {"": "Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 10.56%", "2019": "$1.42k", "2020": "$1.36k", "2021": "$1.26k", "2022": "$1.12k", "2023": "$1.04k", "2024": "$952.93", "2025": "$877.19", "2026": "$809.74", "2027": "$748.94", "2028": "$693.66"}]
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= $10.28b
"Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St
The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 10-year government bond rate of 2.7%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 10.6%.
Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$1.9b × (1 + 2.7%) ÷ (10.6% – 2.7%) = US$25b
Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= $US$25b ÷ ( 1 + 10.6%)10= $9.10b
The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is $19.37b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding.This results in an intrinsic value estimate of $48.06. Relative to the current share price of $29.3, the company appears quite undervalued at a 39% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.
The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Viacom as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 10.6%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.315. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.
Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn’t be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. What is the reason for the share price to differ from the intrinsic value? For Viacom, There are three fundamental aspects you should look at:
1. Financial Health: Does VIAB have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk.
2. Future Earnings: How does VIAB's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with ourfree analyst growth expectation chart.
3. Other High Quality Alternatives: Are there other high quality stocks you could be holding instead of VIAB? Exploreour interactive list of high quality stocksto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every US stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock justsearch here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Barrick Gold Corporation Announces Update re Acacia Mining: Tanzania and Mine Plans
Further Update Concerning Acacia Mining plc - Situation in Tanzania and Review of Acacia Mine Plans
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO, OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF THAT JURISDICTION
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / June 18, 2019 /Barrick Gold Corporation (GOLD) (ABX.TO) ("Barrick" or the "Company") today provides the following further update in relation to Acacia Mining plc ("Acacia").
Background
On 21 May 2019 Barrick announced that it had met with Directors and senior management of Acacia and presented a proposal for consideration by the independent directors of Acacia ("Independent Directors") to acquire all of the Acacia shares it does not already own through a share for share exchange of 0.153 Barrick shares for each ordinary share of 10 pence each in Acacia (the "Proposal"). On the basis of the market closing price of a Barrick share on the New York Stock Exchange on 17 June 2019 and the 410,085,499 Acacia ordinary shares in issue on that date this implies a value for Acacia of US$887.8 million and total consideration to the minority shareholders of Acacia of US$320.1 million.
The Proposal represents a premium of 14.4% to the closing price of 151 pence per Acacia share on 20 May 2019 (the last trading day before announcement of the Proposal). The value for Acacia implied by the Proposal has increased from US$787 million at the date of announcement of the Proposal to US$887.8 million as at 17 June 2019, an increase of 12.8% based on movements in the share price.1
As has been widely reported, for the past two years, Barrick has been endeavoring to seek a settlement of Acacia's disputes with the Government of Tanzania (the "GoT") and to find a workable tax and regulatory framework for Acacia going forward. Due to requirements of the GoT, Acacia has not been able to participate in these meetings, but Barrick has been working in good faith with the consent and support of Acacia and the Independent Directors. Barrick has provided regular updates to the Independent Directors and Acacia management as well as the opportunity to review and comment on documentation flowing from these negotiations. The negotiations with the GoT have advanced to the point where draft documentation now has been initialed by the GoT, albeit with a number of substantive issues still outstanding.
The GoT has, however, now made it clear that it is not prepared to enter into settlement agreements directly with Acacia. In Barrick's view, it is now clear that the relationship of Acacia with the GoT has been so damaged by the events that led to the concentrate ban being imposed by the GoT in March 2017 and by the subsequent arbitration proceedings initiated by Acacia against the GoT, that it is no longer possible for Acacia to continue to function as an independent public company, with substantially all of its value represented by assets in Tanzania.
Barrick has therefore proposed a solution which Barrick believes represents fair value for Acacia and is in the best interests of Acacia and its minority shareholders. The Proposal seeks to preserve, to the extent possible, the value of the Acacia assets and to give minority shareholders of Acacia the ability to benefit from any future potential upside in the Acacia assets and Barrick's broader portfolio through ownership of Barrick shares.
Update on the status of discussions
Barrick's discussions with the Independent Directors in relation to the Proposal are continuing. Barrick considers that Acacia shareholders should be provided with further information in relation to the circumstances which led to Barrick presenting the Proposal to the Independent Directors and why it considers that the Proposal reflects fair value. In issuing this announcement Barrick is providing further information concerning the status of negotiations with the GoT and the detailed technical assessments of the Acacia mine plans that have been undertaken by Barrick, and which underpin Barrick's view on the fairness of the Proposal.
GoT unwilling to enter into settlement with Acacia
As set out in the announcements made by Barrick and Acacia on 21 and 22 May 2019, the GoT negotiating team has written to Acacia's three Tanzanian operating companies (the "TMCs") to indicate that the GoT is resolved that it will not proceed to execute final agreements for the resolution of Acacia's disputes if Acacia is one of the counterparties to the agreements. Whilst a basis for a settlement has been developed, the terms have not yet been finalized and therefore still carry significant risk. Importantly, as highlighted by statements made by a GoT spokesperson and prominently reported in Tanzanian press, "the Government does not want the presence of Acacia in any form in the country"2and "the Government has demanded that under no circumstances can Acacia be party to the agreements"3.
Draft settlement and sustainable framework for future operations are expected to result in significant value transfer to GoT
The key principle of the draft settlement agreements under discussion is that going forward the GoT and the TMCs will share the economic benefits derived from the Tanzanian mines on a 50/50 basis, based on the life of mine plans of the TMCs. The GoT will receive its share of economic benefits through taxes, royalties, fees and other fiscal levies and through the GoT's 16% free carried interest in all distributions (including shareholder loan repayments) from the TMCs and a new Tanzanian management company. The 50/50 sharing arrangement will be reviewed annually to seek to ensure that the actual and projected sharing of economic benefits is in accordance with the 50/50 principle. The agreements also provide for payment by the Acacia group of the aggregate sum of US$300 million in consideration for the full, final and comprehensive settlement of all existing disputes between the GoT and the Acacia group including all liability to taxation and a waiver of actual or potential claims on a mutual basis. This US$300 million payment is outside of (and therefore not taken into account for the purposes of) the 50/50 sharing of the economic benefits over time. The draft settlement does involve a significant value transfer from Acacia to the GoT but this has been critical to agreeing potential draft settlement terms with the GoT and the creation of a viable operating framework for the TMCs going forward.
Operating environment and loss of social license
The operating environment in Tanzania is increasingly challenging for the TMCs and there are no signs that this situation is improving. Indeed, Barrick's own assessment is that the situation may deteriorate further if no near term settlement can be secured. Examples of how difficult the operating environment has become include:
• Export ban:the continuing ban on the export of metallic mineral concentrates announced by the GoT in March 2017
• Bulyanhulu on care & maintenance:Bulyanhulu remains on care and maintenance, other than some reprocessing of tailings
• Criminal charges and detentions:Criminal charges have been brought against the TMCs in Tanzania and against three current Acacia employees and a former employee. Three of those individuals charged continue to be held in custody under non-bailable offences
• CEO unable to enter Tanzania:Barrick understands that the Interim CEO of Acacia has not been able to visit Tanzania since October 2018 and that no one from the senior management or Board of the Company has been able to engage with the GoT at a senior governmental level regarding the issues in dispute between Acacia and the GoT
• Environmental investigations:there remains the threat of additional environmental penalties and environmental protection orders being levied in relation to North Mara
Barrick believes that unless a solution is found to the current impasse in the short term there is the real risk of catastrophic loss of value for all stakeholders, and that the solution it has proposed to the Independent Directors of Acacia represents the only credible option to preserve, to the extent possible, the value of Acacia's assets.
Barrick's view of Acacia's mine plans
As part of the negotiations with the GoT, and, specifically, to ensure a thorough understanding of the economic implications of the settlement terms and resulting fiscal regime, Barrick has had the opportunity to undertake detailed due diligence on the Acacia assets. As part of this, Barrick's technical team reviewed Acacia's current mine plans, including the mine plan supporting the Bulyanhulu optimization study, and related financial models, examined the mines' historic performance, and conducted site visits to all three mines. As a result of this work, the Barrick technical team, which comprised several Qualified Persons (as defined in NI 43-101)4, has identified significant risks inherent in these operations and concluded that certain assumptions made by Acacia were not appropriately risked or supportable and that adjustments should be made.
Bulyanhulu
• Resource uncertainty:resource uncertainty has been identified as a key area of concern. The Acacia mine plan for Bulyanhulu relies upon the Deep West Zone, the majority of which is currently classified as inferred resources and assumes substantial conversion of these inferred resources and homogeneity of the ore body. These assumptions have been made using an average of 200 metre spaced drill data, with no physical drill core made available to Barrick to confirm assumptions made. Given minimal drill data, significant uncertainties remain around size, grade, homogeneity and the geotechnical stress regime of this Deep West portion of the ore body. Barrick considers that it would be more appropriate to assume a 50% conversion rate and 20% dilution of the Deep West inferred resources, which reflects the expected variability based upon the historic conversion rate of inferred resources to reserves in the upper areas of the orebody.
• Grade continuity:Acacia's mine plan assumes there is a high continuity of grade in the Deep West orebody with insufficient drill data to support this assumption. Barrick considers it appropriate to reduce the average grade of the Deep West Zone, resulting in a LOM grade of 8.6g/t to reflect what has been achieved historically in the upper zone, given the low intensity of drilling (average 200 metre drill spacing) and the fact that no drill core from the Deep West Zone was made available to Barrick to geologically support a significant uplift in grade.
• Throughput rates:Acacia's mine plan also assumes that Bulyanhulu can achieve underground ore hoisting rates of 1,000 - 1,100 kt/year. This throughput is significantly higher than the annual average of 928kt over the last five full years of operation5, which was achieved at significantly shallower depths, mainly above the base of the shaft. Barrick considers it would be appropriate to cap underground ore production rates at 850 - 900 kt/year (during steady state underground ("UG") production) due to the risks presented by the primary UG production area being situated at 1.7-2.6km below surface, well below historic production levels, and below the current mine shaft (1.1km depth). In Barrick's view, this poses underground trucking bottlenecks and geotechnical stress restrictions which Barrick understands have not yet been fully modelled by Acacia. Despite producing at deeper levels, this adjusted rate proposed by Barrick is only slightly below the annual average achieved over the last five full years of operation6, a period which includes some of the best underground production levels ever achieved at Bulyanhulu, and from shallower production levels proximal to the base of the shaft.
• Production and costs:the reduction in tonnes and grade impacts both production and costs and therefore Barrick considers that it would be appropriate to reduce the average annual production presented by Acacia and to increase the fixed unit cost component accordingly.
• Capital expenditures:Barrick believes upfront capital spend will be higher than the US$140-160m startup costs assumed in Acacia's optimization study due to additional conversion drilling requirements and the refurbishment of the Bulyanhulu plant prior to restart from care and maintenance, offset by lower overall LOM capital spend as a consequence of lower throughput.
The following table sets out a comparison between Acacia's publicly disclosed parameters for Bulyanhulu, the mine's 5-year historic performance, and the adjustments made by Barrick to Acacia's mine plan.
[{"Parameter": "LOM Feed", "Indicative optimization study results": "18.9Mt* (18 year LOM)", "Historic average - previous 5 years of full operation***": "NA", "Barrick adjusted*****": "16.3Mt (18 year LOM)"}, {"Parameter": "Head Grade (g/t)", "Indicative optimization study results": "10.6g/t (LOM)**", "Historic average - previous 5 years of full operation***": "8.5g/t****", "Barrick adjusted*****": "8.6g/t (LOM)"}, {"Parameter": "Ore hoisted", "Indicative optimization study results": "1,000-1,100ktpa(steady state)", "Historic average - previous 5 years of full operation***": "928kt pa", "Barrick adjusted*****": "850-900 ktpa(steady state)"}, {"Parameter": "Gold produced", "Indicative optimization study results": "300-350kozpa(steady state)", "Historic average - previous 5 years of full operation***": "230koz pa****", "Barrick adjusted*****": "250-289kozpa(steady state)"}, {"Parameter": "AISC1", "Indicative optimization study results": "US$700-750/oz(steady state)", "Historic average - previous 5 years of full operation***": "US$1,233/oz", "Barrick adjusted*****": "US$840-860/oz(steady state)"}, {"Parameter": "Startup capital expenditure", "Indicative optimization study results": "US$140-160m", "Historic average - previous 5 years of full operation***": "NA", "Barrick adjusted*****": "US$190-210m"}]
* 18.9Mt calculated using 1,050kt per annum (median of steady state optimization study guidance) over 18 years
** 10.6g/t calculated using 325koz gold produced (median of steady state optimization study guidance) at 91% recovery (based on historical performance at Bulyanhulu) from 1,050kt feed per annum for the life of mine inclusive of the tailings storage facility ("TSF")feed
*** Last five full years of operation are 2012 to 2016 (inclusive) given the export ban was announced in March 2017
**** Excludes reprocessed tailings
***** Barrick adjusted steady state figures based on 12 full calendar years of UG production, subsequent to the first 2 years of TSF feed during UG ramp up
North Mara
• Grade of inferred/unclassified underground material:Acacia's mine plan for North Mara assumes higher grades for the inferred and unclassified underground material than the current grade of its measured and indicated resource. The Barrick technical team has aligned the assumption with measured and indicated grades, resulting in a reduction of the grade of the inferred and unclassified underground material from 6.8g/t to 5.6g/t.
• G&A and UG mining costs:the Barrick technical team has made an upward adjustment to costs to represent what Barrick considers to be more realistic G&A and underground mining costs, benchmarked against historical levels achieved by Acacia and its own similar-sized underground operations in Africa; these adjustments increase average AISC to $877/oz.
• Capital expenditures:Barrick has identified a need for higher upfront capital spend at North Mara (increasing near-term capital spend to $385 million) to address additional grade control drilling, the need to upgrade from a cemented aggregate fill ("CAF") to a paste filling plant, and costs to expand the lined tailing storage facility and improve the water management to conclusively address environmental risks.
The Proposal reflects fair value
The adjustments Barrick considers should be made to Acacia's mine plans, together with the transfer of value to the GoT as a consequence of the tax settlement terms and new tax and regulatory framework for Acacia in Tanzania going forward, underpin Barrick's view of the value of Acacia. Barrick continues to believe that the terms of the Proposal reflect the fair value of Acacia, not taking into account any further discount which could be applied to reflect the significant risks inherent in the Acacia business and remaining uncertainties of the settlement with the GoT.
Comments have been made as to the difference between Acacia's carrying value in Barrick's books as at 31 December 2018 and the value of its Proposal to Acacia. For the preparation of its 2018 accounts, the carrying value on Barrick's books is based on the book value as disclosed by Acacia but also includes an intercompany asset held in the direct holding company of Acacia (which would not be part of any impairment assessment) and other minor adjustments. During H1 2019, Acacia updated its LOM models and subsequent to that the Barrick team has had an opportunity to conduct the diligence review described above and risk adjust the value of the assets. Given the value implied by Barrick's adjusted LOM plans, this represents an indicator of impairment and Barrick expects to record a material impairment to its carrying value of Acacia in the current quarter.
Barrick believes that there is no other credible alternative solution
In the absence of a take-private transaction, Barrick does not consider there is any credible alternative solution which will preserve, to the extent possible, value for all stakeholders, and no such alternative has been presented by Acacia. In Barrick's view the continuance of the arbitration proceedings involves significant risk. Barrick notes that Acacia has consistently stated that it would prefer a negotiated solution to its disputes with the GoT, whilst noting the risk of continuing and further legal or regulatory action by the GoT.
Takeover Code notes
The Proposal is subject to the satisfaction of a number of customary conditions, including receiving the recommendation of the Acacia board. Barrick reserves the right to waive all or any of such conditions at its discretion. The Proposal does not constitute an offer or impose any obligation on Barrick to make an offer. There can be no certainty that any offer for Acacia will ultimately take place, nor as to the structure of any such offer, should one be forthcoming, even if the pre-conditions are satisfied or waived. Barrick reserves the right to: (a) vary the form and/or mix of consideration referred to in this announcement and/or introduce other forms of consideration; and (b) make an offer or other proposal on less favourable terms than an exchange ratio of 0.153 Barrick shares for each ordinary share of Acacia referred to in this announcement with the agreement, recommendation or consent of the board of Acacia.
Barrick will have the right to reduce the number of new Barrick shares that Acacia minority shareholders will receive under the terms of the Proposal by the amount of any dividend (or other distribution) which is declared, paid or made by Acacia to Acacia shareholders.
This announcement does not amount to a firm intention to make an offer under Rule 2.7 of the Code, which regulates the making of offers for public companies listed in the UK. There can be no certainty any offer will be made, even if the pre-conditions referred to are satisfied or waived.
In accordance with Rule 2.6(a) of the Code, Barrick must, by not later than 5.00 p.m. on 18 June 2019, either announce a firm intention to make an offer for Acacia in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the Code or announce that it does not intend to make an offer, in which case the announcement will be treated as a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the Code applies. This deadline will only be extended with the consent of the UK Takeover Panel in accordance with Rule 2.6(c) of the Code.
A further announcement will be made as and when appropriate.
Enquiries:
Kathy du PlessisBarrick Investor and Media Relations+44 20 7557 7738barrick@dpapr.com
Website:www.barrick.com
Publication on Website
A copy of this announcement will be made available (subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in restricted jurisdictions) atwww.barrick.comno later than 12.00 noon (London time) on 19 June 2019 (being the business day following the date of this announcement) in accordance with Rule 26.1(a) of the Code. The content of the website referred to in this announcement is not incorporated into and does not form part of this announcement.
Overseas jurisdictions
The release, publication or distribution of this announcement in jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom may be restricted by law and therefore any persons who are subject to the laws of any jurisdiction other than the United Kingdom should inform themselves about, and observe, any applicable requirements. The information disclosed in this announcement may not be the same as that which would have been disclosed if this announcement had been prepared in accordance with the laws of jurisdictions outside the United Kingdom.
The Barrick shares mentioned in this announcement (the "Shares") have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") or under the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy the Shares in the United States. Accordingly, the Shares may not be offered, sold, resold, delivered, distributed or otherwise transferred, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States absent registration under the Securities Act or an exemption therefrom, nor shall there by any sale of the Shares in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be lawful.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information
Certain information contained or incorporated by reference in this press release, including any information as to our strategy, projects, plans, or future financial or operating performance, constitutes "forward-looking statements". All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. The words "will", "imply", "could", "possible", "seek", "propose", "may", "can", "should", "could", "would", and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking statements including, without limitation, with respect to the future growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities of Barrick and Acacia, including gold production from Acacia's mines; the Proposal; the integration of Acacia's business with the existing operations of Barrick; the impact of the Proposal on the financial position of Barrick and Acacia; impairment charges to be recorded by Barrick; and the outlook for Barrick's and Acacia's respective businesses and the gold mining industry generally based on information currently available. These expectations may not be appropriate for other purposes.
Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions including material estimates and assumptions related to the factors set forth below that, while considered reasonable by the Company as at the date of this press release in light of management's experience and perception of current conditions and expected developments, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Known and unknown factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements and information. Such factors include, but are not limited to: expectations regarding whether the Proposal will be formally announced including whether the pre-conditions to formal announcement of the Proposal will be satisfied, and the anticipated timing of a formal announcement; expectations regarding whether the Proposal will be completed, including whether any conditions to completion of the Proposal will be satisfied, and the anticipated timing for completion; the combined company's future plans, business prospects and performance, growth potential, financial strength, market profile, revenues, working capital, capital expenditures, investment valuations, income, margins, access to capital and overall strategy; expectations regarding the receipt of any necessary regulatory and third party approvals and the expiration of all relevant waiting periods; the anticipated number of Barrick common shares to be issued as consideration for the Proposal, the expected total capitalization of Barrick on a consolidated basis following the Proposal and the ratio of the Barrick common shares to be held by Barrick shareholders and Acacia shareholders, respectively, following the Proposal; the anticipated benefits of the Proposal; expectations regarding the value and nature of the consideration payable to Acacia shareholders as a result of the Proposal; the anticipated mineral reserves of Barrick following completion of the Proposal; and the expenses of the Proposal; fluctuations in the spot and forward price of gold, copper, or certain other commodities (such as silver, diesel fuel, natural gas, and electricity); the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development; changes in mineral production performance, exploitation, and exploration successes; risks associated with projects in the early stages of evaluation, and for which additional engineering and other analysis is required to fully assess their impact; the duration of the Tanzanian ban on mineral concentrate exports; the ultimate terms of any definitive agreement to resolve the dispute relating to the imposition of the concentrate export ban and allegations by the Government of Tanzania that Acacia under-declared the metal content of concentrate exports from Tanzania and related matters; diminishing quantities or grades of reserves; increased costs, delays, suspensions and technical challenges associated with the construction of capital projects; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or development activities, including geotechnical challenges and disruptions in the maintenance or provision of required infrastructure and information technology systems; failure to comply with environmental and health and safety laws and regulations; timing of receipt of, or failure to comply with, necessary permits and approvals; the impact of global liquidity and credit availability on the timing of cash flows and the values of assets and liabilities based on projected future cash flows; adverse changes in our credit ratings; the impact of inflation; fluctuations in the currency markets; changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls or regulations and/ or changes in the administration of laws, policies and practices, expropriation or nationalization of property and political or economic developments in Tanzania and other jurisdictions in which the Company or its affiliates do or may carry on business in the future; lack of certainty with respect to foreign legal systems, corruption and other factors that are inconsistent with the rule of law; damage to the Company's reputation due to the actual or perceived occurrence of any number of events, including negative publicity with respect to the Company's handling of environmental matters or dealings with community groups, whether true or not; the possibility that future exploration results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks that exploration data may be incomplete and considerable additional work may be required to complete further evaluation, including but not limited to drilling, engineering and socioeconomic studies and investment; risk of loss due to acts of war, terrorism, sabotage and civil disturbances; litigation and legal and administrative proceedings; contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties, or over access to water, power and other required infrastructure; business opportunities that may be presented to, or pursued by, the Company; our ability to successfully integrate acquisitions or complete divestitures; risks associated with working with partners in jointly controlled assets; employee relations including loss of key employees; increased costs and physical risks, including extreme weather events and resource shortages, related to climate change; availability and increased costs associated with mining inputs and labor. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining, including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding and gold bullion, copper cathode or gold or copper concentrate losses (and the risk of inadequate insurance, or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks).
Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can affect our actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, us. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Specific reference is made to the most recent Form 40- F/Annual Information Form on file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities for a more detailed discussion of some of the factors underlying forward-looking statements and the risks that may affect Barrick's ability to achieve the expectations set forth in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.
The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
Endnotes
1. As per Acacia's 2018 Annual Report, Acacia has identified certain measures in its public disclosures that are not measures defined under IFRS. Non-IFRS financial measures disclosed by Acacia's management are provided as additional information to investors in order to provide them with an alternative method for assessing Acacia's financial condition and operating results, and reflects more relevant measures for the industry in which Acacia operates. These measures are not in accordance with, or a substitute for, IFRS, and may be different from or inconsistent with non-IFRS financial measures used by other companies. "All-in sustaining costs" (AISC) per ounce is one such non-IFRS financial measure disclosed by Acacia. The measure is in accordance with the World Gold Council's guidance issued in June 2013. It is calculated by taking cash cost per ounce sold (defined below) and adding corporate administration costs, share-based payments, reclamation and remediation costs for operating mines, corporate social responsibility expenses, mine exploration and study costs, realised gains and/or losses on operating hedges, capitalised stripping and underground development costs and sustaining capital expenditure. This is then divided by the total ounces sold. "Cash cost per ounce sold" is also a non-IFRS financial measure. Cash costs include all costs absorbed into inventory, as well as royalties, and production taxes, and exclude capitalised production stripping costs, inventory purchase accounting adjustments, unrealised gains/losses from non-hedge currency and commodity contracts, depreciation and amortisation and corporate social responsibility charges. Cash cost is calculated net of co-product revenue. Cash cost per ounce sold is calculated by dividing the aggregate of these costs by total ounces sold. AISC is intended to provide additional information on the total sustaining cost for each ounce sold, taking into account expenditure incurred in addition to direct mining costs and selling costs.
1Based on the market closing prices of the Acacia shares and Barrick shares on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange respectively on 20 May 2019 (the last trading day before announcement of the Proposal) and 17 June 2019 (the last trading day before this announcement) and the exchange rate on those dates of US$1/£0.786 and US$1/£0.798, respectively. The market prices of the Acacia and Barrick shares are the closing middle market quotations as derived from Bloomberg.
2The Citizen 'Barrick to force Acacia takeover' 23 May 2019.
3Daily News 'Solve Acacia or no deal' 23 May 2019.
4National Instrument 43-101 -Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projectsis a national instrument setting out the standards of disclosure for mineral projects by Canadian issuers. Acacia reports its mineral resources and mineral resources estimates in compliance with NI-43-101. A Qualified Person is an individual who is an engineer or geoscientist with at least five years of experience in mineral exploration, mineral development or mineral project assessment and has experience relevant to the subject matter, and is in good standing with a professional association.
5Last five full years of operation are 2012 to 2016 (inclusive) given the export ban was announced in March 2017.
62012 to 2016 (inclusive) given export ban
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contactrns@lseg.comor visitwww.rns.com.
SOURCE:Barrick Gold Corporation
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/549120/Barrick-Gold-Corporation-Announces-Update-re-Acacia-Mining-Tanzania-and-Mine-Plans |
Patrick Shanahan Pulls Out Of Defense Secretary Confirmation Process, Trump Tweets
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has withdrawn from consideration to hold the post in a permanent capacity, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday in tweets. The president said Shanahan had opted to “devote more time to his family.” Shanahan confirmed the news in a statement Tuesday. Trump said he would name Army Secretary Mark Esper as the new acting defense secretary. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, who has done a wonderful job, has decided not to go forward with his confirmation process so that he can devote more time to his family.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2019 ....I thank Pat for his outstanding service and will be naming Secretary of the Army, Mark Esper, to be the new Acting Secretary of Defense. I know Mark, and have no doubt he will do a fantastic job! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2019 Shanahan has served as the department’s acting chief since December, when former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned in protest over Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria. In May, the president announced Shanahan as his pick to lead the department on a permanent basis but stalled in sending his formal nomination to the Senate Armed Services Committee. Shanahan’s confirmation process was delayed due to an ongoing FBI investigation looking into, among other things, reported incidents of domestic violence in his family. The alleged incidents largely stemmed from Shanahan’s divorce from Kimberley Jordinson. Shanahan and Jordinson alleged they were assaulted by one another, and Jordinson was arrested and charged with domestic violence during one dispute in 2010. Shanahan dropped the charges and later filed for divorce. In a separate incident in November 2011, Shanahan initially defended William Shanahan, his son who was 17 at the time, after he beat Jordinson with a baseball bat. The attack left her bloody and unconscious, with a fractured skull and internal injuries that necessitated surgery, according to court and police records reviewed by The Washington Post . Story continues In a memo two weeks later to his ex-wife’s brother, Shanahan claimed his son acted in self-defense. “Use of a baseball bat in self-defense will likely be viewed as an imbalance of force,” he wrote. “However, Will’s mother harassed him for nearly three hours before the incident.” Then-acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan delivering remarks during a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on May 27. (Photo: Tom Brenner via Getty Images) Shanahan alluded to the alleged incidents in two statements Tuesday, first to USA Today and then in a statement confirming his withdrawal from the process. “I believe my continuing in the confirmation process would force my three children to relive a traumatic chapter in our family’s life and reopen wounds we have worked years to heal,” he said. In interviews with the Post this week, Shanahan said he regretted how he handled the incident with his son. “Quite frankly, it’s difficult to relive that moment and the passage was difficult for me to read. I was wrong to write those three sentences,” he said. “I have never believed Will’s attack on his mother was an act of self-defense or justified. I don’t believe violence is appropriate ever, and certainly never any justification for attacking someone with a baseball bat.” Shanahan previously served as deputy defense secretary ; before that, he worked for more than 30 years at Boeing. In March, the Defense Department announced it had opened an ethics investigation into allegations that Shanahan regularly touted Boeing over other defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin, while serving in an official government capacity. The Pentagon’s inspector general cleared Shanahan of the allegations in April. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost . |
How to become a founding member of the Libra Association
Now that the Librawhite paperhas been published, The Block has outlined how to become a Founding Member and the requirements it entails. Libra will be administered by a non-profit Libra Association based in Geneva, Switzerland, which will ultimately have 100 geographically diverse founding members. No member will be able to represent more than 1% of the vote.
The Block ledearly reportingidentifying the founding 27 members, a group consisting of organizations from industries including payments, technology/marketplaces, telecommunications, blockchain, venture capital, non-profits, and academic institutions.
Members of the Libra Association will be the validator nodes that operate the Libra Blockchain and form the Libra Association Council that will direct the Association. The validators are what secure the network and confirm transactions. At first, only founding members will be able to operate validator nodes, but eventually membership in the Association, and the ability to operate nodes, will be open to any holder of the Libra currency.
To be a validator node and founding member, organizations will need to meet technical requirements and specific evaluation criteria. If the conditions are met, upon approval, the Enterprise will have to make an initial minimum investment of $10 million worth of Libra Investment Tokens issued by the Association. Nonprofits will not be required to make the initial investment. However, they will have to cover the costs to run its node. It is estimated that the price for running the validator node will run approximately $280,000.
Technical Requirements
Validators will have the option to run their node self-hosted, in which they themselves would be directly managing it, or cloud service-hosted, where the organization could run the node via a cloud service provider.
Evaluation Criteria
Must meet two of the following criteria:
1. More than $1 billion USD in market value or more than $500 million USD customer balances.
2. Reach more than 20 million people a year, multinationally.
3. Be recognized as an established top-100 industry leader by a third-party association. Examples would include the Fortune 500 and the S&P Global 1200.
Crypto-focused investors and Blockchain infrastructure companies criteria
Since the blockchain industry is still very much in its infancy, there is some leeway and separate criteria requirements for crypto investors and blockchain companies. While these criteria exist, no more than one-third of the total members in the association can be made up of this category.
Crypto-focused investors would need to have more than $1 billion of assets under management. Blockchain infrastructure companies would need to have been in operation for over 12 months, have enterprise level operations pertaining to security, privacy, and infrastructure, and be staking or custodying $100 million or more of assets for clients.
It is also noted that the association could make an exception for a pertaining business upon approval of the council if it feels a certain organization would make a meaningful contribution to the network.
Social impact partner and academic institution evaluation criteria
Nonprofit and multilateral organizations will also have a different set of criteria to meet to be a Founding Member. The organization will need to meet at least three of these requirements:
1. A willingness to serve the unbanked and underbanked, possibly by the use of blockchain technology. The organization has to have been working on poverty alleviation for at least five years and needs to have an initiative already planned surrounding digital financial inclusion.
2. The organization needs be global, or needs to address a geo-specific demographic that is currently underbanked or unbanked.
3. The charity has to display a level of trust that is recognized, credible, and must demonstrate a proven track record of social impact.
4. An annual operating budget of more than $50 million USD
Academic Institution Evaluation Criteria
Academic Institutions will also have the chance to be founding members. The set of criteria for academics will be a top-100 ranking by QS World University Rankings and also be ranked in the top 100 for its computer science department by CSRankings.
The Libra Association already includes the likes of Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, investors such as Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, and non-profits including Mercy Corps. Now that we know the requirements and costs to be a founding member, it will be interesting to see how this all unfolds and what other organizations will join as initial members. |
Wood Mackenzie says Anadarko to develop $20 bln Mozambique LNG project
June 18 (Reuters) - Energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said on Tuesday U.S. energy firm Anadarko Petroleum Corp has decided to go ahead with the construction of a $20 billion gas liquefaction and export terminal in Mozambique, the largest single LNG project sanctioned in Africa.
This comes on the back of the oil and gas industry's expectation that LNG demand will soar in years to come despite a slump in prices this year. (Reporting by Debroop Roy in Bengaluru) |
How Much Are MAS Gold Corp. (CVE:MAS) Insiders Spending On Buying Shares?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares inMAS Gold Corp.(CVE:MAS).
It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.
We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.'
View our latest analysis for MAS Gold
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Chairman Ronald Netolitzky for CA$96k worth of shares, at about CA$0.12 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than CA$0.085 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when an insider has purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. Ronald Netolitzky was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.
You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
MAS Gold is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at thisfreelist of growing companies with insider buying.
I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that MAS Gold insiders own 38% of the company, worth about CA$1.4m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.
The recent insider purchase is heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. But on the other hand, the company made a loss last year, which makes us a little cautious. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest MAS Gold insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. To put this in context, take a look at how a company has performed in the past. You can accessthisdetailed graphof past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Of courseMAS Gold may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see thisfreecollection of high quality companies.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Facebook to 'print even more money' with Libra cryptocurrency, Citi says
Facebook’s (FB) hotlyanticipated cryptocurrency projectis an initiative with vast potential that stand to turn the social network into a company that “prints even more money,” analysts at Citibank said on Tuesday.
Calibra, Facebook’s crypto app that supports Libra and is expected to arrive in 2020, will feature an array of applications.
Citi acknowledged the regulatory and marketuncertainties surrounding the project, especially given growing sensitivities around Facebook’s data privacy and dominance in the technology sector.
Yet the bank hailed the new crypto unit as potentially “one of the most well organized efforts by a global consumer tech company yet”—and something that has a number of uses.
Highlighted aspects are person to person money transfers, as well as merchant shopping, which may includesInstagramShopping and Facebook Marketplace.
“Libra will also be an important test for how wellFacebookhas been able to (or will be able to) overcome the recent questions about its trustworthiness,” Citi stated.
“Some have voiced concern about potential national sovereignty pushback and regulatory scrutiny within some countries,” the bank added.
Libra has added backings from a series of prestigious firms in all sorts of different industries, and Citibank noted that Facebook has put a number of its most talented members on the team.
Some of the most notable firms are Uber (UBER), Lyft (LYFT), PayPal (PYPL) and Ebay (EBAY). Facebook will be receiving at least a $10 million investment from each of these firms and its other investors (Booking (BKNG), Spotify (SPOT), Visa (V), MasterCard (MA), Stripe, Coinbase and Vodafone, etc.) to gain access to the Libra node.
The report also suggests that Facebook aims for 100 companies to contribute a combined $1 billion for the project.
“We expect that initial implementation of Libra withinFacebookto potentially center around its messaging apps and its users in developing countries,” Citi’s analysts wrote.
The Libra currency and its blockchain will be managed by a Geneva based Libra Association and will be backed by the Libra reserve—a reserve of hard assets— provides stability and global acceptance.
“Libra will be a “stablecoin,” and its value will be tied to a basket of fiat currencies (managed by the Libra Reserve) to minimize volatility,” wrote the analysts — although there are concerns about user confusion/adoption.
Donovan Russo is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow him@Donovanxrusso.
Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,LinkedIn, andreddit. |
2019's Top ETF Shines Bright
The best-performing ETF of 2019 isn't a tech fund, or a single-country play; it’s a renewable power fund.
So far in 2019, the $344 millionInvesco Solar ETF (TAN), arenewable energy ETFthat tracks the global solar power industry, has risen a whopping 45.1%. In contrast, theSPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY)has risen 15.9%.
With natural gas prices on a downward slide and the Trump administration devoted to supporting the domestic fossil fuel industry, the fact that a solar power ETF has outperformed all other ETFs is surprising, to say the least (read: "ETF Of The Week: Solar Fund Shines").
But TAN's outperformance isn't just a quirk of its famously brisksecurities lending practice. Other renewable energy ETFs are also posting high year-to-date returns, including the $162 millionInvesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF (PBW); and the $5 millionSPDR Kensho Clean Power ETF (XKCP). PBW and XKCP have risen 32.3% and 28.0%, respectively:
Source:StockCharts.com; data as of June 7, 2019
Secret Sauce Is Solar
What unites these three ETFs is an emphasis on solar power. All three ETFs have gotten a substantial performance boost from holdings inEnphase Energy (ENPH)andSolarEdge Technologies Corporation (SEDG), whose stock prices have skyrocketed 266% and 132%, respectively, year to date.
Enphase Energy comprises 7% of TAN, 6% of XKCP and 5% of PBW, while SolarEdge Technologies makes up 9% of TAN, 5% of XKCP and 4% of PBW.
The three ETFs' portfolios share several other high-flying solar stocks as well, listed in the table below.
(You can use ourstock finder toolto find an ETF's allocation to a certain stock.)
[["Stock", "YTD Return", "TAN Allocation", "XKCP Allocation", "PBW Allocation"], ["Atlantica Yield plc", "6.51%", "4.00%", "1.79%", "2.99%"], ["Canadian Solar Inc.", "35.71%", "5.01%", "3.07%", "3.41%"], ["Daqo New Energy Corp. Sponsored ADR", "94.36%", "4.09%", "2.65%", "3.89%"], ["Enphase Energy, Inc.", "266.38%", "7.01%", "5.88%", "5.13%"], ["First Solar, Inc.", "44.25%", "10.37%", "4.52%", "3.53%"], ["JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR", "59.29%", "4.82%", "2.68%", "3.91%"], ["SolarEdge Technologies, Inc.", "131.85%", "9.32%", "4.61%", "3.98%"], ["SunPower Corporation", "7.41%", "4.74%", "3.58%", "4.05%"], ["Sunrun Inc.", "51.15%", "6.12%", "3.63%", "3.01%"], ["TerraForm Power, Inc. Class A", "3.28%", "4.01%", "1.58%", "2.59%"]]
Source: ETF.com; data as of June 17, 2019
Dropped Tariffs Propel Stocks Higher
Despite a rocky second half of 2018, the solar power sector has boomed since the start of the year, rising higher on the back of favorable trade moves.
On Friday, the U.S. Trade Representativeannouncedthat bifacial solar modules, or two-sided photovoltaic panels that can catch not just direct sunlight but reflected sunlight, were being removed from the list of U.S.-China tariffs.
This is on top of a list ofcertain solar panel exclusionsannounced last September, a move that helped to halt a multimonth slide in the sector.
The tariff exclusions are good news for international solar stocks, as bifacial panels are largely manufactured in China, not the U.S Companies like Canadian Solar andJinkoSolar (JKS), a Chinese manufacturer, popped Friday on the news.
But dropping the tariffs is also good for domestic solar companies. Though U.S. manufacturers likeFirst Solar (FSLR)have struggled for years to compete against a market flooded with cheap Chinese solar panels, the benefit of Trump's solar panel tariffs has proven limited, and the U.S. solar industry lost an estimated 18,000 jobs by the end of 2018.
The tariffs have also hurt domestic solar power installers, retailers and utilities, which compete not against Chinese companies but against the domestic fossil fuel industry. So lower demand from U.S.-based installers and utilities in turn depresses demand for domestic manufacturers' product. Therefore, lifting the tariffs should stoke demand across the solar power supply chain.
Lower Rates, Higher Oil Benefit Future Solar
Two other factors are lifting solar stocks higher.
First, the Fed has given indications it may lower benchmark interest rates this summer, making it cheaper for companies to engage in large capital expenditures. That would reduce the cost for utilities to build out or upgrade existing solar arrays, as well as make it easier for domestic solar manufacturers to expand their production capacity. It also improves how those projects are valued, long term.
Second, oil prices have risen 15% year to date, with additional increases looking likely, as rising U.S.-Iran tensions threaten supply. Historically, as oil prices rise, renewable power options look more attractive in comparison. That appears to be the case here as well.
Should these fundamentals continue to hold, investors in solar-dominated investments could be in for a spectacular 2019.
Contact Lara Crigger atlcrigger@etf.com
Recommended Stories
• Demand Speeds Up For ‘5G’ ETFs
• Income ETFs For Slowing Growth
• Fastest Growing ETFs Of The Year
• Hot Reads: Retail Driving Muni Bond Rally
Permalink| © Copyright 2019ETF.com.All rights reserved |
Hooker Furniture Corp (HOFT) CEO Paul B Jr Toms Bought $100,150 of Shares
CEO of Hooker Furniture Corp (NASDAQ:HOFT) Paul B Jr Toms bought 5,000 shares of HOFT on 06/17/2019 at an average price of $20.03 a share. |
Did You Miss Calithera Biosciences's (NASDAQ:CALA) 37% Share Price Gain?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
WhileCalithera Biosciences, Inc.(NASDAQ:CALA) shareholders are probably generally happy, the stock hasn't had particularly good run recently, with the share price falling 13% in the last quarter. But at least the stock is up over the last three years. In that time, it is up 37%, which isn't bad, but not amazing either.
View our latest analysis for Calithera Biosciences
Calithera Biosciences isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.
Depicted in the graphic below, you'll see revenue and earnings over time. If you want more detail, you can click on the chart itself.
Take a more thorough look at Calithera Biosciences's financial health with thisfreereport on its balance sheet.
It's nice to see that Calithera Biosciences shareholders have gained 17% (in total) over the last year. That's better than the annualized TSR of 11% over the last three years. These improved returns may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. You could get a better understanding of Calithera Biosciences's growth by checking outthis more detailed historical graphof earnings, revenue and cash flow.
We will like Calithera Biosciences better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out thisfreelist of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Nicole Kidman theory alleges that she's secretly 'bald': Details
There's a theory going around that Nicole Kidman is secretly ... bald?
In case you haven't noticed, the actress almost exclusively wears wigs during her on-screen roles these days -- and has for years. There's the bang-heavy look she donned for her Emmy-winning role in "Big Little Lies," the lengthy blonde wig she wore in "Aquaman," the curly grey 'do for "Top Of The Lake" and the severe bob from "Paddington," just to name a few, but the list goes on.
Though the actress likely simply wears wigs to expertly get fully into character for each role that she plays, some people think that she only wears wigs in movies because she's hiding something.
During a recent episode of their"What's The Tee" podcast, for example, RuPaul and Michelle Visage proclaimed that "absolutely nobody does wigs like Nicole, which they found ironic because Visage recently saw an advertisement of Kidman "selling a hair pill" at an airport in Australia (Swisse, which is a supplement brand that Kidman is an ambassador for).
"The irony is that we rarely ever see Nicole Kidman's hair," RuPaul explained, before Visage proclaimed, "I think she's bald!"
"She's not bald!" RuPaul replied. "She's just got curly hair that ends up being very brittle."
The "RuPaul's Drag Race" host is correct in saying that: Kidman frequently sports her real hair on red carpets and when spotted out and about by the paparazzi, though it's usually straightened on red carpet events. That being said, she very rarely shows off her natural hair in movies.
Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that the Oscar-winning actress has famously been sensitive about answering questions about the wigs she chooses to wear for certain roles. In March of this year,Kidman abruptly hung up and ended a radio interview on "The Kyle and Jackie O Show"when she was pressed about which wig was her favorite.
"I see it as necessary for the character to be authentic," Kidman said when asked about getting "uglied up" for her recent movie, "Destroyer."
"I think a guy asked you about this as a press conference," Jackie O asked later in the interview. "It did make me wonder, what is your favorite wig?"
"Well, I'm using my own hair now, so I think that's probably my favorite, is my own hair," Kidman replied.
"Are you?" the radio host responded.
"Yeah, there's many times where I use my own hair as well because it's so easy, and then other times I'm creating different characters. It's like asking, 'Do you have a favorite child?' Can't answer that one," Kidman responded, before suddenly wrapping up the interview. "Anyway, I've gotta go, because they're waiting at the other radio station, which I'd better not say on your show."
The interview came several months after, during a Q&A for "Destroyer" in September 2018, Kidman called a question about her favorite wig an "awful question." |
If You Had Bought Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) Stock Five Years Ago, You'd Be Sitting On A 48% Loss, Today
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
In order to justify the effort of selecting individual stocks, it's worth striving to beat the returns from a market index fund. But in any portfolio, there will be mixed results between individual stocks. So we wouldn't blame long termDaktronics, Inc.(NASDAQ:DAKT) shareholders for doubting their decision to hold, with the stock down 48% over a half decade. We also note that the stock has performed poorly over the last year, with the share price down 28%. Furthermore, it's down 19% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders. We note that the company has reported results fairly recently; and the market is hardly delighted. You can check out the latest numbers inour company report.
View our latest analysis for Daktronics
While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.
Over five years Daktronics's earnings per share dropped significantly, falling to a loss, with the share price also lower. At present it's hard to make valid comparisons between EPS and the share price. But we would generally expect a lower price, given the situation.
The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).
We're pleased to report that the CEO is remunerated more modestly than most CEOs at similarly capitalized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. Thisfreeinteractive report on Daktronics'searnings, revenue and cash flowis a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, Daktronics's TSR for the last 5 years was -38%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!
Daktronics shareholders are down 25% for the year (even including dividends), but the market itself is up 3.4%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 9.2% per year over five years. We realise that Buffett has said investors should 'buy when there is blood on the streets', but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality businesses. Importantly, we haven't analysed Daktronics's dividend history. Thisfreevisual report on its dividendsis a must-read if you're thinking of buying.
We will like Daktronics better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out thisfreelist of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Will Trump Live Tweet the Democratic Debates Next Week?
President Donald Trump might take to his thumbs to live tweet about the upcoming Democratic primary presidential debates, despite his top aides advising him not to do so, sources close to the president toldThe Wall Street Journalon Tuesday.
Although a spokesperson for the Trump campaign declined to comment toJournalabout it, it’s almost inconceivable that Trump wouldn’t insert himself into the debates viasocial media, a similar strategy that he employed during his 2016 presidential run. Back then he had more than 41 million followers onTwitter.He now has more than 61 million.
The speculation of Trump live tweeting at his potential POTUS challengers comes on the day Trump is scheduled isofficially launch his re-election campaignat a rally estimated be attended by as many as 100,000 people inside and outside the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.
It also comes as Trump is trailing several top Democratic challengers in major polls, including theQuinnipiac University poll, where the frontrunner, former vice president Joe Biden, is leading by as much as 13%.
Trump has already begun his assault on Biden calling him a “loser,” a “dummy,” and the candidate who is the “weakest mentally.”
While Trump loves to take to Twitter to discuss his policies or to bully his adversaries, the president’s advisers, theJournalreports, say they’re concerned that Trump tweeting during the debates could backfire, arguing that “there was an advantage in letting potential challengers attack one another without distraction.”
Twenty of the 24 Democratic candidates will appear forthe first round of debatesover two nights on June 26 and June 27 in Miami.
—2020Democratic primary debates: Everything you need to know
—The campaign finance power behindTrump impeachment efforts
—Not every state is restrictingabortion rights—some are expanding them
—Richard Nixon‘s “Western White House” is back on the market—at a discount
—Trump administration to use former Japanese internment camp to housemigrant children
Get up to speed on your morning commute withFortune’sCEO Dailynewsletter. |
How Much is Virco Mfg. Corporation's (NASDAQ:VIRC) CEO Getting Paid?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
In 1988 Robert Virtue was appointed CEO of Virco Mfg. Corporation (NASDAQ:VIRC). First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.
Check out our latest analysis for Virco Mfg
At the time of writing our data says that Virco Mfg. Corporation has a market cap of US$67m, and is paying total annual CEO compensation of US$439k. (This figure is for the year to January 2018). While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$306k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations under US$200m, and the median CEO total compensation was US$452k.
So Robert Virtue receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. Although this fact alone doesn't tell us a great deal, it becomes more relevant when considered against the business performance.
You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Virco Mfg, below.
Virco Mfg. Corporation has reduced its earnings per share by an average of 80% a year, over the last three years (measured with a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 8.7%.
Unfortunately, earnings per share have trended lower over the last three years. The fairly low revenue growth fails to impress given that the earnings per share is down. It's hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. Shareholders might be interested inthisfreevisualization of analyst forecasts.
Virco Mfg. Corporation has generated a total shareholder return of 9.1% over three years, so most shareholders wouldn't be too disappointed. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.
Robert Virtue is paid around what is normal the leaders of comparable size companies.
We feel that earnings per share have been a bit disappointing, but and we don't think the total returns are amazing. We wouldn't say the CEO pay is too high, but one might argue that the company should improve returns to shareholders before increasing it. Shareholders may want tocheck for free if Virco Mfg insiders are buying or selling shares.
If you want to buy a stock that is better than Virco Mfg, thisfreelist of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Facebook Reveals Revolutionary Cryptocurrency
The most visited social media website on earth just revealed its plan to launch its own blockchain-based cryptocurrency. The currency will be called Libra and will be managed by the new Facebook FB subsidiary, Calibra. Calibra’s digital wallet containing Libra is expected to be launched in Messenger, WhatsApp and as a standalone app in the first half of 2020. Cryptocurrencies across the board have been rallying hard in 2019, with Bitcoin gaining over 150% since the first of the year. Rumors of this colossal crypto’s launch have been circulating for months and now finally coming to fruition, fanning the crypto flame once again.
The critical difference between Libra and other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and comparables is that Libra will be backed by a spectrum of international currencies and other investments. An asset-backed digital currency is a key component that I believe will turn crypto skeptics into believers. Being asset-backed will also give this currency stability and a level of security that no other crypto has been able to match.
Facebook is partnering with some heavy-hitters in the financial sector including PayPal PYPL and MasterCard MA as well as tech titans Uber UBER and Spotify SPOT. This consortium of partners will help add to the legitimacy of the currency as well as its reach.
Facebook currently has 2.375 billion monthly active users (MAU) or 57.5% of the world’s humans with internet access, which is a continuously growing figure. This extensive reach will give Libra proper exposure to achieve global traction.
In a press release this morning, Facebook focused on how this new currency will benefit developing countries, quoting that “approximately 70% of small businesses in developing countries lack access to credit and $25 billion is lost by migrants every year through remittance fees.” They are anticipating that Libra will help to mitigate these issues.
Take Away
This new type of asset-back digital currency is going to change the way that investors and regulators view cryptocurrencies. Partnering with widely trusted financial service firms, PayPal and MasterCard adds to the perceived legitimacy of Libra.
The crypto-craze that we saw peak at the end of 2017 might have just been the tip of the iceberg. Cryptocurrencies are making new 52-week highs but is Libra good or bad for the broader crypto market. In my eyes, Libra is bad news for the rest of digital currencies because at the end of the day only the most usable currencies will make it out alive.
Libra will allow anyone with a cheap smartphone to have access to banking and the ability to use their funds with no more than a touch to their screen. The extensive international exposure, ostensible ease of use, and stability is expected to propel Libra’s usage beyond any crypto before it. This could be a huge step into the next generation of banking and digital finances.
FB is up over 44% year-to-date despite regulatory issues involving privacy and the anti-trust probe that has been combing the tech space. Calibra is going to be set up as a nonprofit organization and it is still unclear how Facebook is planning on monetizing Libra, though I am sure it will involve transaction fees. Look for further updates on how this new currency is expected to affect FB’s financials.
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit PotentialThe biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of+98%,+119%and+164%in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportFacebook, Inc. (FB) : Free Stock Analysis ReportPayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMastercard Incorporated (MA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportSpotify Technology SA (SPOT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportUber Technologies Inc. (UBER) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Is Masco Corporation's (NYSE:MAS) CEO Paid At A Competitive Rate?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
Keith Allman has been the CEO of Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) since 2014. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at other large companies. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.
See our latest analysis for Masco
According to our data, Masco Corporation has a market capitalization of US$11b, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth US$12m. (This number is for the twelve months until December 2018). That's just a smallish increase of 1.1% on last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$1.2m. We took a group of companies with market capitalizations over US$8.0b, and calculated the median CEO total compensation to be US$11m. (We took a wide range because the CEOs of massive companies tend to be paid similar amounts - even though some are quite a bit bigger than others).
So Keith Allman receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. This doesn't tell us a whole lot on its own, but looking at the performance of the actual business will give us useful context.
You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Masco has changed over time.
Over the last three years Masco Corporation has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 20% per year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 7.2% over the last year.
This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. It's good to see a bit of revenue growth, as this suggests the business is able to grow sustainably. It could be important to checkthis free visual depiction ofwhat analysts expectfor the future.
Masco Corporation has served shareholders reasonably well, with a total return of 25% over three years. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.
Keith Allman is paid around the same as most CEOs of large companies.
Shareholder returns could be better but shareholders would be pleased with the positive EPS growth. As a result of these considerations, I would suggest the CEO pay is reasonable. So you may want tocheck if insiders are buying Masco shares with their own money (free access).
If you want to buy a stock that is better than Masco, thisfreelist of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Crude Oil Price Update – Daily Trend Changes to Up on Trade Through $54.99
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are trading sharply higher late Tuesday after President Trump said he would hold an extensive meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Japan later this month.
“Had a very good telephone conversation with President Xi of China. We will be having an extended meeting next week at the G-20 in Japan. Our respective teams will begin talks prior to our meeting,” Trump tweeted.
Some traders are treating the news as a rumor since China has not confirmed a meeting would take place. It they do confirm then the market could extend its stellar gains.
Later today, traders will get a chance to react to the latest weekly inventories report from the American Petroleum Institute. Traders are looking for a 1.5 million barrel draw down.
At 17:07 GMT,August WTI crude oilfutures are trading $53.94, up $1.77 or +3.41%.
The main trend is down according to the daily swing chart. A trade through $54.99 will change the main trend to up. A move through $50.98 and $50.79 will signal a resumption of the downtrend.
The short-term range is $50.79 to $54.99. Its retracement zone at $52.89 to $52.39 is controlling the direction of the market. This zone is new support.
The main range is $64.03 to $50.79. If the trend changes to up then its retracement zone at $57.41 to $58.97 will become the primary upside target.
Based on the early price action and the current price at $53.94, the direction of the August WTI crude oil futures contract the rest of the session is likely to be determined by trader reaction to the downtrending Gann angle at $54.03.
A sustained move over $54.03 will indicate the presence of buyers. If this move generates enough upside momentum then look for a possible test of the main top at $54.99. Taking out this level will change the main trend to up. This could trigger an eventual rally into the 50% level at $57.41.
A sustained move under $54.03 will signal the presence of sellers. This could lead to a labored break into a series of potential support levels at $53.04, $52.89, $52.39 and $51.92.
The current set up indicates two breakouts to the upside are possible if buyers come in strong. The first breakout price is $54.03, followed by $54.99.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
• Gold Price Prediction – Gold Breaks Out Following Decision
• Crude Oil Price Forecast – Crude oil markets levitate ahead of the Federal Reserve
• Forex Daily Recap – USD Index Slipped -0.57% over Unchanged Fed Interest Rates
• USD/JPY Price Forecast – US dollar choppy against yen
• Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis – June 19, 2019 Forecast
• Gold Price Forecast – Gold markets continue to pressure higher |
Who Has Been Buying Vermillion, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRML) Shares?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares inVermillion, Inc.(NASDAQ:VRML).
Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock on the market. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.
We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Harvard Universitystudyfound that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.'
View our latest analysis for Vermillion
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Chief Financial Officer Robert Beechey bought US$52k worth of shares at a price of US$0.52 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (US$0.95), we still think insider buying is a positive. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders bought 321k shares for a total of US$178k. While Vermillion insiders bought shares last year, they didn't sell. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at thisfreelist of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
There was some insider buying at Vermillion over the last quarter. Robert Beechey shelled out US$6.3k for shares in that time. It's great to see that insiders are only buying, not selling. But the amount invested in the last three months isn't enough for us too put much weight on it, as a single factor.
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 40% of Vermillion shares, worth about US$28m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.
Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. Overall the buying isn't worth writing home about. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders do have a stake in Vermillion and their transactions don't cause us concern.I like to dive deeperinto how a company has performed in the past. You can accessthisinteractive graphof past earnings, revenue and cash flow for free.
But note:Vermillion may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
New Research Targets a Big Worry for Some Blockchains: Double-Spent Transactions
A trio of researchers say they’ve discovered a way to detect and punish dishonest blockchain participants, according to a paper published at the end of May.
“The (virtual) gold rush is on, and as in the Wild West of yore, the outlaws are ever present,” states the paper, entitledPolygraph: Accountable Byzantine Agreement.
The authors — Vincent Gramoli and Pierre Civit of the University of Sydney, and Seth Gilbert of the National University of Singapore — developed the Polygraph protocol, which automates accountability in blockchains to hold participants accountable for double spending, a notoriously knotty issue in cryptography.
Though the double spend problem was supposedly solved by Satoshi’swhite paper, published in 2008, the researchers discovered that disagreements caused by blockchain forks can lead to double spending if the resulting branches have conflicting transactions.
They cite a zombie case:
“Byzantine nodes can override the General Polygraph Protocol by proposing directly two conflicting views to two different clients to then perform a double-spending attack. The coalition does not participate to the consensus in order to violate the liveness property…. Note that safety is also violated: When a client invokes the read() primitive, the coalition can answer arbitrary values, despite the non-termination of the legitimate consensus. The client is supposed to trust the coalition, like all the other clients who can forever receive a different output for the read() primitive. Hence, for t ≥ n − t0, the eventual prefix property is violated. This makes the blockchain vulnerable to a double-spending attack.”
Yes, the paper is scholarly, but it also provides pragmatic solutions to real problems in current consensus mechanisms.
The group considers the growing threat of centralization on blockchains, caused by the collectivizing of hashing power. Under traditional Byzantine protocol agreements, if one party amasses more than one-third of total mining output they gain decision making authority. As an aside, the authors note that the largest Bitcoin mining pool today controls approximately 19 percent of total hashing power.
“We need a new sheriff in town to bring the guilty parties to justice. What if, instead of preventing bad behavior by a party that controls too much of the network power, we guarantee accountability,” write the authors.
Much in the way we prevent crime in the real world, we can prevent bad blockchain behavior via “defense-in-depth” — the basic Byzantine agreement protocol that prevents usurpation if the attacker has less than one-third of network control or if the network infrastructure is working to pass messages in time.
“Byzantine agreement protocols act as the locks on the bank doors, preventing the gangs from making off with the loot,” they wrote.
However, when these guarantees fail — and the authors suggest they can and do — the Polygraph protocol will intercept malicious behavior.
The Polygraph’s basic algorithm is based on theByzantine agreement protocol, but goes further in that proceeds through asynchronous rounds, or a vote that receives democratic input.
“First, a reliable broadcaster is used to distribute the proposal values. Then, a second phase of communication is used to determine whether enough processes have converged on a single value. Finally the processes decide, if they can; and if not, they update their estimate in an attempt to converge on a single value.”
If the process determines that someone is pursuing illegal actions, the consensus can vote them off the network.
“Accountability has been overlooked in blockchains but it is actually key to security,” said Gramoli, who also serves as Red Belly Blockchain CEO. “The industry cannot accept blockchain to be a simple distributed system where valuable assets vanish as soon as a third of the participants form a coalition.”
Red Belly Blockchain has been funded by theAustralian Research Counciland developed by researchers of the Concurrent Systems Research Group at the University of Sydney and Data61-CSIRO.
Photo byXiang GaoonUnsplash |
Valens Exec: Cannabis Oil Market Is Being 'Substantially' Underestimated
Valens Groworks Corp(OTC:VGWCF) is working to make a mark in the areas of custom manufacturing and white label services in cannabis.
Everett Knight, executive vice president of strategy and investments for Valens, spoke with Benzinga after Health Canada released its initial rules on edibles and concentrates.
Knight said he supports 60-day application periods: "It's not always about getting products on the shelf. It's about getting quality product that the consumers want."
Need more cannabis news?Check out all of our coveragehere.
A Third-Party Strategy
Valens has released its own news of late, including the enhancement of a prior deal withTilray Inc(NASDAQ:TLRY).
The new terms saw an increase in Valens' minimum production for Tilray from 15,000 to to 60,000 kilograms.
“If you look at this agreement, it's really the first agreement we've kind of come out with and said, ‘hey, we're going to do custom manufacturing for this client and we've been really building out our white label services.’”
Valens is ahead of its own expectations for white labeling and sees it ramping up as additional products become available, Knight said.
"We believe we are going to be the largest third-party vape pen and cartridge filler and manufacturer in Canada."
Customization represents an important aspect of the company's business, as it shows its ability to white- and private-label a growing list of products for its clients, the exec said.
Cannabis 2.0
In addition to the Tilray deal, Valens has 10 publicly announced concentrate contracts, including withHexo Corp(NYSE:HEXO),OrganiGram Holdings Inc(NASDAQ:OGI) andCanopy Growth Corp(NYSE:CGC).
With Canada's regulations set to expand, Knight said he sees the corporate relationships as critical.
"They're one of the biggest platforms for products today," Knight said of Canopy Growth. "And if you look at going to edibles and concentrates, they're going to be there as well. We're just really excited to do extraction services with them and build that relationship going forward."
This is the year of Cannabis 2.0, Knight said.
He expects the market share for oil-based products to grow, sending the segment's 50% share in the U.S. today to around 75%.
"I think people are underestimating that market substantially, especially when you get in the CBD space," he said.
Valens continues to focus on extraction technology and product development for clients rather than vertical integration, Knight said.
Related Links:
Valens, Tilray Increase Extraction Volume, Add Manufacturing Option To Contract
Valens GroWorks, The Green Organic Dutchman Sign Cannabis, Hemp Extraction Agreement
Public domain photo via Wikimedia.
See more from Benzinga
© 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. |
Blockchain-Based Energy Trading Firm to Optimize Solar Energy Distribution in Austria
Blockchain-basedenergytrading firm Power Ledger will roll out its peer-to-peer (P2P) network in Graz, the second-largest city inAustria, according to anannouncementon June 18.
TheAustralia-based company haspartneredwith E-NEXT, an innovation arm of major Austria’s energy utility Energie Steiermark, to launch its blockchain-powered energy trading platform in and around Graz.
The initiative is an attempt to optimize energy distribution and to contribute to the city's transition towards zero-carbon energy, the release notes. As such, Power Ledger’s technology is expected to enable rooftop solar energy-based households in the city to sell excess renewable energy to their neighbors, generating a monetary incentive for Graz residents to use such energy.
Power Ledger will initially roll out its service to 10 households in Graz, while the project reportedly has the potential to expand to more households in the city, as well as across the overall energy network of Austria.
According to the statement, Power Ledger’s blockchain-enabled platform enablesanonymityof data on the energy distribution network in accordance with the privacy policies of theEuropean Union, as specified in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
City of Graz isreportedlythe sole city in Austria’s Smart flagship project that intends to resolve major issues in the city, including meeting Graz’s zero emission and carbon neutral goals by 2050. Graz is also home to the country’s blockchain hub calledBlockchainHub Graz.
According to the report, Power Ledger’s blockchain-based energy trading applications are now under pilot testing in a number of sites across its home country of Australia, as well as several other countries, includingThailand,Japanand theUnited States.
Cryptocurrency mining is often the subject of criticism on the basis of its environmental consequences. Recently, researchfoundthat carbon emissions generated byminingmajorcryptocurrencybitcoin (BTC) are comparable to the whole of Kansas City.
• Austrian Steel Alukönigstahl Develops Blockchain-Based Steel Trading Database
• Block.One Pays $30M for New Blockchain-Powered Social Media Platform’s Domain Name
• Italy’s Banks to Use Blockchain to Boost Settlements and Improve Transparency
• Global Banking Giant HSBC Launches Tokenization-Based Receivables System for India |
If You Had Bought Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Shares Five Years Ago You'd Have Made 73%
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
Generally speaking the aim of active stock picking is to find companies that provide returns that are superior to the market average. And in our experience, buying the right stocks can give your wealth a significant boost. To wit, the Bankwell Financial Group share price has climbed 73% in five years, easily topping the market return of 38% (ignoring dividends).
View our latest analysis for Bankwell Financial Group
To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.
Over half a decade, Bankwell Financial Group managed to grow its earnings per share at 9.9% a year. This EPS growth is reasonably close to the 12% average annual increase in the share price. That suggests that the market sentiment around the company hasn't changed much over that time. Rather, the share price has approximately tracked EPS growth.
The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).
We know that Bankwell Financial Group has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? Thisfreereport showing analyst revenue forecastsshould help you figure out if the EPS growth can be sustained.
It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, Bankwell Financial Group's TSR for the last 5 years was 81%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!
While the broader market gained around 3.4% in the last year, Bankwell Financial Group shareholders lost 10% (even including dividends). However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 13%, each year, over five years. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. If you would like to research Bankwell Financial Group in more detail then you might want totake a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in the company.
Of courseBankwell Financial Group may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see thisfreecollection of growth stocks.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Office Depot (ODP) Plunges 40% in 3 Months: Factors to Blame
Shares ofOffice Depot, Inc. ODP have slumped 46.7% in the past three months against the industry’s growth of 5.1%. This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock’s bearish run on the bourses can be attributable to lower-than-expected operating performance at the CompuCom division that took a toll on sales and operating income during the first quarter of 2019.
The company’s CompuCom division reported operating loss of about $15 million during the first quarter of 2019. Weaker-than-anticipated revenues from existing customer projects and less-than-proportionate fall in related expenses acted as deterrents. Consequently, total sales of $2,769 million declined 2% year over year, while adjusted operating income came in at $67 million, down 28% year over year.Additionally, the company’s retail division has been witnessing dismal comparable-store sales for a while. Comps in this division declined 4%, 2%, 5% and again 5% in the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2018, respectively. Moreover, Retail division’s sales decreased 8%, 5% 6% and again 6% in the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2018, respectively. Meanwhile, in the first quarter of 2019, the Retail division’s sales fell 6%, while comparable-store sales dropped 4%.Nevertheless, management is looking into every nook and cranny for growth prospects. The company has been focusing on business operating model, viable projects and cost structure. Further, it has been closing underperforming stores, reducing exposure to higher dollar-value inventory items, shuttering non-critical distribution facilities, concentrating on e-commerce platforms and focusing on providing innovative products and services.
Office Depot’s initiative of buy online and pick up in-store is also gaining traction. The company is also making incremental investments to transform into a product and services-driven enterprise.Office Depot initiated Business Acceleration Program that involves reducing costs, improving operational efficiencies, enhancing service delivery, effectively using technology and automation, and identifying investment opportunities. Moreover, in order to control discretionary spending, the company adopted zero-based budgeting approach.
As a result, management anticipates cost savings of at least $40 million in the second half of 2019. The company hopes that endeavors such as streamlining operational structure and exploring options to speed-up cross-selling opportunities would help bring the CompuCom segment back on track.All said, we hope these aforementioned efforts to help the company achieve the much-required turnaround in an environment where demand for office products are diminishing.3 Stocks to WatchHibbett Sports HIBB has a long-term earnings growth rate of 6.5% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Regis Corp. RGS has a long-term earnings growth rate of 7.5% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Tractor Supply Company TSCO has a long-term earnings growth rate of 11.4% and a Zacks Rank #2.Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit PotentialThe biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.Zacks has just releasedCentury of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Nowto help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119% and +164% in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportOffice Depot, Inc. (ODP) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTractor Supply Company (TSCO) : Free Stock Analysis ReportRegis Corporation (RGS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportHibbett Sports, Inc. (HIBB) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
2 Reasons to Like Twilio Stock
The shares of cloud communications concernTwilio Inc (NYSE:TWLO)are higher this afternoon, as stocks cheer encouraging tweets aboutU.S.-China traderelations. In addition, we're watching TWLO stock for two more reasons: today's upbeat analyst attention from Needham, and how seasonality favors the bulls in the short term.
Diving right in, Needham started coverage of Twilio shares with a "buy" rating and $165 price target -- in uncharted territory for the stock. The analysts "foresee continued exceptional growth" for the company, and waxed optimistic on its platform, market position, and "highly efficient developer-led sales model."
And, as alluded to earlier, TWLO shares tend to heat up in the summer. Specifically, Twilio has been one of the best optionable stocks to own in calendar weeks 25 through 28, per data from Schaeffer's Quantitative Analyst Chris Prybal, averaging a gain of 22.6% during this time frame, looking at returns since inception.
The equity has been in a slow burn higher since early 2018, with pullbacks contained by its 80-day and 160-day moving averages. In fact, the shares notched an all-time high of $148.80 just last Monday, June 10, and were last seen 1.5% higher to trade at $142.79. Another 22.6% surge from current levels would place TWLO around $175 -- in new-high territory.
Traders looking to speculate on another hot summer for the security should consider options. TWLO's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 46% is higher than just 9% of all other readings from the past year, suggesting near-term options are pricing in relatively modestvolatility expectationsfor the shares. |
Is SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE:SNX) A Volatile Stock?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
Anyone researching SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE:SNX) might want to consider the historical volatility of the share price. Modern finance theory considers volatility to be a measure of risk, and there are two main types of price volatility. The first type is company specific volatility. Investors use diversification across uncorrelated stocks to reduce this kind of price volatility across the portfolio. The second sort is caused by the natural volatility of markets, overall. For example, certain macroeconomic events will impact (virtually) all stocks on the market.
Some stocks mimic the volatility of the market quite closely, while others demonstrate muted, exagerrated or uncorrelated price movements. Beta can be a useful tool to understand how much a stock is influenced by market risk (volatility). However, Warren Buffett said 'volatility is far from synonymous with risk' in his 2014 letter to investors. So, while useful, beta is not the only metric to consider. To use beta as an investor, you must first understand that the overall market has a beta of one. Any stock with a beta of greater than one is considered more volatile than the market, while those with a beta below one are either less volatile or poorly correlated with the market.
Check out our latest analysis for SYNNEX
SYNNEX has a five-year beta of 0.92. This is reasonably close to the market beta of 1, so the stock has in the past displayed similar levels of volatility to the overall market. Using history as a guide, we might surmise that the share price is likely to be influenced by market voltility going forward but it probably won't be particularly sensitive to it. Beta is worth considering, but it's also important to consider whether SYNNEX is growing earnings and revenue. You can take a look for yourself, below.
With a market capitalisation of US$4.7b, SYNNEX is a pretty big company, even by global standards. It is quite likely well known to very many investors. We shouldn't be surprised to see a large company like this with a beta value quite close to the market average. Large companies often move roughly in line with the market. In part, that's because there are fewer individual events that are signficant enough to markedly change the value of the stock (compared to small companies, at least).
It is probable that there is a link between the share price of SYNNEX and the broader market, since it has a beta value quite close to one. However, long term investors are generally well served by looking past market volatility and focussing on the underlying development of the business. If that's your game, metrics such as revenue, earnings and cash flow will be more useful. In order to fully understand whether SNX is a good investment for you, we also need to consider important company-specific fundamentals such as SYNNEX’s financial health and performance track record. I highly recommend you dive deeper by considering the following:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for SNX’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor SNX’s outlook.
2. Past Track Record: Has SNX been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look atthe free visual representations of SNX's historicalsfor more clarity.
3. Other Interesting Stocks: It's worth checking to see how SNX measures up against other companies on valuation. You could start with thisfree list of prospective options.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
I Ran A Stock Scan For Earnings Growth And Radiant Logistics (NYSEMKT:RLGT) Passed With Ease
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
Some have more dollars than sense, they say, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can easily find investors. But as Peter Lynch said inOne Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.'
In the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, my choice may seem old fashioned; I still prefer profitable companies likeRadiant Logistics(NYSEMKT:RLGT). Even if the shares are fully valued today, most capitalists would recognize its profits as the demonstration of steady value generation. In comparison, loss making companies act like a sponge for capital - but unlike such a sponge they do not always produce something when squeezed.
See our latest analysis for Radiant Logistics
In business, though not in life, profits are a key measure of success; and share prices tend to reflect earnings per share (EPS). So like the hint of a smile on a face that I love, growing EPS generally makes me look twice. You can imagine, then, that it almost knocked my socks off when I realized that Radiant Logistics grew its EPS from US$0.057 to US$0.28, in one short year. When you see earnings grow that quickly, it often means good things ahead for the company.
I like to see top-line growth as an indication that growth is sustainable, and I look for a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin to point to a competitive moat (though some companies with low margins also have moats). Radiant Logistics maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 13% to US$920m. That's progress.
In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings, and revenue, over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.
In investing, as in life, the future matters more than the past. So why not check out thisfreeinteractive visualization of Radiant Logistics'sforecastprofits?
I like company leaders to have some skin in the game, so to speak, because it increases alignment of incentives between the people running the business, and its true owners. So it is good to see that Radiant Logistics insiders have a significant amount of capital invested in the stock. To be specific, they have US$31m worth of shares. That's a lot of money, and no small incentive to work hard. That amounts to 9.7% of the company, demonstrating a degree of high-level alignment with shareholders.
It's good to see that insiders are invested in the company, but are remuneration levels reasonable? A brief analysis of the CEO compensation suggests they are. I discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like Radiant Logistics with market caps between US$200m and US$800m is about US$1.8m.
The Radiant Logistics CEO received total compensation of just US$852k in the year to June 2018. That's clearly well below average, so at a glance, that arrangement seems generous to shareholders, and points to a modest remuneration culture. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. It can also be a sign of a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.
Radiant Logistics's earnings per share have taken off like a rocket aimed right at the moon. The cherry on top is that insiders own a bucket-load of shares, and the CEO pay seems really quite reasonable. The strong EPS improvement suggests the businesses is humming along. Big growth can make big winners, so I do think Radiant Logistics is worth considering carefully. Of course, just because Radiant Logistics is growing does not mean it is undervalued. If you're wondering about the valuation, check outthis gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.
Of course, you can do well (sometimes) buying stocks thatare notgrowing earnings anddo nothave insiders buying shares. But as a growth investor I always like to check out companies thatdohave those features. You can accessa free list of them here.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Google Calendar Outage Follows Gmail Glitch In Second Google Snag In A Month Update
UPDATED with Google Calendar outage resolved. Google Calendar became unavailable for users in the U.S. and UK for more than two hours Tuesday, delivering a 404 error message instead of scheduled appointments. The problem with Google Calendar should be resolved, the company said on its G Suite status page. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support. Please rest assured that system reliability is a top priority at Google, and we are making continuous improvements to make our systems better. Related stories Gmail, YouTube, Snapchat Experience Outages Across U.S. After Google Network Issues Google CEO Reacts To Possible U.S. Antitrust Probes Into Tech Giant Instagram Outage Follows Disruption To PlayStation Network - Update Memes quickly sprouted on Twitter. New Yorker writer Helen Rosner cracked, Google calendar is down so legally time doesnt exist anymore. One bit of unfortunate timing didnt help. Just an hour before Calendar went dark, a promotional tweet from G Suite itself proclaimed that Google Calendar is scheduling made simpler. Oof. PREVIOUSLY: Users of Gmail from individuals to large corporations were left in the lurch for a chunk of the day Monday due to an outage on the Google platform, the second snag of the past two weeks. The flare-up affected mostly incoming emails, prompting waves of Twitter messages with the #Gmaildown hashtag before service for most users was largely restored. The problem with Gmail should be resolved, the company posted at just past 3 p.m. ET on one of its service sites. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support. Please rest assured that system reliability is a top priority at Google, and we are making continuous improvements to make our systems better. It added, Affected messages will be retried and delivered with additional delays. Story continues The website Down Detector, which monitors such things, showed ongoing Gmail problems toward the end of the work day on the East Coast on Monday. The biggest flareups, though, occurred between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. ET. On June 2, Google confirmed a four-hour outage that hit Gmail, as well as YouTube, Google Calendar and a host of other services. (The more integrated into daily life the tech giant becomes, the wider the impact of glitches like that the Nest thermostat, for example, was also affected in that case.) The culprit, according to the company: high levels of network congestion in the eastern USA. As to the Monday issues, a Google rep did not immediately respond to Deadlines email request for comment. The company did not appear to have posted any messages with updates or acknowledgements of the disruption. While the U.S. appeared to be the hardest-hit region, a real-time map on Down Detector showed trouble in the UK, Western Europe and Mexico. Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . |
Hedge Funds Have Never Been More Bullish On Godaddy Inc (GDDY)
You probably know from experience that there is not as much information on small-cap companies as there is on large companies. Of course, this makes it really hard and difficult for individual investors to make proper and accurate analysis of certain small-cap companies. However, well-known and successful hedge fund managers like Jeff Ubben, George Soros and Seth Klarman hold the necessary resources and abilities to conduct an extensive stock analysis on small-cap stocks, which enable them to make millions of dollars by identifying potential winners within the small-cap galaxy of stocks. This represents the main reason why Insider Monkey takes notice of the hedge fund activity in these overlooked stocks.
Godaddy Inc (NYSE:GDDY)has experienced an increase in activity from the world's largest hedge funds in recent months.GDDYwas in 48 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 43 hedge funds in our database with GDDY positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that GDDY isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
So, why do we pay attention to hedge fund sentiment before making any investment decisions? Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Even if you aren't comfortable with shorting stocks, you should at least avoid initiating long positions in our short portfolio.
Let's take a glance at the new hedge fund action encompassing Godaddy Inc (NYSE:GDDY).
Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 48 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 12% from one quarter earlier. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards GDDY over the last 15 quarters. So, let's check out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
The largest stake in Godaddy Inc (NYSE:GDDY) was held bySelect Equity Group, which reported holding $410.2 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Renaissance Technologies with a $268.1 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included D E Shaw, 12 West Capital Management, and Citadel Investment Group.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves.Point72 Asset Management, managed by Steve Cohen, assembled the most valuable position in Godaddy Inc (NYSE:GDDY). Point72 Asset Management had $105.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Alex Duran and Scott Hendrickson'sPermian Investment Partnersalso made a $79 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new GDDY investors: Dennis Puri and Oliver Keller'sHunt Lane Capital, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson'sAdage Capital Management, and Marcelo Desio'sLucha Capital Management.
Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Godaddy Inc (NYSE:GDDY) but similarly valued. These stocks are Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXS), Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRVL), Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPD), and Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA). This group of stocks' market valuations resemble GDDY's market valuation.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position CTXS,34,2131744,-2 MRVL,32,1469427,-3 EXPD,30,511934,6 APA,28,616390,-1 Average,31,1182374,0 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 31 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1182 million. That figure was $2822 million in GDDY's case. Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) is the least popular one with only 28 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Godaddy Inc (NYSE:GDDY) is more popular among hedge funds. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 1.9% in Q2 through May 30th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by more than 3 percentage points. Unfortunately GDDY wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on GDDY were disappointed as the stock returned -1.8% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
Related Content
• How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns
• Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks
• 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index |
Do Directors Own Grande West Transportation Group Inc (CVE:BUS) Shares?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
Every investor in Grande West Transportation Group Inc (CVE:BUS) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. I generally like to see some degree of insider ownership, even if only a little. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb said, 'Don’t tell me what you think, tell me what you have in your portfolio.'
Grande West Transportation Group is a smaller company with a market capitalization of CA$34m, so it may still be flying under the radar of many institutional investors. In the chart below below, we can see that institutional investors have not yet purchased much of the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about BUS.
See our latest analysis for Grande West Transportation Group
Small companies that are not very actively traded often lack institutional investors, but it's less common to see large companies without them.
There are many reasons why a company might not have any institutions on the share registry. It may be hard for institutions to buy large amounts of shares, if liquidity (the amount of shares traded each day) is low. If the company has not needed to raise capital, institutions might lack the opportunity to build a position. On the other hand, it's always possible that professional investors are avoiding a company because they don't think it's the best place for their money. Institutional investors may not find the historic growth of the business impressive, or there might be other factors at play. You can see the past revenue performance of Grande West Transportation Group, for yourself, below.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Grande West Transportation Group. There is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Grande West Transportation Group Inc. Insiders own CA$5.3m worth of shares in the CA$34m company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You canclick here to see if they have been buying or selling.
The general public, mostly retail investors, hold a substantial 83% stake in BUS, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This size of ownership gives retail investors collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too.
I like to dive deeperinto how a company has performed in the past. You can accessthisinteractive graphof past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.
If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss thisfreereport on analyst forecasts.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Facebook announces its crypto subsidiary Calibra is registered with US FinCEN
Social media giant Facebook’s newlyannouncedcryptocurrency subsidiary, Calibra, is registered with the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the country’s anti-money-laundering regulator.
Calibra, which will offer a digital wallet for the Libra cryptocurrency,registeredas a money services business (MSB) with FinCEN in February, with an address listed in Menlo Park, Calif.
Calibra registered with FinCEN as a money services business (MSB) in February. Calibra’s MSB registration number is 31000141265767. Calibra may also need to obtain state money transmission licenses in each of the states that it operates in, depending on the particular state's licensing requirements and Calibra's activities in that state.
“Facebook created Calibra, a regulated subsidiary, to ensure separation between social and financial data and to build and operate services on its behalf on top of the Libra network,” the firm’swhite paperreleased today reads in part.
Calibra's website, which also went live today,statesthat it will help people send money to each other as easily as they send “a message or a photo” using its messaging apps Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger, and a government-issued ID.
Libra is currently under development by Calibra and is expected to launch sometime next year.
This post was updated to reflect that Calibri may need to secure more licenses to operate in certain states as a money transmitter |
Kirsten Dunst Is Starring in a New Dark Comedy Produced by George Clooney
What do water parks, pyramid schemes and Kirsten Dunst have in common? Theyre all coming together for a new dark comedy from producer George Clooney . Dunst stars as Krystal Stubbs, a minimum-wage earning water park employee, in the brand-new Showtime series, On Becoming a God in Central Florida . Set in 1992 in a town outside of Orlando, the series tracks Krystal as she cons her way up the ranks of the Founders American Merchandise pyramid scheme. Once upon a time the company ruined her family and now shes getting her revenge. Just watch. According to Showtime, Krystal sets her eye on taking down FAM leader Obie Garbeau II (Ted Levine) and develops a relationship with the companys most loyal follower, Cody (Théodore Pellerin) to make it happen. But eventually, her high-stakes business impacts her relationships with everyone around her. In addition to Dunst, the show also stars Pellerin ( Genesis ), Levine ( The Silence of the Lambs ), Alexander Skarsgård ( Big Little Lies ), Mary Steenburgen ( The Last Man on Earth ), Beth Ditto ( Nocturnal Animals ) and Mel Rodriguez ( The Last Man on Earth ). It was created and executive produced by Robert Funke (any relation to Arrested Development s Tobias Funke?) and Matt Lutsky and produced by Clooney, Dunst and Grant Heslov ( Catch-22 ). Charlie McDowell ( The One I Love ) directed the pilot and is also producing. Esta Spalding ( Masters of Sex ) will serve as series showrunner. On Becoming a God in Central Florida debuts in all its humid glory on Sunday, August 25, at 10 p.m. PT/ET on Showtime. Were marking our calendars now. RELATED: George Clooney Comes to Friend Meghan Markle's Defense, and Compares Her to This Royal |
Show your allegiance wherever you go with team-branded luggage
There's no better place to show support for your hometown team than outside of your hometown.
The world is full of sports fans who root for their team in unique ways. If you're planning a trip around the U.S. this summer, or even outside of it, there's an easy and useful way to show your allegiance and spark some conversations.
Fanatics has a line ofteam-branded luggageincluding backpacks, duffel bags and rolling suitcases that are all on sale right now – plus, everything ships free until 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Teams from theNBA,NFL,MLBandNHL, pluscollege, are all included in the collection. Whether you're repping theWarriorsin Wisconsin, thePatriotsin Palm Springs, theDodgersin Dallas or theIslandersin Indianapolis, there's something available for every fan.
Take a look below at some of our favorite picks, orhead over to Fanaticsto see more: |
Does Mitcham Industries, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:MIND) CEO Pay Matter?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
Rob Capps became the CEO of Mitcham Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:MIND) in 2015. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.
See our latest analysis for Mitcham Industries
According to our data, Mitcham Industries, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$48m, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth US$368k. (This number is for the twelve months until January 2019). That's actually a decrease on the year before. We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at US$263k. We took a group of companies with market capitalizations below US$200m, and calculated the median CEO total compensation to be US$452k.
So Rob Capps receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. Although this fact alone doesn't tell us a great deal, it becomes more relevant when considered against the business performance.
You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Mitcham Industries, below.
On average over the last three years, Mitcham Industries, Inc. has grown earnings per share (EPS) by 32% each year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 21%.
This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. It's also good to see decent revenue growth in the last year, suggesting the business is healthy and growing. You might want to checkthis free visual report onanalyst forecastsfor future earnings.
Since shareholders would have lost about 7.5% over three years, some Mitcham Industries, Inc. shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. So shareholders would probably think the company shouldn't be too generous with CEO compensation.
Rob Capps is paid around what is normal the leaders of comparable size companies.
We'd say the company can boast of its EPS growth, but it's disappointing to see negative shareholder returns over three years. Considering the improvement in earnings per share, one could argue that the CEO pay is appropriate, albeit not too low. Shareholders may want tocheck for free if Mitcham Industries insiders are buying or selling shares.
Of course,you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere.So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
CFTC Lawsuit Alleges $147 Million in Bitcoin Defrauded From Trading Scheme Investors
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)announced the filing of a civil enforcement actionagainst Control-Finance Limited, a purported Bitcoin trading and investment company, and its founder, Benjamin Reynolds, of the United Kingdom.
The complaint charges the defendants misappropriated at least 22,858.822 bitcoin—worth at least $147 million at the time—from more than 1,000 customers through a pyramid scheme called the Control-Finance “Affiliate Program.”
According to the documents, from May 1 through October 31, 2017, Reynolds exploited public enthusiasm for Bitcoin by fraudulently soliciting customers to purchase and transfer bitcoin to Control-Finance. He alleged his expert virtual currency traders earned up to 45% trading returns per month, and used risk diversification methods to create a “safe haven” from crypto market risks and protect customers’ Bitcoin deposits.
Related:US Senate Confirms New CFTC Chair to Succeed ‘Crypto Dad’ Giancarlo
“In reality, the defendants made no trades on customers’ behalf, earned no trading profits for them, and misappropriated their Bitcoin deposits,” write the CFTC in a statement.
Reynolds also enticed his clients to invite family and friends to the platform through promises of “affiliate” bonuses.
The misappropriation scheme relied on creating unique single-use wallet addresses to receive customers’ Bitcoin deposits, which would then be routed to other, pooled wallet addresses held by virtual currency payment processors and exchanges in North America, Europe, and Asia. CFTC authorities allege these uneconomical and confusing blockchain transactions were executed solely to conceal misappropriation.
Additionally, when customers requested account withdrawals, Reynolds would illegally divert funds from other customer’s to make the payments.
Related:Free Markets and the Future of Blockchain
Reynold’s concealed the fraud by providing customers with sham account balances and profit figures that falsely reflected trading profits that did not exist. Weekly “Trade Reports,” which identified illusory profitable trades were also fabricated.
In its continuing litigation, the CFTC seeks civil monetary penalties, restitution, rescission, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, trading and registration bans, and permanent injunctions against further violations of the federal commodity laws, as charged.
The complaint was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Pyramid photo via ShutterStock
• Bakkt Sets July Test Date for Bitcoin Futures
• Regulators Ready to Approve Ethereum Futures, CFTC Insider Says |
Instagram grapples with 'fake news' problem as phony accounts proliferate
Fake or “copycat” Instagram (FB) accounts are taking over the platform, in a ploy to attract more followers.
Scam accounts like the now-deleted @SudanMealPlan have beenexploiting high-profile movementsby preying on unassuming users. Separately,Sudan’s deepening political crisisis the latest target with @SudanMealPlan garnering nearly half a million followers — in just one week.
Taylor Lorenz, a staff writer at“The Atlantic”who covers internet culture, toldYahoo Financein a recent interview that there are “hundreds and hundreds if not thousands of copycat accounts” just like @SudanMealPlan.
The account was removed by Instagram for violating its policies, after falsely claiming it would provide meals to starving Sundanese children in exchange for a follow.
“Obviously these people are not going to be able to provide any meals,” Lorenz said on YFi PM. She added thatmany copycat accounts with similar names are still activeon the site.
Thanks to the growing success ofinfluencer marketingand increased importance of “likes” on the picture sharing site, these fake accounts usually translate into hard cash in real life.
“Say you scale an account to half a million hyper-engaged followers, all of whom have already shared your content — that’s a very valuable account,” Lorenz explained.
“Not only can you sell that account to a brand, or on the black market, but you can also pivot it to a meme page and monetize it aggressively and make a lot of money,” she added.
Amid the fight against fake news anddoctored videos, the spread of fake accounts is adding a new layer to the multiple challenges facing social media platforms.
Phony social media postings “are spreading misinformation,” Lorenz told Yahoo Finance. “Instagram needs to crack down.”
Alexandra Canal is a Producer at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter:@alliecanal8193
Read more:
• Bluemercury will explore CBD line 'in next 24 months', says co-founder
• Why Blade's CEO is ‘excited’ about competition from Uber Copter
• KFC to explore plant-based alternatives as Beyond Meat booms
Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,SmartNews,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit. |
Should Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Be Disappointed With Their 28% Profit?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
The simplest way to invest in stocks is to buy exchange traded funds. But investors can boost returns by picking market-beating companies to own shares in. For example, theVentas, Inc.(NYSE:VTR) share price is up 28% in the last year, clearly besting than the market return of around 1.2% (not including dividends). That's a solid performance by our standards! Unfortunately the longer term returns are not so good, with the stock falling 0.8% in the last three years.
See our latest analysis for Ventas
While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.
Over the last twelve months, Ventas actually shrank its EPS by 63%. Given the share price gain, we doubt the market is measuring progress with EPS. Therefore, it seems likely that investors are putting more weight on metrics other than EPS, at the moment.
For starters, we suspect the share price has been buoyed by the dividend, which was increased during the year. Income-seeking investors probably helped bid up the stock price.
The graphic below shows how revenue and earnings have changed as management guided the business forward. If you want to see cashflow, you can click on the chart.
Thisfreeinteractive report on Ventas'sbalance sheet strengthis a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of Ventas, it has a TSR of 35% for the last year. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!
It's good to see that Ventas has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 35% in the last twelve months. That's including the dividend. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 9.1% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. Before spending more time on Ventasit might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares.
But note:Ventas may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
3 REITs to Buy in June
The stock market’s impressive run over the last few years placed high-flying growth stocks, often from the technology sector, front and center. However, the late 2018 downturn helped remind some investors about the need to diversify and add income to their portfolios, which means now might be time for investors to look at real estate investment trusts or REITs.
REITs are companies that own, operate, or finance real estate properties that produce income, such as apartment complexes or retail locations. These companies are heavily regulated and must meet a number of qualifications to be classified as a REIT, but they do offer investors a few distinct advantages.
First, real estate can be a very profitable investment sector when certain economic conditions are present. What’s more, REITs must pay at least 90% of their taxable income in dividends to shareholders, so they are a great option for income investors looking for steady payouts.
The presence of mortgage debt makes this a rate-sensitive industry. But many companies offset this through strong funds from operations (FFO) growth, or they stick out from the pack with large amounts of their debt already fixed at a low rate.
Luckily our proven Zacks Rank, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, works with REITs just as it does with any other company. We prefer to use FFO as the metric of profitability here, but the trends work the same otherwise.
The strongest REITs are going to be those with improving outlooks and great Zacks Ranks. So, let’s check out the REITs that our model says are impressive options right now:
1. Prologis, Inc. PLD
Prologis is a logistics real estate-focused REIT that leases distribution facilities to two core customer groups: retail/online fulfillment and business-to-business. The firm boasts that it operates in high-growth markets that also have high barriers to entry. Overall, Prologis, which operates in roughly 19 countries, seems to have found a solid niche within the real estate market, as delivery and e-commerce expands in the Amazon AMZN age. PLD shares have soared over 37% in 2019 to crush its industry’s 20% average climb, and Prologis stock just hit a new 52-week intraday trading high of $82.04 on Tuesday.
Prologis is coming off a better-than-projected first quarter of 2019. Looking ahead, our current Zacks Consensus Estimate calls for the firm’s second quarter revenue to jump nearly 30% to $705.5 million, which is projected to lift its FFO by 8.5% to $0.77. Prologis’ adjusted full-year FFO is projected to jump 6.3% on the back of over 19% revenue growth. PLD has also seen a ton of positive bottom-line revisions recently to help the firm earn a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at the moment. Prologis currently pays an annualized dividend of $2.12, for a yield of 2.62%.
2. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. MAA
Mid-America Apartment Communities’ business model is pretty evident from its name. The Germantown, Tennessee-based REIT operates apartment communities throughout ‘high-growth’ regions in the Southeast, Southwest, and Mid-Atlantic. In fact, as of the end of March, MAA held ownership interest in a total 101,954 apartment homes, which includes those in communities under development, across 17 states and D.C. Like Prologis, MAA is coming off top and bottom-line beats in Q1. Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities are now up 24% in 2019 and 23% over the last 12 months.
Last quarter, the firm declared its 101st consecutive quarterly common dividend at an annual rate of $3.84 per common share, and MAA’s dividend yield currently rests at an impressive 3.23%. MAA’s P/E ratio of 19.1 also marks a slight discount compared to its industry’s average. The company’s current full-year revenue is projected to jump 3.5% to $1.63 billion, with the following year expected to come in 3% higher than our current-year estimate. At the bottom end, MAA’s FFO is projected to pop 3% this year and 2.8% above that next year. Mid-America Apartment Communities has also seen its longer-term FFO estimate revision activity trend upward recently to help it earn a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
3. NexPoint Residential Trust, Inc NXRT
NexPoint Residential is an externally advised REIT that operates in the multifamily space, mostly in the Southeast and Texas. The company aims to own and operate properties with well-paying jobs in the area that also have a limited supply of new affordable housing. This allows them to stand out through high-quality “life-style” amenities. Shares of the Dallas, Texas-based firm have soared 50% in the past year to destroy its industry’s 11% average. NXRT stock opened at $40.71 per share Tuesday, just below its their 52-week intraday trading high of $41.91.
Moving on, NexPoint’s full-year adjusted FFO is projected to climb 10.6% to $2.08 per share. Meanwhile, the company’s fiscal 2019 revenue is expected to surge 17.1% to hit $171.62 million. NexPoint’s price/sales ratio of 6.27 rests below its industry’s average of 6.56. The firm currently pays an annualized dividend of $1.10 a share, for a yield of 2.71%. NexPoint is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) right now that sports an “A” grade for Growth in our Style Scores system.
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit PotentialThe biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of+98%,+119%and+164%in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportAmazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (MAA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportNexPoint Residential Trust, Inc. (NXRT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportPrologis, Inc. (PLD) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Don't Sell FirstCash, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) Before You Read This
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
This article is written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll look at FirstCash, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:FCFS) P/E ratio and reflect on what it tells us about the company's share price.What is FirstCash's P/E ratio?Well, based on the last twelve months it is 28.08. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 3.6%.
Check out our latest analysis for FirstCash
Theformula for P/Eis:
Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)
Or for FirstCash:
P/E of 28.08 = $98.3 ÷ $3.5 (Based on the year to March 2019.)
The higher the P/E ratio, the higher the price tag of a business, relative to its trailing earnings. All else being equal, it's better to pay a low price -- but as Warren Buffett said, 'It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.'
Earnings growth rates have a big influence on P/E ratios. If earnings are growing quickly, then the 'E' in the equation will increase faster than it would otherwise. And in that case, the P/E ratio itself will drop rather quickly. And as that P/E ratio drops, the company will look cheap, unless its share price increases.
FirstCash saw earnings per share improve by -8.5% last year. And earnings per share have improved by 3.1% annually, over the last five years.
One good way to get a quick read on what market participants expect of a company is to look at its P/E ratio. The image below shows that FirstCash has a significantly higher P/E than the average (9) P/E for companies in the consumer finance industry.
That means that the market expects FirstCash will outperform other companies in its industry. The market is optimistic about the future, but that doesn't guarantee future growth. So further research is always essential. I often monitordirector buying and selling.
Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.
Spending on growth might be good or bad a few years later, but the point is that the P/E ratio does not account for the option (or lack thereof).
Net debt totals 12% of FirstCash's market cap. That's enough debt to impact the P/E ratio a little; so keep it in mind if you're comparing it to companies without debt.
FirstCash's P/E is 28.1 which is above average (17.6) in the US market. With debt at prudent levels and improving earnings, it's fair to say the market expects steady progress in the future.
Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. If the reality for a company is better than it expects, you can make money by buying and holding for the long term. So thisfreevisual report on analyst forecastscould hold the key to an excellent investment decision.
Of courseyou might be able to find a better stock than FirstCash. So you may wish to see thisfreecollection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Tell us: How do you feel about the police response to the Toronto Raptors parade shooting?
TORONTO, ON - JUNE 17: Police officers attend to an injured person after a shooting occurred during the Toronto Raptors Championship Victory Parade on June 17, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario. According to Toronto Police, Four people were reportedly injured in a shooting during the victory parade at Nathan Philip's square. None of the injuries were life threatening, three people were arrested and two firearms recovered. (Photo by Yu Ruidong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images) As Toronto celebrated the historic NBA championship win for the Raptors, a frightening event shook up the city. Officials confirmed that a shooting occurred near Nathan Phillips Square during the ceremony, following the parade throughout downtown Toronto to celebrate the Raptors first NBA title in franchise history. Four victims sustained non-life threatening injuries and three people have been arrested in connection with the shooting. SHOOTING: Nathan Phillip's Square **Update** -4 victims located -None of the injuries are life threatening -3 people arrested -2 firearms recovered -Investigators wish any video to assist in investigation -Please use portal: https://t.co/NGv3aZdlDO ^dh Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) June 17, 2019 Thousands of people were in the area and a large group could be seen running from the celebration, trying to get away from the scene of the shooting as quickly as possible. There was a brief delay in the ceremony as the shooting was announced on stage to the public, but speeches and celebrations continued throughout the afternoon. I was recording moments before it happened and captured the 4 gunshots!! pic.twitter.com/ZOFtgaKcDo Liz Quemada (@LizQuemada) June 17, 2019 Warning: bad language. Fans started running on Bay Street. #WeTheNorh pic.twitter.com/VpfOkEV5pz Antonella Artuso (@suntooz) June 17, 2019 #NEW Video sent by a viewer to CP24 shows the moment one of the suspects were taken down by Toronto Police and TTC Special Constables. Toronto Police now say 4 people were injured in the Raptors parade shooting and 3 were arrested. 2 weapons recovered. pic.twitter.com/om74oEBpp5 Kris Pangilinan (@KrisReports) June 17, 2019 Toronto Mayor John Tory took released a statement Monday evening condemning the attack and thanking officers for their quick response. Story continues My statement on today's shooting. pic.twitter.com/3FI01vhaKV John Tory (@JohnTory) June 17, 2019 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also released a statement on Twitter to praise Toronto Police for acting so quickly. I hope all those injured in todays shooting have a speedy recovery, and Id like to thank the Toronto Police for acting so quickly. We wont let this act of violence take away from the spirit of today's parade. Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 18, 2019 Others took to social media to share mixed response to the police reaction to the shooting, citing everything from a quick reaction to a lack of planning. Have to commend the Police officers excellent work Raj Balasingham (@RajBalasingham) June 18, 2019 ZERO planning by @TPSOperations @cityoftoronto and @Raptors Pathetic and unsafe. Your officers did what they had to but wouldnt have had to do so much had you put one ounce of planning into this parade. Embarrassing on all fronts. The Guggemeister (@googz80) June 18, 2019 I saw the exact moment they took one of the suspects down at the Eaton Centre entrance off Queen. He got past the first 4 officers going in to the mall (heavily armed)and the officer on the bike outside recognized him and threw his bike down and grabbed his arm.Officer was a hero FACT CHECKER (@FLYpina) June 18, 2019 I just want to commend the force and officers today. I cant imagine how hard it must've been to do your jobs in such a large crowd. Great work salvaging the parade in the face of such difficult circumstances. David (@therajimahal) June 18, 2019 We were at the @raptors parade yesterday when the shooting happened. We ended up in lockdown in an office building. It was very scary. But while everyone was running AWAY from the gunshots, @TorontoPolice were running TOWARDS the gunshots. Our first responders are true heroes. pic.twitter.com/nNY1t1lqau Anthony McLean (@anthonymclean) June 18, 2019 After the unfortunate #raptorsvictoryparade shooting, this little girl was trampled from people leaving the square. This officer saw her scraped elbow, and got down to clean it and give her a Band-Aid. #RaptorsParade #RaptorsParade shooting @Raptors @TorontoPolice pic.twitter.com/YK1kiHB6fr Josiah Botting (@jbotting347) June 18, 2019 What do you think of the police response to the shooting in Toronto? Vote in the poll above and leave your thoughts in the comments below. View comments |
Can We See Significant Institutional Ownership On The Richardson Electronics, Ltd. (NASDAQ:RELL) Share Register?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
The big shareholder groups in Richardson Electronics, Ltd. (NASDAQ:RELL) have power over the company. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies. We also tend to see lower insider ownership in companies that were previously publicly owned.
With a market capitalization of US$67m, Richardson Electronics is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. In the chart below below, we can see that institutional investors have bought into the company. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about RELL.
See our latest analysis for Richardson Electronics
Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.
As you can see, institutional investors own 38% of Richardson Electronics. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone, since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Richardson Electronics's historic earnings and revenue, below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
It looks like hedge funds own 15% of Richardson Electronics shares. That's interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board; and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board, themselves.
Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Richardson Electronics, Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just US$67m, and the board has only US$586k worth of shares in their own names. I generally like to see a board more invested. However it might be worth checkingif those insiders have been buying.
The general public holds a 46% stake in RELL. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.
I always like to check for ahistory of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart ofhistoric revenue and earnings in thisdetailed graph.
Of course,you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere.So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Do Institutions Own Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Shares?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
The big shareholder groups in Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) have power over the company. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. Companies that have been privatized tend to have low insider ownership.
Bank of Montreal is a pretty big company. It has a market capitalization of CA$64b. Normally institutions would own a significant portion of a company this size. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about BMO.
View our latest analysis for Bank of Montreal
Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.
Bank of Montreal already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own 47% of the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone, since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Bank of Montreal's historic earnings and revenue, below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Bank of Montreal. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board; and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board, themselves.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
Our information suggests that Bank of Montreal insiders own under 1% of the company. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own CA$38m worth of shares. In this sort of situation, it can be more interesting tosee if those insiders have been buying or selling.
The general public, mostly retail investors, hold a substantial 53% stake in BMO, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. With this size of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to decline an acquisition or merger that may not improve profitability.
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too.
I like to dive deeperinto how a company has performed in the past. You can findhistoric revenue and earnings in thisdetailed graph.
If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss thisfreereport on analyst forecasts.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
U.S. regulator accuses head of defunct British bitcoin company of $147 million fraud
By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. commodities regulator has filed a lawsuit accusing a defunct British cryptocurrency company and its former principal of fraudulently misappropriating at least 22,858,322 bitcoin worth $147 million from more than 1,000 customers.
In a complaint filed on Monday, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Control-Finance Ltd and Benjamin Reynolds "exploited public enthusiasm" for bitcoin by falsely representing that their "expert" traders could generate profits of 1.5 percent a day, or 45 percent a month, from it.
The CFTC said the defendants in reality did no trading and made no profits for customers, even as they promised rewards in the form of bitcoin for referring new customers.
Control-Finance and Reynolds were also accused of creating "sham" customer account balances and profit statements, and making "Ponzi scheme-like payments" to customers requesting withdrawals to conceal the fraud and feign profitability.
It was unclear on Tuesday whether Reynolds has a lawyer, and Reynolds could not immediately be reached for comment.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. district court in Manhattan, seeks civil fines, restitution, an injunction against further violations of U.S. commodity laws, and other remedies.
Losses from cryptocurrency theft or misappropriation totaled about $1.21 billion in the first quarter of 2019, or about 70 percent of the total for all of 2018, the cybersecurity firm CipherTrace said in April.
Control-Finance was dissolved by a British regulator in February 2018, the complaint said.
The case is Commodity Futures Trading Commission v Control-Finance Ltd, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 18-05631.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) |
Imagine Owning MCAN Mortgage (TSE:MKP) And Wondering If The 12% Share Price Slide Is Justified
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
Passive investing in an index fund is a good way to ensure your own returns roughly match the overall market. Active investors aim to buy stocks that vastly outperform the market - but in the process, they risk under-performance. That downside risk was realized byMCAN Mortgage Corporation(TSE:MKP) shareholders over the last year, as the share price declined 12%. That contrasts poorly with the market return of 0.3%. On the other hand, the stock is actuallyup10% over three years.
Check out our latest analysis for MCAN Mortgage
There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.
Unhappily, MCAN Mortgage had to report a 2.3% decline in EPS over the last year. The share price decline of 12% is actually more than the EPS drop. So it seems the market was too confident about the business, a year ago. The P/E ratio of 9.46 also points to the negative market sentiment.
The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).
We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at ourfreereport on MCAN Mortgage's earnings, revenue and cash flow.
When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference betweentotal shareholder return(TSR) andshare price return. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for MCAN Mortgage the TSR over the last year was -4.0%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!
MCAN Mortgage shareholders are down 4.0% for the year (even including dividends), but the market itself is up 0.3%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 11% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. It is all well and good that insiders have been buying shares, but we suggest youcheck here to see what price insiders were buying at.
MCAN Mortgage is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to findwinning investmentsthisfreelist of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on CA exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Trump hints that Fed should match possible ECB rate cuts
Early onTuesday the European Central Bank suggestedthat it could move soon to ease its monetary policy, and President Donald Trump is challenging the Federal Reserve to do the same.
In a series of tweets Tuesday morning, Trump appeared to criticize the ECB for “unfairly” devaluing the Euro against the U.S. dollar. A weaker Euro makes it more expensive for Europeans to buy U.S. exports, hurting the administration’s efforts to reduce the trade deficit.
On Tuesday morning, ECB President Mario Draghipledged “additional stimulus”if the central bank continued to see downside risks to the Euro area.
Trump twice pointed out that European stock markets jumped on the news, reiterating another two times that he saw the ECB’s move as “unfair.”
The president’s tweets come as Fed officials convene in Washington for its June Federal Open Market Committee meeting, when policymakers are expected to hold rates steady but leave the door open to rate cuts later this year.
In line with previous calls to lower rates, Trump’s tweets suggest the Fed should counter the ECB’s move with our own round of rate cuts. In doing so, Trump hopes that lower rates would take some steam out of a rising dollar and provide a boost to the equities markets, a metric that Trump loves to benchmark his presidency against.
Draghi’s remarks expressed the view that economic conditions may not improve in the Euro area, saying that economic indicators point to “lingering softness” in future quarters.
“In the absence of improvement, such that the sustained return of inflation to our aim is threatened, additional stimulus will be required,” Draghi said.
The U.S. Dollar strengthened against the Euro on the news.
In general, higher interest rates relative to a foreign country’s interest rates makes the domestic currency stronger. Because the U.S. offers a higher interest rate on investments, those in Europe have found it more attractive to invest in U.S. assets. The foreign demand for U.S. dollars thus drives the value of the dollar up, relative to the Euro.
A stronger dollar makes it easier for U.S. buyers to purchase goods that are invoiced in devalued foreign currencies. But it also makes it more expensive for foreign buyers to buy U.S. dollar-denominated goods, which could hurt U.S. exports.
Trump’s suggested solution? Counteract with rate cuts of our own.
The president has used the same rhetoric in his trade war with China. He argued in May that Fed Chairman Jerome Powellshould “match” China’s accommodative monetary policyto absorb the shock of tariffs and “win” the trade conflict.
But Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex, told Yahoo Finance that Trump is missing the fact that exports are affected by far more factors than interest rates. Chandler said the tariffs risk a global slowdown in trade, which would present more negative risk than a “marginal move” in the strength of the U.S. dollar.
“It’s President Trump and other people who don’t fully understand how the currency markets work,” Chandler said of the rhetoric around foreign exchange.
But Chandler acknowledged that a weaker dollar and lower interest rates are popular with the U.S. electorate, adding that it fits with the president’s goals of boosting exports and producing gains in the stock market.
By pointing to the index gains in European markets, Trump is hinting to the Fed that they too can juice equities if they cut rates.
On the heels of the Draghi speech, the German DAX Performance Index closed 2.03% higher to 12,331.75 and the French CAC 40 ended the day up 2.20% to 5,509.73.
In aninterview with ABC News last week, Trump speculated that the stock market would be 10,000 points higher “if [Powell] didn’t do tightening, if he did nothing or perhaps even loosened.” Tightening refers to the Fed’s process of undoing the asset purchases it made in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
Trump has been unhappy with the Fed’s decision to raise rates four times in 2018, arguing that GDP growth would be higher if the Fed reduced rates by as much as 100 basis points or resumedquantitative easing. Bloombergreported Tuesdaythat Trump was so displeased with Powell that the White House explored the legality of “demoting” him to a governor position back in February. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Bloomberg that such a demotion is not currently under consideration.
For the Fed’s part, policymakers have cautiously indicated that they are prepared to support the economy if trade matters or underlying economic data point to a slowdown. Still, the Fed is not expected to change the target federal funds rate from its current range of between 2.25% and 2.5%. As of Tuesday afternoon, Fed funds futures contracts were pricing in a 22.5% chance of a rate cut at the conclusion of tomorrow’s meeting.
—
Brian Cheung is a reporter covering the banking industry and the intersection of finance and policy for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter@bcheungz.
• Federal Reserve may lose 'patience' on Wednesday
• FOMC Preview: Threading the needle on rate changes for July
• The battle of US banking giants could be won in Charlotte
• Lael Brainard: Regulators may be 'whittling away' at financial stability
• Lael Brainard: There's 'no destination point' for full employment
• Congress may have accidentally freed nearly all banks from the Volcker Rule
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,SmartNews,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit. |
Calculating The Fair Value Of Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. I will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!
Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of theSimply Wall St analysis model.
View our latest analysis for Bloomin' Brands
We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.
Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:
[{"": "Levered FCF ($, Millions)", "2019": "$131.37", "2020": "$156.83", "2021": "$177.48", "2022": "$195.29", "2023": "$210.60", "2024": "$223.89", "2025": "$235.61", "2026": "$246.18", "2027": "$255.92", "2028": "$265.11"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2019": "Analyst x3", "2020": "Analyst x3", "2021": "Est @ 13.16%", "2022": "Est @ 10.03%", "2023": "Est @ 7.84%", "2024": "Est @ 6.31%", "2025": "Est @ 5.24%", "2026": "Est @ 4.48%", "2027": "Est @ 3.96%", "2028": "Est @ 3.59%"}, {"": "Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 12.42%", "2019": "$116.85", "2020": "$124.09", "2021": "$124.91", "2022": "$122.25", "2023": "$117.27", "2024": "$110.90", "2025": "$103.81", "2026": "$96.48", "2027": "$89.21", "2028": "$82.20"}]
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= $1.09b
"Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St
We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 10-year government bond rate (2.7%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 12.4%.
Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$265m × (1 + 2.7%) ÷ (12.4% – 2.7%) = US$2.8b
Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= $US$2.8b ÷ ( 1 + 12.4%)10= $871.23m
The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is $1.96b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding.This results in an intrinsic value estimate of $21.36. Compared to the current share price of $19.68, the company appears about fair value at a 7.9% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.
The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Bloomin' Brands as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 12.4%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.626. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.
Whilst important, DCF calculation shouldn’t be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Bloomin' Brands, There are three additional factors you should look at:
1. Financial Health: Does BLMN have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk.
2. Future Earnings: How does BLMN's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with ourfree analyst growth expectation chart.
3. Other High Quality Alternatives: Are there other high quality stocks you could be holding instead of BLMN? Exploreour interactive list of high quality stocksto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the NASDAQ every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks justsearch here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Need To Know: Salisbury Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAL) Insiders Have Been Selling Shares
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares inSalisbury Bancorp, Inc.(NASDAQ:SAL).
It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.
Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Harvard Universitystudyfound that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.'
View our latest analysis for Salisbury Bancorp
The Director, Michael Gordon, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$63k worth of shares at a price of US$42.00 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$40.34. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.
In the last twelve months insiders netted US$136k for 3250 shares sold. In the last year Salisbury Bancorp insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love thisfreelist of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
We have seen a bit of insider selling at Salisbury Bancorp, over the last three months. Amy Raymond sold just US$19k worth of shares in that time. It's not great to see insider selling, nor the lack of recent buyers. But the amount sold isn't enough for us to put any weight on it.
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 9.9% of Salisbury Bancorp shares, worth about US$11m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.
Our data shows a little more insider selling, but no insider buying, in the last three months. But given the selling was modest, we're not worried. Recent insider selling makes us a little nervous, in light of the broader picture of Salisbury Bancorp insider transactions. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at thisFREEreport showing analyst forecasts for Salisbury Bancorp.
Of course,you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere.So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Why 'we can't stop' with just making Facebook split up
Facebook’s (FB) unveiling of its newCalibra cryptocurrency projectis drawing more scrutiny for the social network, even as calls grow for the company to be split into its parts.
EconomistHal Singertold Yahoo Finance a break-up should be the “last option,” but he says Facebook inflicts serious harm on consumers and competitors – and carving out WhatsApp and Instagram should be considered.
“In hindsight, allowing Facebook to buy up nascent rival platforms Instagram and WhatsApp was a colossal mistake,” Singer, managing director at Econ One Research, said on Yahoo Finance’s “The First Trade.” But “we can’t stop” with just making Facebook break up.
Facebook’s “entire business model is based around exploiting user data,” he said. “If we’re trying to solve data exploitation by a social media behemoth, we need privacy regulations.”
In recent months, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has turned his focus to private communications, promising a “major shift in how we run this company.” Even he acknowledged that the public might not believe him, telling the F8 Conference that Facebook doesn’t “exactly have the strongest reputation on privacy right now, to put it lightly. But I’m committed to doing this well and starting a new chapter for our product.”
For Singer, there’s a deeper issue atFacebook than just privacy, though. Startups have complained thatthey’re falling victimto a company looking to win at all costs, and one that seeks outcompetitors and steals their ideasto build competing functionality.
“If startups can’t explain to investors how they can prevent that appropriation from occurring, they’re not getting funding in Silicon Valley,” Singer said. That poses a real risk to the kind of innovation the economy demands.
Still, going after Facebook and others with antitrust claims may not be helpful. A case could take up to a decade to wind its way through the courts, and even then may not be successful. New regulations can move much faster and may even have a better outcome for the company and for its competitors.
“I think that antitrust can help certainly on the margins,” said Singer, who is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown Business School. “We certainly could always benefit from more competition, but more competition by itself is not going to solve this problem.”
Federal lawmakers are set to probe the country’s largest tech companies over their allegedly anti-competitive practices, theWall Street Journal reportedlast week. The Federal Trade Commission has secured jurisdiction over Facebook and Amazon, while the Justice Department will look at Google and Apple. Consumer advocacy groups, including the Electronic Privacy Information Center,urged the FTC to pursuea breakup of Facebook earlier this year.
—
Read more:
What a Facebook breakup would mean for investors
Facebook's cryptocurrency project is called Calibra, will launch in 2020
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit. |
Facebook plans its own currency for 2 billion-plus users
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook already rules daily communication for more than 2 billion people around the world. Now it wants its own currency, too. The social network unveiled an ambitious plan Tuesday to create a new digital currency similar to Bitcoin for global use, one that could drive more e-commerce on its services and boost ads on its platforms. But the effort, which Facebook is launching with partners including PayPal, Uber, Spotify, Visa and Mastercard, could also complicate matters for the beleaguered social network. Facebook is currently under federal investigation over its privacy practices, and along with other technology giants also faces a new antitrust probe in Congress . Creating its own globe-spanning currency — one that could conceivably threaten banks, national currencies and the privacy of users — isn't likely to dampen regulators' interest in Facebook. "It's a bold and strategic move that has clear risks as well as opportunities tied to it," said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives. "This could raise further yellow flags as more regulators focus on Facebook." David Marcus, the head of Facebook's cryptocurrency operation, said in a tweet Tuesday that Facebook is creating a separate subsidiary, Calibra, to handle the new currency. He said feedback from customers has been "loud and clear" about keeping social media and financial data separate. "We understand we will have to earn your trust," he wrote. The digital currency, called Libra, is scheduled to launch in the next six to 12 months. Facebook is taking the lead on building Libra and its underlying technology; its more than two dozen partners will help fund, build and govern the system. Facebook hopes to raise as much as $1 billion from existing and future partners to support the effort. Company officials emphasized that Libra is a way of sending money across borders without incurring significant fees, such as those charged by Western Union and other international money-transfer services. Fees typically start at a few dollars but can be much higher when paying with a credit card. Shares in Western Union fell 2% in morning trading. Story continues Libra could also open up online commerce to huge numbers of people around the world who currently don't have bank accounts or credit cards. "If you fast forward a number of years, consumers all over the world will have the ability to access the world economy," Marcus said in an interview with The Associated Press. Facebook also could use its own currency to drive more people to make purchases from ads on its social media sites, said Gartner analyst Avivah Litan, who based her comments on press reports about Libra that preceded Facebook's formal announcement. "This is about fostering more sales within an ad to get more business from advertisers to make ads more interesting on Facebook," she said. Backing by familiar corporations might also make Libra the first Bitcoin-like currency with mass appeal. Such "cryptocurrencies" have generally failed to catch on despite a devout following among curious investors and innovators. Bitcoin itself remains shrouded in secrecy and fraud concerns, not to mention wild value fluctuations, making it unappealing for the average shopper. Libra will be different, Facebook says, in part because its value will be pegged to a basket of established currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, the euro, the yen and others. Each purchase of Libra will be backed by a reserve fund of equal value held in real-world currencies to stabilize Libra's value. Wedbush analyst Ives said how well it is received will boil down to execution and "how comfortable consumers feel around Facebook and cryptocurrency." To be sure, recent history reminds us that many big Facebook announcements never really take off. Two years ago, for instance, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised that " augmented reality ," in which phones and other devices project digital images into real-world surroundings, would be a major focus for the company. Such AR applications remain all but invisible today. Same goes for the online shopping chatbots that Zuckerberg unveiled a year earlier, saying they would revolutionize e-commerce in its Messenger app. Facebook won't run Libra directly; instead, the company and its partners are forming a nonprofit called the Libra Association, headquartered in Geneva, that will oversee the new currency and its use. The association will be regulated by Swiss financial authorities, Facebook said. "No single company should operate this," Marcus said. "It should be a public good." Facebook's new Calibra subsidiary is developing a digital wallet app to make it easier for people to buy, send and use Libra. Libra partners will create incentives to get people and merchants to use the coin. That could range from Uber discounts to a Libra bonus paid when users set up a Calibra wallet, although the companies haven't laid out specifics. Many privacy questions remain unanswered, though. Cryptocurrencies such as Libra store all transactions on a widely distributed, encrypted "ledger" known as the blockchain. That could make the Libra blockchain a permanent record of all purchases or cash transfers every individual makes, even if they're stored under pseudonyms rather than real names. Facebook said people can keep their individual transactions from appearing on the blockchain by using Calibra's wallet app, though in that case, Calibra would have your data instead. Calibra pledges that it won't share transaction data from details of Libra user's financials with Facebook unless compelled to do so in criminal cases. Still, if people are using Facebook products to buy things and send money, it's possible Facebook will be able to track some data about shopping and money transferring habits. Calibra won't require users to have a Facebook account to use Libra. And it will allow people to send Libra back and forth on two of Facebook's core messaging apps — WhatsApp and Messenger. Instagram messages won't be included, at least at first. Earlier this year, Zuckerberg announced a new privacy-focused vision for the company after months of backlash for its treatment of personal customer information. Zuckerberg's vision — which has mostly not been detailed publicly — will rely heavily on privacy-shielded messaging apps in an attempt to make the services more about private, one-to-one connections. Many analysts believe Zuckerberg wants to create a U.S. version of the Chinese service WeChat, which combines social networking, messaging and payments in a single app. Libra would take Facebook a step closer to that end. ___ AP Technology Writer Mae Anderson in New York contributed to this report. |
Why Raven Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:RAVN) Is A Top Dividend Stock
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
Dividend paying stocks like Raven Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:RAVN) tend to be popular with investors, and for good reason - some research suggests a significant amount of all stock market returns come from reinvested dividends. If you are hoping to live on the income from dividends, it's important to be a lot more stringent with your investments than the average punter.
A slim 1.5% yield is hard to get excited about, but the long payment history is respectable. At the right price, or with strong growth opportunities, Raven Industries could have potential. The company also bought back stock during the year, equivalent to approximately 0.6% of the company's market capitalisation at the time. There are a few simple ways to reduce the risks of buying Raven Industries for its dividend, and we'll go through these below.
Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Raven Industries!
Companies (usually) pay dividends out of their earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, the dividend might have to be cut. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. In the last year, Raven Industries paid out 44% of its profit as dividends. This is a middling range that strikes a nice balance between paying dividends to shareholders, and retaining enough earnings to invest in future growth. Besides, if reinvestment opportunities dry up, the company has room to increase the dividend.
We also measure dividends paid against a company's levered free cash flow, to see if enough cash was generated to cover the dividend. Of the free cash flow it generated last year, Raven Industries paid out 38% as dividends, suggesting the dividend is affordable. It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.
Consider gettingour latest analysis on Raven Industries's financial position here.
From the perspective of an income investor who wants to earn dividends for many years, there is not much point buying a stock if its dividend is regularly cut or is not reliable. Raven Industries has been paying dividends for a long time, but for the purpose of this analysis, we only examine the past 10 years of payments. During this period the dividend has been stable, which could imply the business could have relatively consistent earnings power. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was US$0.28 in 2009, compared to US$0.52 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 6.4% per year over this time.
Dividends have grown at a reasonable rate over this period, and without any major cuts in the payment over time, we think this is an attractive combination.
Dividend payments have been consistent over the past few years, but we should always check if earnings per share (EPS) are growing, as this will help maintain the purchasing power of the dividend. Raven Industries's earnings per share have been essentially flat over the past five years. Flat earnings per share are acceptable for a time, but over the long term, the purchasing power of the company's dividends could be eroded by inflation. Raven Industries is paying out less than half of its earnings, which we like. Earnings per share growth have grown slowly, which is not great, but if the retained earnings can be reinvested effectively, future growth may be stronger.
Dividend investors should always want to know if a) a company's dividends are affordable, b) if there is a track record of consistent payments, and c) if the dividend is capable of growing. Firstly, we like that Raven Industries has low and conservative payout ratios. Earnings growth has been limited, but we like that the dividend payments have been fairly consistent. Overall we think Raven Industries scores well on our analysis. It's not quite perfect, but we'd definitely be keen to take a closer look.
Are management backing themselves to deliver performance? Check their shareholdings in Raven Industries inour latest insider ownership analysis.
We have also put together alist of global stocks with a market capitalisation above $1bn and yielding more 3%.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
How to make better decisions, according to a behavioral economist
James Holzhauer’s run on “Jeopardy” was impressive for many reasons, not least because the professional gambler knows a ridiculous amount of trivia.
But above all, the champion, who walked away with over $2.4 million in 33 appearances, won because of how he played — not just with panache, but by sticking to a well-thought-out plan of betting without fear.
There’s a lot to learn from his performance, like the fact thatplaying things too safe is actually very risky. But there’s an even more obvious direct parallel: having an understanding of behavioral economics and how we can use it to improve our own decision-making — to create a better strategy and to stick with it.
First off, it’s not about being a robot-like, emotionless actor.
“It’s a bit of a myth that emotion is a counter to reason,” says Dr. Deborah Small, a professor at the Wharton School who studies behavioral economics. According to Small, it’s an incredibly important part of the equation and could cause serious problems if it’s not given its due.
Emotion, it’s almost too obvious to say, is very useful for helping you evaluate how important outcomes are. If you have a strong aversion to a certain outcome, you can make sure that is taken into account when making a decision.
The obvious downside to emotions, however, is that they can lead people astray.
People — likeWarren Buffett, for example — frequently talkabout how much moneyyou’d have if you invest in an S&P 500 index fund and didn’t touch it for 30 to 40 years. And if you have an automatic contribution every paycheck, you’ll be even richer.
At the same time, temptations to ditch the conventional wisdom and instead try to pick the best stock and buy it at the best moment are siren-like in practice.
The kind of emotion that often leads us astray is when we plan to pursue a certain behavior or strategy and all of a sudden, in the heat of the moment, emotion prevents us from seeing the big picture and causes us to change course.
“What [Jeopardy’s Holzhauer] did, which was really effective, is that he stuck to his rules in the heat of the moment, when fear might have led him to change his preferences,” says Small.
Small says that the best solution is to do everything possible to take the longer view – in the case of investing, that means the market goes up over the long term. That’s why losing the password to your 401(k) account for a while can sometimes be for the best.
The concept of “choice bracketing” is one effective way to promote this sort of long term-ism. Each decision — no matter how inconsequential or scary it seems — is a part of a larger picture that matters, says Small. Broadly grouping choices together helps shed light on the effects over time of a certain strategy. One cigarette doesn’t matter, but 20,000 might; saving 10% of a paycheck might not be much, but years saving from every paycheck might; selling now might protect your nest egg for the near future, but it might hurt you in the long run.
“Narrow bracketing, on the other hand,” reads the1999 studyin the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty that coined it, “is like fighting a war one battle at a time with no overall guiding strategy, and it can have similar consequences.”
Behavioral economists say this type of thinking can bring clarity to all kinds of decision-making — including financial decisions like retirement saving and sticking to a budget, and even decisions about your health — pretty much anything that involves self-control.
But bracketing only works well when there is a fundamental plan to fall back on. You cannot be comforted by sticking to a strategy that you don’t have or that’s not adequate.
“The more concrete detail [in the plan], the more likely you are to stick with it,” says Small. In any given moment, you might be faced with a decision precipitated by some unexpected changes. “If you haven’t thought about it before, aspects in the moment are going to matter more,” she says.
Another central tenet of behavioral finance is that we often do things that may be nice in the short run but not in the long run. A mini-industry of self-control apps and tools has popped up to help humans overcome their own worst enemies — themselves.
Apps like Acorns automatically save money for you. Employers push automatic 401(k) contributions. Bank apps let you put spending limits on cards and withdrawals. At the very minimum, these “commitment devices” make sure people take an extra step and time to reflect before overcoming or bypassing them.
“When people know they are going to give into self-control issues, they can limit their own choices to help themselves,” says Small. “A lot of those retirement programs are designed in many ways to make it extra costly to take money out, but it’s interesting when people do it to themselves.”
One odd trick Small heard was people who put their credit cards in a bowl of water and stuck it in the freezer. If they wanted to spend, they’d have to wait out a thawing period. There are apps that act as restraints to at least make sure some decisions get a little time for reflection.
Our tendency to prioritize the present over the future is another bias to get over. Newtechnologyhasemerged that uses virtual realityto help people get over a nearsighted bias of the present. If VR can help see them as an older person, approaching or in retirement, perhaps they will spare a thought for their future self.
Perhaps the most useful thing a person can do is take the time to understand themselves and how they think in decision-making circumstances.
“Self-awareness and awareness of cognitive biases in general leads to better decision-making,” says Small. “Part of it is because we can act on those things. Why would I be motivated to set up a ‘commitment device’?”
One simple way to help yourself combat potential pitfalls, can be as simple asjust knowing what they are.
A few useful ones to know about: Cognitive depletion and decision fatigue means we make poor decisions when we’re tired. Loss aversion means we feel very bad about losses, but only moderately positive about wins. Primacy bias often makes us focus on what we hear first. Status quo bias means we may simply prefer the familiar over the unfamiliar. The availability heuristic holds that we often judge probabilities based on the data that is immediately easy to find. The planning fallacy says people generally are bad about accounting for the unexpected, thinking that the plan will unfold as predicted.
-
Ethan Wolff-Mannis a writer at Yahoo Finance focusing on consumer issues, personal finance, retail, airlines, and more. Follow him on Twitter@ewolffmann.
Chase is removing the right of cardholders to sue — unless you opt out
Phone companies must adopt robocall-blocking tech by year end: FCC |
Canopy Growth Stock Has One Massive Lever: Job Growth
There are many ways of looking at the exciting but volatile marijuana industry. Based on my own admittedly anecdotal perspective, I’d guess that most people take the fundamental approach. For instance, they view companies likeCanopy Growth(NYSE:CGC) using traditional metrics like revenue and earnings growth. I think that has caused some of the wild trading in CGC stock and its peers.
Source: Shutterstock
If you were to divorce Canopy Growth stock from the potential full-legalization narrative, the picture would look rather bleak. For instance, Gurufocus.com has multiple red flags on the company’s equity, and for many good reasons. Against commonly utilized metrics for growth and stability, CGC ranks poorly.
After all, if Canopy stock wasn’t a marijuana play, who would invest in a company that went from a loss of less than $6 million in 2017 to over $300 million in the trailing 12-month period? Probably not too many.
InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips
• 7 Top-Rated Biotech Stocks to Invest In Today
Yet clearly, people are buying into the cannabis firm. For the year-to-date, the CGC stock price has skyrocketed nearly 58%. What then keeps speculators buying into an organization that is awash in red ink? It’s simple, really. They believe that eventually, the fierce headwinds will give way to untapped potential.
From that point-of-view, I believe the case for Canopy Growth stock makes sense despite the ugly print. Let’s be real: The reason why marijuana investments likeAurora Cannabis(NYSE:ACB) andHexo(AMEX:HEXO) have disappointed recently is Canada. Primarily, the northern market is too small. Secondarily, Canada has their own internal issues to work out, such as legalization of edible cannabis products.
But even if those issues are resolved soon, the real focus for CGC stock has always been the U.S.
On the surface, this is a bold statement for Canopy Growth stock. Under U.S. federal law, the government considers marijuana as aSchedule Idrug. That’s the major difference between our form of legalization and how the progressive Canadians do it: the feds essentially turn ablind eyeto individual states with favorable legislation, while the Canadians eliminated all pretenses.
Although Uncle Sam clearly has bigger problems to worry about, marijuana is still serious business. De-scheduling the maligned plant would conspicuously admit government failure in combating the war on drugs. As such, many domestic financial institutions refuse to touch cannabis businesses for fear of a crackdown. Obviously, this has kept a lid on the true potential for the CGC stock price.
And yet, I highly doubt that the federal government can hold onto its archaic drug-classification system. Interestingly, current geopolitical dynamics bolster the case for Canopy Growth stock and its peers. At the end of the day, President Trump’s aggressive foreign policy stance kills jobs. On the other hand, marijuana literally grows them.
Aside from the economic pain resultant from the U.S.-China trade war, experts forecast that tensions could slashone million jobs. That’s a lot of Americans out of work. It’s especially unfavorable timing given next year’s election.
The easy solution? Full marijuana legalization. Last year, the weed industry contributed over 64,000 jobs. According to a report earlier this year fromCNBC, cannabis is thefastest-growingjob market in the nation. All in all, the plant known as Mary Jane has contributed 211,000full-timejobs.
But right now, the feds are playing Hanoi Jane with the American people, killing jobs and stifling new ones. I don’t think the information-savvy electorate will stand for that, which in turn benefits the longer-term case for the CGC stock price.
Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Lavery recently wrote to clients that he expects U.S. legalization “in the next 1.5-4.5 years.” I’m with him. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if legalization occurred within the quicker end of the estimate spectrum.
• 10 Tech Stocks to Buy Now for 2025
That’s because the Trump administration has very few good options here. If the Democrats haven’t completely lost their minds, they’d pick someone with a true counterpoint to Trump: read Andrew Yang. Even if they pick a stupidly obvious candidate like Joe Biden, nothing motivates voters more than pain to the wallet.
This is where Trumpism fails. The President can’t go around claiming America is great again if millions are out of work; millions, by the way, that went out of work because ofhispolicies. Again, the easy fix here is marijuana legalization, which is a proven job creator.
As the markets turn shaky on geopolitical tensions, I can’t help but think, hold on! Things will get a lot better for Canopy stock and the rest of the marijuana complex.
As of this writing, Josh Enomoto did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
• 4 Top American Penny Pot Stocks (Buy Before June 21)
• The 7 Best Tech Stocks to Buy for the Second Half of 2019
• 7 Top-Rated Biotech Stocks to Invest In Today
• 4 Semiconductor Stocks to Sell
Compare Brokers
The postCanopy Growth Stock Has One Massive Lever: Job Growthappeared first onInvestorPlace. |
Why Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) Could Be Worth Watching
Want to participate in a short research study ? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Valvoline Inc. ( NYSE:VVV ), which is in the chemicals business, and is based in United States, saw a double-digit share price rise of over 10% in the past couple of months on the NYSE. With many analysts covering the mid-cap stock, we may expect any price-sensitive announcements have already been factored into the stock’s share price. However, could the stock still be trading at a relatively cheap price? Let’s take a look at Valvoline’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists. Check out our latest analysis for Valvoline What is Valvoline worth? According to my valuation model, Valvoline seems to be fairly priced at around 1.73% above my intrinsic value, which means if you buy Valvoline today, you’d be paying a relatively reasonable price for it. And if you believe that the stock is really worth $18.85, there’s only an insignificant downside when the price falls to its real value. In addition to this, Valvoline has a low beta, which suggests its share price is less volatile than the wider market. Can we expect growth from Valvoline? NYSE:VVV Past and Future Earnings, June 18th 2019 Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. With profit expected to grow by 24% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Valvoline. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation. What this means for you: Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in VVV’s positive outlook, with shares trading around its fair value. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the financial strength of the company. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at the stock? Will you have enough confidence to invest in the company should the price drop below its fair value? Story continues Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on VVV, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around its fair value. However, the optimistic prospect is encouraging for the company, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop. Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters – the fundamentals – before you make a decision on Valvoline. You can find everything you need to know about Valvoline in the latest infographic research report . If you are no longer interested in Valvoline, you can use our free platform to see my list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential . We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com . This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
There are signs of stock market 'micro-bubbles'
The baby bubbles are forming out there in stock market land, and investors don’t have to look too far to find them.
The upside? The eventual bursting of said bubbles is unlikely to rock global financial markets, Wall Street pros Yahoo Finance have talked with say. Rather, the blowups could be relegated to the specific asset in question.
“It doesn’t look like anything you apply the bubble name to looks systemic in nature such that the bursting of it is going to take down the entire global financial system like housing did in 2007,” contended Charles Schwab chief investment strategist Liz Ann Sonders on Yahoo Finance’sThe First Trade.
To be sure, bubble spotting is back in focus on Wall Street as continued low interest rates (and the specter of rate cuts soon) sends investors in search of yield at almost any price. Take for instance, high-flying tech stocks such as Facebook (FB) and Amazon (AMZN) — despitefresh fears of new regulatory battles, the stock prices of each are up more than 10% in the past three months.
Keep in mind, neither big tech stock was cheap by any measure before that run.
Meanwhile, high-beta chip stock Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) — always a go-to momentum trade — has notched a 30% gain in the past three months. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) prices have almost doubled off the late-December 2018 lows.
Even otherwise defensive names such as Coca-Cola (KO) and PepsiCo (PEP) are up about 11% each in three months times. Similar to many tech names, neither of these stocks are cheap (and they certainly aren’t now).
And how can you overlook the insanely positive market reactions to new IPOs Beyond Meat (BYND), Crowdstrike (CRWD), Chewy (CHWY) and Fiverr (FVRR)? In short, you can’t — money has piled into these upstart companies with no regard to the fact none of them are making money.
“You might be able to call it a bit of a micro-bubble — that is a term I have been using over the past year to describe some of these micro-bubbles. You had it in short volatility [trades] in early 2018. You had it in the FANG [Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google] stocks. You had it in the cryptocurrencies,” Sonders said.
The positive is that when it comes to the overall markets, valuations don’t appear too stretched. That is giving Wall Street pros the ammunition to suggest the market could still push to new records this year even as it appears bubbles in certain sectors may explode.
“We don’t see anything akin to global catastrophe. Valuations aren’s extraordinary,” said New Wealth Management CEO Daryl Deke.
“I think there is some frothiness in the markets,” Deke acknowledged.
Somewhat — though not totally — reassuring.
Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-host of ‘The First Trade’ at Yahoo Finance. Follow Brian Sozzi him on Twitter@BrianSozzi
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
• Trump's trade war with China may shock investors this summer
• 2 black swans could come out of nowhere and kill stocks this summer
• Why scrapping Trump's corporate tax cuts could crush businesses
Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,SmartNews,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit. |
Cap’n Crunch Cotton Candy Cereal Is Real And You Can Buy It Right Now
Photo credit: Instagram @cereallife From Delish UPDATE: June 18, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. After months of anticipation , IT'S FINALLY HERE. Cap'n Crunch's new pink- and blue-hued Cotton Candy cereal is officially arriving in stores this month. And since there are only a few weeks left in the month, that means it's coming soon . The brand's limited-edition berry-flavored Red, White & Blue Crunch is also currently on shelves. Get ready. It's go time. ORIGINAL POST: April 7, 2019 at 10:04 a.m. Have you noticed that so many cereals are more dessert-like than breakfast? There’s Sour Patch Kids cereal and Lucky Charms Marshmallow cereal - need we say more? A new box of Cap’n Crunch is reportedly going to follow that trend with a new flavor: cotton candy. Cotton Candy Crunch cereal has been spotted by several Instagram accounts. First, @thejunkfoodaisle posted that the cereal was “coming soon,” although there was not an actual photo. Then, a day after that, @cerealouslynet posted what may have been to the first picture on social media of the cereal. Then, a day after the initial picture, another picture was posted from @cereallife . Still following? View this post on Instagram Cereal on a spoon is basically just airy candy on a stick already, right? Coming soon from Cap'n Crunch! Thanks to @thejunkfoodaisle for the tip and @mycountymarket for the photo! A post shared by Cerealously (@cerealouslynet) on Mar 28, 2019 at 4:46pm PDT The sweetened corn and oat cereal has pink and blue puffs, and a picture of the captain holding cotton candy. The pictured boxes have a “Sales Sample” disclaimer on the top left, meaning the final one may vary. Quaker has yet to confirm that the Cotton Candy Crunch cereal is hitting store shelves, but we know that Cap’n Crunch loves a new flavor, so we’re mentally willing this into fruition. ('You Might Also Like',) Crave Carbs? We Created This 21-Day Keto Plan Just for You Insanely Easy Weeknight Dinners To Try This Week 29 Insanely Delicious Vodka Cocktails |
Quotient Technology Inc. (NYSE:QUOT): Are Analysts Optimistic?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
Quotient Technology Inc.'s (NYSE:QUOT): Quotient Technology Inc., a digital marketing company, provides technology and services that offers integrated digital promotions and media programs for consumer packaged goods (CPGs) brands and retailers. The US$1.0b market-cap posted a loss in its most recent financial year of -US$28.3m and a latest trailing-twelve-month loss of -US$30.2m leading to an even wider gap between loss and breakeven. The most pressing concern for investors is QUOT’s path to profitability – when will it breakeven? Below I will provide a high-level summary of the industry analysts’ expectations for QUOT.
See our latest analysis for Quotient Technology
QUOT is bordering on breakeven, according to the 8 Online Retail analysts. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2020, before generating positive profits of US$13m in 2021. Therefore, QUOT is expected to breakeven roughly 2 years from today. How fast will QUOT have to grow each year in order to reach the breakeven point by 2021? Working backwards from analyst estimates, it turns out that they expect the company to grow 66% year-on-year, on average, which signals high confidence from analysts. Should the business grow at a slower rate, it will become profitable at a later date than expected.
Underlying developments driving QUOT’s growth isn’t the focus of this broad overview, but, keep in mind that by and large a high growth rate is not out of the ordinary, particularly when a company is in a period of investment.
One thing I would like to bring into light with QUOT is its relatively high level of debt. Typically, debt shouldn’t exceed 40% of your equity, which in QUOT’s case is 46%. A higher level of debt requires more stringent capital management which increases the risk around investing in the loss-making company.
There are key fundamentals of QUOT which are not covered in this article, but I must stress again that this is merely a basic overview. For a more comprehensive look at QUOT, take a look atQUOT’s company page on Simply Wall St. I’ve also put together a list of pertinent aspects you should look at:
1. Valuation: What is QUOT worth today? Has the future growth potential already been factored into the price? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether QUOT is currently mispriced by the market.
2. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look atwho sits on Quotient Technology’s board and the CEO’s back ground.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Veritone Inc (VERI) CEO, Chairman of the Board Chad Steelberg Bought $100,282 of Shares
CEO, Chairman of the Board of Veritone Inc (NASDAQ:VERI) Chad Steelberg bought 13,300 shares of VERI on 06/14/2019 at an average price of $7.54 a share. |
‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ 20th Anniversary To Pop Confetti At San Diego Comic-Con
SpongeBob SquarePants is bringing the 20th anniversary party down to San Diego Comic-Con with two panels, a theme-series booth on the floor, as well as daily activities. Still TBD whether Paramount will be showing footage down there from its upcoming animated feature The SpongeBob Movie: It’s a Wonderful Sponge, but it wouldn’t be a shocker. The movie opens on May 22, 2020. Related stories Marvel Cinematic Universe Planning A Return To Comic-Con's Hall H After 2018 Break: What Will They Bring? Nickelodeon Serves Up 'Good Burger' Pop-Up To Celebrate 'All That' Revival 'Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?' Premiere Draws 18-49 Audiences In Nick's Push For Co-Viewing The “SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout” panel will take a deep dive into the series with co-executive producers Vincent Waller and Marc Ceccarelli and voice actors Tom Kenny (SpongeBob), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Carolyn Lawrence(Sandy), Mr. Lawrence (Plankton) and Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs) as they talk about what it’s been like to portray their characters in front of the camera for the first time in this live action-animation hybrid special. Nickelodeon will also host a TMNT creator panel “To Shell and Back” celebrating three generations of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles creators. On tap are co-EP producers Andy Suriano and Ant Ward ( Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ), EP Ciro Nieli and legendary TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman. United for the first time, these award-winning creators will answer fan questions, share audience giveaways and unveil never-before-seen original TMNT art. Every day of the convention, Nick’s 1,800-square foot booth will feature an interactive game inside The Krusty Krab, where fans will go head to head to complete food orders in a race against the clock; a photo opportunity with a replica of Mrs. Puff’s Boating School; The Chum Bucket towering 22 feet tall over the retail area where attendees can buy Nick gear and collectibles, costumed character appearances and autograph signings with SpongeBob SquarePants cast members and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles creator and executive producers. Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . |
Is Now An Opportune Moment To Examine Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)?
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL), operating in the financial services industry based in United States, saw a double-digit share price rise of over 10% in the past couple of months on the NYSE. As a mid-cap stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. But what if there is still an opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Western Alliance Bancorporation’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.
See our latest analysis for Western Alliance Bancorporation
According to my relative valuation model, the stock seems to be currently fairly priced. I’ve used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there’s not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock’s ratio of 9.97x is currently trading slightly below its industry peers’ ratio of 12.66x, which means if you buy Western Alliance Bancorporation today, you’d be paying a fair price for it. And if you believe Western Alliance Bancorporation should be trading in this range, then there isn’t much room for the share price grow beyond where it’s currently trading. So, is there another chance to buy low in the future? Given that Western Alliance Bancorporation’s share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us an opportunity to buy later on. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.
Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s earnings growth are expected to be in the teens in the upcoming years, indicating a solid future ahead. This should lead to robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.
Are you a shareholder?It seems like the market has already priced in WAL’s positive outlook, with shares trading around its fair value. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at WAL? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuate below the true value?
Are you a potential investor?If you’ve been keeping an eye on WAL, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around its fair value. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for WAL, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.
Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters – the fundamentals – before you make a decision on Western Alliance Bancorporation. You can find everything you need to know about Western Alliance Bancorporation inthe latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in Western Alliance Bancorporation, you can use our free platform to see my list of over50 other stocks with a high growth potential.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Dish Network nearing $6 billion deal for T-Mobile-Sprint assets: Bloomberg
(Reuters) - Satellite TV provider Dish Network Corp is in talks to buy the wireless assets of T-Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp for at least $6 billion, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Dish could announce a deal as soon as this week for assets including wireless spectrum and Sprint's Boost Mobile brand, the Bloomberg report said, adding that it hasn't been finalized and talks could still fall through.
The U.S. Justice Department had wanted Sprint and T-Mobile to sell off additional assets including some wireless spectrum to create a new wireless competitor before agreeing to approve their $26.5 billion merger. A DOJ decision on the merger is expected this week.
Last week, Reuters reported that private equity group Apollo Global Management was in talks with Dish to finance a bid for the assets.
Dish has stockpiled wireless spectrum, or airwaves that carry data, and is facing a deadline next year to build a network that fulfils the license requirements or risk losing the license.
The company, controlled by founder Charlie Ergen, met with the Federal Communications Commission on June 11 to discuss the impact of the merger on its plans to enter the wireless market, according to a regulatory filing.
The DOJ declined to comment, while Sprint had no immediate comment. Dish and T-Mobile did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shares of Sprint were up 2.4% and T-Mobile 1%, while those of Dish were up marginally.
(Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma and Sayanti Chakraborty in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur) |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.