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What You Need To Know Before Investing In LTC Properties, Inc. (NYSE:LTC) Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! LTC Properties, Inc. is a US$1.9b small-cap, real estate investment trust (REIT) based in Westlake Village, United States. REITs own and operate income-generating property and adhere to a different set of regulations. This impacts how LTC’s business operates and also how we should analyse its stock. I’ll take you through some of the key metrics you should use in order to properly assess LTC. View our latest analysis for LTC Properties REIT investors should be familiar with the term Fund from Operations (FFO) – a REIT’s main source of cash flow from its day-to-day business activities. FFO is a higher quality measure of earnings because it takes out the impact of non-recurring sales and non-cash items such as depreciation. These items can distort the bottom line and not necessarily reflective of LTC’s daily operations. For LTC, its FFO of US$116m makes up 69% of its gross profit, which means the majority of its earnings are high-quality and recurring. In order to understand whether LTC has a healthy balance sheet, we have to look at a metric called FFO-to-total debt. This tells us how long it will take LTC to pay off its debt using its income from its main business activities, and gives us an insight into LTC’s ability to service its borrowings. With a ratio of 18%, the credit rating agency Standard & Poor would consider this as significantly high risk. This would take LTC 5.58 years to pay off using operating income alone. Given that long-term debt is a multi-year commitment this is not unusual, however, the longer it takes for a company to pay back debt, the higher the risk associated with that company. Next, interest coverage ratio shows how many times LTC’s earnings can cover its annual interest payments. Usually the ratio is calculated using EBIT, but for REITs, it’s better to use FFO divided by net interest. This is similar to the above concept, but looks at the nearer-term obligations. With an interest coverage ratio of 3.83x, it’s safe to say LTC is generating an appropriate amount of cash from its borrowings. In terms of valuing LTC, FFO can also be used as a form of relative valuation. Instead of the P/E ratio, P/FFO is used instead, which is very common for REIT stocks. In LTC’s case its P/FFO is 16.17x, compared to the long-term industry average of 16.5x, meaning that it is fairly valued. As a REIT, LTC Properties offers some unique characteristics which could help diversify your portfolio. However, before you decide on whether or not to invest in LTC, I highly recommend taking a look at other aspects of the stock to consider: 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for LTC’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor LTC’s outlook. 2. Valuation: What is LTC worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether LTC is currently mispriced by the market. 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.
Google has made its last tablet If you're someone who saw thepotential in the Pixel Slate,despite its software issues, we have some bad news. Google is no longer planning to make any tablet hardware going forward and will put all its resources behind laptops in the future. In a statement received by Engadget, a Google spokesperson said that "for Google's first-party hardware efforts, we'll be focusing on Chrome OS laptops and will continue to support Pixel Slate." Google's spokesperson also noted that the company will continue working with third-party hardware makers on Chrome OS for both laptops and tablets. This news came firstfrom JR Raphael atComputerworld, who writes that Google had two smaller tablets in the works, both of which have been cancelled. Going along with that, internal resources are being re-allocated to work on laptop hardware going forward. This decision doesn't affect Google's own laptop hardware; in fact, it sounds like a successor to the Pixelbook might arrive before the end of the year. That timing would make sense, as the computer will be two years old this fall and could use an update on a few fronts (that giant screen bezel needs to go). If Google is truly no longer making tablets, we can say it's been a mixed bag for the company's first-party hardware. The Nexus 7, particularly the 2013 model, was an excellent small tablet, but larger devices like 2012's Nexus 10 and 2014's Nexus 9 didn't find much success, as Android never quite translated well to the larger display. The oddball Pixel C convertible from 2015 was a very intriguing device that was again held back by Android, as the OS just wasn't at the same level of fit and finish as the hardware itself. And, of course, the Pixel Slate was Google's first Chrome OS tablet -- but it worked best when docked with a keyboard and trackpad. Using it just as a tablet didn't make a lot of sense, again because the software wasn't as well-suited to touch as it could have been. But despite today's news, Google reiterated that it'll be supporting the Pixel Slate for years to come, and the device is still on sale. For the right buyer, it still might make sense -- it has a great screen, solid performance and strong battery life. But going forward, Google's going to try and build on the success it had with the Pixelbook and let the Slate fade into oblivion.
How Much Are MAV Beauty Brands Inc. (TSE:MAV) 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 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 we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares inMAV Beauty Brands Inc.(TSE:MAV). 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, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required. Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Columbia Universitystudyfound that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'. View our latest analysis for MAV Beauty Brands Founder Marc Venere made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for CA$4.2m worth of shares at a price of CA$7.00 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of CA$7.40. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. If someone buys shares at well below current prices, it's a good sign on balance, but keep in mind they may no longer see value. Happily, the MAV Beauty Brands insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices. Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 606k shares worth CA$4.2m. In the last twelve months MAV Beauty Brands insiders were buying shares, but not selling. 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). Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at MAV Beauty Brands. In total, insiders bought US$4.2m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. This makes one think the business has some good points. 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. MAV Beauty Brands insiders own about CA$60m worth of shares. That equates to 21% of the company. 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 purchases are heartening. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of MAV Beauty Brands we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. Of course,the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in MAV Beauty Brands, you should check out thisfreereport on analyst forecasts for the company. If you would prefer to 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. 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.
Rep. Waters: US Can’t Let Facebook’s Crypto ‘Compete With the Dollar’ The chair of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee is doubling down on her calls for Facebook to pause development on its new blockchain, Libra. Two days aftercalling for a hearing, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) appeared on CNBC Thursday afternoon calling for a “moratorium” on Libra development. “It’s very important for them to stop right now what they’re doing so that we can get a handle on this,” Waters said of the social media giant. “We’ve got to protect our consumers. We just can’t allow them to go to Switzerland with all of its associates and begin to compete with the dollar.” Related:Libra Could Be Unbalanced by Indian Crypto Laws CNBC’s Waters interview made it clear her concerns are more with Facebook than with the company’s announced cryptocurrency project. Waters highlighted an ongoing investigation by theFederal Trade Commissioninto potential privacy violations concerning consumer data. She also mentioned aDepartment of Housing and Urban Developmentlawsuit that accuses Facebook of violating fair housing laws. “And while we’re doing that they have moved on to develop this cryptocurrency,” Waters said on CNBC. “We’re now going to move and we’re going to move aggressively and very quickly to deal with what is going on with this new cryptocurrency.” Waters isn’t alone in calling for public hearings on Facebook’s crypto aspirations, which were announced Tuesday. The U.S. Senate’s banking committee has already scheduleda July 16 hearingon Libra. Facebook blockchain lead David Marcus is reportedly expected to testify, according toThe Verge. You can watch the full interview below. Related:Will Facebook’s Libra Be an On-Ramp or Dead End for Crypto? U.S. Representative Maxine Watersimage via Shutterstock • Senate Banking Committee Schedules July Hearing on Facebook’s Libra Crypto • Facebook Talked to the Fed About Libra, Chairman Powell Says
7 S&P 500 Stocks to Buy With Little Debt and Lots of Profits The other day I saw an article in Forbes by value investor John Dorfman that examined four stocks to buy with little debt and high profitability. The stocks mentioned were National Beverage (NASDAQ: FIZZ ), Gentex (NASDAQ: GNTX ), Cactus (NYSE: WHD ) and Deckers Outdoor (NASDAQ: DECK ). Of Dorfman’s four picks, I’m familiar with three of them. Cactus is the outlier of the group. It turns out the company makes wellheads and flow control products for the energy industry. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips You learn something new every day in this business. Anyway, I’m always on the lookout for a good story idea, so I thought I’d run with Dorfman’s theme and come up with seven S&P 500 stocks to buy that have little debt and lots of profits. 6 Stocks Ready to Bounce on a Trade Deal To qualify, a company must have a debt-to-equity ratio of 20% or less and a return on equity 15% or higher. S&P 500 Stocks to Buy: Monster Beverage (MNST) S&P 500 Stocks to Buy: Monster Beverage (MNST) Source: Mike Mozart via Flickr (modified) Monster Beverage (NASDAQ: MNST ), one of the world’s leading makers of energy drinks, has zero debt, $880 million in cash and marketable securities, and a return on equity of 28.6% . After conquering the energy drinks field, Monster is looking to capture a big chunk of the cannabis- and alcoholic-beverage markets. According to the Wall Street Journal , Monster is said to be interested in rolling out hard seltzers, malt beverages, and cannabis beverages once its non-compete (it’s precluded from producing non-energy drinks) clause with Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO ) ends in 2020. “This move actually makes a lot of sense for the company because Coke is looking more and more like a threat. In April, the brand debuted Coca-Cola Energy in Spain and Hungary, and it already sounds healthier than Monster,” Delish reported June 12. Nobody thought Monster would rule the energy drink business, but here it is. I wouldn’t bet against CEO and co-founder Rodney Sacks. He knows a thing or two about winning in the beverage biz. Story continues Foot Locker (FL) S&P 500 Stocks to Buy: Foot Locker (FL) Source: Shutterstock Foot Locker (NYSE: FL ), has gotten hammered in the past month, down approximately 25%. Nonetheless, the global retailer of sneakers has a remarkably strong balance sheet with $123 million in long-term debt, cash and cash equivalents of $1.1 billion and a return on equity of 26.9% . How do you lose 25% in a single month? Well, in Foot Locker’s case, it missed analysts’ first-quarter earnings estimate by eight cents. That’s right, the consensus was $1.61 , and FL came in at $1.53. On the top line, analysts were expecting sales of $2.11 billion; Foot Locker delivered revenues that were $33 million lower than expected. Hardly a bad earnings result — comps rose by 4.6% during the quarter, suggesting to me that the long-term goals it has in place will surely be met. 7 Value Stocks to Buy for the Second Half In the meantime, FL stock gives you a dividend yield of 3.7% and trading at 8.1 times its forward earnings. Can you say value stock? I knew you could. Hormel Foods (HRL) S&P 500 Stocks to Buy: Hormel Foods (HRL) Source: Mike Mozart via Flickr (Modified) It’s only appropriate that a pescetarian such as myself recommend a stock like Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL ), the makers of Spam, the most disgusting meat-based product ever created. No matter. The company has a great balance sheet with just $257.1 million in long-term debt, $639.3 million in cash and cash equivalents, and a return on equity of 19.5% . As I said, Spam is a horrible product, but a particular segment of the population seems to love it, and it pays the bills. In the first six months of 2019, Hormel’s total segment profit was $615.4 million on $4.7 billion in sales, an operating profit of 13.1%. The meat-based food company is slowly making its way into plant-based foods such as a vegan pizza topping to meet the needs of consumers. While not at the front of the pack, it’s working hard behind the scenes to deliver for its customers. “We understand that it is a shiny new toy,” CEO Jim Snee said at a food conference in Paris recently. “We get that. It is one of our shiny new toys as well. It is something that is certainly on our minds like it is everyone else, and there is a lot of work happening both in the market and behind the scenes.” Perhaps there is life after Spam. SVB Financial (SIVB) S&P 500 Stocks to Buy: SVB Financial (SIVB) Source: Shutterstock SVB Financial (NASDAQ: SIVB ) is my favorite American bank because it helps innovators and entrepreneurs around the world build their businesses. The holding company of Silicon Valley Bank has long-term debt of just $696.7 million , cash and cash equivalents of $7.1 billion, $28.9 billion in loans outstanding and a return on equity of 22.1% , which is over 800 basis points higher than JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM ). In January, SIVB paid up to $340 million for Boston-based Leerink Partners LLC, an investment bank specializing in the healthcare industry. With all the changes happening in healthcare, owning a business that understands healthcare and life sciences companies, will continue to demonstrate why its a bank built on innovation. 5 Stocks to Buy for $20 or Less Whenever it drops below $200 over the next few years, investors should buy SIVB  stock. You won’t regret it. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) S&P 500 Stocks to Buy: Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) Source: Jon Fingas via Flickr (Modified) In February of this year, Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG ), the makers of the da Vinci surgical system, got the green light from the FDA for Ion by Intuitive, a flexible robotic catheter that helps physicians reach “nodules in any airway segment within the lung.” If you’ve owned ISRG stock, you’re likely delighted by the news because it takes this goose beyond its golden egg. While I don’t believe Intuitive is anywhere near the saturation point for its da Vinci surgical system, Ion shows it’s also not a one-trick pony. That said, being a one-trick pony has made long-term shareholders very wealthy. CEO Gary Guthart owns 701,824 shares of ISRG that are worth a cool $374 million. That could buy a bunch of its surgical systems. ISRG stock hasn’t done much so far in 2019, up just 13.2% year to date, but that’s okay. It’s got a great balance sheet with no debt, cash and marketable securities of $2.8 billion, and a return on equity of 17.9% . Long-term, I don’t think you can go wrong with ISRG. A.O. Smith (AOS) S&P 500 Stocks to Buy: A.O. Smith (AOS) Source: Nvdongen via Wikimedia (Modified) The last three years have not been kind to A.O. Smith (NYSE: AOS ), the Wisconsin-based maker of water heaters, boilers and water treatment and filtration systems for both commercial and residential use. I first became interested in the company in 2012 because of its tankless water heaters. It has been so long that I can’t remember exactly why I was interested in tankless water heaters. As I got to know the business, I couldn’t help but recommend its stock. In recent years, AOS has significantly underperformed the S&P 500, which is unusual for a company that has delivered an annualized total return of 16.5% over the past 15 years. Unfortunately, to make matters worse, J Capital Research, a short seller intent on driving down AOS stock, made allegations against the company about its Chinese operations that suggested it was inflating sales and profits in China. The company flatly denies the allegations. All I can say is that I’ve followed the company’s progress over the past seven years and I’m going to believe it’s worth standing behind this business until proven otherwise. 7 Top-Rated Biotech Stocks to Invest In Today As of the end of March, A.O. Smith had $277.6 million in long-term debt; $633.3 million in cash and marketable securities; and a return on equity of $20.6% . Ulta Beauty (ULTA) S&P 500 Stocks to Buy: Ulta Beauty (ULTA) Source: Mike Mozart via Flickr For almost two years, I wondered when Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA ) was going to expand to Canada. “For me, the fact that the company hasn’t touched the surface when it comes to international expansion like Canada says the company’s growth story is very much intact despite the headwinds it might face,” I wrote on August 23, 2017. Well, the beauty retailer finally announced May 30 that it was coming to Canada , after studying various countries to figure out where it would launch its international expansion. “International expansion represents an attractive and incremental long-term growth platform, which extends our core capabilities and leverages our value proposition,” CEO Mary Dillon said on Ulta’s Q1 2019 conference call. “We believe that the Ulta Beauty value proposition is very relevant and differentiated in multiple geographies around the globe and Canada is an attractive and logical place to start.” Dillon is one of the best retail executives in the U.S. I’m sure she will do what’s best for shareholders and figure out the right pace for opening stores in Canada. Although Sephora and Shoppers Drug Mart provide competition, Ulta’s in-store experience combined with top-notch online sales provides a loyal customer base that spends more. With $521.8 million in cash and marketable securities, no debt, and a return on equity of 40.9% , ULTA shareholders can look forward to more growth when it hits Canada in late 2020 or early 2021. At the time of this writing Will Ashworth did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace 4 Top American Penny Pot Stocks (Buy Before June 21) 7 Blue-Chip Stocks to Buy for a Noisy Market 5 Strong Buy Biotech Stocks for the Second Half 6 Stocks Ready to Bounce on a Trade Deal Compare Brokers The post 7 S&P 500 Stocks to Buy With Little Debt and Lots of Profits appeared first on InvestorPlace .
iRobot Is Planting the Seeds for Future Robotics Developers Home-robotics specialistiRobot(NASDAQ: IRBT)knows all too well that, as its industry continues to grow, so too will demand for engineers who are willing and able to build the next generation of innovative products. To that end, on Thursday iRobot announced its acquisition of educational robot leader Root Robotics, known for its easy-to-use Root coding robot. iRobot is no stranger to the acquisition scene. The companyadded its now-popular Braava lineof floor-mopping robots -- previously known as Mint -- following its purchase of Evolution Robotics in late 2012. And less than two years ago, iRobot acquired its primary distributors in Europe and Japan, expanding its presence and giving it greater direct control of sales in both key geographies. To be clear, this week's deal was relatively small; financial terms of the purchase weren't disclosed, and Root -- which retails for $199 -- isn't expected to substantially contribute to iRobot's top- or bottom-line results this year. Rather, iRobot is making a longer-term play to promote the field of robotics. THE ROOT CODING ROBOT, IMAGE SOURCE: IROBOT. "The acquisition of Root Robotics allows iRobot to broaden the impact of its STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] efforts with a commercially available, educational robotic platform already being used by educators, students and parents," stated iRobot chairman and CEO Colin Angle. "Root also helps increase the reach of iRobot's educational robot line by offering a proven system for people of all ages, including students in elementary school." For perspective, iRobot has long sold programmable versions of its popular Roomba robotic vacuums, called theCreate and Create 2, to educators, students, and software developers. But as a former software developer (and longtime Roomba enthusiast) myself, I can safely confirm their interfaces were still advanced enough to intimidate anyone without a rudimentary understanding of programming principles. By contrast, Root was designed to teach coding and problem-solving to kids as young as four years old using three unique levels of coding language, iRobot explains, ranging "from simple graphical blocks for young children to full text coding for more advanced users." The slick two-wheeled robot can also be paired with the Root mobile companion app, enabling young developers to tell Root to do everything from drawing artwork to playing music, scanning colors, and even climbing magnetic whiteboard walls. While simple, these functions aren't a far cry from the industry-leading navigation, object detection, and scanning capabilities employed by iRobot's latestvacuuming, floor sweeping, andlawn-mowing robots. And as if selling more than 25 million robots around the world the better part of the past two decades weren't enough, bringing Root Robotics under its wing should only help further cement iRobot's status as both an educator and central enabler of robotics technology in the coming years. That's something I think iRobot shareholders should be more than happy to support. 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 Steve Symingtonowns shares of iRobot. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends iRobot. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Lightspeed POS Inc. (TSE:LSPD): Financial Strength Analysis Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Stocks with market capitalization between $2B and $10B, such as Lightspeed POS Inc. (TSE:LSPD) with a size of CA$2.8b, do not attract as much attention from the investing community as do the small-caps and large-caps. However, history shows that overlooked mid-cap companies have performed better on a risk-adjusted manner than the smaller and larger segment of the market. Today we will look at LSPD’s financial liquidity and debt levels, which are strong indicators for whether the company can weather economic downturns or fund strategic acquisitions for future growth. Note that this commentary is very high-level and solely focused on financial health, so I suggest you dig deeper yourselfinto LSPD here. See our latest analysis for Lightspeed POS A debt-to-equity ratio threshold varies depending on what industry the company operates, since some requires more debt financing than others. As a rule of thumb, a financially healthy mid-cap should have a ratio less than 40%. For Lightspeed POS, investors should not worry about its debt levels because the company has none! This means it has been running its business utilising funding from only its equity capital, which is rather impressive. Investors' risk associated with debt is virtually non-existent with LSPD, and the company has plenty of headroom and ability to raise debt should it need to in the future. Since Lightspeed POS doesn’t have any debt on its balance sheet, it doesn’t have any solvency issues, which is a term used to describe the company’s ability to meet its long-term obligations. However, another measure of financial health is its short-term obligations, which is known as liquidity. These include payments to suppliers, employees and other stakeholders. With current liabilities at US$49m, it seems that the business has been able to meet these commitments with a current assets level of US$222m, leading to a 4.56x current account ratio. The current ratio is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities. Having said that, many consider a ratio above 3x to be high. LSPD has zero-debt in addition to ample cash to cover its near-term commitments. Its safe operations reduces risk for the company and shareholders, though, some level of debt may also boost earnings growth and operational efficiency. Keep in mind I haven't considered other factors such as how LSPD has performed in the past. I recommend you continue to research Lightspeed POS to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at: 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for LSPD’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor LSPD’s outlook. 2. Valuation: What is LSPD worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether LSPD is currently mispriced by the market. 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.
A Dangerous Situation Is Unfolding for Kids at Border Detention Site, Lawyers Say A legal team that recently interviewed over 60 children at a Border Patrol station in Texas says a traumatic and dangerous situation is unfolding for some 250 infants, children and teens locked up for up to 27 days without adequate food, water and sanitation. A team of attorneys who recently visited the facility near El Paso told The Associated Press that three girls, ages 10 to 15, said they had been taking turns keeping watch over a sick 2-year-old boy because there was no one else to look after him. When the lawyers saw the 2-year-old boy, he wasn’t wearing a diaper and had wet his pants, and his shirt was smeared in mucus. They said at least 15 children at the facility had the flu, and some were kept in medical quarantine. Children told lawyers that they were fed uncooked frozen food or rice and had gone weeks without bathing or a clean change of clothes at the facility in Clint, in the desert scrubland some 25 miles southeast of El Paso. “In my 22 years of doing visits with children in detention I have never heard of this level of inhumanity,” said Holly Cooper, an attorney who represents detained youth. “Seeing our country at this crucible moment where we have forsaken children and failed to see them as human is hopefully a wake up for this country to move toward change.” The lawyers visited the facility in Clint because they are involved in a legal settlement known as the Flores agreement that governs detention conditions for migrant children and families. The lawyers negotiated access to the facility with officials, and say Border Patrol knew the dates of their visit three weeks in advance. Many children the lawyers interviewed had arrived alone at the U.S.-Mexico border, but some of the kids had been separated from adult caregivers such as aunts and uncles, the attorneys said. Government rules call for the children to be held by the Border Patrol for no longer than 72 hours before they are transferred to the custody of Health and Human Services, which houses migrant youth in facilities around the country. But many children interviewed by the lawyers said they were kept inside the facility near El Paso beyond 72 hours. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to the allegations about the conditions, but has said in recent weeks that it is overwhelmed and needs more money and help from the gridlocked Congress. The allegations about the conditions inside the El Paso facility are the latest complaints about mistreatment of immigrants at a time when record numbers of migrant families from Central America have been arriving at the border. Government facilities are overcrowded and five immigrant children have died since late last year after being detained by the U.S. government. A teenage mother with a premature baby was found last week in a Texas Border Patrol processing center after being held for nine days by the government. The Trump administration has been scrambling to find new space to hold immigrants as it faces withering criticism from Democrats that it’s violating the human rights of migrant children by keeping so many of them detained. —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.
Craig Wright Offers New Details on Bitcoin Trust at Heart of Billion-Dollar Lawsuit New details have emerged in the ongoing lawsuit in the U.S. filed last year against Craig S. Wright, the technologist who claims to be the pseudonymous creator of bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. A redacted declaration filing fromKleiman v. Wrightsurfaced today, which details Wright’s purported ownership and the trustee scheme of the Tulip Trust, which supposedly holds over one million bitcoin. According to the filing, access to the holdings of the trust requires participation of all trustees, at least one of whom he hasn’t been in contact for several years. The court document was originally filed on May 8, and also points to the existence of a second Tulip Trust, known as Tulip Trust II. Days before the document was filed, a federal court ordered Wright to disclose his bitcoin addresses in the ongoing lawsuit. Wright is beingsuedby Ira Kleiman on behalf of the estate of his brother, the late Dave Kleiman. The nChain chief scientist is accused of scheming to “seize Dave’s bitcoins and his rights to certain intellectual property associated with the bitcoin technology.” Kleiman is seeking half of the 1.1 million bitcoins the two are said to have mined together, or its “fair market value,” as well as compensation for infringement of intellectual property. The initial complaint did not seek to ascertain whether Wright is the person behind the Nakamoto identity, stating that “it is unclear whether Craig, Dave and/or both created Bitcoin.” According to the declaration released Thursday, the Tulip Trust consolidated the bitcoin Wright mined and purchased between 2009 and 2011. The trust first came to public attention through a leakeddocumenton December 9, 2015. Allegedly written in 2011 by Dave Kleiman, a forensic computer investigator and author, the document describes a trust fund containing exactly 1,100,111 bitcoin, “to be managed by at least three people but not more than seven at any time.” The document also declares the bitcoin holding is to be returned to Craig Wright on January 1, 2020. These new developments come amid an ongoing mediation process, which as of June 18 has yielded no results —in the words of the mediator, as reported by attorney Stephen Palley, “we are at an impasse.” As it stands,Wright is due for deposition in Florida on June 28. According to Wright’s court declaration, seven trustees were named, including Craig Wright, David Kleiman, and Ms. Uyen Nguyen — whom Wright claimed he has had no contact with since 2016. That said, Kleiman was the initial, and sole, trustee before others were appointed. Panopticrypt Pty Ltd, an Australian entity now in liquidation was also named alongside an unnamed Seychelles entity and CO1N Ltd., a U.K. entity liquidated in 2017. “The contacts at CO1N were Dave Kleiman and Ms Nguyen, who was terminated as director on June 1, 2016. Presently, there is no one other than myself who was a contact for this entity.” Nguyen was allegedly terminated as director of CO1N in June 2016. The final trustee listed is “the holder of PGP key IDs, which is Satoshi Nakamoto,” with Craig Wright parenthetically related. In the past, Wright has said that the trust is encrypted using a a method called Shamir’s Secret Sharing Algorithm. The only way to access them, he’s said, is to accrue the collective private keys in order to decrypt it. Wright complied with the directive pursuant to a court order to produce bitcoin holdings for all bitcoin Wright mined prior to December 31, 2013. The filings were subsequently sealed. The Tulip Trust II was settled in 2014 in Seychelles with Equator Consultants listed as a trustee. Wright and his wife Ramona Watts are the primary beneficiaries. The holdings of this second trust are unknown. Wright also hinted at an inaccessible trove of bitcoin mined between 2011 and 2013 by staff at HighSecured and Signia Enterprises under his direction, to be held on behalf of the original Tulip Trust. Wright alleges the principles of HighSecured were arrested in 2015. Wright has claimed in the past the Tulip Trust is currently inaccessible. In the court document Wright said: “Access to the encrypted file that contains the public addresses and their associated private keys to the Bitcoin that I mined, requires myself and combination of trustees reference in Tulip Trust I to unlock based on Shamir scheme.” Dave Kleiman passed away in 2013. Last December, the courtdeniedWright’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit, saying that he “converted at least 300,000 bitcoins upon Dave’s death and transferred them to various international trusts.” The court filing can be found below: 6/20 FilingbyCoinDeskon Scribd Justice statue imagevia Shutterstock
U.S. Senate confirms Democrat Lee to Securities and Exchange Commission By Pete Schroeder WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday to confirm Allison Lee to serve as a commissioner at the Securities and Exchange Commission, bringing the markets regulator back to full strength. By a voice vote, the Senate confirmed Lee to the post, where she will fill a vacant Democratic seat on the five-member commission. Lee spent several years in senior roles at the SEC from 2005 to 2018, including time as an enforcement attorney. She most recently served as counsel to Commissioner Kara Stein, who left the agency in January. (Reporting by Pete Schroeder Editing by Tom Brown)
What Is Lattice Semiconductor Corporation's (NASDAQ:LSCC) Share Price Doing? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:LSCC), which is in the semiconductor business, and is based in United States, led the NASDAQGS gainers with a relatively large price hike in the past couple of weeks. As a stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. However, could the stock still be trading at a relatively cheap price? Let’s examine Lattice Semiconductor’s valuation and outlook in more detail to determine if there’s still a bargain opportunity. See our latest analysis for Lattice Semiconductor Great news for investors – Lattice Semiconductor is still trading at a fairly cheap price. My valuation model shows that the intrinsic value for the stock is $26.52, which is above what the market is valuing the company at the moment. This indicates a potential opportunity to buy low. Although, there may be another chance to buy again in the future. This is because Lattice Semiconductor’s beta (a measure of share price volatility) is high, meaning its price movements will be exaggerated relative to the rest of the market. If the market is bearish, the company's shares will likely fall by more than the rest of the market, providing a prime buying opportunity. 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. Lattice Semiconductor’s revenue growth are expected to be in the teens in the upcoming years, indicating a solid future ahead. Unless expenses grow at the same level, or higher, this top-line growth should lead to robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value. Are you a shareholder?Since LSCC is currently undervalued, it may be a great time to accumulate more of your holdings in the stock. With an optimistic outlook on the horizon, it seems like this growth has not yet been fully factored into the share price. However, there are also other factors such as financial health to consider, which could explain the current undervaluation. Are you a potential investor?If you’ve been keeping an eye on LSCC for a while, now might be the time to enter the stock. Its buoyant future outlook isn’t fully reflected in the current share price yet, which means it’s not too late to buy LSCC. But before you make any investment decisions, consider other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to make a well-informed buy. Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters – the fundamentals – before you make a decision on Lattice Semiconductor. You can find everything you need to know about Lattice Semiconductor inthe latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in Lattice Semiconductor, 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.
The Salsa Warroad Is a Killer All-Road Bike Photo credit: Trevor Raab From Bicycling The Takeaway: The Warroad is as close as you can hope to get to a bike that can handle big-time gravel yet still feel lively on pavement. Lightweight carbon bike that’s fast on pavement and very off-road capable Frame accepts 700c and 650b wheels with loads of tire clearance Aggressive gearing for hard riding Price: $4,399 Weight: 19 lb. (57.5 cm) More Images The venerable Salsa Warbird gravel bike has a new sibling-a similar, but speedier option called the Warroad. Expanding on the popularity of Salsa’s carbon gravel bike , Salsa developed the Warroad to appeal to riders who want something a little more aggressive. The new bike has tighter geometry and sharper handling to create an edgier ride, whether you’re entering a gravel grinder or covering max distance on a mixed-surface ride. Whereas the Warbird is a purpose-built gravel bike, the Warroad Carbon Force 1 650 we tested is an endurance all-road bike that can crush the gravel. Many gravel bikes, including the Warbird, have a long wheelbase, short reach, and higher stack heights. But this bike heads in the other direction; it’s more like another bike we recently reviewed- BMC's Roadmachine X . Both that one and this one are designed to feel fast and efficient on both pavement and gravel. Although not a replacement to a pure road bike, the Warroad is everything you’d want from an endurance road bike-crisp out of the saddle, stable at speed, and all-day comfortable. With 650b hoops and fat tires, the Warroad becomes a playful bike that begs you to let your hair down, yet still doesn’t feel like you’re dragging dead weight on the road. It’s such a pleasure to ride, it may have you wondering if you should even bother going back to 700c wheels. Built for Gravel and Pavement Salsa says the Warroad’s 71-degree head angle, lower bottom bracket, and shorter chainstays give it a nimble, agile ride and increase pedaling efficiency. It does, however, lack the extra tire clearance of the Warbird (and probably some of that bike’s comfortable ride, too). But this bike isn’t made for all-day gravel excursions like the Warbird. It’s designed for road rides that hit some dirt, for riders who want a bike that feels sharp and aggressive on the road but is still extremely capable off the pavement. Story continues Photo credit: Trevor Raab Despite trimming down tire clearance, the Warroad can take up to 35mm tires on 700c wheels, and 2.1-inch tires on 650b wheels. So if your adventures favor more gravel than pavement, you’ll still be well taken care of. And because it’s a Salsa, adventure is still at the forefront of the Warroad’s design. The four largest frames can carry three bottles inside the main triangle, as well as a bottle or accessory mount under the down tube. The three smaller sizes fit two bottles inside the main triangle and retain the mount under the down tube. 5 Things We Love About the Salsa Warroad Details We Dig The top tube sports a mount that fits Salsa’s EXP Series Toptube pack, and the brand’s Wanderlust rear racks can fit onto the back of the bike. Riders have the option to outfit their bike with full-coverage fenders, and the fork boasts additional rack and pack mounts as well as internal routing for a dynamo light. The frame accepts 1x and 2x drivetrains, is Di2 compatible, and has sleeved internal cable routing, which makes fishing cables through the tubes much easier. It’s also compatible with 27.2mm dropper posts. Salsa Warroad Details Frame: Carbon Fork: Carbon Wheel Size: 650b Wheels: WTB Proterra Tires: 47mm WTB Byway Drivetrain: SRAM Force 1x Chainring: 42t Cassette: 10-42 Brakes and Rotors: SRAM Force 1 HRD, 160mm rotors Handlebar: Salsa Cowbell Deluxe Photo credit: Trevor Raab Warroad Sizes and Options Salsa sells the Warroad in seven frame sizes, making it easier for riders to find the ideal fit. The smaller gaps between sizes also allow riders to size up or down to get closer to their preferred reach and stack numbers. The bike comes in four complete build options; three have 650b wheels and one has with 700c wheels. For $4,399 riders can choose either the Warroad Carbon Force 1 650 (650b wheels) or the Carbon Ultegra 700 (700c wheels). The Warroad Carbon 105 650 will set you back $3,399, or you can get the Warroad Carbon Tiagra 650 for $2,399. All models have the same full carbon frame and fork, which Salsa also sells separately for $1,999. Work Hard, Play Harder Salsa goes to great lengths to talk about how this bike is designed to hold its own on high-octane road rides when outfitted with 700c wheels but also handle rugged gravel when spec’d with 650b wheels. Our test bike came with 650b wheels and 47mm tires. And while we agree that the smaller wheels, fatter rubber, and carbon frame make for a bike that can handle rough, hard riding and float over potholes, bumps, and rocks, the bike still performs great on pavement. So well, in fact, you might even question whether or not you’ll ever go back to skinny tires-this, coming from someone who prizes speed and efficiency. The Warroad made me forget about power, heart rate, cadence, speed, and whatever other metric I use to measure results-and simply enjoy the ride. Sure, the wider tires are a little slower on the pavement than skinnier ones, and the 1x drivetrain with 10-42 cassette might have you longing for bigger gears from time to time, but none of that mattered. What mattered is the Warroad’s ability to pull this performance-oriented, partially reformed, former racer out of his data-driven shell to just enjoy the ride. Photo credit: Trevor Raab ('You Might Also Like',) The 26 Best Cycling Movies of All Time The Benno Ballooner 8i Is a Comfortable and Sporty Urban Treat 7 Things You Should Do After Every Rainy Ride
What Does Qube Holdings Limited's (ASX:QUB) Balance Sheet Tell Us About It? Want to participate in a short research study ? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Qube Holdings Limited ( ASX:QUB ) is a small-cap stock with a market capitalization of AU$5.0b. While investors primarily focus on the growth potential and competitive landscape of the small-cap companies, they end up ignoring a key aspect, which could be the biggest threat to its existence: its financial health. Why is it important? Evaluating financial health as part of your investment thesis is vital, as mismanagement of capital can lead to bankruptcies, which occur at a higher rate for small-caps. Let's work through some financial health checks you may wish to consider if you're interested in this stock. However, potential investors would need to take a closer look, and I recommend you dig deeper yourself into QUB here . Does QUB Produce Much Cash Relative To Its Debt? Over the past year, QUB has ramped up its debt from AU$891m to AU$1.2b – this includes long-term debt. With this increase in debt, QUB's cash and short-term investments stands at AU$107m to keep the business going. On top of this, QUB has generated cash from operations of AU$232m in the last twelve months, resulting in an operating cash to total debt ratio of 20%, meaning that QUB’s operating cash is less than its debt. Can QUB meet its short-term obligations with the cash in hand? With current liabilities at AU$312m, it appears that the company has been able to meet these commitments with a current assets level of AU$453m, leading to a 1.45x current account ratio. The current ratio is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities. Usually, for Infrastructure companies, this is a suitable ratio since there is a bit of a cash buffer without leaving too much capital in a low-return environment. ASX:QUB Historical Debt, June 20th 2019 Is QUB’s debt level acceptable? With a debt-to-equity ratio of 43%, QUB can be considered as an above-average leveraged company. This is a bit unusual for a small-cap stock, since they generally have a harder time borrowing than large more established companies. No matter how high the company’s debt, if it can easily cover the interest payments, it’s considered to be efficient with its use of excess leverage. A company generating earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) at least three times its net interest payments is considered financially sound. In QUB's case, the ratio of 11.18x suggests that interest is comfortably covered, which means that lenders may be willing to lend out more funding as QUB’s high interest coverage is seen as responsible and safe practice. Story continues Next Steps: QUB’s high cash coverage means that, although its debt levels are high, the company is able to utilise its borrowings efficiently in order to generate cash flow. This may mean this is an optimal capital structure for the business, given that it is also meeting its short-term commitment. Keep in mind I haven't considered other factors such as how QUB has been performing in the past. I suggest you continue to research Qube Holdings to get a more holistic view of the small-cap by looking at: Future Outlook : What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for QUB’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for QUB’s outlook. Valuation : What is QUB worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether QUB is currently mispriced by the market. Other High-Performing Stocks : Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free 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 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.
UPDATE 1-Fed seen leaving U.S. rates unchanged in 2019 -Mizuho (Adds background) NEW YORK, June 20 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve will leave U.S. interest rates alone for the rest of 2019, Mizuho Americas' U.S. chief economist Steven Ricchiuto said on Thursday, a day after the central bank hinted it was open to lowering rates later this year. Ricchiuto remains the few economists at the primary dealers, or the top 24 Wall Street firms which do business directly with the Fed, who reckon it will not ease credit this year. Goldman Sachs changed its call on rate cuts after Wednesday. Its economists now expect one in July, followed by another in September, reversing their earlier forecast for low probability of a rate decrease. Ricchiuto said the U.S. economy is on relatively solid footing despite some pullback in growth due to trade tensions between Beijing and Washington. "The data are not going to require them to move all year," Ricchiuto said. "The economy is on a lot better standing than the market has priced in." Interest rates futures implied traders expect the Fed would lower key borrowing costs by at least 75 basis points by year-end, according to CME Group's FedWatch program. Ricchiuto said the drag on business activities from the trade conflict is likely temporary and it would fade later this year, causing U.S. economic growth to accelerate by early 2020. (Reporting by Richard Leong Editing by James Dalgleish and Richard Chang)
11 Top-Rated Car Insurance Companies of 2019 Here’s some good news about car insurance for a change: Folks are more pleased with their insurers than ever. Overall customer satisfaction with U.S. auto insurance companies has reached a record high: a score of 831 on a 1,000-point scale, according to J.D. Power’s2019 U.S. Auto Insurance Study. J.D. Power attributes the record satisfaction score in large part to insurers adopting direct service models, which bypass insurance agents and instead give consumers do-it-yourself tools. Robert Lajdziak, senior consultant for insurance intelligence at J.D. Power, explains: “Auto insurance customers have more access, control and visibility into the details of their policies, and that is translating into record high levels of customer satisfaction.” J.D. Power’s 2019 study is based on a poll of more than 42,000 car insurance customers. It evaluates five facets of customer satisfaction, listed in order of importance: 1. Interaction 2. Policy offerings 3. Price 4. Billing process and policy information 5. Claims The following insurers ranked highest in the 11 regions included in the study: • California : Esurance (which earned a score of 847 out of 1,000) • Central : Shelter (858) • Florida : Allstate (847) • Mid-Atlantic : Erie Insurance (852) • New England : Amica Mutual (852) • New York : New York Central Mutual (869) • North Central : Westfield (855) • Northwest : PEMCO Insurance (850) • Southeast : Farm Bureau Insurance — Tennessee (888) • Southwest : The Hartford (832) • Texas : Texas Farm Bureau (857) If you are unhappy with your car insurance company or rate, you have a great reason to shop around. Even if you’re happy with your insurer and rate but it’s been a few years since you compared rates, you stand to save money by doing so. These days, you have two options for shopping around for car insurance: the old-school route of calling multiple insurers or filling out forms on their websites for quotes, or the new-school route of letting a third-party service likeThe ZebraorGabido the legwork for you. I took the traditional route last year, as I wrote about in “How I Slashed My Car Insurance Rate by 19 Percent in 2 Steps.” But not everyone has the time or patience for that. If you like the idea of someone else doing the comparison shopping for you so that all you have to do is select the quote you want, you can learn more about The Zebra in “How to Find Cheaper Car Insurance in Just Minutes.” Watch the video of ’11 Top-Rated Car Insurance Companies of 2019′ on MoneyTalksNews.com. Which car insurance company would you rank as the best for customer satisfaction? Let us know why by commenting below or onour Facebook page. This article was originally published onMoneyTalksNews.comas'11 Top-Rated Car Insurance Companies of 2019'. • How to Save on Every Type of Insurance • How to Get Cash Back, a $300 Cash Bonus and the Lowest Prices While Shopping • 6 Ways to Score Free Gift Cards and Cash in 1 Place
Players should be allowed to enter NBA draft from high school, says Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love Sixteen years ago, LeBron James jumped to the NBA straight out of high school, forever altering the sport. On the eve of the 2019 NBA draft, Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, a former teammate of James, said today’s players should be allowed to make that same leap—and he expects the NBA will soon let them. “That's a choice that players should have,” says Love. “I think it's going to be within the next three to five years. “When you have that opportunity...to achieve your dream and start making money for not only yourself, but to be able to take care of your family and start building your business, I think it can be really powerful,” Love adds. In 2005, a collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and its players union included arulerequiring draft eligible players to be at least 19 years old and one year removed from high school. NBA Commissioner Adam Silversaidlast month that the league will likely do away with the rule by 2022. “Adam Silver and the league are going to do the right thing,” Love says. Proponents of the restriction, including NBA owners,bristledat the difficulty of evaluating high school players and the risk of investing millions in them. But criticssaidthe rule unfairly limits the employment opportunities of working-age adults ready to contribute to NBA teams. Last year an NCAA Commission on College Basketball, led by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,recommendedthe league do away with the rule. Love joins a host of NBA players who haveadvocatedfor eliminating the restriction, among them the Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant as well as the Philadelphia 76ers’ J.J. Redick and Ben Simmons. Love made the comments to Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer in a conversation that aired on Yahoo Finance in an episode of “Influencers with Andy Serwer,” a weekly interview series with leaders in business, politics, and entertainment. An 11-year NBA veteran, Love has played in five all-star games and three NBA Finals. He won a championship alongside James in 2016. Off the court, Love has fought for mental health awareness,revealinghis own struggle with anxiety and launching a foundation to tackle the issue. When Love graduated from high school, in 2007, the NBA’s restriction prevented him from entering the draft. He spent a year playing at UCLA, which he doesn’t regret, he said. “I got to make lifelong friendships and at least have a small impact in that year at UCLA,” he says. “So, you know, it's tough for me to say that I wouldn't have gone to college.” Likewise Zion Williamson, who is widely expected to be the first selection in Thursday’s draft, spent a year playing for Duke University. “I look at a guy like Zion Williamson, and he got to be mentored and coached by Coach Krzyzewski,” Love says. “That is a beautiful thing.” Andy Serwer is editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter:@serwer. Read more: Tech sector ‘needs to face up’ to the problems it’s causing, says ServiceNow CEO John Donahoe Tech CEOs who testify in Washington 'can't win no matter what,' says ServiceNow CEO John Donahoe Charlie Munger: Trump is not primarily responsible for US economic success Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,SmartNews,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit.
Google founder absent from shareholder meeting despite protests Larry Page, who's also the CEO of Google parent company Alphabet, has not attended the annual meeting since 2017. During the meeting, shareholders attempted to pass proposals involving the company's approach to diversity and sexual harassment, Google's policy with China, and potentially breaking up the company.Read morehere.Read more... More aboutTech,Google,Mashable Video,Larry Page, andTech
Darden Restaurants Serves Up an Acceptable End to Its 2019 Fiscal Year Multi-chain operatorDarden Restaurants(NYSE: DRI)has been one of thebest-performing restaurant stocksin the last year. In an industry of hypercompetition and overexpansion, with diners and per-location profit margins having thinned out, Darden has done a good job of outpacing many of its peers. But not everything was perfect this past year. The marquee brands Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse are bearing the bulk of the load while smaller names continue to struggle. In spite of the disconnect between all the moving parts, Darden thinks another good year lies ahead. From a high-altitude viewpoint of its latest earnings report out Thursday, Darden did quite well during its fiscal 2019 tour. Revenue was up 5% from a combination of 39 net new restaurants in operation and systemwide comparable-restaurant sales growth of 2.5% during the year. For a company with over 1,700 locations, comparable sales (a metric that combines foot traffic and average guest ticket size) are the single most important way to increase profits. Thus, the revenue growth in 2019 equated to big gains for the bottom line. [{"Metric": "Revenue", "12 Months Ending May 26, 2018": "$8.08 billion", "12 Months Ending May 27, 2019": "$8.51 billion", "% Increase (YOY)": "5%"}, {"Metric": "Operating income", "12 Months Ending May 26, 2018": "$767 million", "12 Months Ending May 27, 2019": "$833 million", "% Increase (YOY)": "9%"}, {"Metric": "Net earnings per share", "12 Months Ending May 26, 2018": "$4.73", "12 Months Ending May 27, 2019": "$5.69", "% Increase (YOY)": "20%"}] Data source: Darden Restaurants. YOY = year over year. Digging deeper, though, it's clear that this isn't a business firing on all cylinders. While the two biggest names in the fold -- Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse -- posted comps growth of 3.9% and 3.3%, respectively, in the last 12 months, other brands didn't fare so well. Most notable was Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, which Darden purchased in early 2017 for $780 million. The comfort-food chain has opened new restaurants during that time, but comps -- down another 3.4% in the last year -- keep erasing those gains. Image source: Getty Images. Darden management insists that Cheddar's is still integrating tools into the mix that have helped make Olive Garden and LongHorn a success. In the meantime, though, the two largest segments at Darden will continue to carry results while Cheddar's and a handful of other small underperforming names like Bahama Breeze and Seasons 52 keep diluting results. Nevertheless, a further breakdown of the comps growth shows how powerful those two main brands are. [{"Full-Year Fiscal 2019 Metric": "Same-restaurant traffic growth", "Olive Garden": "0.1%", "LongHorn Steakhouse": "0.1%"}, {"Full-Year Fiscal 2019 Metric": "Pricing growth", "Olive Garden": "1.8%", "LongHorn Steakhouse": "1.7%"}, {"Full-Year Fiscal 2019 Metric": "Menu mix growth", "Olive Garden": "2%", "LongHorn Steakhouse": "1.5%"}, {"Full-Year Fiscal 2019 Metric": "Total same-restaurant sales growth", "Olive Garden": "3.9%", "LongHorn Steakhouse": "3.3%"}] Data source: Darden Restaurants. The flat foot traffic might seem concerning, but when you note that the industry average has been in negative territory for years now, it says something about Darden's performance. Diners are loyal to Olive Garden and LongHorn, and Darden has made the most of that. It's also the primary reason shareholders got treated to a 17% quarterly dividend increase, good for a 3%-a-year yield as of this writing. For the fiscal year 2020, 44 net new restaurants, 1% to 2% comps growth, and an extra 53rd week of operations are projected and have management expecting 5.3% to 6.3% total sales growth. Resulting earnings growth is expected to be at least 10%. It's a slowdown from last year, but nonetheless a respectable outlook for an imperfect hodgepodge of restaurant brands. Dardenisn't nearly the deal it was earlier this year, but it's worth watching. 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 Nicholas Rossolilloand his clients have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Investors Can Find Incredible Valuations in International Stock ETFs This article was originally published onETFTrends.com. As investors look to diversify their portfolios, many are looking to international markets and related ETFs to tap into relatively cheap areas of the global market and diversify an investment portfolio "We're seeing tremendous value, particularly because we've gone through 10 years of where international markets have really lagged U.S. markets, so suddenly valuations are incredibly attractive relative to U.S. markets," Dodd Kittsley, National Director, Davis Advisors, said at the Morningstar Investment Conference. Investors may look to a time-tested active approach to potentially enhance returns. For example, the actively managedDavis Select International ETF (DINT) andDavis Select Worldwide ETF (DWLD) are backed by Davis Advisors’ focuses on long-term opportunities and incorporate the money manager’s judgement experience, high conviction, low turnover, accountability and alignment. The Davis team screens for fundamental characteristics, including cash flows assets and liabilities, and other criteria. The management team looks to durability, adaptability and resiliency of a company for strong competitive advantages, superior business models, attractive financials and superior free cash flows. They also select those with proven, capable management with a track record of good decisions, intelligent capital allocators and alignment of interests. Additionally, the team focuses on discount to true value by calculating owner earnings to arrive at the true value of a company. "We're really invested in the entrepreneurial type of companies - those that are kind of based on the massively growing global middle-class that is expected to be five billion people in 2030," Kittsley added. Watch the full interview between ETF Trends CEO Tom Lydon and Dodd Kittsley: For more ETF-related commentary from Tom Lydon and other industry experts, visit ourvideo category. 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 >
'The Pioneer Woman' star Ree Drummond's daughter arrested The 19-year-old daughter of Ree Drummond, star of Food Network’s series The Pioneer Woman , was arrested for underage drinking in the spring, according to multiple new reports. Paige, a student at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, was charged in her native Oklahoma with public intoxication and possession of alcohol while under the age of 21. Ree Drummond appears at a celebration of The Pioneer Woman Magazine at The Mason Jar on June 6, 2017, in New York City. (Photo: Monica Schipper/Getty Images for The Pioneer Woman Magazine) Ree, whose family includes her husband Ladd and four children, lives on a ranch in Pawhuska, Okla. The district attorney noted that Paige "did appear in a drunken condition” and that she had an open beer container when she was arrested on April 12 in Stillwater, Okla., E! reported . If convicted, she would have faced possible punishment of a year in jail and a $500 fine for the public intoxication, as well as a possible $100 fine and 30 days in jail for the possession and consumption of the beer. However, the district attorney approved Paige’s request to dismiss both charges from her record in May. She’s reportedly paid more than $400 in court fees. Drummond’s elder daughter, Alex, a graduate of Texas A&M University, will turn 22 later this month. Her sons Bryce and Todd are 16 and 15, respectively. Ree was open about her emotions when Paige left for college in August. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ree Drummond - Pioneer Woman (@thepioneerwoman) on Aug 9, 2018 at 5:11pm PDT “Red nose, trembling chin, tight throat, aching heart. Leaving your child at college is no picnic. I’ve done it once before and thought maybe this time would be a little easier. I think it’s a little harder,” Ree wrote. “But through all the tears, I see this clearly: What a joy it is to usher her into the next stage of her life. Paige, I'm so grateful to be your mom.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ree Drummond - Pioneer Woman (@thepioneerwoman) on Sep 18, 2018 at 7:37am PDT Paige and other Drummond family members have all been featured on Ree’s long-running show, which first aired in 2011. Story continues Read more on Yahoo Entertainment: Jennifer Garner plays with migrant kids in adorable video: 'Thank you for making these babies smile' George Takei says U.S. border camps are concentration camps: 'Yes, we are operating such camps again' Maren Morris says she lost 5,000 social media followers after sharing photo of Parkland shooting survivor: 'Not many country artists speak up' Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle’s newsletter.
Carnival's Earnings Guidance Keeps Taking On Water For the second time in as many quarters,Carnival(NYSE: CCL)(NYSE: CUK)is hosing down its adjusted earnings guidance for the fiscal year, capping off another mixed financial report. Its shares opened sharply lower --again-- after the world's leading cruise line operator posted fiscal second-quarter results on Thursday morning. Revenue rose 11% to hit $4.838 billion for the three months ending in May. Carnival's top line has now delivered double-digit percentage growth in four of the past six quarters, unusual for a slow grower that hasn't posted a double-digit revenue gain for an entire fiscal year in more than a decade. This isn't something that investors should get used to, as once again we're seeing the adoption of new accounting guidance accounting for the lion's share of the revenue gain. The more accurate measuring stick here would be the 5% increase in net cruise revenue on a constant currency basis. Image source: Carnival. Gross revenue yields -- the most important metric for gauging a cruise line's health that charts the revenue per available lower-berth day -- rose a hearty 5.6%. Net revenue yields adjusted for currency fluctuations went up 0.6%, a metric that may not seem very impressive given the marginal improvement but it is better than the flat guidance that Carnival was putting out therethree months ago. If there's one thing that Carnival has consistently gotten right with investors, it's that it has routinely landed just above its conservative guidance on that front. Once again, we see the bottom line not cooperating with the top-line advance. Adjusted net income -- what you get when you back out the volatility of unrealized gains and losses on fuel derivatives and other net charges -- declined nearly 7% to $457 million, or $0.66 a share. Carnival had braced its shareholders for a larger slide, targeting adjusted earnings per share between $0.56 and $0.60 for the fiscal quarter. The stock falling sharply on Thursday after another period of double-digit reported revenue growth and better-than-projected adjusted earnings may not make sense, but once again, it was Carnival's outlook rocking the boat. Carnival's guidance calls for adjusted EPS of $2.50 to $2.54 during the seasonally potent fiscal third quarter, ahead of the $2.36 a share it washed up ashore with a year earlier during the same peak summer period. However, it is once again lowering its forecast for the entire fiscal year. Lower yields through Europe and Asia, voyage disruptions for its Carnival Vista ship, and the U.S. government's policy change on Cuba as a port of call will weigh on its near-term profitability. Carnival is now targeting an adjusted profit per share of $4.25 to $4.35, lower than the $4.35 to $4.55 it was eyeing three months ago and well below the $4.50 to $4.80 it was modeling when it initiated its fiscal year guidance late last year. The good news is that demand remains healthy for Carnival's future sailings. Bookings are running ahead of where they were a year earlier at comparable prices. The bad news is that, with the shares closing in on a 52-week low, sometimes shareholder success is more than just a popularity contest on the open seas. 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 Rick Munarrizhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Carnival. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Shareholders Should Look Hard At Transaction Solutions International Limited’s (ASX:TSN) 1.1% Return On Capital Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we are going to look at Transaction Solutions International Limited (ASX:TSN) to see whether it might be an attractive investment prospect. Specifically, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), since that will give us an insight into how efficiently the business can generate profits from the capital it requires. First up, we'll look at what ROCE is and how we calculate it. Next, we'll compare it to others in its industry. Last but not least, we'll look at what impact its current liabilities have on its ROCE. ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. All else being equal, a better business will have a higher ROCE. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussinhas suggestedthat a high ROCE can indicate that 'one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar'. The formula for calculating the return on capital employed is: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) Or for Transaction Solutions International: 0.011 = AU$246k ÷ (AU$29m - AU$7.5m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.) Therefore,Transaction Solutions International has an ROCE of 1.1%. Check out our latest analysis for Transaction Solutions International When making comparisons between similar businesses, investors may find ROCE useful. In this analysis, Transaction Solutions International's ROCE appears meaningfully below the 13% average reported by the IT industry. This performance could be negative if sustained, as it suggests the business may underperform its industry. Independently of how Transaction Solutions International compares to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms is low; especially compared to the ~2.3% available in government bonds. There are potentially more appealing investments elsewhere. Transaction Solutions International reported an ROCE of 1.1% -- better than 3 years ago, when the company didn't make a profit. That suggests the business has returned to profitability. Remember that this metric is backwards looking - it shows what has happened in the past, and does not accurately predict the future. ROCE can be misleading for companies in cyclical industries, with returns looking impressive during the boom times, but very weak during the busts. This is because ROCE only looks at one year, instead of considering returns across a whole cycle. You can check if Transaction Solutions International has cyclical profits by looking at thisfreegraph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow. Current liabilities include invoices, such as supplier payments, short-term debt, or a tax bill, that need to be paid within 12 months. Due to the way the ROCE equation works, having large bills due in the near term can make it look as though a company has less capital employed, and thus a higher ROCE than usual. To counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets. Transaction Solutions International has total liabilities of AU$7.5m and total assets of AU$29m. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 26% of its total assets. This is not a high level of current liabilities, which would not boost the ROCE by much. That's not a bad thing, however Transaction Solutions International has a weak ROCE and may not be an attractive investment. You might be able to find a better investment than Transaction Solutions International. If you want a selection of possible winners, check out thisfreelist of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20 (but have proven they can grow earnings). For those who like to findwinning investmentsthisfreelist of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. 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.
'Hail Satan' prayer at Alaska gov't meeting sparks protest SOLDOTNA, Alaska (AP) — A Satanic Temple member who won the right to open a regional Alaska government meeting declared "Hail Satan" during her first invocation, prompting about a dozen officials and attendees to walk out. Tuesday's invocation that started the meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough also spurred a protest outside the southern Alaska borough's administration building that drew 40 people, The Peninsula Clarion newspaper reported . Protesters held signs saying "reject Satan and his works" and "know Jesus and his love." During her invocation, Satanic Temple member Iris Fontana said, "That which will not bend, must break, and that which can be destroyed by truth should never be spared as demise. It is done, hail Satan," Kenai radio station KSRM reported . She was among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit litigated by the ACLU of Alaska against the borough after it approved a 2016 policy saying that people who wanted to give the invocations at the government body's meetings had to belong to official organizations with an established presence on the Kenai Peninsula, which lies 75 miles (121 kilometers) south of Anchorage. Other plaintiffs who had been denied permission to give the invocations included an atheist and a Jewish woman. The Alaska Supreme Court last October ruled that the borough policy was unconstitutional and the borough government changed it in November to allow anyone to offer invocations regardless of religion. Assembly members Norm Blakeley and Paul Fischer and borough Mayor Charlie Pierce were among those who left the assembly chambers along with some audience members. Assembly members are not required to attend the invocation to participate in meetings. The protesters included William Siebenmorgen, who flew to Alaska from Pennsylvania for the event. "God will be pleased with our public prayers of reparation. We want God's blessings on America, not Satan's curses. Lucifer is the eternal loser. Let's keep him out," he told KSRM. ___ Information from: (Kenai, Alaska) Peninsula Clarion, http://www.peninsulaclarion.com
Celeb Spotter 102: Stars celebrate Pride Month Stars continue to celebrate Pride Month! A slew of big names stepped out on Monday night for the 2019 TrevorLIVE Gala at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, where Cara Delevingneseemingly confirmed her relationshipwith "Pretty Little Liars" actress Ashley Benson. Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos also made the night a glamorous date night! Also stepping out this week? Cardi B, who returned to the stage afterher post-plastic-surgery disappearance from the stage, Emily Ratajkowski, Bette Midler, Paula Abdul and Camila Cabello. See the best celebrity sightings of the week below:
Walmart Pays $282 Million to Settle Federal Foreign Bribery Case WalmartInc. has agreed to pay $282 million in penalties and a Brazilian unit admitted to violating a U.S. anti-bribery law, providing a relatively subdued ending to a seven-year investigation that spanned the globe and at one point looked poised to yield record foreign-corruption fines. In parallel announcements on Thursday, the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission faulted the country’s largest retailer over payments made to fast-track store openings in Mexico, China, Brazil, and India. Walmart will pay about $138 million in criminal penalties and $144 million in disgorgement to resolve the SEC’s allegations. WMT Brasilia pleaded guilty Thursday to failing to keep accurate records, while the U.S. parent reached a non-prosecution agreement with the Justice Department over violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The company will have a compliance monitor for two years as part of that accord andWalmart Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillonsaid the company is “committed to doing business the right way.” The retailer’s operations in Brazil are currently handled by a company called Walmart Brasil, which is 80% owned by private-equity firm Advent International. The entity that pleaded guilty, WMT Brasilia, “was and always has been a holding company,”according to a Walmart spokesperson. “Today it has ownership of the entity which owns 20% of the current business after we sold it last year.” The resolution, disclosed in court filings in Virginia and press releases, was a muted end to what was once seen as a case targeting high-level officers. At one point, people familiar with the probe have said, U.S. authorities were asking up to $1 billion in penalties. While the penalty is about one-sixth of the $1.78 billion levied last year against Petroleo Brasileiro SA in one of South America’s biggest corruption scandals, Walmart wound up spending about $1 billion in legal fees and an overhaul of its compliance systems. “The case may not have turned out to be as good or as fruitful as the government thought,” said Michael Koenig, a former federal prosecutor now a partner at Hinckley, Allen & Snyder. “This notion that the government is only successful if it gets a conviction or a billion-dollar settlement is just plain wrong. You have to go where the investigation leads and what may have started out as thinking this was going to be the greatest investigation since Enron for a host of reasons turned out not to be what the government thought.” The expectation of what the Walmart investigation might reveal were set by a series of articles in theNew York Timesin 2012 outlining details ofallegations the retailer paid some $24 million to Mexican officialsto win quick zoning changes, sidestep licenses, and environmental permits and deflect opposition to open stores, turning Walmart into that country’s largest private-sector employer. Allegations that America’s largest retailerwas running a pay-to-play scheme outside the U.S. gave a boost to the Justice Department’s FCPA unit, which had suffered some high-profile court losses and was defending attempts by business interest groups to rein in its prosecutors. But the Walmart case posed challenges for investigators. Much of the conduct uncovered in Mexico, for example, couldn’t be used as evidence because it was too old, people familiar with the matter have previously said. So the government sought to build stronger cases in other countries. In Brazil and India, investigators found more recent examples of what they believed were improper payments, yet struggled to find examples of rampant misconduct in China, the people said. In the closing days of the Obama administration,Walmart balked at demands to pay more than $600 millionin penalties, leading prosecutors to go back to gather more evidence from witnesses, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg at the time. That, in turn, led to a lengthy secret court battle over whether the Justice Department could bring Walmart’s internal lawyers before the grand jury. By this point, the investigation had already spanned more than five years. In 2017, the company set aside almost $300 million for a possible settlement. Months later, a federal appeals court in Virginia blocked the Justice Department from interviewing Walmart’s lawyers, removing leverage the government had in the criminal case. The two sides became deadlocked for months over what misconduct the retail giant would admit to, a person familiar with the matter previously said. On Thursday, the Brazilian unit admitted that $527,000 in improper payments to an intermediary were inaccurately recorded on financial records. Brazil employees logged those payments as going to construction companies when they knew the money was going to a former Brazilian government official, according to the plea agreement filed in Virginia. The former official’s ability to obtain licenses and permits quickly earned her the nickname “sorceress” or “genie,” according to the unit’s plea agreement. Walmart earned more than $3.6 million in profit from stores built by these construction companies. The non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. outlines much broader conduct that prosecutors said ran from 2000 to 2011 and included Mexico, China, and India. Walmart executives were aware of problems regarding payments by the foreign subsidiaries to third parties but failed to stop them, according to the Justice Department. “In numerous instances, senior Walmart employees knew of failures of its anti-corruption-related internal controls involving foreign subsidiaries, and yet Walmart failed for years to implement sufficient controls comporting with U.S. criminal laws,” assistant attorney General Brian Benczkowski said in a statement. No criminal charges against individuals have been brought. —Walmart’ssignature blue vestsare getting a big redesign —Apple is partnering with Best Buyfor repairs. Will it fix consumers’ complaints? —Walmart is set to launchin-home grocery deliveryin three cities —Walmart offerscollege tuition and SAT prepto attract high school workers —HowTarget is breaking awayfrom the retail pack GetFortune’sRaceAhead newsletterfor corporate culture and diversity insights.
Senators want to roll back tax cuts to create jobs for long-term unemployed Two Democratic senators want to claw back some of the Republican tax law, to create jobs for people who have been unemployed for a long period of time. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced theLong-Term Unemployment Acton Thursday. The bill would create a federal program designed to generate jobs for people who have been out of work for at least six months. The bill complements — and could eventually merge with — Wyden’sELEVATE Act, which they say also aims to eliminate barriers to the labor market. The senators’ plan would subsidize a job for up to one year for long-term unemployed workers — with the option to extend an additional year if the employee is working toward an additional credential or new skills. “These proposals are designed to get people back on their feet and back in the workforce and just help lift them up,” said Van Hollen. The senators told reporters that under this legislation, when the unemployment rate is below 5%, the federal government would provide two-thirds of the cost of wages and benefits. In the second year, the government would cover 50% of the cost. When the unemployment rate is higher, the federal contribution goes up to 100%. Van Hollen said the wage would be based on thepoverty level for a family of four, which is about $25,750 — plus benefits. If the state minimum wage is higher, then the wage would be pegged to the state minimum. “What this is a guaranteed strategy for a new, winning partnership between employers and workers for a unique time. A partnership that gets unemployed workers good-paying jobs and employers the skilled workers they need,” said Wyden. In May, 1.3 million people fell into the “long-term unemployed” category, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics defines as being jobless for 27 weeks or more. BLS said this group made up 22.4% of the unemployed. That doesn’t include people who have given up on their job search. “This is a persistent, structural problem in our economy,” said Van Hollen. While the number of long-term unemployed has not changed much over the past year, it has been on the decline for the past decade. “We’re seeing the combination of the tax cuts and the administration’s deregulatory agenda be one of the better things for wage increases in employment that we’ve seen in a long time,” said Adam Michel, a tax expert with the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. “If the concern is providing more jobs to people, it seems to me we should be doubling down on the agenda of pro-growth reforms, rather than rolling it back,” he added. Michel argues because there are morejob openings than people looking for work, employers will find ways to close the skills gap, without the government stepping in to help. “The private sector has an incentive to train people and help direct people into those areas where they’re seeking, and we’re seeing the private sector do that,” said Michel. “Sen. Van Hollen and I are going to be working together to shave some of thosetax windfallsin the horribly flawed2017 tax billin order to pay for it,” said Wyden. The senators want to raise taxes on foreign profits by changing the Republican tax, which they argue encourages companies to do business overseas. “You gotta look for concrete revenue. The tax bill is a badly flawed giveaway and there’s money there that ought to be taken from where it is now and moved to this kind of effort in order to make it easier for companies to compete and workers to have good jobs,” Wyden said. In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Michel defended the Republican tax cuts, and said cutting the corporate rate to 21% made the United States more competitive. “The bickering around the marginal effects in that new 21% corporate tax rate world are important, but not as important as that lower rate overall,” said Michel. The senators suggested several ways to roll back the Republican tax law, includingNo Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act,andRemoving Incentives for Outsourcing Act,both of which Van Hollen has cosponsored.The senators also pointed to former President Obama’sminimum tax proposalas a possibility. “We’re going to be going through the tax code with a fine-tooth comb and, in effect, looking at those parts of the tax bill, which in many respects probably make us less competitive in terms of actually creating red, white and blue jobs,” said Wyden. Kyle Pomerleau, chief economist at the Tax Foundation, disagreed that taxing foreign profits at a higher rate would spur job creation in the U.S. “It may, at the margin, change a company’s decision to enter a foreign market, but it’s not going to change the costs or the benefits of investing the United States. It’s not going to boost employment here by taxing foreign activity,” said Pomerleau. Pomerleau told Yahoo Finance instead of punishing foreign investments, lawmakers should lower the cost of investment in the United States. “Increase the amount companies can deduct when they invest here,” he said. “Expanding that or making that permanent would have an effect on investment here.” The senators said they’ve talked to several 2020 Democratic presidential campaigns that are interested in the proposal, but they’ve yet to pitch their plan to Republican colleagues. “Our goal is to get this into the political bloodstream,” said Van Hollen. Though Republicans will surely resist the idea of scaling back their tax cuts, senators say they hope eventually members of the GOP will get on board. “We have a broken system when there are individuals who —even in an economy that’sdoing pretty welloverall — are out of work for six months and looking for a job for six months. And if you believe in the dignity of work, you would hope that those Republicans would join us in this effort,” said Van Hollen. When pressed about the idea that critics will likely slam the bill as the Democratic party’s latest move toward socialism, the senators pushed back. “Our argument is going to be: This is key to making markets work — the two of us are market-oriented Democrats,” said Wyden. “The very first thing that employers tell me…is they cannot find enough workers with the skills they need to tap the markets of a global economy.” “In a market system, it’s a market failure if people who want to work can’t find a job. It’s immoral to punish people for not working when those same people want to work but can’t find a job,” said Van Hollen. Jessica Smith is a reporter for Yahoo Finance based in Washington, D.C. Follow her on Twitter at@JessicaASmith8. Republican senator: Facebook is 'expanding their monopoly' with Libra Businesses head to DC to make their case against tariffs CEOs say trade uncertainty is biggest concern for US economy Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit.
Bank of England to mull access for likes of Facebook's Libra LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England is open to letting new payment services such as Facebook's upcoming Libra hold funds overnight with the central bank, something historically limited to commercial banks. In prepared remarks to bankers in London, the bank's governor, Mark Carney, said it "makes sense to consider" extending access to new payment providers, as they "can improve the transmission of monetary policy and increase competition." He said Libra, in particular, could lower costs for money transfers. There are several reasons why financial institutions hold money in reserve at the central bank but perhaps the most important is that it helps facilitate payments between banks and businesses. Being part of the plumbing of the financial system could be a benefit to upstarts like Libra. Though Carney was broadly supportive of the future of new payment systems and their role in the financial system, he warned that the bank "approaches Libra with an open mind but not an open door." As such, he said, "it would have to meet the highest standards of prudential regulation and consumer protection." Carney's remarks, provided by the bank ahead of their delivery later Thursday, echoed concerns raised by other regulators around the world. Facebook, along with such partners as Uber, Visa, Mastercard and PayPal, unveiled Libra earlier this week. The new currency, set to launch next year, could open online purchasing to millions of people who do not have access to bank accounts and could reduce the cost of sending money across borders. Libra could also prove attractive to people in countries beset with hyperinflation such as Venezuela. But French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Facebook must ensure that Libra won't hurt consumers or be used for illegal activities. U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, a California Democrat who heads the House Financial Services Committee, called on Facebook to suspend plans for the new currency until Congress and regulators are able to study it more closely. Facebook said it will comply with all existing financial regulations, though it has not offered many details. The company said its wallet app for using Libra will walk people through a verification process to ensure they are who they say they are. To get the access, Carney said Libra will have to address issues ranging from anti-money laundering to data protection to operational resilience. And Libra, he added, must be a "pro-competitive, open platform that new users can join on equal terms." Story continues "Whatever the fate of Libra, its creation underscores the imperative of transforming payments," Carney said in his wide-ranging speech. Carney said the bank needs to move with the times, as the nature of commerce changes. He said one-fifth of all sales in the U.K. were online last year and will grow to a quarter next year. And cash now makes up just a quarter of all payments, down from two-thirds a decade ago. Libra has an additional challenge to confront. Facebook has faced a mountain of criticism over the past year or so over its poor record on privacy and its dominance in social media, messaging and related businesses. Carney also said the bank will stress test the resilience of the British financial system to extreme weather. According to the bank, severe weather events such as flooding and heatwaves could mean higher insurance claims and economic losses such as reductions in home value. The design of the test will start in the fall, he said, and be completed in 2021. The bank said the shift toward a greener economy also poses financial risks, including to banks and insurance companies that invest in energy companies. "The path to a carbon-neutral economy will affect every institution in this country — very much including the Bank of England," Carney said. "We need to do more than just cutting out cups and bringing up bees. We must lead by example." View comments
Lightning Labs Mobile App Gets 2,000 Downloads in 24 Hours San Francisco-based Lightning Labs, focused on a layered scaling solution for bitcoin, released its first mobile app on Wednesday. According to Lightning Labs application developer Tankred Hase, roughly 2,000 users downloaded the app across both iOS and Android. Both his inbox and the inbox of his colleague, developer Valentine Wallace, were flooded with support requests. “We got a ton of feedback,” Wallace told CoinDesk. Related:Bitcoin Price Eyes $10K After Erasing 40% of Bear Market Drop This bitcoin wallet is a noncustodial way – meaning users hold the keys to their assets – to send nearly instant payments worth less than roughly $1,500. The startup put a cap on transaction amounts (one-sixth of a bitcoin) while working out the kinks. For now, the app’s Autopilot setting relies on the startup’s in-house cluster with three full nodes and is mostly useful for sending bitcoin. Users can only receive as much money as they’ve sent with the app. However, more tech-savvy users are able to use a manual function for setting up their own payment channels and connecting to their own nodes. Hase said, there are plans to reduce reliance on Lightning Labs as soon as Bitcoin Core updates to the Neutrino protocol, which allows the app to tap into an external node that would otherwise be too “heavy” for a mobile device. The next step on the developers’ roadmap is enabling users to easily receive payments with a process calledLightning Loop. Related:At-Home Crypto Miner Coinmine Now Pays Out Bitcoin This app launch also kicked off the startup’s first monetization strategy: A liquidity service that utilizes Lightning Loop. Looking forward, Hase said, Lightning Labs will offer a monetized service for merchants and other power-users that frequently receive funds. “It’s non-custodial, we don’t hold their funds, but it is a paid service because it requires us to use funds for liquidity and to allow that on the backend,” he said. “I like the Amazon Web Services analogy because it allows the other startups to focus on their business logic while Amazon takes on the infrastructure.” Stepping back, the Lightning Labs team is also working closely with Jack Dorsey’s fintech startup Square. Dorsey, who is aninvestorin Lighting Labs, said inFebruarythat lightning-enabled features were eventually coming to Cash App. Yet, as Wallace pointed out, this app services a distinct function compared to Dorsey’s app. “It makes a lot of sense for our values as a company to have a wallet that’s totally under our control,” she said, adding the Cash App bitcoin feature is primarily a custodial conduit for purchasing bitcoin. Speaking broadly to how this new app, which admittedly has a long way to go until it can easily send and receive diverse bitcoin transaction types, plays into the startup’s long-term plan, Hase said: “Our strategy is to become an infrastructure provider that other apps and merchants can integrate.” Lightning Labs CEO Elizabeth Stark image via CoinDesk archives • Bitcoin Price Breaches $9.6K to Hit 400-Day High • Bitcoin Price Rally Stalls as Open Futures Hit Record Highs
US Stock Market Overview – S&P 500 Closes Fresh All-time High; Energy Shares Outperform US stocks rallied on Thursday a day after the Fed let the markets know that rates were likely to be reduced in July. The 10-year US treasury yield declined below 2%, allowing the US dollar to decline and buoying gold prices. Miners stocks surged as the yellow metal hit fresh 5-year highs. Oil prices surged more than 5% following news that Iran shot down a US military drone. Energy shares surged on the news and were the best performing sector in the S&P 500 index. The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high. All sectors were higher led by Energy, cyclicals were the worst performing sector. US government debt demand has driven the benchmark 10-year yield back below 2%. Yields that have hit multiyear lows reflect the difficulties central bankers face in normalizing monetary policy after a decade of unusually easy money. The falling 10-year yield, a barometer that helps set borrowing costs across the economy, suggests the economy has slowed substantially. The gloomy outlook for growth prospects has also weighed on yields across Europe. In the U.K., 10-year yields Thursday fell close to their lowest levels since late 2016, hitting 0.805% after a downbeat assessment on the economy from the Bank of England. The monetary authority voted to hold interest rates steady. Separately, after the FOMC decision, implied yields across the Fed Funds futures strip have fallen.  The January 2020 contract is now at 1.60%, which is fully pricing in three cuts this year.  This weighed on the dollar paving the way for higher gold prices. Iran shot down a US military drone, which stoked fears. President Trump initially said Iran had made a huge mistake, but it might have been a mistake. Oil prices jumped following the action. Prices rallied more than 5.8%, driving up energy shares. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said its air force brought down the American surveillance drone in a southern coastal region along the Strait of Hormuz. Slack Technologies surged in its trading debut on the NYSE, the latest technology firm to jump into a hot initial-public-offering market. The stock opened just after noon Thursday at $38.50 and has trended higher through the afternoon. The workplace-messaging service went public through an unusual method called a direct listing, becoming only the second major company ever to make such a move. Spotify Technology SA went public through a direct listing last year. In a direct listing, the company simply floats its existing shares onto a public exchange and lets the market determine the price without investment banks serving as underwriters.v Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • S&P 500 Weekly Price Forecast – Stock markets rally again for the week • Natural Gas Weekly Price Forecast – Natural gas markets spend the week falling again • Gold Price Prediction – Gold Prices Trend Higher as Geopolitical Issues Brew • USD/JPY Weekly Price Forecast – US dollar breaks support • Gold Weekly Price Forecast – Gold markets explode to the upside this week • Weekly Commodity Rundown: Gold Rockets, Crude Soars, Natural Gas Dives
Trade Negotiations Can Work or Fail Ongoing trade negotiations don’t seem to be showing signs of a silver lining on the horizon. Our Chief Equity Strategist & Economist, John Blank, says we may just appear to be moving from one level of escalation to another. He’s here now to discuss this further with me. 1.    With “tariffs” having become the watch word lately, at least with regard to Mexico and China, how concerned should investors be or is it just political theatre to achieve an end? 2.    What are the likely scenarios that could unfold with this as you see them? 3.    Given the rising trade tensions, what do you see for the U.S. economy going into the second half of the year? 4.    Regarding our economy, earlier this week, June 17, it was reported that a key manufacturing gauge, the Empire State Index, saw its biggest one month decline in 18 months this month. Also, the country’s homebuilders reported solid confidence in the housing market in June, but levels dropping slightly due to concerns over trade issues, the high costs of construction and the lack of skilled labor. Are these warning signs? 5.    Is there a global impact regarding tariffs that investors should be aware of? 6.    What do you make of Fed action this week to hold rates steady for now, but opening the door for a possible future cut? 7.    Stocks on your radar currently include Air China (AIRYY), Molina Healthcare (MOH) and Anglogold Ashanti (AU) Chief Equity Strategist & Economist, John Blank, Taking a look at Global Markets. With John, I’m Terry Ruffolo. 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 reportMolina Healthcare, Inc (MOH) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAngloGold Ashanti Limited (AU) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAir China Ltd. (AIRYY) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Slack had the third largest initial trade in the U.S. Slack’s (WORK) direct listing landed in the ranks of some of the top-performing public debuts on record, by at least one measure. The opening trade size for shares of the workplace messaging software company totaled $1.75 billion as investors began snapping up the stock Thursday afternoon. The figure reflects the dollar value of shares trading hands at thestock’s opening priceof $38.50, at an opening volume of 45.5 million shares. This was third only to the opening trade sizes of tech behemoths Alibaba (BABA) and Facebook (FB), according to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The Chinese e-commerce giant had an opening trade size of $4.5 billion when it went public in September 2014, while the latter saw an opening trade size of $3.2 billion in May 2012 in its debut on the Nasdaq. Unlike Alibaba and Facebook, which debuted via initial public offering (IPO), Slack went publicby way of a direct listing– which may have contributed to a larger opening trade volume. Namely, that’s because direct listings nix the lock-up period required in a typical IPO. With a lock-up, company insiders and certain other stakeholders are barred from selling their shares, typically for between 90 to 180 days after the IPO, as a means of preventing these investors from liquidating assets too quickly. However, a direct listing involves existing private investors and employees converting their stock to publicly tradeable shares and selling these to the public. This could increase shares available for purchase if a greater number of existing investors choose to cash out larger portions of their stakes. Spotify (SPOT), the first major company to go public via a direct listing, at the time of its public debut in April 2018 had seen the fifth largest opening trade by dollar value, according to the NYSE. On other measures, however, Slack’s public listing still pales in comparison to its big tech peers. While Slack’s opening share price gave it a market value north of $20 billion, Facebookhad a market valueof $104.2 billion after its IPO. Alibaba’s market valuation after its IPO of about $168 billionremains the largest-ever. Updates with additional Facebook listing information. — Emily McCormick is a reporter for Yahoo Finance.Follow her on Twitter: @emily_mcck Read more from Emily: • Buffett on the American economy, capitalism: ‘It works’ • Tech companies like Lyft want your money – not ‘your opinion’ • Levi Strauss shares jump more than 30% above IPO price at open • Facebook sued by Trump administration for alleged ‘discriminatory’ ad practices • Boeing 737 Max groundings ‘pressure’ U.S. economic data: Wells Fargo Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,LinkedIn, andreddit.
EMERGING MARKETS-Latam forex, stocks rise as dollar falls on Fed rate cut prospects (Updates prices) By Susan Mathew June 20 (Reuters) - Latin American stocks and currencies rose on Thursday as the dollar fell after the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled it was read to cut interest rates as soon as July, while rallying oil prices also helped to lift Colombia's peso. Mexico's peso hit a seven-week high before trading flat against the dollar, which posted its biggest two-day drop in a year after the Fed's policy statement on Wednesday. The Fed joined global peers such as the European Central Bank and the Reserve Bank of Australia this week in indicating that more policy stimulus is needed to maintain economic growth. European Central Bank also struck a dovish tone. Markets in Brazil and Argentina were closed for a local holiday. Net crude exporter Colombia's peso rose 1.5% as oil prices rallied 5% after Iran shot down a U.S. military drone, raising fears of a military confrontation between Tehran and Washington. "If we are right that both Fed and ECB will deliver rate cuts and we will get a trade deal in the second half of 2019, it is very good news for emerging markets," wrote Vladimir Miklashevsky, a senior economist at Danske Bank in a note. Mexico on Wednesday became the first country to ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement agreed late last year to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. U.S. and China negotiators will also renew talks to end a bruising trade war. "A proper bout of EM FX appreciation will also require an improvement in EM growth, which is hard to see without some sustained reduction in global trade tensions," analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a note. Brazil's central bank kept its key rate unchanged as expected late on Wednesday and held back from signaling looser policy because of doubts over economic reforms. Higher copper prices helped both Chile's peso, which rose 1% on Thursday and looked set to extend gains to a third session, and stocks. Copper is Chile's main export. Stocks in Mexico rose 0.5%, while those in Colombia touched their highest since early last month, in line with world stocks. The director of Latin American sovereign ratings for Fitch on Wednesday said the credibility of Colombia's fiscal targets are deteriorating as the economy looks set to grow less than the government had predicted. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1943 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 1055.16 1.63 MSCI LatAm 2838.54 1.24 Mexico IPC 43608.37 0.54 Chile IPSA 5049.20 0.31 Colombia IGBC 12612.55 0.61 Currencies Latest Daily % change Mexico peso 19.0055 0.06 Chile peso 683.4 1.29 Colombia peso 3188.62 1.56 Peru sol 3.31 0.57 (Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Susan Thomas)
Slack Directly Hits The Markets The IPO market is scalding hot with firms from tech to plant-based meats displaying extravagant returns. Slack WORK is the most recent listing, hitting the exchanges today and immediately surging more than 50% from its reference price. Seemingly just another unprofitable tech firm attempting to cash out before the end of the economic cycle, Slack has taken a much different approach to make their share available to the general public. Slack decided to directly list its stock on the New York Stock Exchange, something that very few large corporations have attempted. This is only the second tech firm to have done this in the past year and a half with Spotify SPOT leading the charge in this unconventional stock debut format last April. Like Spotify, Slack isn’t in desperate need of cash but rather providing liquidity to its current investors. That makes the less expensive direct listing more appealing to current shareholders. WORK traded up to a more than $20 billion market cap, roughly 3 times the valuation it saw in its last round of funding back in August of 2018. Investors are betting big on Slack with its price-to-sales (P/S) multiple sitting at 50x, multitudes higher than comparable tech firms. The reoccurring revenue that this firm is able to capture and retain is likely to propel this firm into robust profitability in the future as its revenues snowball. Slack is connecting more than 10 million people around the world to get work done efficiently. Their goal of making email obsolete is slowly coming to fruition as this platform’s reach proliferates. Traditional IPO vs. Direct Listing Choosing to go with a traditional IPO gives companies more stability and security. With the conventional IPO model companies use an investment bank like JP Morgan JPM, Goldman SachsGS, Morgan Stanley MS, or a syndicate of them, to underwrite their offering. The underwriter will gather interest from banks, institutional investors, mutual funds, etc. The offer price will be decided by the underwriter based on financial data and the amount of interest that the underwriter was able to collect. During the initial sale, the investment bank(s) create a market for the stock, buying and selling shares to keep the price from becoming too volatile. Going with a direct listing over an IPO comes with some significant risks. With a direct listing, the initial offer price is decided by the market on the day the shares become available. The exchange takes all the buy and sell orders to come to an opening price for the shares. With no investment bank making a market for the shares a lack of interest in the stock could cause the price to plummet and capital raised to be significantly less than anticipated. The advantage of using the direct listing format to list shares is that there is no investment bank taking control. There is no underwriting fee or greenshoe for Wall Street to profit off of. The price of the stock isn’t just set by the big banks and institution but by the market, which includes smaller retail investor and traders. A direct listing allows everyone to get in on the “ground-floor” for a much more natural and equitable public offering. This format also permits existing shareholders to sell out of there shares immediately with no holding period, though Slack is restricting 53% of its shares to reduce the chances a selling frenzy. A problem that could arise is a lack of free-floating shares if not enough existing stockholders sell on the initial listing day, which could drive the stock above its fair value. This progressive way of debuting company shares to the public could become a norm as the business world sees more and more successful direct listings. This would be devastating news for JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and investment banks around the globe who rely on IPO’s for a considerable portion of their revenue. Take Away Slack has seen about 120 million share exchange hands in the 2.5 hours this stock has been available to the public. WORK is up to $41, almost 60% more than the $26 reference price. Investors are enthusiastic about this email killing company and the direct listing format isn’t inhibiting their excitement, with traders and investors pushing the valuation past 50x P/S. There are enormous expectations for Slack moving forward and it will be exciting to see if they are able to meet or exceed these. Look for more and more companies to be using the progressive direct listing method. This could have a considerable negative impact on investment banks’ top-line in the long run. I think it will still be years before this format of “going public” could become a norm so don’t start shorting GS or JPM yet. Firms are still wary of equity markets and currently prefer using financial experts in investment banking to underwrite their offerings. Will you retire a millionaire?One out of every six people retires a multimillionaire. Get smart tips you can do today to become one of them in a new Special Report, “7 Things You Can Do Now to Retire a Multimillionaire.”Click to get it free >> Click to get this free reportJPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportThe Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMorgan Stanley (MS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportSpotify Technology SA (SPOT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Marijuana Vs. Hemp: What's The Difference? By Rudy Sanchez. With interest in CBD (cannabidiol) rising, and the 2018 Farm Bill legalizing hemp federally, there are many questioning concerning the difference between hemp and marijuana. The distinction isn’t merely academic; one is now federally legal and the other remains a Schedule I drug, but the difference isn’t so clear cut. Generally the difference between hemp and marijuana is in the concentration of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), with hemp generally considered so low in concentration so as to be non-psychoactive. Hemp is still cannabis sativa, same as some of the most popular strains of marijuana. Marijuana, on the other hand, contains up to 30% THC and is generally grown to maximize the growth of flowers and increase the concentration of THC. Hemp is typically grown to maximize the overall size of the plant as quickly as possible and that’s usually achieved by growing outdoors, where a lot of marijuana, though not all, is grown indoors, so as to control many variables such as light cycles and soil nutrients. Hemp is still cannabis, breed to have a low THC, high CBD concentration, and is a specialized variety of sativa. Hemp has been cultivated for industrial applications for centuries. It grows quickly, and its fibers are strong and versatile, used to make paper, textiles, rope, and even concrete. Hemp can also be used to make biodiesel fuel and animal feed. Hemp seeds are a source of vegetarian/vegan protein. Hemp also has another multimillion dollar application: CBD. Under US federal law, CBD derived from hemp is legal, while CBD derived from marijuana is not, despite the fact that hemp and marijuana are the same plant. Chemically, CBD extracted from hemp is exactly the same as CBD from marijuana plants. The Kafkaesque legal standing of CBD in the United States is due in large part to antiquated drug laws aimed at marijuana users while trying to legitimize a lucrative cash crop in hemp. Terms like hemp and marijuana are a reflection of our complicated relationship with cannabis. On the one hand, many appreciate cannabis’ utility while also demonizing its psychoactive properties. Unscientific delineations also complicate law enforcement. Since hemp and marijuana are both sativas, the plants are often indistinguishable visually, and have to be lab tested for THC concentration to determine if a crime has been committed, as was the case in Utah, where a driver transporting hemp was arrested on suspicion of marijuana trafficking. Of course, if and when cannabis, in all its forms, becomes legal, such complicated distinctions as hemp and marijuana will become thankfully obsolete. Photo by Shane Rounce via Unsplash This article was originally posted onThe Fresh Toast. Related Stories: How Cannabis Can Help Older Generations Work Longer And Boost Their Well-Being Will Testing Potential Employees For Marijuana Become A Thing Of The Past? See more from Benzinga • Is China Mad At The US And Canada Over Marijuana? • Why You Shouldn't Buy Canadian Marijuana Stocks, According To Analysts • How Cannabis Can Help Older Generations Work Longer And Boost Their Well-Being © 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Don't Sell Victor Group Holdings Limited (ASX:VIG) 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 for investors who would like to improve their understanding of price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll apply a basic P/E ratio analysis to Victor Group Holdings Limited's (ASX:VIG), to help you decide if the stock is worth further research.What is Victor Group Holdings's P/E ratio?Well, based on the last twelve months it is 20.72. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 4.8%. Check out our latest analysis for Victor Group Holdings Theformula for P/Eis: Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS) Or for Victor Group Holdings: P/E of 20.72 = A$0.030 ÷ A$0.0014 (Based on the year to December 2018.) A higher P/E ratio means that investors are payinga higher pricefor each A$1 of company earnings. That isn't a good or a bad thing on its own, but a high P/E means that buyers have a higher opinion of the business's prospects, relative to stocks with a lower P/E. Earnings growth rates have a big influence on P/E ratios. That's because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the 'E' in the equation. Therefore, even if you pay a high multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become lower in the future. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers. Victor Group Holdings's earnings made like a rocket, taking off 67% last year. Having said that, if we look back three years, EPS growth has averaged a comparatively less impressive 9.1%. On the other hand, the longer term performance is poor, with EPS down 40% per year over 5 years. The P/E ratio essentially measures market expectations of a company. You can see in the image below that the average P/E (16) for companies in the it industry is lower than Victor Group Holdings's P/E. That means that the market expects Victor Group Holdings will outperform other companies in its industry. Shareholders are clearly optimistic, but the future is always uncertain. So investors should always consider the P/E ratio alongside other factors, such aswhether company directors have been buying shares. It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future) by investing in growth. That means taking on debt (or spending its cash). Such spending might be good or bad, overall, but the key point here is that you need to look at debt to understand the P/E ratio in context. With net cash of AU$3.1m, Victor Group Holdings has a very strong balance sheet, which may be important for its business. Having said that, at 20% of its market capitalization the cash hoard would contribute towards a higher P/E ratio. Victor Group Holdings trades on a P/E ratio of 20.7, which is above the AU market average of 16.1. Its net cash position is the cherry on top of its superb EPS growth. To us, this is the sort of company that we would expect to carry an above average price tag (relative to earnings). When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. If the reality for a company is better than it expects, you can make money by buying and holding for the long term. Although we don't have analyst forecasts, you might want to assessthis data-rich visualizationof earnings, revenue and cash flow. Of courseyou might be able to find a better stock than Victor Group Holdings. 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.
After Stunning Ruling, Adidas' Iconic Logo Could Lose Some Trademark Protection in EU Legend has it that Adidas founder Adi Dassler purchased the brand’s iconic three-stripes trademark in 1951 for a sum equivalent to 1,600 euros and two bottles of whiskey. The company has been fighting tooth and nail to protect that investment ever since. Its latest effort to protect those three stripes, however, came up short in a surprising European court decision yesterday, a ruling that could complicate the company’s marketing efforts around the world. On Wednesday, the General Court of the European Union struck down Adidas’ bid to broaden trademark protections around the famous three-stripes design, part of the company’s effort to stop competitors from bringing to market products with similar symbols. The ruling doesn’t mean Adidas is stripped of using its distinctive three-stripes design in the EU, or anywhere else around the world. But legal experts believe it will be harder now for the brand to effectively fight rivals who put similar patterns on their shoes, shirts and sportswear offerings. “This loss, the loss of reputation, is enormous for Adidas,” Tim Meyer-Dulheuer, managing partner of Dr. Meyer-Dulheuer & Partners LLP, a German law firm specializing in trademark law, toldFortune. “They’ve been cultivating three stripes since the ’80s, since the days of the Run-DMC guys running around with the three stripes on their sneakers.” Meyer-Dulheuer could not recall a setback of this magnitude for Adidas in a trademark decision. He predicted the ruling could open the floodgates to legal challenges against Adidas’ claims it is the only sportswear brand entitled to the three-stripes design. “If they are unable to fully protect their trademark in Europe, they will have the same problem elsewhere, in the United States and in Asia,” he says. For a defendant, “you would definitely submit this ruling to the judge. And, certainly, any judge would follow the logic of the court’s argument.” The German sportswear brand, the world’s second largest, had sought earlier this decade to expand trademark protections around the distinctive three-stripes design. In a 2014 registration application, Adidas asked for protection of its trademark, which it then defined “as consisting of three parallel equidistant stripes of identical width, applied on the product in any direction.” The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) was perfectly fine with that somewhat broad definition at first, granting Adidas trademark protection under those terms at the time. Two years later though EUIPO went back on its decision and annulled the protections, saying, “Adidas had failed to establish that the mark had acquired distinctive character through use throughout the EU.” The General Court of the European Union yesterday upheld that annulment decision, ruling that the three-stripe design was not “distinctive” enough to merit such a broad protection. Adidas said it was disappointed in the ruling. It can appeal the decision to the European court of justice but has not indicated if it will. In the meantime, it’s playing down the significance of yesterday’s court decision, saying it has no bearing on their use of the three-stripe design on products. “This ruling is limited to this particular execution of the three-stripe mark and does not impact on the broad scope of protection that Adidas has on its well-known three-stripe mark in various forms in Europe,” the company said in a statement. The matter ended up in court because of an ongoing feud with a smaller Belgian rival, Shoe Branding Europe, which has had its own two-stripe trademark invalidated last year on virtually the same grounds—“that it was devoid of any distinctive character,” the same court had ruled. Adidas has been dogged over the years in defending its three-stripe design, which is visible in playgrounds around the world and is worn by the most recognizable professional athletes on the planet, from the Chicago Cubs’ Kris Bryant to the starting eleven of soccer powerhouse Manchester United. In recent years the company has taken successful legal action against Skechers and Payless Shoes arguing they brought to market sportswear products that looked too similar to those of Adidas. According to Brand Finance, Adidas has the world’s third most valuable apparel brand, worth $16.7 billion. In any currency, that’s a lot of stripes. —5 things to knowabout Facebook’s new cryptocurrency, Libra —Thispot company stockis now more popular thanAppleamong millennials —When thenext recession hits, four good things could happen —Slack is going public without an IPO. Here’show a direct offering works —Listen to our new audio briefing,Fortune500 Daily Don’t miss the dailyTerm Sheet,Fortune‘s newsletter on deals and dealmakers.
It's Hunt Vs. Johnson In British Leadership Race The race is on to select the next U.K. prime minister, with Jeremy Hunt going head-to-head withBoris Johnsonfor the role. Johnson remains the favorite in the race and has so far been backed by 160 Conservative MPs. The winner will be announced the week of July 22. On May 24, outgoing PM Theresa May stood on the steps of 10 Downing Street in London and announced her resignation in an emotional speech, saying she had done her best to deliver Brexit and adding that it was a matter of deep regret that she had been unable to do so. TheiShares MSCI United Kingdom Index(NYSE:EWU) was up 0.72% at the close Thursday, whileThe Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF(NYSE:VGK) was higher by 0.92%. Related Links: UK PM Theresa May To Step Down After Brexit Logjam, Says Post Was 'Honor Of My Life GBP/USD: Learning To Ignore Brexit And Finding Reasons To Rise See more from Benzinga • Eastman To Acquire Yarn Producer INACSA • Commercial Metals Trades Higher On Q3 Earnings Beat • Tesla Falls After Goldman Sachs Cuts Price Target © 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
S&P 500 posts new closing high amid a more dovish Fed U.S. stocks climbed Thursday, extending gains after Federal Reserve officials signaled they would be willing to ease monetary policy to help prop up the economy. Meanwhile, investors snapped up shares of Slack (WORK), the latest Silicon Valley darling to hit the public markets. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.95%, or 27.72 points, and clinched a new closing high of 2,954.18 points. Shortly after market open, the index reached an all-time intraday high of 2,956.2. The Dow (^DJI) rose 0.94%, or 249.17 points, led by shares of United Technologies (UTX) and Caterpillar (CAT). The Nasdaq (^IXIC) advanced 0.8%, or 64.02 points, after an earnings beat from Oracle (ORCL) Wednesday evening set off a rally in tech stocks overnight. Treasury yieldsdeclined across the curve. Earlier in the session, theU.S. 10-year yield fellas many as 5 basis points to 1.9719% after the Fed suggested it could cut interest rates soon. This marked the first time since November 2016 that the 10-year yield dipped below 2%, according to Bloomberg data. Investors on Thursday continued to digest commentary from Federal Reserve officials leaning toward looser monetary policy amid rising “uncertainties” about theeconomic outlook. In theirstatement, Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members decided on Wednesday to keep benchmark interest rates unchanged. On Thursday, theBank of England (BOE) also held the headlineU.K. borrowing rate unchanged at 0.75%. Like the FOMC in describing the U.S. economy, the BOE’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) pointed to softening in U.K. economic conditions. “Underlying growth in the United Kingdom appears to have weakened slightly in the first half of the year relative to 2018 to a rate a little below its potential,” the MPC said in a statement. The MPC also called out the impact of global trade tensions to the outlook. “Trade concerns have contributed to volatility in global equity prices and corporate bond spreads, as well as falls in industrial metals prices,” it said. Amid a confluence of concerns, the MPC cuts its growth forecast for the U.K. in the second quarter of 2019 to flat for the period. Last month, it foresaw growth of 0.2% for the second quarter. Meanwhile, crude oil prices surged after anIranian missile shot downa U.S. military surveillance drone over the Straight of Hormuz Thursday morning. U.S. officials reportedly said this took place over international airspace, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it took place over international airspace in the Strait of Hormuz, a major passageway for transporting oil. This incident comes just a week after attacks took place on two tankers near the Persian Gulf, which the U.S. said were launched by Iran. Domestic crude oil futures (CL=F) rose 5.4% to settle at $56.65 per barrel. Brent crude oil prices (BZ=F) rose 4.25% to $64.45 per barrel. Slack (WORK) began trading on the New York Stock Exchange(NYSE) Thursday at$38.50per share byway of a direct listing. The NYSE set a reference price for the workplace messaging software at $26.00 per share Wednesday evening. Shares of Slack traded at as much as $31.50 each in recent private market transactions. The company reported in first-quarter results an operating loss of $33.8 million and total revenue of $134.8 million, a 67% increase over last year. Slack expects revenue to grow as much as 50% in the current fiscal year. The stock settled at $38.62 per share. Oracle (ORCL) beat Wall Street’s expectations in its fiscalfourth-quarter results as cloud application and license sales boosted its top line. Adjusted revenue totaled $11.14 billion, higher than the $10.94 billion expected by consensus analysts polled by Bloomberg, while adjusted earnings of $1.16 per share were 9 cents higher than expected. This was Oracle’s first year-over-year increase in total revenue since its fiscal first quarter, as the company had struggled amid growing competition in the cloud-computing space. Operating margin hit 47% for the quarter, the highest in half a decade. Darden (DRI) missed comparable sales estimatesin its fiscal fourth quarter, as weak same-restaurant traffic at Olive Garden weighed on results for the restaurant company. Total comparable sales rose 1.6% in the quarter, versus 2.4% estimated, and revenue of $2.23 billion fell slightly short of expectations. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations of $1.76 per share were above expectations for $1.73. Olive Garden same-restaurant traffic unexpectedly declined 0.4% in the quarter, versus an increase of 0.1% expected, while LongHorn Steakhouse same-restaurant traffic rose a better-than-expected 0.3%. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance — Emily McCormick is a reporter for Yahoo Finance.Follow her on Twitter: @emily_mcck Read more from Emily: • Buffett on the American economy, capitalism: ‘It works’ • Tech companies like Lyft want your money – not ‘your opinion’ • Levi Strauss shares jump more than 30% above IPO price at open • Facebook sued by Trump administration for alleged ‘discriminatory’ ad practices • Boeing 737 Max groundings ‘pressure’ U.S. economic data: Wells Fargo Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,LinkedIn, andreddit.
Women are about to reach a new workplace milestone This year, women will be a majority of the college-educated labor force for the first time. According toPew Research Center, 2019 is on track to be the year that more women than men hold a college degree in the workforce. In the first quarter, 29.5 million women in the labor force held at least a bachelor’s degree, equaling the number of men – 29.3 million - who had one. That means that it’s likely that women will reach a new milestone and represent the majority of the college-educated labor force for the first time this year, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (In terms of absolute numbers, college-educated women have already surpassed men, but those numbers come with some statistical imprecision, says Pew Research Center senior researcher Richard Fry. “So what we’re saying is, as of the first quarter they’re at parity, they’re roughly matched.” When 2019’s final numbers come from the BLS, Fry expects women will have surpassed men.) “This will raise the economic clout of female adults in our society. As a general statement, employers value college-educated workers, they pay them more. Employers are going to need to respond to those rising numbers,” Fry told Yahoo Finance. Pay gap persists Although this milestone is significant for women given the correlation between education and income level, they are still earning less than men. The median income for a college-educated man is $74,900; the median is $51,600 for women, according to Pew. The return on investment of a college degree for women is better reflected when the median earnings of a college-educated woman is compared to those of women overall – $51,600 vs. $36,000. Although women surpassed men as the majority of college-educated adults in the overall population back in 2007, it has still taken over 10 years for women to reach this milestone in the workplace because women with college degrees are less likely to be in the labor force than men, according to Pew. In 2018, 70% of women with at least a bachelor’s degree were in the workforce, compared with 78% of their male counterparts. Implications for US economy More college-educated women in the workforce will boost the U.S. economy. College-educated workers only represent about a third of the U.S. population, yet they’re responsible for 57% of the economy’s earnings – $4.7 trillion out of $8.4 trillion in total labor market earnings in 2017, according to the Pew Research Center. “The fact that more women are college educated both benefits themselves, and also boosts the productive capabilities of the economy. This is good for all of us, males or females,” says Fry. Follow Sibile Marcellus on@SibileTV More from Sibile: Southern states that voted for Trump see lower incomes than rest of U.S. Trump is to blame for strong dollar, not the Fed: Economist U.S.-Mexico trade tensions are far from over and could soon escalate again Trump ‘is playing with fire’ as more tariffs are threatened: JP Morgan How U.S. importers are avoiding Trump’s tariffs
Slack's stock opens at $38.50 per share on the NYSE Slack’s (WORK) stock is open for trading. Shares of the workplace messaging company opened at $38.50 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The stock ended the session at $38.62 by market close. Wednesday evening, the NYSE set areference pricefor Slack at $26.00 per share. The reference price was not an offering price from investors, as would be the case in a traditional initial public offering. Instead, it served as a starting point as broker-traders initiated buy-sell orders Thursday morning. Slack isgoing public by way of a direct listing, meaning the company did not issue new equity, and employees and other private investors instead converted their stock into publicly tradeable shares. This also meant no fresh capital was raised ahead of Slack’s public listing. The unusual go-public method – which is less costly for a company and less dilutive to existing shareholders – was also embraced by music-streaming platform Spotify (SPOT) last year. Slack's opening share price gave it a market capitalization of $19.4 billion, based on Class A and Class B shares outstanding as listed by the company in a Securities and Exchange Commission filingWednesday. Last year, Slack wasvalued privately at $7.1 billion, and had raised more than $1 billion in total private funding since its founding in 2009. Shares of Slack had traded in a range of between $21.00 per share and $31.50 per share in private transactions during the period of February 1 through May 30, the companysaid in its prospectus. Slack is a cloud-based messaging platform that allows users to share files, create channels and chat instantaneously with team members around the world. It has marketed itself as a replacement for email. The company boasted 10 million daily active users worldwide in its most recent fiscal year. More than half of its users are outside the U.S. The vast majority of the 600,000 organizations on Slack’s platform are on a free version of the platform. The company generates a large portion of its revenue from a relatively small pool of companies paying high annual fees for use of the software. As of January, 575 companies paid more than $100,000 per year to Slack, the company said in itsprospectus. This was more than double the number from the year prior. These big-ticket customers comprised 40% of Slack’s $400.6 million in annual revenue for the year ending January 31. Like many of its newly public peers, Slack is not yet profitable. Its losses, however, have remained relatively stable on an annual basis. Its net loss in its most recent fiscal year totaled $139 million, or slightly lower than the two fiscal years prior. However, revenue growth has also trended lower. Slackearlier this monthguided toward top-line growth of as much as 50% for the current year, which would represent a slowdown from the 82% increase from the year prior. As of Thursday morning, two firms had initiated coverage on Slack’s stock. D.A. Davidsons analyst Rishi Jaluria rated shares of Slack as Neutral with a $31.00 price target. Atlantic Equities analyst Dimitri Kallianiotis initiated shares at Overweight with a $37.00 price target. Here’s a look at the moment Slack shares began trading on the NYSE from Yahoo Finance’s Ines Ferre: Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance — Emily McCormick is a reporter for Yahoo Finance.Follow her on Twitter: @emily_mcck Read more from Emily: • Buffett on the American economy, capitalism: ‘It works’ • Tech companies like Lyft want your money – not ‘your opinion’ • Levi Strauss shares jump more than 30% above IPO price at open • Facebook sued by Trump administration for alleged ‘discriminatory’ ad practices • Boeing 737 Max groundings ‘pressure’ U.S. economic data: Wells Fargo Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,LinkedIn, andreddit.
Don't Count on Medicare for These 10 Common Health Expenses Millions of Americans age of 65 or older will sign up for Medicare each year or shop around for new coverage. As with all insurance policies, you should have a clear understanding of the terms -- because,like other insurance, Medicare has quite a few restrictions on what it will pay for. Avoid unpleasant surprises. Make sure you know about these 10 medical services that are not covered under standard Medicare. In general Medicare doesn’t cover long-term care, including most nursing home care and full-time or ongoing nursing care in your home. Medicaid, the government's health insurance for lower-income Americans, does cover long-term care. However, if your income is too high, you must pay for long-term care out of your own pocket until your resources are depleted and you reach Medicaid eligibility. This is called a spend-down. Prescriptions are not included in basic Medicare coverage. Medicare parts A and B primarily cover hospital stays, doctor visits, ambulance services andmedical equipment. To receive prescription drug coverage in your senior years, you must enroll in either a Medicare Part D drug plan or a Medicare Advantage (Part C) plan. Both programs are overseen by Medicare but are run by private insurance companies. Medicare Part D comes with annual premiums averaging $34 per month. Medicare Advantage costs vary widely. Medicare pays for basic inpatient and outpatient medical care — which meansdental careis not included. You do have a few options for getting dental coverage. You may buy private secondary insurance that includes dental coverage. Some Medicare Advantage plans also offer dental coverage and are usually cheaper than commercial secondary insurance, though there's usually an annual dollar limit on dental benefits. So, some Medicare policyholders opt to use an existing, tax-advantaged health savings account to pay for dental expenses. But note that you cannot contribute to an HSA once you're on Medicare. Unless a patient has diabetes or cataracts, standard Medicare does not cover routine eye care, including exams, eyeglasses and contact lenses. Some Medicare Advantage plans include vision coverage, but many seniors opt to purchase stand-alone vision insurance instead, because it can be cheaper. If you don't wear glasses or your vision has been stable, paying out of pocket for an annual visit to the eye doctor may cost less than premiums. But don't skip your yearly exams, because those can pre-empt serious eye conditions or vision loss. Hearing problems often present themselves later in life than vision problems. Unfortunately, basic Medicare does not cover hearing aids. Some Medicare Advantage plans will pay for a hearing aid, or you might use money from a health saving account. Again, Medicare doesn't allow its enrollees to put money into HSAs. So, many experts recommend investing in an HSA while you're still working, to fund hearing aids, dental care and other incidental medical costsafter you retire. Want more MoneyWise?Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. Cosmetic surgery that isn’t intended to remedy a documented medical or mental health issue is rarely covered by any health insurance — and Medicare is no exception. If you want Medicare to pay for your cosmetic procedure, you'll need to prove that the surgery is medically necessary. But if it's just a matter of having your nose reshaped or your face contoured more to your liking, it's no different from getting a facial or a pedicure as far as Medicare is concerned. You'll have to pay for it yourself. Medicare flatly will not cover acupuncture, which it views as an alternative medicine that's not medically necessary. Note that a few private Medicare Advantage plans will pay for acupuncture. You'd need to check the terms of the policy. Acupuncturists often set their prices lower or offer payment plans to make things easier for their older clients on fixed incomes. Medicare says it covers "medically necessary and reasonable foot care." In other words, it won't pay for a podiatrist visit unless the policyholder has diabetes or a diagnosed foot disorder, such as a bone problem. The program also does not pay for orthopedic shoes, arch inserts or other foot-related medical supplies that are considered routine. And, it won't cover callus removal or bunion surgery unless a doctor can establish that there's a medical need. Some hospitals have fees if you want a television or land telephone in your room. Medicare won't cover those charges. Enrollees are free to choose those amenities, but you’ll be responsible for the costs. Hospitals also charge more for private rooms. Medicare will cover the cost of a private room only if there is a documented medical reason to have one. Like many private health insurance policies, Medicare is guaranteed to cover you only within the United States. Medicare will pay for medical services abroad only in a few rarecases: • If you’re traveling through Canada between Alaska and an another state and you must receive urgent care on Canadian soil. • If you live in the U.S. but a foreign hospital is closer to your home than an American one. Retireestraveling abroadare encouraged to purchase temporary travel medical insurance. Otherwise, you’ll have to pay for medical services out of pocket while — often before you even see a doctor. Subscribe now to our free weekly newsletter.Don’t miss out!
The BTS ARMY Is Fighting Back After Australia's Channel 9 News Station Aired an Offensive BTS Segment The BTS ARMY does not play around when it comes to defending BTS from racist remarks , and they're stepping up once again to call out a recent video from an Australia media outlet. On June 19, Channel 9, one of Australia’s major TV networks, aired a tone-deaf segment , which many say had racist and xenophobic undertones, about the K-pop group, as part of the network’s 20 to One program, a popular show that counts down diverse pop-culture events mixed with comments by comedians and celebrities. Ranking BTS at number 18 on its “global crazes” list, the program, helmed by hosts Erin Molan and Nick Cody, introduced the group as “the biggest band you’ve never heard of,” and dubbed the septet “the South Korean One Direction .” The segment generally downplayed the Bangtan Boys and their juggernaut careers , and included insensitive jokes hinting at nuclear war. “When I first heard something Korean had exploded in America, I got worried, so I guess it could have been worse,” comedian Jimmy Carr can be heard saying at the beginning of the clip, before adding, “But not much worse.” The segment included comments from the likes of Perez Hilton alluding to the band's sexuality, and Australian Idol ’s Rob Mills questioning their singing abilities, with host Nick Cody referencing their "gangster names." Other people reduced the scope of BTS’s recent speech on self-love at the United Nations to “hair products” — all before taking a jab at ARMYs themselves. https://twitter.com/sugajins/status/1141351184533356545 “To not only make racist comments degrading bts but to specifically mention Namjoons speech at the UN and equate it to speaking about hair products when he has such an important topic to discuss,” an ARMY posted after seeing the clip, and shared RM’s actual U.N. speech to support her claim. Story continues “Am I surprised @20toOne used BTS as its punchline? No. But to see white entertainers have a go at a popular minority group for having only 1 English speaker was at best ugly. Equating their UN speech to a hair product is pathetic. Show could've gotten digs in w/o being idiotic,” journalist Jae-Ha Kim also wrote in response. https://twitter.com/MargaretLarosa7/status/1141418485978787840 https://twitter.com/GoAwayWithJae/status/1141420123863027716 https://twitter.com/australiabts/status/1141308512913383424 https://twitter.com/cosmosdior/status/1141359808832032774 Rightfully so, ARMYs were not happy with 20 to One 's portrayal of the group and rapidly assembled worldwide to demand action. Just hours after the segment ran, the fan base had taken to social media, making various hashtags — such as #Channel9Apologise as well as the U.S. spelling variant #Channel9Apologize — trend overnight . But things got even more heated when comedian Alex Williamson stepped in the situation. Though Williamson wasn’t featured in the original segment, he expressed support for the show’s decisions on Twitter, and used extremely derogatory language to do so. Responding to a fan who called out Channel 9 for the segment’s racist undertones, Williamson wrote : “Shut the f*ck up c*nt it ain’t racist they just don’t give a f*ck about boy bands who are designed solely to extract $ from the hip pocket of 14yo’s. I’ll always revel in the genuine talents of South Korean professors such as Cheon Jinwoo. F*ck these c*ntz.” https://twitter.com/AlexWilliamson8/status/1141360240216043520 Williamson’s tweets attacking BTS and ARMYs did not end there — he also suggested the septet has “ generic vocals ” and continued to stereotype Asian people. “[...] Successful Asian men & women doing something genuinely important in the field of science & medicine impress me, and people of all cultures for that matter. Just obviously not boybands,” Williamson wrote . “You c*nts only get a rise out of them due to your lack of education.” https://twitter.com/AlexWilliamson8/status/1141367682102525952 https://twitter.com/AlexWilliamson8/status/1141368589280169984 In response, ARMYs created the hashtag #FireAlexWilliamson to express their discontent with the comedian’s remarks, and accused him of perpetuating stereotypes . In fact, Williamson, who has a history of racist, misogynistic, and just generally offensive tweets, has managed to unite multiple fandoms under the hashtag, including (but not restricted to) the Beyhive , Directioners , Beliebers , and Potterheads . A powerful combo, to say the least . "Army, Halsey fans, beehive, directioners, swifties, beliebers, stays, exols, blinks, navy, and arianators rolling up in Alex Williamson’s life," one tweeted , with a short clip of Jimin coming closer to the screen in a recent video. https://twitter.com/btssportfolio/status/1141467204359204870 https://twitter.com/rkivecherry/status/1141385815601401861 https://twitter.com/bunniejoonie/status/1141400050389716993 https://twitter.com/jmsweaterpaws/status/1141441242779148288 Channel 9 addressed the BTS controversy in a statement to SBS . “As a lighthearted entertainment program, it is our belief that last night’s episode of 20 to One , which highlighted the ‘Greatest Global Crazes,’ did not breach any broadcast regulations, and was intended to humorously highlight the popularity of the group. We apologise to any who may have been offended by last night’s episode,” the apology read. Williamson, on the other hand, posted a not-so-apologetic video to his Twitter, complete with the hashtag #FireAlexWilliamson, acknowledging the situation. “I started World War III last night, inadvertently, and it’s not a very fair war. It’s literally myself versus the whole fandom of BTS, which is apparently a boyband… K-pop band,” Williamson can be heard saying in the video . “It all started with a tweet where an Australian program was accused of being racist towards them when really they were just being dismissive towards boybands. I would’ve said the same thing about Backstreet Boys. I’ve said the same thing about One Direction. It’s not a race issue, my friends, it is an issue about boybands being a gimmick designed to extract the dollars from the hip pockets of 15-year-olds. I appreciate we have different tastes in music and I’ll f*cking see you later.” Teen Vogue has reached out to Alex Williamson and Channel 9 for comment. https://twitter.com/haseouls/status/1141404928642097153 Let us slide into your DMs. Sign up for the Teen Vogue daily email . Want more from Teen Vogue ? Check this out: The BTS ARMY Is Sharing Favorite Memories for BTS’s Sixth Birthday See the video. Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
Adopted AOC amendment will move $5 million from DEA to opioid abuse treatment Freshman congresswomanAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez(D-NY) is using her opposition to the War on Drugs as a way to support treatment for drug addiction. An amendment, proposed by Ocasio-Cortez for an appropriationsbillandapprovedvia voice vote on Thursday, will move $5 million from DEA funding for allocation to opioid addiction treatment programs. Specifically, the funds will be used for the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program, which allowsdrug addictionto be treated as a public health issue. "The opioid crisis has touched every part of this country, including the Bronx," Dan Riffle, senior counsel and policy advisor for the congresswoman, said in a statement to Yahoo Finance. "This amendment is a small first step, but she’s also focused on a racial justice approach to legalizing marijuana, single payer healthcare via Medicare for All, and reducing the outsized influence of the pharmaceutical lobby." Initially, AOCaimedto move $30 million from the DEA but eventually decreased her request. Theofficial committee reportnoted that despite moving $5 million out of the DEA budget, “this still leaves the DEA with the $84.9 million more than FY19 and $72.7 million more than the president’s request.” According to theNew York Times, AOC’s hometown Bronx passed Staten Island as the borough with the most fatal drug overdoses in 2017. It was particularly bad in theSouth Bronx, where the overdose rate per capita was higher than everywhere else in the U.S. except for West Virginia. Most of it came from the synthetic opioid known as fentanyl. “If the South Bronx [were] its own state, it would have the second-highest [opioid overdose] rate in the country…” Dr. Denise Paone, director of research and surveillance for the New York Department of Health,told AM New Yorklast year. Riffle also noted that he worked with the congresswoman to propose the amendment. “I worked in drug policy reform before coming to the hill, and put this amendment idea together with a friend from the Drug Policy Alliance,” Riffle said. “She was pitched on it and eagerly ran with it.” During the hearing for the amendment, AOCsaid: “I offer this amendment because ending the War on Drugs has to mean changing our priorities in order to keep all communities safe and healthy. The best way we do that is by offering people the help and support they need before arrest and criminalization should be considered in the first place.” Adriana is an associate editor for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter@adrianambells. READ MORE: • The opioid crisis is hitting one industry particularly hard • U.S. opioid crisis: 'A lot needs to be done' in 3 key areas • How an American billionaire predicted — and then profited from — an Oxycontin 'prescription blizzard' • Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,SmartNews,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit.
KFC's Cheetos Sandwich Goes Nationwide — Here's What We Thought of It Putting chips on a sandwich is nothing new. Neither are fast food brands collaborating with other known entities to create mashups like Taco Bell 's Doritos Loco Taco or Carl's Jr.'s Jolly Rancher Milkshake . And yet within the realms of cross-promotion and oddball sandwich toppings, there's still plenty of room for innovation. That's why our attention was caught by KFC's limited rollout of a Cheetos Sandwich earlier this year at a handful of locations in three southern states. Anytime Cheetos does anything, we're all ears, and, luckily, I was at KFC headquarters while the item was being tested, so we had a little insight into the limited-release product. But now folks coast-to-coast can experience KFC's cheesiest product yet as the brand announced it's bringing the menu item nationwide this summer. KFC To recap, the Cheetos Sandwich features an Extra Crispy chicken filet in a "special Cheetos sauce," mayonnaise, a "'pinch of the thumb, index and middle fingers' layer of crunchy Cheetos," all set inside a toasted bun. KFC dropped by a few sandwiches courtesy of Head Chef Bob Das for the Food & Wine staff to try. Here's what we thought: "It's incredibly good. A joy and a pleasure." "Good coating, not too much Cheeto. Well balanced." "Perfectly salty and crispy." "I love how buttery the bun is." "There's Cheeto in the sauce. It doesn't really need the actual Cheetos in the sandwich." "The crunch was nice!" "I was not expecting to eat the entire thing, but it's gone." "This was scientifically engineered to be the exact thing that I like." The Cheetos Sandwich hits KFC locations nationwide for four weeks beginning July 1, 2019. To celebrate the launch, KFC is holding what promises to be an Instagram-worthy "All Orange Everything" pop-up event in New York City on Thursday, June 27, 2019 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 242 E 14th Street, New York, NY 10003. There, in addition to early access to Cheetos Sandwiches, fans can try exclusive Cheetos hot wings, Cheetos loaded fries, and Mac and Cheetos Bowls, as well as cocktails, including some made with the brand's new exclusive Mountain Dew flavor Sweet Lightning. More information and VIP reservations available at www.KFCCheetosSandwich.com .
UCLA's Shareef O'Neal, Shaq's son, 'could've died' from heart defect, mom says Shareef O'Neal, Shaq's son, could have died if not for doctors catching a heart defect, his mother said. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports) Shareef O’Neal, a UCLA sophomore and former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal’s son, was undergoing a routine physical last fall when doctors discovered a heart ailment , sidelining the four-star recruit for his freshman year. If it weren’t for the doctors’ discovery, O’Neal “could’ve died from it,” his mother, Shaunie O’Neal, said during the season premiere of her TV show “Basketball Wives.” The VH1 show, in its eighth season, was created and produced by O’Neal and aired Wednesday with insight into her son’s diagnosis. O’Neal diagnosed with congenital heart condition Shaunie said her son was diagnosed with a right anomalous coronary artery and underwent open-heart surgery in October to correct it. The lead-up to the surgery was covered on “Basketball Wives” and shown in a sneak peak with the entire family going to the hospital. Shaunie tried to stay brave for the family and later explained the situation on the show: "[It's] an artery that just grows in the wrong place. He was born with it. He literally could've died from it. They let us know Shareef needed open-heart surgery. I felt my heart break. This is definitely the hardest thing we've ever had to face in our lives.” Symptoms can occur later in life and include abnormal heart rhythms, shortness of breath and tiring easily, according to the Mayo Clinic . The issue can cause heart infection, stroke, hypertension and heart failure if the heart becomes too weak or stiff to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. Shareef was shown walking a week after the surgery on the show, per ESPN , and Shaunie held a fundraiser for heart health. O’Neal returns to UCLA court UCLA released a statement in September announcing O’Neal, a 6-foot-9 forward, would take a redshirt year for medical reasons. O’Neal did an interview with TMZ Sports to reveal the news and later tweeted about it. O’Neal returned to practices last month with first-year head coach Mick Cronin and is working on his strength and conditioning. Per ESPN , he lost 25 pounds while he was out. He’s clearly ready to get back to games. Story continues Can we time travel to November?? I’m ready to go https://t.co/7nra2XCTQx — Shareef O’Neal (@SSJreef) June 19, 2019 O’Neal is one of UCLA’s five top-100 recruits from 2018 and averaged 27 points per game at Crossroads School in Los Angeles as a senior. The squad won the state’s Division II state championship. More from Yahoo Sports: NBA mock draft 5.0: What will Pelicans do? Report: Davis, Lillard to feature in ‘Space Jam 2’ Authorities: Ortiz wasn’t intended target of shooting How Celtics shockingly combusted so quickly
Are Insiders Selling Waterco Limited (ASX:WAT) Stock? 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 inWaterco Limited(ASX:WAT). 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, 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. For example, a Harvard Universitystudyfound that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.' See our latest analysis for Waterco In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Non-Executive Director, Ben Hunt, sold AU$785k worth of shares at a price of AU$2.12 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (AU$1.61). So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels. Ben Hunt was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months. Ben Hunt sold a total of 570k shares over the year at an average price of AU$2.08. You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date! If you are like me, then you willnotwant to miss thisfreelist of growing companies that insiders are buying. Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Waterco insiders own 64% of the company, currently worth about AU$38m based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders. There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back at the last year, we don't gain confidence from the Waterco insiders selling.I like to dive deeperinto how a company has performed in the past. You can findhistoric revenue and earnings in thisdetailed graph. Of courseWaterco 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.
3 Aerospace Growth Stocks to Consider The aerospace industry is on the brink of having the biggest merger in sector history. United Technologies Corporation UTX recently agreed to combine its aerospace businesses with U.S. contractor Raytheon RTN to create a new company worth approximately $121 billion. This deal is completely rearranging the competitive landscape for the aerospace industry. Boeing BA has also brought some attention to the sector. Boeing’s issues with their 737 MAX and the ongoing trade war rhetoric has also caused people to question how well the aerospace sector is doing. While the industry has gone through some recent hiccups, there still remains some stocks that have been able to grow despite these circumstances. These stocks possess extraordinary growth potential that can catapult them into success. Let’s take a more in-depth look into these stocks within the aerospace market that have potential to develop into real winners. Heico Heico HEI is a company that is primarily engaged in certain segments of the aviation, defense, space and electronics industries. Some of the aerospace company’s clients include a majority of the world’s airlines as well as defense and space contractors, amongst others. Heico is currently listed at a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) with a Style Score of B in Growth. For fiscal 2019, earnings are projected to grow 22.65% year-over-year, while revenue is expected to see an increase of 12.6%. This growth for the current year is expected to spill over into 2020; estimates have the company witnessing a 9.19% increase in earnings with a 7.69% jump in revenue. Additionally, Heico looks to carry on the momentum from its last quarterly EPS surprise of +22.45% with current quarter EPS growth of more than 8%. Wesco Aircraft Holdings Wesco Aircraft Holdings WAIR distributes and provides supply chain management services to the global aerospace industry. The company offers inventory of aerospace parts, including hardware, bearings, and tools, etc. Wesco is currently sitting at a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) with a Style Score of A in Growth. The aerospace company expects year-over-year earnings growth of 12% on top of revenue growth of 8.5% for fiscal 2019; next fiscal year could see double-digit earnings growth as well. Additionally, Wesco’s lower than industry average P/E ratio of 12.08 and PEG of 1.01 adds to the stock’s appeal, ensuring investors that they are buying a greatly valued stock. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Kratos Defense & Security KTOS is a specialized national security technology business, providing mission critical products, services and solutions for United States national security interests. The aerospace defense company is currently sitting at a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) with a Style Score of A in Growth. Kratos is a real stand out in terms of growth, as the Zacks Consensus Estimate is signaling a 250% earnings increase for the current quarter. This growth is expected to continue through the fiscal year; our estimates are calling for a 50% earnings increase with revenues going up 19.3%. Kratos has been able to beat earnings estimates in the past four consecutive quarters, with an average earnings surprise of 154.17%. The company has been able to maintain a steady positive growth rate and our estimates see the company being able to carry this trend into the foreseeable future. All three stocks have been able to outperform their respective market year-to-date, further distinguishing themselves within the industry. Will you retire a millionaire?One out of every six people retires a multimillionaire. Get smart tips you can do today to become one of them in a new Special Report, “7 Things You Can Do Now to Retire a Multimillionaire.”Click to get it free >> 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 reportThe Boeing Company (BA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportWesco Aircraft Holdings, Inc. (WAIR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportKratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (KTOS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportHeico Corporation (HEI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportUnited Technologies Corporation (UTX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportRaytheon Company (RTN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Retailers J.C.Penney, Macy's oppose proposed tariffs on apparel, footwear (Reuters) - Department store operators J.C. Penney Co Inc and Macy's Inc have opposed U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to include apparel and footwear among the Chinese goods targeted for tariffs. The companies warned that U.S. consumers would have to pay more as they would not be able to quickly shift sourcing from China for items listed in separate letters dated June 17 and posted online to the U.S Trade Representative. The retailer listed 26 items, ranging from women's pullovers to Christmas ornaments, and stressed that women would be hurt disproportionately by the proposed tariffs. It said that 13 items on their priority list were apparels for women and girls. "For goodness sakes, a tax on Christmas ornaments? One wouldn't think the Administration would seek to emulate the Grinch, who left little Cindy-Lou Who with walls devoid of ornaments and 'nothing but hooks and some wire,'" J.C. Penney said in the letter https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=USTR-2019-0004-2525. Penney's rival Macy's, which listed 63 priority items, said the tariffs on all types of baby garments could hurt new parents. "It is hard enough for new parents to make ends meet while changing diapers and surviving on a few hours of sleep. Is it really a good idea to impose new taxes on baby clothes?" it said in the letter https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=USTR-2019-0004-2268. The USTR had on Monday kicked off seven days of testimony from U.S. retailers, manufacturers and other businesses about Trump's plan to hit another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods with tariffs. The hearings will end on June 25 and the tariffs will not come into effect until after July 2, when a seven-day final rebuttal comment period ends. (Reporting by Soundarya J in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
Why Oracle, Eldorado Gold, and Tilray Jumped Today Thursday was a good day on Wall Street, as investors seemed to have a delayed positive reaction to the Federal Reserve's decision late Wednesday not to make an immediate interest rate cut but to suggest imminent easing in the near future. A rise in geopolitical tensions also lifted some markets, supporting stocks. Some individual companies got more of a boost than others, andOracle(NYSE: ORCL),Eldorado Gold(NYSE: EGO), andTilray(NASDAQ: TLRY)were among the top performers. Here's why they did so well. Shares ofOracle rose 8%after the database specialist reported its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results. Oracle said that revenue eased higher by 1% compared to the prior-year quarter, with adjusted net income picking up 3%. Yet currency impacts hid the somewhat faster pace of organic growth within the company, and Oracle pointed to sustained growth in several key cloud applications suites as evidence that it's taking advantage of trends in the tech industry. No one's going to accuse of the company of having particularly good high-growth prospects, and it still faces competitive threats. Yet at least today, shareholders seem content with Oracle's performance. Image source: Oracle. Eldorado Gold saw its stock climb 13% in response to big moves in the precious metals markets. Gold bullion prices jumped almost $30 per ounce to $1,390, responding to news from the Persian Gulf region that Iran had downed a U.S. drone. President Trump initially ridiculed the Iranian action but later suggested that it might have been a mistake. Even with that somewhat conciliatory tone, commodities traders still sense heightened tension that could help to sustain price increases, andas we've seen in the past, that spilled over into the gold mining sector to help Eldorado as well. Finally, shares of Tilray gained 9%. The Canadian cannabis company has seen its stock suffer since last fall's big boom, but investors are starting to see some of the potential upside for Tilray. In particular, as rules in theU.S. market for industrial hemphave pointed to a possible entry point for future activity, the company could look to move forward with efforts to gain a foothold in that area. That way, if marijuana becomes legal at the federal level, it would give Tilray a head start in moving forward to take advantage of the market. All that's speculative right now, but the trend appears to be moving in that direction, and investors seem to see how good that could be for the stock in a best-case scenario. 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 Dan Caplingerhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
BTIG: Innovative Industrial Properties 'Uniquely Positioned' For Cannabis Growth Innovative Industrial Properties Inc(NYSE:IIPR), the only NYSE-listed real estate company that focuses on the regulated U.S. cannabis industry, is "uniquely positioned" for future growth in the sector, according to BTIG. The Analyst Thomas Catherwoodmaintained a Buy rating on Innovative Industrial Properties with a price target lifted from $101 to $148. The Thesis Innovative Industrial signed a new lease agreement with cannabis company Green Peak that included $18 million of growth capital, Catherwood said in a Thursday note. (See his track record here.) The REIT invested $13 million in an initial 56,000-square-foot facility in 2018, and that agreement included a provision for Innovative Industrial to fund additional facilities if certain EBITDA milestones are reached, the analyst said. This implies the outlook for Green Peak is better than when the initial deal was inked, he said. In essence, Innovative Industrial's agreement with Green Peak boils down to the following, Catherwood said. "When you expand over the next seven years, we have the right to be your landlord, if we so choose." If a similar arrangement was made in another sector, such as high-growth life sciences, investors would view the deal as "incredibly lucrative," the analyst said. Price Action Shares of Innovative Industrial Properties hit a new 52-week high of $137.78 Thursday morning and were up 7.62% at $134.71 at the close Thursday. Related Links: Cannabis Stock Gainers And Losers From June 19 Cannabis REIT Innovative Industrial Properties Raises Dividend By 33% Latest Ratings for IIPR [{"Jan 2019": "Oct 2018", "": "Buy", "Initiates Coverage On": "Maintains", "Buy": "Buy"}, {"Jan 2019": "Jan 2017", "": "", "Initiates Coverage On": "Initiates Coverage On", "Buy": "Buy"}] View More Analyst Ratings for IIPRView the Latest Analyst Ratings See more from Benzinga • BMO: Enable Midstream 'Reasonably Valued' • 2 Papa John's Analysts React To M Investment Plan • Stephens Turns Bullish On Adobe: 3 Reasons Why © 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
How to score a room at Taco Bell's new hotel in Palm Springs We'll take a poolside Crunchwrap Supreme with a Baja Blast, please! Last month,Taco Bell announcedthat they'd be venturing into the travel and accommodations space.The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel & Resortis set to open at the end of the summer for a few days in August in Palm Springs, California. Today, the fast food chain announced when it will start taking reservations and teased us with a few extra details. You should know that The Bell is not a new hotel in of itself, but it will be situated at333 E. Palm Canyon Drive, which is actually home toV Palm Springshotel, but Taco Bell is doing the ultimate takeover. Every element of the property—from guest rooms to the pool to the bar—will be bringing Taco Bell to life. “The hotel draws on Taco Bell’s vibrant palette to create a unique and flavor-filled destination that is the ultimate expression of the brand, unlike anything the brand has done before,” Taco Bell’s Senior Director of Retail Engagement and Experience, Jennifer Arnoldt, said in a press release. “We’re excited to give a peek into Taco Bell’s first hotel that is truly Taco Bell luxury at a value as we evolve how fans can celebrate with the brand this summer and beyond.” The Bell will be open starting August 8 through August 12 (you've got 5 days, people!) and during that time, guests can experience a "Freeze Lounge," inspired by Mountain Dew Baja Blast, dive-in movies, live performances from Feed The Beat artists, a salon offering taco-inspired nail art and more. Each day the rotation of activities and amenities will change, so no two days will be alike. "Get ready for 'Bell' hops and Baja Blast, Fire Sauce and Sauce Packet floaties," the website reads under a photo of the presumed pool area before promising to make "all of your taco dreams come true." The hotel will hold 70 rooms with four different room types: one king bed (standard view), one king bed (pool view), two queen beds (standard view), and two queen beds (pool view). And, of course, The Bell is set to have exclusive new menu items available poolside and throughout the space, but more details on that will be released in July. First of all, you need to be over 18 to visit The Bell. Fans of age can start making reservations for The Bell on Thursday, June 27 at 10 am PST (1 pm EST) and rooms are bound to go fast, so if you want in, you better be ready. Rooms start at $169 per night and will be booked on a first come, first serve basis onThe Bell's website. So, planning an end-of-the-summer vacation and want an experience that's, dare we say, spicy? Set your alarm for June 27 and get your credit card ready.
GLOBAL MARKETS-Fed rate-cut sign boosts stocks, dollar and yields drop * MSCI world index surges, S&P 500 hits record high * Gold hits roughly six-year peak * U.S. 10-year Treasury yield falls below 2% * Oil prices jump on Iran tensions, Fed (Updates with closing of U.S. markets) By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK, June 20 (Reuters) - World stock markets jumped on Thursday, with the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 hitting a record high, while the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell below 2% as investors digested a signal from the Federal Reserve of potential U.S. interest rate cuts as soon as its next meeting. The dollar weakened after the Fed, the U.S. central bank, on Wednesday indicated a marked shift in sentiment even as it left its benchmark rate unchanged for now. Gold prices soared to near six-year highs. “I do think that today’s move is due to yesterday’s Fed move," said James Ragan, director of wealth management research at D.A. Davidson. "The Fed was certainly more dovish then they were earlier in the year and it seems pretty likely that they are going to cut the rate at the July meeting." Oil prices surged, with an extra boost from news that Iran shot down a U.S. military drone, raising fears of a military confrontation between Tehran and Washington. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 1.10%. The index hit its highest since May 1. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 249.17 points, or 0.94%, to 26,753.17, the S&P 500 gained 27.72 points, or 0.95%, to 2,954.18 and the Nasdaq Composite added 64.02 points, or 0.8%, to 8,051.34. Shares of Slack Technologies Inc, the fast-growing workplace messaging and communication platform, surged 48.5% in their debut. Oracle shares rose 8.2% after the company forecast current-quarter profit above estimates. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.36%, reaching its highest since early May. Bank of England officials voted unanimously to hold interest rates despite some recent suggestions from policymakers that borrowing costs should go up. The BoE cut its economic growth forecast for Britain to zero in the second quarter. Focus also is turning to next week's G20 meeting for any developments between the United States and China regarding their trade war that has raised concerns about global growth. “There have been two drivers of the market gains this month: The expectations for the Fed to get more dovish; and optimism over the potential for some type of trade progress with China," Ragan said. Government bond yields in the United States and Europe fell following the Fed's decision, with the U.S. 10-year note yield dropping below 2% for the first time in 2-1/2 years. Benchmark 10-year U.S. notes last rose 5/32 in price to yield 2.0112%, from 2.027% late on Wednesday, after falling to 1.974% earlier in the session. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.48%, with the euro up 0.58% to $1.1289. Spot gold added 2.2% to $1,389.58 an ounce. Lower interest rates decrease the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion and weigh on the dollar, making gold cheaper for investors holding other currencies. U.S. crude settled up 5.4% at $56.65 and Brent settled at $64.45, up 4.3%. "It's a confluence of events: there's a looming easing cycle which is going to hit the dollar and prop up commodity prices and there are also the tensions with Iran," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital Management in New York. (Additional reporting by Jessica Resnick-Ault, Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York and Tom Wilson in London; editing by James Dalgleish, David Gregorio and Susan Thomas)
Adult Harry Potter and Hermoine guide you through new Wizards Unite mobile game Harry Potter: Wizards Unite , the Pokémon Go -style mobile game based on J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, has a special surprise for Muggles and sorcerers-in-training: it’s now live for your downloading pleasure! The game arrived one day earlier than expected ahead of what was promised to be a global launch through iOS devices on Friday, June 21. As revealed in the game, Wizards Unite is set after the defeat of Voldemort in the later years of Harry and the gang’s lives. But, the Ministry of Magic is super paranoid about protecting the Statute of Secrecy, that wizard law that says all magic must be kept out of sight of Muggles. An adult Harry (working at the Ministry as an Auror from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement) and adult Hermione Granger are some of the characters who pop in to guide you through the mess left behind by magical creatures and phenomena. The first character you meet, however, is Constance Pickering, a colleague of Hermione’s on the Statute of Secrecy task force, the ones charged with containing the disaster of “The Calamity,” and she’s recruiting you to help. What’s The Calamity? “Everything that anyone has ever feared, revered, or held dear in the wizarding world — people, things, even memories — have been stolen and displaced, tossed about across the world,” Constance says in the game. “We’ve got to return what is lost, and quickly. The Statute of Secrecy is in danger of being broken. Wizards Unite works similarly to Pokémon Go — probably because Ninantic, Inc., the makers of Pokémon Go, are also behind Wizards Unite . As you walk about the world, your wizard avatar moves about the map, allowing you to find “Foundables,” the aforementioned bits of displaced magic. Some of them are characters, like Hagrid, whom you must save from an Acromantula web with the “Diffindo” splitting charm in one playable scenario. (Swiping your finger across the mobile screen in the designated motion will perform the spell.) Others may include creatures (like the Boggart) or objects (like a Portkey). Story continues Niantic In lieu of Pokémon gyms, players in Wizards Unite can visit multiple “Fortresses” indicated on the map. These locations feature live multiplayer “Wizarding Challenges” against dark creatures and Death Eaters. As the game progresses, players will also get the opportunity to choose a specific profession, which will afford unique skills and abilities. Harry re-emerges as the guide for anyone choosing to become “Aurors,” Hagrid will be your guide to “Magizoologists,” and Professor McGonagall will pop in should you go the “Professor” route. Niantic Niantic teases additional updates and additions to the game after launch, which isn’t surprising given all the evolutions of Pokémon Go . So, keep your wands at the ready. Related content: Pokémon Go -style Harry Potter game summons new teaser Pokémon Go creators announce new Harry Potter game Fantastic Beasts stars tells all in EW’s magical collector’s edition
Darden Closes Out Its Fiscal Year With Strong Sales Performance Darden Restaurants(NYSE: DRI)released fiscal fourth-quarter 2019 earnings results on Thursday that capped a successful year of sales and earnings growth. The parent company of Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, and other well-known restaurant concepts also issued a forecast for the new fiscal year that its shareholders appeared to endorse, as shares rose roughly 2% in the trading session following the earnings release. Below, we'll parse through important numbers and details from Darden's report and review the outlook for the next four quarters. Note that all comparative numbers in the discussion that follows are presented against the prior-year quarter. [{"Metric": "Revenue", "Q4 2019": "$2.2 billion", "Q4 2018": "$2.1 billion", "Growth (YOY)": "4.8%"}, {"Metric": "Net income", "Q4 2019": "$208.0 million", "Q4 2018": "$174.5 million", "Growth (YOY)": "19.2%"}, {"Metric": "Diluted earnings per share", "Q4 2019": "$1.67", "Q4 2018": "$1.39", "Growth (YOY)": "20.1%"}] Data source: Darden Restaurants. YOY = year over year. • The company's top-line increase was propelled by the contribution of 39 net new restaurants among the company's eight brands and a comparable-restaurant sales increase of 1.6%. • Olive Garden sales improved by 3.7% to $1.1 billion, while LongHorn Steakhouse sales rose by 5.7% to nearly $485 million. The company's fine-dining brands advanced sales by 5% to $155 million, while "other business" sales increased by 4.9% to $483 million. • Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse posted comparable-restaurant sales increases of 2.4% and 3.3%, respectively. While the two chains endured rather flat traffic, the comps improvement in both brands resulted from a healthy combination of higher pricing and a favorable menu mix. • Operating margindipped by about 50basis pointsto 10.3%. The company held food and beverage, labor, and direct restaurant expenses in check as a percentage of sales (versus the prior-year quarter), but recorded $14.6 million in restaurant asset impairments. The impairments were roughly $10 million greater than those recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, and they lowered current-quarter earnings per share (EPS) by $0.09. • Darden raised its quarterly dividend payout by 17% to $0.88, bringing the annual yield on its stock to nearly 3% at current share price. • The company repurchased $42 million worth of its own shares during the quarter, for a full-year buyback tally of $208 million. Darden has $304 million remaining on its current $500 million repurchase authorization. Image source: Getty Images. Given its mix of fast-casual, fine dining, and experimental concept chains, Darden relies as much on healthy levels of consumer spending as it does its own ability to execute across multiple concepts. During the company'searnings conference call, CEO Gene Lee discussed the current macroeconomic environment in the U.S.: As you know, the industry experienced sales volatility during the quarter. After a good March, April was a challenging month. But the industry bounced back in May. A significant part of the volatility was due to holiday shift, which helped March but hurt April. Partially due to the economic outlook expressed above, Darden released a vigorous set of financial targets for fiscal 2020 on Thursday. Management expects annual top-line growth of 5.3% to 6.3%, with at least two percentage points of the expansion deriving from a 53rd week in the new year. In a similar equation to fiscal 2019, the revenue forecast relies on 44 net new restaurant openings and comparable-restaurant sales growth of between 1% and 2%. The company's fiscal 2020 diluted EPS projection incorporates a benefit of $0.15 from the 53rd week and a drag of $0.05 stemming from new lease accounting standards. Darden is aiming for diluted EPS from continuing operations of between $6.30 and $6.45. If it hits the midpoint of this range in 2020, the restaurant specialist will exceed its prior-year earnings by 11%. 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 Asit Sharmahas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-S&P hits record closing high as investors bet on Fed rate cut June 20 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 index registered a record closing high on Thursday, lifted by Wall Street's expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates as soon as next month to keep the U.S.-China trade war from stalling economic growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 249.17 points, or 0.94%, to 26,753.17, the S&P 500 gained 27.72 points, or 0.95%, to 2,954.18 and the Nasdaq Composite added 64.02 points, or 0.8%, to 8,051.34. (Reporting by Noel Randewich in San Francisco Editing by James Dalgleish)
What Should Investors Know About Viva Energy REIT's (ASX:VVR) Future? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Viva Energy REIT's (ASX:VVR) most recent earnings announcement in February 2019 showed that the company endured a minor headwind with earnings deteriorating from AU$170m to AU$167m, a change of -2.0%. Investors may find it useful to understand how market analysts predict Viva Energy REIT's earnings growth outlook over the next couple of years and whether the future looks brighter. I will be looking at earnings excluding extraordinary items to exclude one-off activities to get a better understanding of the underlying drivers of earnings. View our latest analysis for Viva Energy REIT Market analysts' consensus outlook for the upcoming year seems pessimistic, with earnings falling by a double-digit -21%. Over the medium term, earnings are predicted to continue to be below today's level, with a decline of -17% in 2021, eventually reaching AU$139m in 2022. Even though it is informative knowing the rate of growth year by year relative to today’s value, it may be more valuable gauging the rate at which the company is growing on average every year. The pro of this technique is that we can get a better picture of the direction of Viva Energy REIT's earnings trajectory over the long run, irrespective of near term fluctuations, which may be more relevant for long term investors. To compute this rate, I've inserted a line of best fit through analyst consensus of forecasted earnings. The slope of this line is the rate of earnings growth, which in this case is -3.8%. This means, we can presume Viva Energy REIT will chip away at a rate of -3.8% every year for the next couple of years. For Viva Energy REIT, I've put together three essential aspects you should further examine: 1. Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk. 2. Valuation: What is VVR worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether VVR is currently mispriced by the market. 3. Other High-Growth Alternatives: Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of VVR? Exploreour interactive list of stocks with large growth potentialto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! 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.
MetLife Looks to Utilize Blockchain MetLifeMET, the largest player in a $2.7 trillion life insurance industry, recently announced a trial run of a completely revamped claims process. Blockchain, the technology underpinning cryptocurrency, will be utilized by MetLife in this significant procedural change. This may have a large impact, as the company has over 90 million customers in over 60 countries. The Change The company may be using the Ethereum blockchain to redo its life insurance claims network. This project is being run by and was developed at MetLife’s incubator LumenLab in Singapore. LumenLab is partnering with Singapore Press Holdings and NTUC Income for the trial run. A large problem with current life insurance is families with recently deceased loved ones forgetting to file for life insurance-claims, or not knowing that their loved ones had a life-insurance policy at all. This lack of information on both sides of the insurance policy is not beneficial for insurers or claimants. MetLife’s trial system looks at obituaries placed with Singapore Press Holdings, then takes the deceased’s National Registration Identity Card number from the death certificate and encrypts it into the blockchain. NTUC then searches this number against its records to check for a policy match. If one is found, the family will be notified within one working day and an automatic email will be sent to the insurer to initiate the claims process. Benefits The efficiency and transparency of this claims process could result in huge benefits to consumers. Families of policy holders would likely be paid out quicker and with a higher rate of fulfilled claims. Using blockchain is also much more secure, as no piece of information in a block can be altered. However, the benefit that the market would care about is that of profit margins. Using blockchain to process claims and notify families is much cheaper than the manual alternative. This could allow MetLife to spend less on administrative costs, and therefore generate greater earnings. MetLife is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) with style scores of A in Value and B in Momentum. Zacks Estimates projects strong year-over-year earnings growth of 4.08% for 2019 and 8.35% for 2020. Most analysts covering MetLife have revised up their earnings estimates for this year and next as well. Also, important for long run benefits is the ease of expanding a decentralized network like the blockchain. MetLife could easily add other key stakeholders to the network, like the government or other insurance providers like PrudentialPUK or AllianzAZSEY. However, one challenge with expanding is the potential need to utilize other blockchains like Bitcoin or Ripple due to the Ethereum currently only being able to handle an average of 13 transactions per second. Long-term Effects With large companies like MetLife starting to experiment with and adopt blockchain technologies, it will likely further legitimize the blockchain and the cryptocurrencies based on it. One could even see a future where cryptocurrency is used to payout claims over the blockchain as well. Eventually, the entire insurance claims and payouts process could be completed over the blockchain in an efficient and completely secure manner. Will you retire a millionaire?One out of every six people retires a multimillionaire. Get smart tips you can do today to become one of them in a new Special Report, “7 Things You Can Do Now to Retire a Multimillionaire.”Click to get it free >> 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 reportMetLife, Inc. (MET) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAllianz SE (AZSEY) : Free Stock Analysis ReportPrudential Public Limited Company (PUK) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Dow Jones Today: Stocks See Fed Follow-Through It took a day, but stocks finally reacted to react to yesterday’s dovish musings from the Federal Reserve. After barelycreeping higheron Wednesday following the conclusion of the Fed’s two-day meeting, gains grew more substantial Thursday. All three of the major U.S. equity benchmarks flirting with gains of 1%. Source: Shutterstock Geopolitical headlines, not of the tariff variety, boosted stocks as well. Oil rallied after Iran shot down a U.S. Navy drone. President Donald Trump took to Twitter calling Iran’s move “a very big mistake.” “Iran produces more than 2.3 million barrels of oil a day, about 2% of the world total and 8% of daily oil output from OPEC, and its economy is highly reliant on oil and gas exports,”according toBarron’s. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips That is nowhere near the more than 12 million barrels per day pumped here in the U.S., but news of Iran’s hostility was enough to lift Dow componentsExxon Mobil(NYSE:XOM) andChevron(NYSE:CVX), the two largest U.S. oil companies. When the closing bell sounded, theS&P 500andNasdaq Compositewere higher by 0.95% and 0.8% while theDow Jones Industrial Averagewas up 0.94%. Exxon and Chevron were two of 26 Dow stocks in the green today and two of the top 10 performers in the blue-chip index. When geopolitical headlines involve military hostilities and the potential for escalation of those tensions, aerospace and defense stocks often respond to the upside. That was the case today asUnited Technologies Inc.(NYSE:UTX) andBoeing(NYSE:BA) were two of the Dow’sbest performers. • 6 Stocks Ready to Bounce on a Trade Deal In addition to the aforementioned Iran controversy, United Technologies got a lift today from comments by industry executives regarding the company’s heavily scrutinized $121 billion plan to acquire rivalRaytheon(NYSE:RTN). “Most dismissed any suggestion that the merger could trigger similar moves among players in the more fragmented European industry, noting that national loyalties and different market conditions will limit cross-border transactions on such a scale,”according toReuters. In what was something of an “industrial renaissance” today, each of the Dow’s members hailing from that sector finished higher. The index’s four industrial names were among its top six winners on a percentage basis. Each of the Dow’s financial services components rose today as well.American Experss(NYSE:AXP), a name that hasbeen highlighted herein recent days, posted a modest gain. AndVisa(NYSE:V) has been one of the more impressive Dow stocks for awhile now. The credit card giant added 1.83% today on its way to a record high. That extends Visa’s month-to-date gain to over 4% and its year-to-date gain to nearly 30%. Sticking with tech for a minute, each of the Dow’s constituents from that sector closed in the green today, led byCisco(NASDAQ:CSCO), which added 2.3%. The Iran situation is worth monitoring over the next few days, particularly for investors owning any of the aforementioned aerospace or oil stocks. However, as that situation blows over, market participants will refocus their attention to monetary policy and if/when the Fed will cut interest rates. On that note,CNBChad aninteresting piece out today highlighting the bullishness news of three Dow components against the backdrop of declining interest rates. Those names areHome Depot(NYSE:HD),Verizon(NYSE:VZ) andWalt Disney(NYSE:DIS). Of those three, only Verizon closed lower today. As of this writing, Todd Shriber did not own any of the aforementioned securities. • 4 Top American Penny Pot Stocks (Buy Before June 21) • 7 Blue-Chip Stocks to Buy for a Noisy Market • 5 Strong Buy Biotech Stocks for the Second Half • 6 Stocks Ready to Bounce on a Trade Deal Compare Brokers The postDow Jones Today: Stocks See Fed Follow-Throughappeared first onInvestorPlace.
ARC Resources cuts 2019 capital expenditure budget to C$700 mln June 20 (Reuters) - Canadian oil and gas producer ARC Resources said on Thursday it has cut its 2019 capital expenditure budget by C$75 million to C$700 million ($530.46 million) due to the postponement of the Attachie West Phase I gas processing and liquids-handling facility. The company said the project will be deferred by at least a year from the originally planned on-stream date of mid-year 2021. The company also said it expects 2020 capital expenditure to be in the range of C$550 million to C$625 million. ($1 = 1.3196 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
Why Carnival, Steelcase, and Scholar Rock Holding Slumped Today The stock market moved higher on Thursday, with major indexes climbing about 1%. Investors were able to dismiss much of the uncertainty raised by an Iranian attack against a U.S. drone in the Strait of Hormuz, instead focusing on the prospect that monetary policy moves will support a greater likelihood of economic growth. Yet some stocks weren't able to participate in the rally. Carnival (NYSE: CCL) , Steelcase (NYSE: SCS) , and Scholar Rock Holding (NASDAQ: SRRK) were among the worst performers. Here's why they did so poorly. Carnival sails lower Shares of Carnival fell nearly 8% after the cruise ship operator released its fiscal second-quarter financial results. The company faced some difficult situations during the quarter, including higher fuel costs, a reduction in maximum speed for its Carnival Vista vessel, and a shift in U.S. policy regarding travel to Cuba. As a result, Carnival cut its full-year earnings guidance by roughly 2% to 4%. Investors didn't like the sound of that, even though the cruise line tried to keep shareholders focused on the long run by highlighting the company's prospects for future growth. Until certain key overhangs get resolved, such as the U.K.'s exit from the European Union, it might be tough for investors to regain their faith in Carnival. Person on zipline in front of a Carnival cruise ship. Image source: Carnival. Steelcase falls short Steelcase saw its stock drop 11% following its release of fiscal first-quarter financial results. The corporate furniture and architectural products specialist reported a 9% rise in revenue that produced modest 5% gains in net income compared to the year-earlier period. Yet those numbers were weaker than what Steelcase itself had projected earlier. Steelcase executives hope that trends toward greater order activity near the end of the quarter could carry over into future periods and help bolster growth, but in order to meet its unchanged full-year projections, the company will have to act quickly to make up for its shortfall to begin the fiscal year. Story continues Scholar Rock sells some stock Finally, shares of Scholar Rock Holding plunged 15% . The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company said that it would sell 3 million shares of common stock in a public offering, with the price set at $15 per share. Given that Scholar Rock's stock closed above $17 on Wednesday, that came as a shock. Yet it's not uncommon for biotech stock offerings to involve significant declines, and raising cash at an opportune time could be crucial in helping Scholar Rock to develop key treatments for spinal muscular atrophy and certain forms of cancer. In the long run, it's far more important for Scholar Rock to see positive results in clinical trials as they proceed. 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 Dan Caplinger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Carnival. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
'RuPaul's Drag Race' star Alexis Michelle gives man his first drag makeover: Watch his incredible transformation! Ever wondered how much work is involved in undergoing a drag makeover? Last week,The James New York — NoMad hotelhosted a party called "Love and Lipliner," which involved a group of drag queens giving a lucky few people complete makeovers for one night only, and the results were incredible. AOL's Gibson Johns received a makeover by "RuPaul's Drag Race" starAlexis Michelle, who usedUrban Decay,Benefit CosmeticsandW7products to complete a stunning transformation that you won't believe. Watch the complete process at the top of the page!
Better Buy: iQiyi vs. Alibaba The trade tensions between China and the U.S. have taken their toll on Chinese tech stocks recently, but that has only madeiQiyi(NASDAQ: IQ)andAlibaba(NYSE: BABA)more appealing as valuations have come down. Both companies posted robust growth rates last year, and while there could be some speed bumps in the near term, the long-term prospects for iQiyi and Alibaba look bright. Let's review both companies' recent performances and competitive positions to see which stock is the better buy. IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES. iQiyi hasone of the largest video-streaming servicesin the Middle Kingdom. The company currently has 96.8 million subscribers out of more than 600 million who watch online video in China. Meanwhile, Alibaba serves 721 million mobile users with its retail marketplaces, including Taobao and Tmall. Recent performance shows iQiyi growing faster than Alibaba. iQiyi has seenstrong membership growthfor its video-streaming service as Chinese consumers are becoming more willing to pay for a subscription instead of watching ad-supported content. Last year, iQiyi's top line soared 55%, driven by an increase in paying members of 72%. However, iQiyi's revenue growth decelerated to 43% in the first quarter. The company's online advertising business took a hit as businesses in China are holding back on ad spending given the economic uncertainty in the short term. Management anticipates a further deceleration next quarter, with total revenue expected to increase between 12% and 18% in the second quarter. Investors expect much more growth, which is why thestock is downabout 33% over the last three months. Alibaba didn't grow as fast as iQiyi last year, but the retail giant's adjusted revenue growth rate of 39% is nothing to sneeze at. It's more impressive when you realize that Alibaba is a huge business with a market value of about $411 billion. The commerce business generated $853 billion in gross merchandise volume over the last year, led by the dominance of its Tmall retail marketplace. American brands rely on Tmall to market their goods to Chinese consumers who want authentic merchandise and not a counterfeit, which is a big problem in China. Alibaba doesn't see China's economic issues affecting its business. Management expects revenue to increase by approximately 33% this year, which is not much of a deceleration from last year's 39% growth rate, excluding acquisitions. China's middle class is estimated to double in size to about 600 million over the next decade. Alibaba sees that increase transforming China to a consumption economy as opposed to a net exporter of goods. This transformation is enormously beneficial to Alibaba's retail businesses. Alibaba relies on foreign brands to sell their goods through its marketplaces to drive growth, so a favorable outcome to the trade war would likely benefit Alibaba with a long tailwind of growth for many years. The main benefit for iQiyi would be the removal of uncertainty over the economy, which would boost its advertising business in the short term. Because of its Chinese-oriented content, iQiyi is not able to expand its streaming offerings internationally the wayNetflixcan. To drive growth over the long term, iQiyi is making progress to diversify its revenue across several areas. In the last quarter, revenue from "other" businesses, including online games, consumer products, and social media, increased 143% year over year and comprised 14% of total revenue. Despite the near-term obstacles with the ad business, iQiyi is well positioned for growth, but it's tough to overlook how dominant Alibaba is across different industries. Not only is Alibaba the largest e-commerce platform in China with a 53% market share, but it's also thelargest cloud providerand shares a duopoly withTencentin the mobile payments market. iQiyi may eventually bounce back and surpass Alibaba's annual revenue growth rate once trade tensions are resolved, but Alibaba is proving to be more resilient to economic issues. Because of the poor performance from iQiyi's ad business right now, Alibaba will likely grow its top line faster than iQiyi this year. This is an ideal time to go shopping for Chinese growth stocks. Valuations have come down dramatically even though long-term demand for entertainment and consumer goods are expected to climb significantly over the next 10 years in China. I would be glad to add both iQiyi and Alibaba to my portfolio, but if I had to choose one, I would rather buy Alibaba right now. It's profitable and growing fast, while iQiyi remains unprofitable as it reinvests in content to drive growth. That's not a negative for iQiyi, but in these uncertain times, Alibaba's $15 billion in free cash flow provides a cushion for the stock, whereas iQiyi is difficult for investors to value given its lack of profitability. With Alibaba, investors can buy a share of one of the most dominant tech companies on the planet for about 24 times forward earnings estimates. For all of these reasons, I believe Alibaba is the better buy for investors today. 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 John Ballardhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Netflix and Tencent Holdings. The Motley Fool recommends iQiyi. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Darden Restaurants Earnings: DRI Stock Edges Higher on Q4 Profit Beat Darden Restaurants(NYSE:DRI) unveiled its latest quarterly earnings results late on Thursday, bringing in sales that missed the Wall Street guidance, yet the company’s profit that was stronger than what analysts called for, playing a role in lifting DRI stock today. Source: Olive Garden website The Orlando, Fla.-based restaurant operator — parent company of Olive Garden and LongHorn SteakHouse — said that for itsfourth quarter of its fiscal 2019, it brought in a profit of $208 million, or $1.67 per share. This marks a 19.2% increase over the company’s net income from the same quarter a year ago, which tallied up to $174.5 million, or $1.39 per share. On an adjusted basis, Darden Restaurants raked in a profit of $1.76 per share, topping the $1.73 per share that the Wall Street consensus estimate predicted, according toFactSet. The business added that its revenue for the period came in at $2.229 billion, a 4.5% surge when compared to its sales of $2.134 billion from its fourth quarter of its fiscal 2018. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips The business missed Wall Street’s revenue guidance for the period as analysts were calling for sales of $2.244 billion. Darden Restaurants posted same-restaurant sales that gained 1.6% year-over-year, missing the FactSet guidance of a 2.4% increase in comps. The company said it now sees its same-restaurant sales to surge 1% to 2% for its fiscal 2020, while earnings are slated to come in at $6.30 to $5.45 per share. The FactSet guidance sees the business’ same-restaurant sales gaining 2.2%, while earnings are expected to be $6.46 per share. DRI stock is up about 1.1% on Thursday following the company’s quarterly earnings results. • 7 Value Stocks to Buy for the Second Half • 6 Stocks Ready to Bounce on a Trade Deal • 5 Stocks to Buy for $20 or Less Compare Brokers The postDarden Restaurants Earnings: DRI Stock Edges Higher on Q4 Profit Beatappeared first onInvestorPlace.
SCOTUS says the Christian cross has “secular” meaning, citing Notre Dame in France “The cross came into widespread use as a symbol of Christianity by the fourth century, and it retains that meaning today. But there are many contexts in which the symbol has also taken on a secular meaning. Indeed, there are instances in which its message is now almost entirely secular,” US Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito writes in American Legion v. American Humanist Association (pdf) , decided today. Alito’s assertion in a case challenging the 32-foot Bladensburg Peace Cross—mounted on an 8-foot tall pedestal on public land in Maryland as a tribute to World War I veterans in 1925—will no doubt come as a surprise to many. But according to the Catholic justice, everyone knows that the cross isn’t just a religious symbol, as evidenced by the fact that brands like Blue Cross Blue Shield use it in their trademarks and that people of all faiths the world over mourned when Notre Dame Cathedral burned . He writes: Meet all the Democratic candidates in the crowded 2020 race Although the French Republic rigorously enforces a secular public square, the cathedral remains a symbol of national importance to the religious and nonreligious alike. Notre Dame is fundamentally a place of worship and retains great religious importance, but its meaning has broadened. For many, it is inextricably linked with the very idea of Paris and France. Speaking to the nation shortly after the fire, President Macron said that Notre Dame “is our history, our literature, our imagination. The place where we survived epidemics, wars, liberation. It has been the epicenter of our lives.” The slew of concurrences supporting Alito shows just how tricky the issue was, however, and indicates that it’s not so obvious the cross isn’t just a Christian symbol. Seven justices agreed the monument should stand, but each wanted to say their piece about the Peace Cross and why it did not violate the First Amendment’s mandate to separate church and state. And they didn’t align on the issues according to their personal faiths . Story continues Justice Stephen Breyer, who is Jewish, noted that there was no evidence to suggest that the creators of the war memorial “sought to disparage or exclude any religious group.” He too argued that the cross stands for secular values, like patriotism and commemoration. Indians can worry less as the US denies capping H-1B visa quota However, Brett Kavanaugh, an avowed Catholic, wasn’t quite buying that claim. He too supported Alito’s decision but wrote a concurrence. “I have great respect for the Jewish war veterans who in an amicus brief say that the cross on public land sends a message of exclusion. I recognize their sense of distress and alienation,” he writes. “Moreover, I fully understand the deeply religious nature of the cross. It would demean both believers and nonbelievers to say that the cross is not religious, or not all that religious.” Meanwhile, Neil Gorsuch—who is possibly Episcopalian —also wrote a concurrence, agreeing with Alito’s conclusion but questioning the case’s existence. He wasn’t sure that “offended observers” even had a right to challenge the monument’s presence to begin with. Elena Kagan’s concurrence seemed to want to smooth any ruffled feathers. The Jewish justice noted that the Court’s decision reflects “sensitivity to and respect for this Nation’s pluralism, and the values of neutrality and inclusion that the First Amendment demands.” Clarence Thomas, a devoted Catholic, also concurred. In his opinion, the Establishment Clause shouldn’t even be applied to states. He wasn’t certain that the cross in question could be challenged constitutionally, but agreed that if so, this monument passes constitutional muster. Still, Thomas was disappointed that his colleagues didn’t adequately clarify what standard should be used in future cases like this one, snubbing Alito’s opinion even while supporting his decision. Only Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor would have resolved the case differently. Ginsburg, who is Jewish, dissented, joined by Sotomayor, who is Catholic. The Jewish justice schooled her colleagues in basic Christian theology, explaining, “The Latin Cross is the foremost symbol of the Christian faith embodying the central theological claim of Christianity: that the son of God died on the cross, that he rose from the dead, and that his death and resurrection offer the possibility of eternal life.” She accused her colleagues of sending “a starkly sectarian message” with their decision. Ginsburg writes, “[M]aintaining the Peace Cross on a public highway…elevates Christianity over other faiths, and religion over nonreligion.” This monument on Maryland public land is, in her view, clearly a Christian symbol maintained by the state and in violation of the Establishment Clause. Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief , our free daily newsletter with the world’s most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: Tulsi Gabbard was a surprise breakout in first Democratic debate Young female doctors are at high risk for burnout and “self-care” is not the answer
When Will Wellness and Beauty Solutions Limited (ASX:WNB) Become Profitable? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Wellness and Beauty Solutions Limited's (ASX:WNB): Wellness and Beauty Solutions Limited provides non-invasive and non-surgical cosmetic treatments in Australia. With the latest financial year loss of -AU$11.7m and a trailing-twelve month of -AU$15.2m, the AU$4.9m market-cap amplifies its loss by moving further away from its breakeven target. Many investors are wondering the rate at which WNB will turn a profit, with the big question being “when will the company breakeven?” I’ve put together a brief outline of industry analyst expectations for WNB, its year of breakeven and its implied growth rate. View our latest analysis for Wellness and Beauty Solutions Expectation from Consumer Services analysts is WNB is on the verge of breakeven. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2020, before generating positive profits of AU$1.4m in 2021. Therefore, WNB is expected to breakeven roughly 2 years from today. In order to meet this breakeven date, I calculated the rate at which WNB must grow year-on-year. It turns out an average annual growth rate of 73% is expected, which is rather optimistic! If this rate turns out to be too aggressive, WNB may become profitable much later than analysts predict. Given this is a high-level overview, I won’t go into details of WNB’s upcoming projects, but, keep in mind that typically a high growth rate is not out of the ordinary, particularly when a company is in a period of investment. Before I wrap up, there’s one aspect worth mentioning. WNB has managed its capital judiciously, with debt making up 36% of equity. This means that WNB has predominantly funded its operations from equity capital,and its low debt obligation reduces the risk around investing in the loss-making company. There are too many aspects of WNB to cover in one brief article, but the key fundamentals for the company can all be found in one place –WNB’s company page on Simply Wall St. I’ve also compiled a list of relevant aspects you should look at: 1. Historical Track Record: What has WNB's performance been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look atthe free visual representations of our analysisfor more clarity. 2. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look atwho sits on Wellness and Beauty Solutions’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.
Carnival's Downbeat Earnings Outlook Hurts Industry Stocks Earnings Report Carnival Corp CCL released its second quarter earnings on Thursday before the bell. Its quarterly EPS of $0.66 beat our Zacks Consensus Estimates of $0.61. Reported quarterly revenue of $4.84 billion beating our $4.53 billion estimates by roughly 7%. The part of the report that really affected CCL stock was its lowered guidance for fiscal 2019. Carnival decreased its fiscal 2019 EPS expectations from $4.35-$4.55 to $4.25-$4.35. The lowered guidance was a result of Carnival cruise cancellations due to necessary ship repairs, and the U.S. government’s policy change on travel to Cuba, which is resulting in lower revenue in the second half of the year. Additionally, revenue was cut due to headwinds for the company’s European brands. Multiple analysts’ downgraded Carnival, including William Blair who dropped it to “Market Perform” from “Outperform.” Carnival is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Stocks Take a Hit Although Carnival beat analyst estimates, its stock took a big hit. Following the release, Carnival’s stock opened down more than 9% this morning. Industry peers Royal Caribbean Cruises RCL and Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings NCLH both fell over 3%. The UK brand of Carnival, Carnival UK CUK, hit a new 52-week low of $45.06 today, also falling over 9%. This is the sixth time in a row Carnival’s stock has fallen following an earnings report. CCL has fallen over 23% in the past 12 months and the earnings report shows there is little hope for a bounce back in the near future. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines are expected to report their Q2 earnings in late July and early August, respectively. Their earnings reports could provide a better picture for the industry as a whole as some of Carnival’s lowered guidance was a result of company specific problems. Bottom Line Going into the second half of the year, Carnival is not looking good. The industry has underperformed compared to the S&P 500 for the past 6 quarters and Carnival’s pessimistic outlook does not help its stock or its peers’. 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 reportRoyal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportCarnival Corporation (CUK) : Free Stock Analysis ReportCarnival Corporation (CCL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportNorwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Wall Street Is Taking Cues From Silicon Valley to Innovate Fintech Despite a slew of mobile apps designed to help us budget better, it still wouldn’t be considered shocking to bring “a shoebox full of documents” to apply for a mortgage. That’s according to fintech startup Plaid CEO Zach Perret, who spoke atFortune’sinauguralBrainstorm Financeevent in Montauk, N.Y., on Thursday. A Silicon Valley startup like Plaid would be expected to work on solutions to this antiquated behavior, but some of the bigger and more traditional banks in the world are working to innovate financial services as well. Joining Perret on stage at the conference were a couple of representatives from Wall Street: Sigal Zarmi, managing Director and head of transformation atMorgan Stanley, and Adam Dell, head of product at Marcus byGoldman Sachs, an online bank for consumers. “I really believe that Goldman Sachs is uniquely positioned to push the industry forward in the same way that retail has been transformed byAmazon, Uber has transformed transportation, Apple’s transformed music,” Dell said. One proponent of this push is Marcus’ acquisition last year of Clarity Money, an app that using artificial intelligence and machine learning to create personalized finance tools. Meanwhile, Zarmi from Morgan Stanley says the company is looking at more than a 1,000 startups a year for potential partnerships. “We are evaluating the product. We are giving them advice on the roadmap, how do we see the roadmap fitting within our environment?” she explains. “Asking questions, learning from them.” A recent example she mentions is Zoom, a video conferencing company. “We think that technology can really change the way we interact with our customers and clients.” Perret’s Plaid wants to be in the middle of it. His says the company has integrated with over 15,000 banks working on backend development on apps and related tools. “We have a unifying theory: Make money easier for everyone,” he says. “We believe in giving consumers more access to products, tools, choices.” —Brainstorm Finance 2019: Watch the livestreamof the inaugural conference —Andreessen Horowitz: HowFacebook’s Libra cryptocurrencywill be governed —Welcome to the next generation ofcorporate phishing scams —Western Union and Zelle dishon the competition and talk mobile payments —Millennials arenot basement-dwelling potheads, says Wealthfront CEO Sign up forThe Ledger, a weekly newsletter on the intersection of technology and finance.
3 Drugs Under FDA Review With Blockbuster Potential Being the first drugmaker to develop a therapy attacking a new target in cells can result in blockbuster sales. But other companies can wrestle that market share away from the first-in-class drugs with follow-on drugs going after the same targets if the new drugs can provide better safety, efficacy, or dosing than the current offerings. Here are three follow-on drugs that have proven their worth in clinical trials and are waiting for FDA approvals before the companies can start the competition with the current standard of care. [{"Drug": "Upadacitinib", "Company": "AbbVie(NYSE: ABBV)", "Disease": "Rheumatoid arthritis", "FDA Decision Expected": "Mid-August 2019*"}, {"Drug": "Brolucizumab", "Company": "Novartis(NYSE: NVS)", "Disease": "Wet age-related macular degeneration", "FDA Decision Expected": "Mid-October 2019*"}, {"Drug": "Ozanimod", "Company": "Celgene(NASDAQ: CELG)", "Disease": "Relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis", "FDA Decision Expected": "March 25, 2020"}] Source: Company press releases. *Estimated based on announcement of filing the marketing application and the FDA accepting it. Image source: Getty Images. Upadacitinib, which was licensed fromGalapagos(NASDAQ: GLPG), is a Janus kinase 1 (JAK1) inhibitor that AbbVie is developing for a range of diseases in which an overactive immune system leads to inflammation. JAK1 and its siblings, JAK2 and JAK3, are signal transducers that work in the immune cell stimulation pathway. Inhibiting the pathway dampens the immune reaction that causes diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, atopic dermatitis, and psoriatic arthritis. Pfizer's Xeljanz, which targets JAK3, brought in $423 million in sales in the first quarter, a jump of 34% as the drug moves beyond rheumatoid arthritis and into psoriatic arthritis and ulcerative colitis, which it was recently approved to treat. While AbbVie has some work to do to take away market share from Pfizer andEli Lilly's(NYSE: LLY)JAK inhibitor Olumiant -- and additionalupcoming competitionfromGilead Sciences'(NASDAQ: GILD)filgotinib -- there's some evidence that upadacitinib might work better than Xeljanz based on their respective studies comparing the drugs to Humira. AbbVie also has a dominant position in the rheumatoid arthritis space since it sells Humira, and it may be able to get a preferred position on insurers' lists of covered drugs. Image source: Getty Images. Brolucizumab targets vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which promotes the blood vessel growth in patients with wet macular degeneration in the eye. The drug will compete directly withRegeneron Pharmaceuticals'(NASDAQ: REGN)megablockbuster Eylea, which also targets VEGF and brought in $1.7 billion in sales in the first quarter. In twohead-to-head studies, brolucizumab was deemed noninferior to Eylea, with the drugs improving patients' ability to see letters on an eye chart at about the same levels. But brolucizumab beat Eylea in measurements of disease activity with 23.5% and 21.9% of patients having disease activity at the end of the studies compared to 33.5% and 31.4% of patients taking Eylea having disease activity in the two respective late-stage clinical trials. Brolucizumab may also have some dosing benefit because the clinical trials compared 12-week dosing of brolucizumab with 8-week dosing of Eylea. Patients obviously would prefer to have fewer injections into their eyes, and that goes double for older patients who may need assistance getting to the doctor. Eylea has since been approved by the FDA for 12-week dosing, although the 8-week dosing may still provide better results, leading doctors to prefer brolucizumab's 12-week scheme. This is ozanimod's second time in front of the FDA, although the first stint was fairly short-lived. After submitting the marketing application, Celgenereceiveda refuse-to-file letter from the FDA because it hadn't fully characterized a metabolite -- breakdown product -- of the drug. Celgene ran the required studies, and the FDA accepted the marketing application earlier this month. Nevertheless, the regulatory history of the drug makes an approval less certain than the other two drugs. Ozanimod modulates sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor 1 and 5 on immune cells, which attack myelin, the protective sheath that covers nerve fibers in multiple sclerosis patients. By modulating the activity of the immune cells, ozanimod and other S1P modulators, such as Novartis' Gilenya, can slow the disease progression. Celgene, which is in the process of being purchased byBristol-Myers Squibb(NYSE: BMY), has set up ozanimod as a safer version of Gilenya, which racked up $766 million in sales in the first quarter. For example, the first dose of Gilenya has to be monitored in a doctor's office because it can slow the heart rate in some patients, but ozanimod doesn't appear to have the heart issue. While ozanimod's activity may not be as strong as Gilenya's, doctors are likely to prescribe the safer drug even if it means giving up some disease-slowing activity. More From The Motley Fool • Beginner's Guide to Investing in Marijuana Stocks • Marijuana Stocks Are Overhyped: 10 Better Buys for You Now • Your 2019 Guide to Investing in Marijuana Stocks Brian Orellihas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Celgene and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Why Waymo Just Signed Up With Nissan and Renault Waymo, the company formerly known as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, is going global:Renault SA(NASDAQOTH: RNSDF)andNissan Motor(NASDAQOTH: NSANY), two automakers that have long operated in an "alliance," have together signed a deal with Waymo to jointly explore the development of a range of self-driving-related businesses and vehicles. It's an intriguing move for all three companies. Here's what we know. Nissan and Renault have joined a growing list of Waymo partners, including Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Jaguar Land Rover. Image source: Waymo LLC. Here's the key sentence from the press release issued by the three companies on June 20: Groupe Renault, Nissan Motor Co., and Waymo, leaders in their respective fields, have entered into an exclusive agreement for an initial period to explore all aspects of driverless mobility services for passengers and deliveries in France and Japan. The three companies said that they will work together to scope out the market -- and the potential regulatory roadblocks -- to various types of driverless transportation-as-a-service businesses. The partnership will begin in France and Japan, where Renault and Nissan have secured exclusive access to Waymo's technology for a limited period. It could expand to other markets (butnotChina, the parties said) in time. The companies described the deal as a "first step" to a potential long-term partnership. My takeaway is that this deal is mostly an agreement to give Renault and Nissan exclusive rights while the three parties work on figuring out what a larger, long-term deal might look like. Waymo, the self-driving subsidiary of Google parentAlphabet(NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL), has already signed deals with several established auto-industry players, includingFiat Chrysler Automobiles(NYSE: FCAU),Jaguar Land Rover,ridesharing companyLyft(NASDAQ: LYFT), andused-car giantAutoNation(NYSE: AN), among others. But this deal with Nissan and Renault is the first that's explicitly focused on markets outside of the United States. We should also note that -- unlike Waymo's deals with Fiat Chrysler and Jaguar -- this deal doesn't include any suggestion that Nissan or Renault will build vehicles for Waymo's self-driving taxi service. (That doesn't mean that they won't, only that there's no agreement to do so right now.) Waymo CEO John Krafcik said that the scale and international reach of the Renault-Nissan alliance made this an "ideal opportunity" for Waymo to bring its technology to a "global stage." It's generally accepted that two sets of technologies -- electric drivetrains and autonomous-driving systems -- will transform the auto industry over the next few decades. Established automakers have been scrambling to partner with companies that are well along in developing these technologies, to develop them in house, or (often) both. There's no question that Renault and Nissan have deep expertise with electric vehicles. The battery-electric Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe have been among the world's best-selling electric vehicles for several years. But the alliance doesn't appear to have a strong autonomous-vehicle development program, and that's a base that they have almost certainly been feeling pressure to cover. This deal with Waymo buys them some breathing space. At least for a little while, Renault and Nissan have gained access to a potential self-driving solution while they scope out the likely markets for autonomous taxis and delivery vehicles in their home countries. Nissan and Renault have strong electric-vehicle technology but are playing catch-up in driverless cars. Image source: Renault SA. For Nissan and Renault, working with Waymo could be a mixed blessing. While they get access to best-of-breed self-driving technology, it comes with a price: Waymo will almost certainly control the data generated by any potential transportation-as-a-service businesses, and that data will almost certainly be a very valuable commodity. I can't see a significant potential downside for Waymo. 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 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.John Rosevearhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares) and Alphabet (C shares). The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Shopify's Latest Trick: An Order Fulfillment Network E-commerce powerhouseShopify(NYSE: SHOP)hosted its annual Unite developer and partner conference on June 19 and 20, bringing with it a slew of updates. One new service rollout has the market amped: Shopify Fulfillment Network. The stock surged over 6% higher on June 19 following that news. The offering fully commits Shopify to the battle raging overonline order fulfillment and fast shipping, and could be a crucial part of the company's continued growth in the years ahead. With Shopify rallying businesses to its retail entrepreneurship cause, offering a branded and reliable shipping service makes a lot of sense. Image source: Shopify. Shopify had some other announcements waiting in the wings for the Unite conference as well. Among them were improvements toShopify Plus, the company's service for bigger and more complex companies trying to establish an internet presence. The e-commerce automation tool Flow will now integrate into Plus, and a new dashboard is rolling out with businesswide insights and data delivered to users of the Plus platform. Developer tools for building apps and other customized needs are also forthcoming. Additionally, Shopify said it's updating its online store features so that merchants across the Shopify ecosystem have more tools to get the digital experience they are looking for. The point-of-sale system is also getting a refresh, complete with easier access to apps like loyalty and rewards programs and a focus on faster checkout and more scalability across a merchant's online and offline operations. Arguably the most important announcement, though, was the all-new Shopify Fulfillment Network. The new program is starting here in the states with fulfillment centers being built in strategic locations across the country -- complete with inventory-allocation technology powered by machine learning software that predicts the closest fulfillment center for optimal delivery time and cost. Subscribers also get access to an experienced logistics and account manager. Image source: Getty Images. Shopify isn't new to the shipping business. The company's Shipping service has been a key area of growth in its Merchant Services segment -- which grew by 58% year over year during the first quarter of 2019 to $180 million. The Shipping software suite simply helped merchants seamlessly get delivery quotes from third parties like the U.S. Postal Service andUPS, but didn't give customers real-time shipping quotes. Managing orders and getting them out the door on a daily basis can be a nightmare for many retailers as well. Shopify Fulfillment Network aims to solve some of those pain points, not to mention help small businesses keep up with the delivery and convenience prowess from the likes ofAmazon.com, andincreasingly competent e-retailersWalmartandTarget. The Fulfillment Network can handle returns and exchanges for a business, as well as facilitate custom packaging and keep track of inventory. The service will work for businesses that do as little as 10 orders a day and up to 30,000 a day. This is a big deal, as delivery costs can be extremely prohibitive for small businesses. Shopify thinks it will be able to save its patrons money, without those merchants having to cede control of their brand to do so. Getting this deep into the logistics game -- not to mention the real estate it will require -- is uncharted territory for Shopify. It makes sense, though, as it furthers the commerce platform's cause of returning the entrepreneurial spirit to the world of retail. If it can successfully pull it off, Fulfillment Network could be a massive growth lever it can pull in the years ahead -- not just in the business-to-consumer selling model, but also in the largebusiness-to-business sales marketthat Shopify is only just beginning to break into. High-octane growth is what the stock needs to justify itscurrent valuation, and it'll take big numbers for the Shopify platform to reach the epic proportions the company is aiming to achieve. Fulfillment Network could be that next spark that keeps its merchant services business growing at double-digit percentage rates. This development is worth keeping a keen eye on. 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 John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.Nicholas Rossolilloand his clients own shares of Shopify. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon and Shopify. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Libra Could Be Unbalanced by Indian Crypto Laws Facebook’srollout ofLibramay be steamrolled in India by existing regulatory constraints, reported the Economic Times. Despite cryptocurrencies’ precarious standing within Indian law, the media outlet reports “Facebook has not filed any application with RBI (Reserve Bank of India) for its cryptocurrency in India,” according to an anonymous source with direct knowledge of the situation. Another anonymous source saidCalibramay be excluded from markets where “cryptocurrencies are banned or Facebook is restricted from operating in.” Related:Rep. Waters: US Can’t Let Facebook’s Crypto ‘Compete With the Dollar’ The social media juggernaut told the Economic Times, “We expect Calibra to work on WhatsApp and be available globally.” India has 400 million WhatsApp users, according to Statista. While peer-to-peer cryptocurrency transactions are currently allowed in India, in April 2018, the RBI passed a deadline initiative to prevent certain corporate entities from dealing in digital currencies, due to associated financial and social risks. The ban is being contested in the Supreme Court, with the next scheduled hearing on July 23. Calibra is a Facebook subsidiary that will provide a platform for financial services involving Libra in Facebook’s ecosystem. The currency itself is developed by a consortium of 28 corporate, nongovernmental, and financial backers. Though Libra intends to decentralize in time, it is unclear how the Indian government may classify the arrangement. Whatever the court’s decision, the distinction between personal and business use may be moot according to Tanvi Ratna, a policy analyst and fellow at New America. “If the government brands it criminal activity then obviously Facebook is knowingly committing an offence” no matter how Libra is utilized. Related:Will Facebook’s Libra Be an On-Ramp or Dead End for Crypto? Indeed, the current zeitgeist within the ranks of India’s government is that cryptocurrencies enable tax evasion, money laundering, and fraud. A draft bill, dubbed “Banning of Cryptocurrencies and Regulation of Official Digital Currencies Bill 2019,” reportedly received support The Department of Economic Affairs, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs and the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority in April. Pegged to a basket of fiat currencies, Libra may see further challenges in that India’s laws do not discriminate between digital assets operating in isolation within a network, and digital assets interacting with fiat currency such as the rupee. “If Facebook were to design the Libra to be a closed system, only to be transacted on its network and not beyond, RBI should ideally be less concerned, since the coin does not engage with the external economy,” said Anirudh Rastogi, founder of Ikigai Law, a technology-focused law firm. “If it is not meant to operate in a closed system, then it is exactly the kind of digital asset that concerns RBI.” One expert said under provisions in Section 79 of the Indian IT Act, Facebook is already obligated to take ‘all due care’ to ensure its network or platform is not used for illegal activities like dealing in cryptocurrencies. He also said the law is given extraterritorial jurisdiction, meaning even multinationals can be brought to court. Image via Shutterstock • Senate Banking Committee Schedules July Hearing on Facebook’s Libra Crypto • Facebook Talked to the Fed About Libra, Chairman Powell Says
Brandon Flynn on Hollywood Double Standards and Never Actually Coming Out Brandon Flynn has a flourishing Hollywood career. The 25-year-old quickly shot to social media superstardom on Netflix’s hit “ 13 Reasons Why ” with millions of devoted followers and, shortly after, was cast on HBO’s “True Detective.” And yet, the rising star has received just as much attention for his personal life as his professional career. Related stories 'My So-Called Life' 25 Years Later: Claire Danes and Wilson Cruz Look Back From 'Tales of the City' to 'Will & Grace,' Queer Show Revivals Reveal TV's Evolution Elton John Has a Message for Struggling LGBTQ Youth: 'Be Proud of Who You Are' In 2017, after posting his support on Instagram for an Australian bill that allowed for same-sex marriage, the media celebrated Flynn’s coming out story. The problem? He never actually came out as gay. “Even though I didn’t ever come out to the public, in a weird way, I just one day read an article where I came out in the terms that they wanted me to come out,” Flynn says. Through tears, Flynn, who feels supported by the industry in regards to his sexuality, says he’s thrilled he gets the opportunity to be a role model for “any gay boy at home.” But still, he struggles with the double standard the media has placed on him solely because he has dated men. Here, Brandon Flynn talks about the double standards LGBTQ individuals face in Hollywood, the intense media attention he’s subject to and the impact his “ 13 Reasons Why ” character has had on audiences. Your first professional role was in 2016, but even so, from the time you’ve started in the business, have you noticed progress with LGBTQ representation in Hollywood? Definitely. When I started, there was still that air that LGBTQ [people], there’s no space for them, especially in front of the camera. That still lingered. There was still that ethos in the air. I’ve been so fortunate because I grew up in the theater, and the theater is much more open to that, it’s painted very much on the walls of the theater. But I think that in Hollywood, it was just a little bit more hush-hush. It was nice to see that I had friends like Tarell McCraney who wrote the original “Moonlight” play, that came out right around then, and since then, we’ve seen “Call Me by Your Name” and “Love, Simon” and different projects that embrace being gay and being bi. You see shows like “Pose” and people like Ryan Murphy who embrace telling these stories. So I do think that Hollywood has made more room, and there are stories being told, which is gorgeous. Story continues What is the biggest change that you’ve witnessed since you started out in Hollywood? I think the biggest change is that there seems to be a demand for these stories. I don’t want to say that it seems to be “hot,” but it almost feels that way, where a movie like “Moonlight” would have been a little bit more taboo even 10 years ago. When we saw “Brokeback Mountain” come out, that was such a big deal because it was two men. I think now it’s becoming less of a big deal. It’s still a big deal and people still make a big stink of it. I read recently that Russia is censoring “Rocketman” with certain scenes that involve Elton John and his gay relationships, so there’s still that bit of shock and there are still states in the U.S. that block it, but for the most part, there’s definitely been a new path cut that is much more open to it. There are parents and families who want to see that, and want their families knowing that love looks differently on the outside — it can be two men, it can be two women, it can be a trans person and straight person, it can be two trans people, it can be all these different things — and I think that Hollywood is embracing that, so that’s what’s changed the most. You said LGBTQ storytelling feels “hot,” and I know that you didn’t mean to use that word, but do you feel that this is a trend now? Or is it here to stay? I can’t say that because I’m so young and I haven’t witnessed so many trends take place and then leave. It’s my hope that eventually one day, we’re not even calling them “LGBTQ stories” or “gay movies,” and that they are just a part of the fabric of telling stories because that’s what I think will really revolutionize all of this — when we step away from saying, “Brandon Flynn is an LGBTQ actor” when really, I’m just an actor, or saying that “Call Me by Your Name” is an LGBTQ story when really, it’s just a story. Have you ever had any instances where you felt judged in this industry because of your sexuality? Yeah. There’s this whole element of press in this industry, and whether or not I am being judged. I try to keep my head down because it really doesn’t do me any benefit, but there is always this buzz around sexuality, and it’s hard not to look at it as judgement. One example is me coming out. I came out to my family and my friends around 10 years ago. So even when the industry caught wind of me being bisexual or gay or whichever one they choose to go with, it didn’t feel like it was my own, and I think that’s a bit frustrating for me and that’s where I feel a bit judged that I didn’t get to do that, nor did I really want to. It didn’t seem that it would make a difference whether I came out or not because it’s just my life, and if people were watching my life, they would just know that. But it did feel like I had to come out — even though I didn’t ever come out to the public, in a weird way, I just one day read an article where I came out in the terms that they wanted me to come out. Are you referring to your 2017 Instagram post where you wrote about “vote no” in Sydney? Yes. Sydney had this whole ordeal where they had a plane write up in the sky “vote no” for this proposition about gay rights and gay marriage, and I had made a post. I’ve gone back and read the post, and I’m an ally, of course, but it was that post that all of the sudden made me gay. I was embraced, so I never want to take that away from people who have been so supportive to me because I was totally embraced, but in no way, shape or form, did I say that this is me coming out. I had done that years ago. That’s where I think this industry and the understanding of sexuality and where it falls into place is askew. Not that it was the industry’s fault at all, but being in the industry makes you someone of public curiosity, hence why all of the sudden I was a gay actor, but just because I was supporting human rights. It’s so funny that you say that because when I was prepping for this interview, I remember seeing all of that coverage about you coming out, but when I looked back at the post and dissected what you wrote, you actually didn’t come out at all. You were just speaking up. Have you ever actually come out to the public? No. I’ve never used my platform to say, “Hey, I like men. I like women.” I’ve never used it in that way because when I came into the industry, I still am like this, but it was just about, “Holy s—, I got my first job and I’m acting.” So my personal life felt very much like my own and acting felt like acting — that was just work, so I didn’t see where the two needed to meet, but obviously, I was never going to hinder my own personal life or the benefits of my career. In a way, anyone would have seen at certain points where I would be dating men and it would be quite obvious, I think. So I never felt the need, in a weird way. I often think about it, and it doesn’t feel like it’s something out of fear or self-hatred because I have dealt with that already when I was younger. I was 15 when I opened up to my family and the people closest to me, and that’s very young to all of the sudden tell everybody, “Hey, all of these things that you thought about me and my personal life are wrong, and I’ve been living with this thing.” So I had all of that trauma and obstacles to deal with when I was younger, so I had a very open educational experience where high school and college never felt like that was an issue to other people — I never felt like I was bullied for it and made fun of for it then. When I was younger, yes, even before I knew that I was into men, I dealt with people telling me that I was gay and people assuming. In the industry, have you ever felt that you were living in that fear or hatred that you remember feeling when you were younger? Or do you feel like you’ve been embraced by the industry? To be honest, I feel like I haven’t really broken into the industry fully. I feel like there’s so much more room for me to grow, so I don’t know the answer to that question fully because I think there’s still a whole future. I do feel like there’s a weird expectation with being a handsome white guy that people are surprised when I tell them that I date men. I feel like there’s an odd expectation — like, “Oh, you look like the leading man, so you should be straight.” So that’s a weird thing to navigate. But honestly, I feel like I have been supported. I’ve been supported by everyone on “13 Reasons Why” and we’ve become such a family, but it’s not really something that I think of when I enter a new job, like, “Am I going to have to deal with people thinking I’m gay or knowing I’m gay or knowing I’m bi or knowing I’m straight?” I’ve always just gone to work to work. If I ever feel strongly that that would be a problem, then that’s not the job for me. What message do you think it sends to Hollywood and younger viewers watching the show that you play a stereotypical bad boy on “13 Reasons Why,” but you are gay in real life? If people are watching the show and they’re invested in the actor’s personal life, hopefully they can take away that anything is possible. A lot of my heroes like James Dean and Montgomery Clift and actors of these olden days, who have all been under speculation of being homosexual or having homosexual experiences, they couldn’t really do any of that, and if you look deeper into their lives, a lot of them were really sad and really messed up, and I think some of that has to do with that. So I’m happy to switch that stigma that I don’t have to live a life of lies in order to play the characters that I want to play. I think everyone loves to see that bad boy, and it’s so much fun to play, I won’t lie. I think the leading guy is the most boring character, and I’d rather be the best friend or the druggy or the one who has this way more interesting and darker path. Personally, deep down — ugh, I’m getting a little teary — I’m happy to be the guy that any gay boy at home can say, “F—, it’s totally possible to do anything.” Because it is. No matter how scared you are, or no matter how much hate you have to deal with, there are opportunities for us. My favorite thing about being an actor is that I don’t have to play myself, I can play different parts of myself, and that means my sexuality — I’ve been with women, I’ve been all over the place, it took me a while to get to any sort of comfort or stability in my head, and it’s not there yet. I’m still on that path — so that’s the beautiful thing about playing Justin, and that’s what I would love anyone to take away from that, is that I’m playing different facets of myself, and then I’m also delving into my imagination. Do you think your generation of Hollywood is more supported in being their true selves than former generations of young stars, who didn’t come out until they were well into their adult years because of the stigma associated with being gay? I 100% do. There is something that breaks my heart about all of our pioneers who have been through this before where it was not okay and it was career-breaking. It’s hard for my generation to not think that it’s going to break their careers because no one has stood up and said, “Hey, don’t worry, it’s not going to break your career.” So there is that stigma, like, “Oh god!” I have a lot of friends who are male and will show up to red carpets in these really beautiful ornate, just plain and simple women’s clothing, or unisex clothing, and that’s still out of the ordinary for older generations. But that is perfectly f—ing cool and okay. I think they’re so brave because they just get to stand by who they are and let the world see it as well, which is such a cool opportunity. I do think we are a bit more accepting, and I think we are closer than the generations before to getting to that point of, “Yeah, you know what? You actually don’t have to come out publicly because it’s actually not that much of a big deal.” It doesn’t change one thing. It doesn’t change what you can do, as far as talent. It doesn’t change what you can do, as far as your job. You have millions of followers. What sort of messages do you get from them, in regards to you being on a TV show and being gay? I don’t want to speak for anyone because I don’t know most of these people, and as grateful and as honored as I am to have them all in my corner and keeping an eye out for what I’m doing next, I don’t know them. But it’s really nice when people are just grateful that you’re there doing your thing, and somehow the way that you live your life is something that you can look up to. I don’t really know specifics because I don’t really hunt down though my comments or my DMs, but I know that people are looking up to me, and there’s a pressure to it, but there’s also a really big honor to it as well. When you auditioned for “13 Reasons Why,” did your sexuality come up with casting executives or anyone else in a position of power? No, it didn’t come up. No one knew. Everyone knows now because we’re all family, and no one cares. Everyone just wants me to continue to work and be successful. I’m very close with Brian Yorke, the creator of the show, who is also a gay man. We were just talking one day and I mentioned something like, “I was seeing this guy in college,” and it was just in conversation, and he was like, “Whoa whoa whoa, what?” He had no idea. But I never want to provoke that either, because I think that’s what a lot of gay men in the industry lean into, is that no one knows, and I think some people get a kick out of that. But I’m fine for everyone to know. Has your sexuality ever come up on an audition, and has it ever made you feel like you were being judged in casting? No. I think I’m fortunate because I have a lot of friends that I know it has come up [for], but it hasn’t really affected me. I do get a lot of scripts sent where it’s like, “Hey, would Brandon be interested in playing the gay guy in this script? Or the gay friend in this script?” And I wouldn’t mind, if the script is good, let’s do it. But no, I haven’t really felt judged, and if I am being kept away from jobs because of my sexuality, they’ve done a damn good job at keeping it secret from me. From what you’re saying, it sounds like you think straight actors should be able to play gay roles and gay actors should be able to play straight roles. But there is a big conversation about that now. What is your opinion? I really, really do believe that everyone should believe anything and everything. The last thing I want to go do is play Brandon. It’s not interesting to me. There’s no challenge there. I’m sure some people would disagree because they would say, “You’re just saying that because you don’t even know yourself,” and maybe that is true. But I love playing someone who loves a woman. I love having my little relationship with Jessica on “13 Reasons Why” — I think it’s fascinating and interesting. And you know what? I’ve had the same relationship with a man that’s had its ups and downs. I feel like that question one day will be nonexistent because one day, we’ll step away from when you play gay, you’re playing a person who’s in love with a man if you’re a man, or if you’re a woman, you’re playing a woman who’s in love with a woman, whereas it would just be so interesting to see characters who happen to be gay who maybe aren’t even in a romantic setting — it’s just who they are. Maybe that’s just the type of stories that I’m into where these things about people aren’t the most important part about people. We spoke about the sense of judgement in the industry. How does it make you feel when you see headlines about your personal life and your dating life? It’s hard not to feel like something in my personal life is not being scandalized because that’s kind of the way it feels when you read headlines about yourself, especially when you read headlines that have this big bang to them, and then you read the article and you’re like, “Why did you write that article? There is actually nothing there.” It’s all just something to egg on some sort of rumor cycle that will just keep going around until you finally get something that will actually just make it all true or false. So, it’s hard not to feel scandalized. The conversation about a double standard in Hollywood is usually surrounding women. But do you feel like you’ve faced a double standard with the media attention you’ve received? What do you mean with a double standard? Do you feel that there is a heightened interest in your dating life because you’re gay? And is that a double standard versus the coverage of a man dating a woman? Yeah, 100%. I do. I feel like there’s a lot more interest. I think the media and the press and a lot of people who have interest in actors or any people in front of the camera, there’s this sense of — and I’m speaking very candidly — “let’s see them fail.” That’s where it’s hard not to read these headlines and feel like that’s what is wanted, that it’s wanted to see me fail. It feels like a slight. But no one wants to write that article or read that article that would be like, “Oh! Brandon is with this person and we are so happy for them!” There’s always something behind it and there’s always some sort of scandal that wants to be revealed, and that’s frustrating. And in fact, it wouldn’t be there if I was with a woman. Well, it would now, if I were dating a woman — it would be a f—ing circus, I’m sure. Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .
U.S. lawmaker says small tech firms fear retaliation if they aid antitrust probe WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Small tech companies fear retaliation from big tech firms like Google and Facebook Inc if they assist in an investigation into allegations the companies misuse their massive market power, the head of the U.S. House Judiciary subcommittee leading the probe said on Thursday. The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee opened an investigation into competition in digital markets early this month shortly after sources said the U.S. executive branch was gearing up for what could be an unprecedented, wide-ranging investigation of Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, Facebook and Alphabet Inc's Google. Representative David Cicilline, a Democrat and a top antitrust lawmaker, said on Thursday that many of the small digital companies are reliant on the giants for access to consumers, saying that relationship "makes them concerned about raising their voice, raising concerns about the monopoly power of these platforms." "If you look at the size of some of the large platforms, their ability to exclude people from the platform can result in closing the business," Cicilline told reporters. "That's sort of the most dangerous consequence of this kind of concentration is the ability to exclude rivals, put them out of business, diminish innovation, diminish entrepreneurship, diminish choices for consumers," he said. Cicilline also said that he had reached out to most of the major technology platforms -- he did not specify which -- and was told that they planned to participate in the congressional probe. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Merck CEO sees legal challenge if U.S. adopts drug pricing based on other countries By Michael Erman NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merck & Co Chief Executive Ken Frazier said on Thursday a rule to base the price the U.S. government pays for some prescription drugs in it Medicare program on lower prices in other countries would face legal challenges if adopted. U.S. President Donald Trump said last year that one way his administration would seek to lower drug costs to consumers could be through an international pricing index (IPI) that would determine what Medicare pays for certain medicines based on the prices set in a handful of other countries. A proposed version of the rule is expected in August. Other developed nations with single payer systems typically pay far less for drugs than the United States, which Trump called "global freeloading." "I think there will be challenges to the rule," Frazier told reporters following the drugmaker's investor day in New York. "A lot of people have objections to that rule. It's not just pharmaceutical companies." Frazier, a lawyer by trade, did not say whether Merck would launch its own legal challenge to the proposed rule. The company was one of three U.S. drugmakers that sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this week over a new government regulation requiring them to disclose the list price of prescription drugs in direct-to-consumer television advertisements. Of the Trump administration proposals to lower drug costs, the IPI option is the one Frazier said most concerns him, due to the effect importing price controls from other countries might have on innovation and patient access in the United States. "We tell incomplete stories about those markets," Frazier said, noting that some countries ration treatments available to patients. He pointed to lower survival rates for lung cancer in Britain, which has an agency that can bar the use of approved new medicines based on their cost. Earlier on Thursday, Merck executives touted the company's pipeline of experimental drugs beyond its blockbuster cancer treatment Keytruda. The investor event was also an opportunity for Merck to showcase executives other than Frazier, who turns 65 in December. Last year, the company scrapped its mandatory retirement age of 65 for its CEO, saying it gave the board flexibility around finding his successor. "I'm extremely pleased by the breadth of the leadership talent at the company," Frazier said in response to a question about succession. "I know that the board feels the same way. And they will continue to look at when the right opportunity is ... to make a selection." (Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
Discount retailer Grocery Outlet shares rise in public debut Popular West Coast discount retailer Grocery Outlet(GO)proved it’s no slacker, debuting as a public company the same day as Slack(WORK). “We think there’s a lot of room to grow beyond just our footprint,” CEO Eric Lindberg told Yahoo Finance’sOn the Move.Shares of Grocery Outlet opened Thursday at $31. It closed at $28.51, up 29.59% from its IPO price of $22 a share. The company calls itself a “high-growth, extreme value retailer of quality, name-brand consumables and fresh products” indocuments it filed with the SEC. Emeryville, California-based Grocery Outlet has grown to 323 stores since it was founded in 1946. Most of the stores are on the West Coast and in Pennsylvania. It sells name brand products at discount prices between 40% and 70% off retail prices. Lindberg said its business model differs from competitors like Aldi because its stores are run by independent operators. The independent operators are responsible for store operations, ordering, merchandising, inventory, marketing, and hiring. “We have an independent operator that in each one of the stores, is part of the community, delivering customer service,” he said. The operators buy into the Grocery Outlet organization which Lindberg said uses its size to buy at a scale that most independent operators can’t leverage and competitors can’t replicate. “We buy those products at a discount and then pass that on at a pretty healthy margin to the store unit operator,” he said, adding that it has worked really well so far. The company has reported 15 years of consecutive comparable store sales growth. Since 2014, comparable store sales grew at an average annual rate of 4.2%. Revenue last year exceeded $2.28 billion and net income was $15.8 million. Grocery Outlet’s East Coast outpost in Pennsylvania will be a good place to launch future growth but right now there are no plans to take the discount chain online. “Fundamentally we don’t believe our customers, who are value seekers, are going to trade the value that they get inside the store for the cost of delivery and that’s a really hard place to make a lot of money,” Lindberg said. Grocery Outlet’s S1 says it will open 32 new stores this year and plans to expand its store base 10% annually. “Over the long term, we believe the market potential exists to establish 4,800 locations nationally” although it sets no timeline on completing its growth strategy. The company says a new store costs about $2.0 million to open with a payback on the investment within four years. Almost 98% of products sold in Grocery Outlet stores are domestically sourced so Lindberg said there’s not much pressure on margins from the trade war underway between China and the United States. But as Grocery Outlet grows, so do its expenses, up more than $17 million in the first quarter of this year compared to the same quarter in 2018. At the same time net income is falling, down almost $2 million compared to first quarter 2018. Still, when it comes to other IPOs, Grocery Outlet is making a profit and investors used to big name unicorns like Slack, Uber (UBER) and Lyft (LYFT), debuting with millions and billions of dollars of losses, can go shopping for a money-making bargain at a discount price. Adam Shapiro is co-anchor of Yahoo Finance On the Move. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance • Chewy CEO on IPO day: 'There’s a lot more growth in front of us' • Fiverr stock soars after IPO, CEO promises it will make money • Beware of canceling your credit card, it will hurt you • U.S. warns cryptocurrency exchange operators to comply with regulations
Stock Market Hits New High Thanks to Fed Policy Shift The Fed's clear signal yesterday that a rate cut could be coming outweighed worries about rising risks in the Middle East. The apparent shooting down of an American drone by Iran, however, did cause another spike in the price of oil today. West Texas crude oil was up 5.8 percent today and has risen nearly ten percent in the last two days. Shares in oil and gas producerHess Corp.were up 4.07 percent. HES Quotesby TradingView The S&P 500 index set an all-time high late in the day and closed with a gain of 0.95 percent. The Dow and Nasdaq Composite indexes were up 0.94 percent and 0.8 percent respectively. TheEntrepreneur Index™rose 0.79 percent today. Alexion Pharmaceuticalshad the biggest gain on the Entrepreneur Index™ today, jumping 4.09 percent. The stock is up 32.3 percent this year. Fellow drug-makerRegeneron Pharmaceuticals(3.1 percent), which has seen its stock drop 14.2 percent so far this year, was also up sharply. Investors continued rewarding Adobe Inc. for the stellar financial results it reported yesterday. The stock was up more than five percent after it released earnings yesterday and it gained another 3.74 percent today. It is up 33.5 percent on the year. The rest of thetechnologysector was mostly positive.Cognizant Technology(2.49 percent) andsalesforce.com(1.99 percent) had two of the better gains.Twitter(-2.34 percent) andTripAdvisor Inc.(-0.93 percent) were the only two tech stocks of thirteen on the index to fall today. Clothing-makersL Brands(2.75 percent) andRalph Lauren Corp.(2.01 percent) both had good gains today and homebuilderD.R. Horton Inc.was up 1.87 percent after falling more than two percent yesterday. Asset managersBlackRock(2.34 percent) andFranklin Resources(1.95 percent) were also up sharply. Related:The Fed Gave the Stock Market What It Expected, but Not What President Trump Wanted Teslahad the biggest decline on the index today, falling 3.01 percent after a Goldman Sachs analyst confirmed his sell rating on the stock and lowered his price target. David Tamberrino suggested that sustainable demand for Tesla vehicles could be far less than expectations and cut his price target for Tesla shares to $158. They currently trade at $219. Other declines on the index included mall REITMacerich Company(-2.49 percent), apparel-makerUnder Armour Inc.(-1.41 percent) andCintas Corp.(-1.05 percent). TheEntrepreneur Index™collects the top 60 publicly traded companies founded and run by entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurial spirit is a valuable asset for any business, and this index recognizes its importance, no matter how much a company has grown. These inspirational businesses can be tracked in real time onEntrepreneur.com.
Lululemon Talks Market Share Gains and Rising Tariff Costs Lululemon athletica's(NASDAQ: LULU)habit of trouncing Wall Street's expectations helped to push shares higher heading into its first-quarter earnings report. Most investors who follow the stock predicted the apparel specialist would beat management's growth targets for the fifth straight quarter, yet lululemon outpaced even those cheery forecasts. In aconference call with analysts, CEO Calvin McDonald and his team broke down the key factors behind the chain's improving results. They also detailed the trends -- both positive and negative -- that they see impacting the rest of the fiscal year. Below are a few highlights from that presentation. Image source: Getty Images. While it's been reported there is some recent softening in the apparel space, there is no doubt that 2019 is off to a great start for us. We are building upon the momentum of the past year and instilling confidence in our long-term growth plans.-- McDonald Investors had two compelling reasons to expect softer results this quarter. First, lululemon was going up against a prior-year period that included 20% higher comparable-store sales and a 60% spike in the e-commerce channel. Second, industry peers have been showing slower growth lately.Nike, for example, recently reported its first deceleration in nearly a year in the core U.S. market. Lululemon still managed totrounce the growth targetsthat executives issued in late March, with sales rising 20% to $782 million. Executives said the outperformance was broad based, as demand rose across its men's and women's categories, both in stores and online and in each of its geographic markets. Our digital business grew 35%, which represents a more than doubling of the business over the last two years.-- McDonald The e-commerce segment grew 35% -- on top of last year's 60% increase. That spike was supported by huge investments in the channel that boosted the level of available products and made quick in-store pickup accessible across most of its selling footprint. Guests responded by flocking to lululemon's app and website, with online traffic rising 41% year over year compared to an 8% improvement in in-store traffic. "Our strength and unique position," McDonald's explained, "is to activate great product across our omni-guest experiences, leveraging our stores, community, and events." We expect gross margin to be flat to up modestly versus Q2 of last year. Our guidance reflects a modest impact from potential new tariffs and also additional cost to airfreight product in order to avoid anticipated port congestion in the Asia region, due to the pending tariff increases.-- CFO Patrick Guido For the second consecutive year, lululemon raised its annual outlook to a range of $3.73 billion to $3.77 billion, following its first-quarter results. Yet the higher sales forecast still trailed the $3.8 billion that Wall Street has been predicting, and the new profit target also comes up short. The revenue gap is likely management's determination to be a bit conservative given that so much of the fiscal year is yet to come. As for profits, executives said their forecast predicts rising costs tied to the introduction of new tariffs. Not only will these penalties raise costs, but they'll also generate disruption in shipping lanes as retailers race to import products ahead of the tariff deadline. Lululemon plans to navigate this disruption in part by relying on air freight, which will raise costs over the next few quarters. Looking further out, management sees the full year marking a strong start to the five-year growth plan, which calls for the doubling of its men's and digital business and the quadrupling of its international sales between now and 2023. 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 Demitrios Kalogeropouloshas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Lululemon Athletica. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Facebook’s Digital Currency Libra Is Forcing U.S. Regulators to Grapple With Blockchain WithFacebookplanning to roll out its own digital currency, U.S. regulators are expected to push back on the company as they grapple with how blockchain technologies should be regulated. Facebook’s announcementhas already gained considerableinterest from regulatorsacross the board. Jerome Powell, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve who previously said that his agency has no jurisdiction over cryptocurrency, already has met with Facebook to learn more about Libra. And just a day after the news hit, the Senate Banking Committee announced plans to host a hearing about Libra next month. “The thing we may see from Congress is really pressing [Facebook] on what is really your purpose here? What is your use case?” said Timothy Massad, former chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. “There will be a lot of skepticism in Congress about that.” Massad made his comments atFortune’s Brainstorm Finance Conference in Montauk, N.Y., on Thursday. He joined panelists Perianne Boring, founder of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, and Adam White, chief operating officer of bitcoin futures exchange Bakkt, to explore the regulatory environment surrounding blockchain technologies like Libra. Facebook has said that one of the impetuses for creating the currency was to serve the unbanked. But to do that, Facebook may also have to do things like provide credit, much like a bank, Massad said. And that’s where congress will push back. “Is Callibra a bank, and therefore, is Facebook a bank holding company?” he asked. How regulators approach the topic could very well set the tone for future blockchain innovation in the U.S. Boring said that as it stands, the U.S. has a lot to lose. “We’re quickly falling behind,” Boring said. “Many developed nations are taking proactive steps to create an inviting environment for companies to innovate and build on blockchain technologies within their jurisdiction. In the U.S., we’re doing the exact opposite.” It’s a complicated matter, given that the “fragmented” U.S. regulatory system is not set up to handle the various issues that blockchain technologies create, Massad said. There is no regulatory body that can handle the different applications of the technology—from cryptocurrencies to utilities, for example—and all the complicated regulatory hurdles each will present. “I’ve called for a more comprehensive approach by Congress,” Massad said. “Whether we get that, well, we have a Congress that can’t pass a budget.” But White, who spent almost the entire last year dealing with regulations for his company, is hopeful that companies like Facebook and Bakkt are pushing regulators in the right direction. “What we’re going to see come from that is, I think, hopefully great debate,” he said. His hope is that “we’re going to start getting to an environment where we can grow companies here inside the U.S. and not see them go offshore.”
2 Stocks That Are Costly Mistakes No investor can escape occasionally buying a bad stock. It's painful watching a stock tumble and realizing that it's unlikely to ever recover. Or even worse, doubling or tripling down before throwing in the towel. In many cases, it's not all that obvious that a stock should be avoided. In some cases, though, it's very clear. Imitation-meat companyBeyond Meat(NASDAQ: BYND) and video game retailerGameStop(NYSE: GME) look exceedingly likely to disappoint investors. Beyond Meat, which makes plant-based products that look like meat, is having a moment. After going public in May at $25 per share, the stock went nuts. It currently trades for around $165 per share, good for a valuation of roughly $10 billion. The company expects to produce revenue of at least $210 million this year. That guidance puts the forward price-to-sales ratio at nearly 50. That's far higher than many fast-growing software-as-a-service companies.It's pure insanity. Valuation alone is enough reason to stay far away from Beyond Meat stock. But another reason is the product itself. By any reasonable definition, the company's imitation meat is an ultra-processed food. Its flagship Beyond Burger has nearly 20 ingredients, some of which are themselves heavily processed and not found in supermarkets or in people's kitchens. This doesn't mean that people won't buy this stuff, but it does mean that any claim that the products are healthier than what they're trying to replace is dubious. Beyond Meat is a story stock, and the story just isn't very compelling. Competition is also a problem. Already,Tyson Foodshas announced a line of plant-based products set to launch this summer under its new Raised & Rooted brand. Initial products will include plant-based nuggets and burger patties made from both real beef and plant-based ingredients.Nestleis also planning to launch its plant-based Awesome Burger this fall in the U.S. Even if the absolute best-case scenario plays out for the plant-based protein industry, Beyond Meat's valuation is ludicrous. And there's not a word to describe how insane it is otherwise. It's getting hard to see any path forward for video game retailer GameStop. Its attempt to diversify by selling mobile devices was a dud -- itsold off its Spring Mobile businesslast year after booking some massive write-offs. GameStop is now left with a core business of selling new and used physical game discs in a world where digital downloads, and perhaps even streaming, are the future of the gaming industry. The company shattered any confidence in a turnaround earlier this month when it reported its first-quarter results. Though it's still profitable,it eliminated its dividendto save cash. That's not a move you make if you think things are going to start getting better. The company expects comparable-store sales to drop 5% to 10% this year, and it failed to provide any earnings guidance. GameStop's most important business, used and value video game products, is in free fall. This segment carries a high gross margin and accounted for around 37% of total gross profit during the first quarter. Sales were down more than 20% year over year, continuing a years-long trend. There's no such thing as a used digital game, which means that the lucrative used-game business is eventually going to disappear. GameStop is starting to look a lot like RadioShack. Even though the stock may seem cheap, don't be fooled. The future looks bleak. 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 Timothy Greenhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of GameStop and has the following options: short July 2019 $8 calls on GameStop. The Motley Fool recommends Nestle. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
The New Oracle Looks Like the Old IBM Oracle's (NYSE: ORCL) stock recently popped after the tech giant's fourth-quarter numbers beat Wall Street's expectations. Its revenue rose 1% annually (4% on a constant currency basis) to $11.1 billion, beating estimates by $210 million. Its adjusted net income rose 3% to $4.1 billion, while its adjusted earnings per share -- boosted by buybacks and a lower tax rate -- surged 22% to $1.16 and beat expectations by $0.08. Those growth rates looked decent, but the headline numbers mask some serious issues with the aging tech company. In fact, the "new" Oracle -- which is trying to grow its cloud services to reduce its dependence on older on-site products -- looks a lot like the "old"IBM(NYSE: IBM). Let's examine the ways Oracle resembles Big Blue, and how these similarities threaten its growth. Oracle previously disclosed the growth of its cloud services separately. However, ithalted that practicelast year and blended the sales with other legacy businesses in two more opaque segments -- cloud services and license support, and cloud license and on-premise license. These two segments generated 84% of Oracle's sales during the fourth quarter of 2019. At first glance, the two businesses looked healthy during the fourth quarter, with the cloud license and on-premise unit generating double-digit growth. [{"Metric": "Cloud services and license support revenue", "Q1 2019": "$6.6 billion", "Q2 2019": "$6.6 billion", "Q3 2019": "$6.7 billion", "Q4 2019": "$6.8 billion"}, {"Metric": "Segment growth (YOY)", "Q1 2019": "3%", "Q2 2019": "3%", "Q3 2019": "1%", "Q4 2019": "0%"}, {"Metric": "Cloud license and on-premise license revenue", "Q1 2019": "$867 million", "Q2 2019": "$1.2 billion", "Q3 2019": "$1.3 billion", "Q4 2019": "$2.5 billion"}, {"Metric": "Segment growth (YOY)", "Q1 2019": "(3%)", "Q2 2019": "(9%)", "Q3 2019": "(4%)", "Q4 2019": "12%"}] Data source: Oracle quarterly reports, on a U.S. dollar (not constant currency) basis. YOY = year over year. However, that growth was inflated by an accounting standard change in fiscal 2019. Excluding that shift, which changed the way subscription services were reported, both units posted roughly flat sales growth from the fourth quarter of 2018. Meanwhile, Oracle's smaller service and hardware segments -- which generated the rest of its revenue -- continued to wither. Its service revenue fell 7% year over year and its hardware revenue declined 11%. In other words, most of Oracle's revenue growth can be attributed to an accounting standard change. Its cloud-based businesses, once touted as the company's core growth engines, clearly aren't offsetting the softness of its legacy database and business software businesses. Investors who follow IBM watched thesame thing happenover the past few years. IBM often touts the growth of its cloud services, yet it still can't consistently generate positive sales growth. One of IBM's worst mistakes under former CEO Sam Palmisano, who resigned in 2011, was its prioritization of buybacks and divestments over acquisitions and investments. As a result, IBM fell behindAmazon(NASDAQ: AMZN),Microsoft(NASDAQ: MSFT), andAlphabet's Google in the public cloud market. Oracle is now following that pattern by "buying" earnings beats with buybacks instead of "earning" them with higher-margin sales growth. Oracle spent a whopping $36 billion, over two-thirds of its free cash flow, on buybacks throughout fiscal 2019. Those buybacks boosted its EPS growth and tightened its valuation by reducing its diluted share count by 16% -- but did absolutely nothing to widen its moat or strengthen its cloud businesses. Oracle needs to spend more cash on acquisitions or strategic investments instead of buybacks. Otherwise rivals like Amazon -- which is targeting Oracle's core business with cloud-based database services on AWS (Amazon Web Services) -- could cause a lot of pain. Warren Buffett'sBerkshire Hathaway(NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) once owned multibillion-dollar stakes in IBM and Oracle. However, Berkshire sold all of its IBM shares last year and dumped its entire stake in Oracle earlier this year -- after holding the stock for just asingle quarter. Buffett later told CNBC that he sold his Oracle stake because he "didn't understand the business," and that his exit was influenced by his "experience with IBM." When the Oracle of Omaha dumps two classic tech stocks for similar reasons, investors should take note. Oracle is an aging tech company that lacks real growth engines andrepeatedly props upits earnings with buybacks. It's stuck in the same downward spiral as IBM used to be, and it lacks the motivation of IBM under Ginni Rometty to break the cycle. Therefore, I'd avoid Oracle and stick with stronger tech companies -- like Amazon or Microsoft -- even though they trade at higher valuations. 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 John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors.Leo Sunowns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Amazon. The Motley Fool recommends Berkshire Hathaway (B shares) and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Martin Shkreli settles all litigation with his former company Retrophin By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Martin Shkreli, the pharmaceutical entrepreneur serving a seven-year prison term for fraud, has settled all outstanding disputes with Retrophin Inc, the biopharmaceutical company he founded in 2011 and which ousted him three years later. A Retrophin spokeswoman said on Thursday that the accord covers Shkreli's $30 million lawsuit last month accusing three former colleagues, including his successor as chief executive, of engineering his ouster and to enrich themselves from his work. The settlement also covers claims Retrophin first raised in August 2015, in a $65 million lawsuit accusing Shkreli of repeatedly breaching his duty of loyalty to the San Diego-based company. That case moved to arbitration last year. CNBC earlier reported the settlement. "Retrophin and Martin Shkreli have reached a settlement resolving all outstanding disputes between them," the spokeswoman said. "We are pleased with this outcome." Edward Kang, a lawyer for Shkreli's former colleagues, said in an email that the case against them was "resolved amicably." The former Retrophin colleagues included Stephen Aselage, who succeeded Shkreli as chief executive; Gary Lyons, the company's chairman; and Margaret Valeur-Jensen, who became general counsel after Shkreli left. Shkreli voluntarily dismissed that case on June 18, according to a court filing. Known as "Pharma Bro," Shkreli, 36, is perhaps best known for raising the price of the anti-parasitic drug Daraprim by more than 5,000% while serving as chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, now known as Phoenixus AG. His prison sentence resulted from his August 2017 conviction by a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York for defrauding investors in hedge funds he once ran, and conspiring to manipulate Retrophin's stock price. The federal appeals court in Manhattan is scheduled to hear Shkreli's appeal of that conviction on June 28. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)
UPDATE 3-U.S. sues to stop merger of two printing companies (Adds statements from LSC Communications and Quad/Graphics) By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday it had filed a lawsuit aimed at stopping Quad/Graphics Inc from buying LSC Communications , two of the biggest companies that print books, magazines and catalogs. The Justice Department's Antitrust Division said the two companies were each other's biggest rivals, citing internal documents that refer to a price war and a "two-horse race between LSC and Quad." The $1.4 billion deal was announced in October 2018. "American publishers and retailers rely on Quad and LSC to print and distribute billions of magazines, catalogs and books each year," said Makan Delrahim, an assistant attorney general in the Antitrust Division. "If this deal were allowed to proceed, Quad would dominate the markets for magazine, catalog and book printing services and be able to raise prices." LSC Communications said in a statement the Justice Department "has reached the wrong conclusion in its assessment of the transaction," adding that it will join Quad "in vigorously defending the lawsuit in court." Quad's chief executive, Joel Quadracci, said the company is "fully committed to defending the DOJ’s lawsuit in court." In its complaint, filed in federal court in Illinois, the Justice Department said Quad and LSC were the only realistic option for many publishers because of their complex printing equipment. It cited at least one bidding war between the two that resulted in the offer of a $10 million signing bonus. The complaint also noted that executives of the two companies had complained about the competition, with one lamenting that a publisher was "exploiting the fact that LSC Quad[’s] CEO’s want to beat each other into oblivion." (Reporting by Diane Bartz Editing by Susan Thomas, James Dalgleish and Leslie Adler)
Brainstorm Finance: Banking's Future Will Be a Battle Over Consumer Trust It all comes down to trust. And, of course, fees. “Our opening comes from the single great challenge that we as a financial industry are facing,” Andrei Cherny, CEO of online-only bank Aspiration, said Thursday atFortune’sBrainstorm Finance conference in Montauk, N.Y. “If you’re a financial industry executive and you are not solving first and foremost for trust, you’re whistling past the graveyard.” The evidence is already showing, according to panel moderator,Fortunesenior writer Jen Wieczner. She cited online bank and panel participant Chime, with its four million accounts, about four times the number a year ago. She also noted that Chime is adding 250,000 new accounts per month whileWells Fargoadded 200,000 new digital accounts per month in the first quarter this year. Consumers feel costs are too high and they are being taken advantage of, which leads to a sense of mistrust, panelists said. “We target everyday Americans, mainstream Americans that are fed up with the fees that Andrei was speaking of,” panelist Chris Britt, Chime’s founder and CEO, said. “We’re able to offer products at a very low price. That’s resonated with a lot of people.” Another panelist, Luvleen Sidhu, co-founder of online bank BankMobile, pointed to the industry’s $34 billion a year in overdraft fees and the impact on consumers. “It’s more than what they’re paying for vegetables,” she said. The result is alienation. Younger consumers, who have fewer resources, are “often left out,” said Kenneth Lin, founder and CEO of Credit Karma, which has about 100 million members. “Banks need a large group of people who actually say they want change,” Lin said. “They don’t want another way to pay for a cup of coffee. They want another way to actually get the very best rates.” Pricing with traditional banks is “adversarial; it’s all fee-driven,” Britt said. And an adversarial relationship isn’t one that develops trust. Online institutions on the panel said they are using technology and innovation to drive down costs to help improve the sense of trust. Centralized digital operations eliminate the cost of branches. Chime makes its revenue “almost entirely on interchange” payment processing fees, Britt said. Those are the small percentage fees banks get from retailers and other merchants for processing credit and debit card payments. BankMobile focuses on “high-volume acquisition at very low cost” through partnerships with companies and universities, Sidhu said. Credit Karma makes its money by matching consumers with credit and banking products. As Chime’s Britt put it, the secret is to “figure out ways to delight the consumer and wake up every morning and try to figure out how to reduce fees.” —Brainstorm Finance 2019: Watch the livestreamof the inaugural conference —Andreessen Horowitz: HowFacebook’s Libra cryptocurrencywill be governed —Welcome to the next generation ofcorporate phishing scams —Western Union and Zelle dishon the competition and talk mobile payments —Millennials arenot basement-dwelling potheads, says Wealthfront CEO Sign up forThe Ledger, a weekly newsletter on the intersection of technology and finance.
Patience pays off as Warner hits second century David Warner is scoring runs for fun at this ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup but the Australian opener is longing for the days when he stops finding fielders. Warner starred with a tournament-best 166 in victory over Bangladesh at Trent Bridge, with 14 fours and five sixes helping him to a sizeable innings. But it wasn’t all plain sailing en route to his second century this World Cup, forced to play a watchful game in reaching his century from 110 balls. It’s a situation that has become rather familiar for Warner but after learning the lessons from his performance against Pakistan, when scoring 100 and getting out soon after, the 32-year-old was pleased to see patience pay off. “I don't mean to go out there and bat slow. I've tried to get a calculation of how many fielders I've hit in the first ten overs,” he explained. “It gets a bit frustrating because you middle one and it goes full pace to the fielder and you can’t even get off strike. That's been a bit annoying but I've just hung in there. “I got frustrated against India. I got frustrated against Afghanistan. And then today, Finchy [Aaron Finch] kept telling me to hang in there and bat deep and bat time. And that was in the eighth or ninth over. “It’s generally not my game to stick in there – I usually try and go after it a little bit come down the wicket or something. Must be a bit more maturity, I think. “The way I played against Pakistan was in the back of my mind – I think I faced 120 balls before I got to 110. “You've got to treat each ball as it comes, as I did, and from there try and accelerate and bat smart, take those risks to the right areas.” READ MORE: Root happy to be glue that holds England’s batting line-up together READ MORE : Moeen insists he’s England’s big-hitting king Warner’s fourth 50+ score of the tournament takes him to the top of the run-scorers chart, with no batsman matching the 447 runs he has accumulated so far. The knock also saw him become the first man to hit two 150+ scores in World Cup cricket while he drew level with Adam Gilchrist with most ODI centuries for an Australian opener with 16. Story continues History is therefore coming thick and fast but just doing a job for his country means the world for Warner, as Australia close in on a place in the semi-finals. My favourite #CWC19 century so far is __________ pic.twitter.com/4jgZDrAdeJ — Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) June 20, 2019 “I'm just so grateful for being able to have the opportunity to play for Australia and to be in the same sentence as Adam Gilchrist is fantastic and it's overwhelming,” he added. “But for me, it's just about going out there and to give my best, to be honest, and that's all I want to be remembered for, is someone who gives 110 percent when I go out in the field and be myself. “It keeps getting better for us – it’s another two points, which is fantastic. “This was a good hit-out for us batters, I think it was a very good wicket, a challenging wicket for bowlers to get wickets. I felt that we just had to keep going deep and we were able to do that.” © ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC 2019
U.S. House Speaker Pelosi calls on U.S. to de-escalate tensions with Iran WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives' Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday called for the United States to de-escalate tensions with Iran, after top lawmakers attended a White House briefing on the downing of an American drone by Tehran. "It is essential that we remain fully engaged with our allies, recognize that we are not dealing with a responsible adversary and do everything in our power to de-escalate," Pelosi, the top Democrat in Congress, said in a statement. "This is a dangerous, high-tension situation that requires a strong, smart and strategic, not reckless, approach," she added. (Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Tim Ahmann)
Relieved Stoinis revelling in the spotlight after injury scare After making a significant impact in his comeback match for Australia, Marcus Stoinis revealed that he had originally resigned himself to missing the ICC Men’s World Cup 2019 after injury struck him earlier in the tournament. The all-rounder had been out with a side strain that he picked up when bowling in the match against India 11 days ago and his initial fear was that it would keep him out of the rest of the competition. Yet after taking the field again at Trent Bridge and picking up the crucial wicket of Bangladesh’s player of the tournament Shakib Al Hasan in Australia’s convincing 48-run victory, the powerful Stoinis was all smiles again. “It’s been exciting, a bit of a roller-coaster but I was a bit down in the dumps when I hurt myself the other day. So again now, I’m really stoked that I’m back,” said the 29-year-old, who scored a brisk unbeaten 17 at the end of Australia’s massive 381/5 before then taking 2/54 in eight overs. Recalling how he had gone down with the injury in his second over against India, Stoinis admitted that he had immediately feared the worst. “Your mind goes there (that you’re out of World Cup) but once everything had sort of settled, you think everything’s going to be all right,” he said. “Yet my initial thought when I did it was ‘I’m out of the World Cup’.” READ MORE : Patience pays off as Warner hits second century READ MORE: Root happy to be glue that holds England’s batting line-up together Over the past week and a half, he admitted, it had been an anxious wait to see if he would recover and he had persuaded himself that Thursday’s match in Nottingham was effectively his last chance saloon. “I spent a lot of time with the physio and the doc and we were doing a few exercises on the side, a lot of icing at night. There’s not too much you can do outside that but you have to get the muscles moving as much as you can,” he said. “We didn’t put a time on the recovery period. Support staff did a really good job to not overreact and at least gave me a chance. I think going into this game, this was probably the deadline. Story continues One game, two stunning hundreds! #SpiritOfCricket 🤝 #CWC19 | #CmonAussie | #RiseOfTheTigers pic.twitter.com/CPz5OZhtgE — Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) June 20, 2019 “But it’s different bowling in the nets, compared to when the adrenaline gets going in the game. So we weren’t really sure how I’d go today.” As it turned out, he went well, with a Stoinis slower ball drawing a leading edge and trapping Shakib, who had started the day as the tournament’s top scorer, for 41 when the brilliant all-rounder had looked in the mood to record a third successive century. “Bangladesh are a good team, they’re good players and have made some good runs over the tournament. So we definitely respected them and they were threatening today with a good partnership,” said Stoinis, laughing that he had bowled more than a few slower balls in a bid to not push himself too hard on his return. He is looking forward to making an impact in the rest of the tournament now and revealed how Australia’s assistant coach Ricky Ponting had been helping him in the nets during his rehabilitation. “If I could have one person in the world, if I could have picked anyone to coach me with my batting, it would have been Ricky Ponting,” said Stoinis. “He’s an absolute legend, he’s got a lot of knowledge about the game, so we’ve been speaking about the game and where he thinks I can go to the next level with my batting. “It’s more of an open discussion, raising points, problem solving as we go and coming up with different ideas.” As for how he’s feeling, with England next in line at Lord’s next Tuesday, he said: “I’m better than I thought I’d be.” © ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC 2019
Do Institutions Own Sagalio Energy Limited (ASX:SAN) Shares? 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 Sagalio Energy Limited (ASX:SAN), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones. 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 AU$409k, Sagalio Energy is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it's seems that institutions are not on the share registry. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about SAN. View our latest analysis for Sagalio Energy We don't tend to see institutional investors holding stock of companies that are very risky, thinly traded, or very small. Though we do sometimes see large companies without institutions on the register, it's not particularly common. There could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don't attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in the company. Alternatively, there might be something about the company that has kept institutional investors away. 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 Sagalio Energy, for yourself, below. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Sagalio Energy. 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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it. 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. It seems that insiders own more than half the Sagalio Energy Limited stock. This gives them a lot of power. So they have a AU$276k stake in this AU$409k business. It is good to see this level of investment. You cancheck here to see if those insiders have been buying recently. The general public holds a 10% stake in SAN. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run. It seems that Private Companies own 22%, of the SAN stock. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company. While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. 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 check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss thisfreelist of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data. 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.
What Winnebago Wants You to Know About Its Sales Shortfall Winnebago(NYSE: WGO)recently posted fiscal third-quarter earnings results that seemed disappointing at first glance. Sales fell for the second straight quarter despite the company having predicted stabilizing trends three months earlier. Winnebago managed healthy growth in its towable RV segment, but its motorized division suffered from slumping revenue and reduced profitability. Yet management said in aconference call with investorsthat there are a few reasons they see that decline quickly reversing itself in the fiscal fourth quarter, and below we'll take a closer look at a few highlights from that presentation. Image source: Getty Images. While we are not immune from the North American RV industry headwinds that have persisted during our fiscal year, our consolidated, competitive position and the strength of our diverse set of product lines have enabled us to once again outpace the industry. -- CEO Michael Happe Salesfell 6%to mark just a small improvement over the prior quarter's 8% decline. Executives pointed to continued efforts by dealerships to trim their inventory following booming sales in 2018. Still, Happe and his team noted that Winnebago won market share again during the quarter, mainly thanks to its more robust portfolio of products that span the towable and motorized niches. RivalThor Industries(NYSE: THO)announced a23% sales volume dropover the same period. Unit shipments in our towable segment were up 6.5% for the quarter, despite efforts by dealers to lower inventories on most competitive towable product lines, leading to industry wholesale market declines of 24% calendar year-to-date. -- Happe The towable segment, which benefits from having two massive franchises, Winnebago and Grand Design, far outpaced the industry by logging 7% higher volume. Further indications of strength here include rising average prices and improved profitability, with adjusted profit margin jumping to 16.5% of sales from 14.5% of sales. The results, Happe said, translated into more than a full percentage point of market-share gains on towable products. We believe we will return to normalized levels of production and sales [of motorized RVs] by the end of our current fourth quarter, as we are already seeing an improvement in flow of supplies today in the fourth week of the quarter. -- CFO Bryan Hughes The most worrying sign in the report was a surprising35% drop in motorized RV salesthat management said in a press release was driven in part by a supply disruption for a key input. On the conference call, executives said that not only do they see the problem ending in the current quarter, but they believe they'll recapture most of the lost sales from the disruption over the next few months. They cited the slight backlog decrease as evidence that sales and production levels will return to normal in the fiscal fourth quarter. It appears RV industry retail sales for calendar year 2019 will be down versus last year in the mid-single-digit range and this will elongate the recovery period for the industry. -- Happe Management lowered their industry outlook slightly as they now see RV volumes falling in the mid-single-digit range rather than the low-single-digits. Winnebago still expects to gain market share throughout 2019, with sales falling only modestly as profitability inches higher. Happe and his team said they are as confident as ever about the company's long-term opportunities across the RV and recreational boating spaces. And those comments weren't simply positive talk. The company backed up their bullish statements by announcing two major capital projects, one on towables and the other on Chris-Craft boats, that will lift capacity starting in 2020. 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 Demitrios Kalogeropouloshas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
What Happened in the Stock Market Today Stocks rose in a broad rally Thursday as an easing of trade worries and dovish comments by the Federal Reserve set the stage for a record-high close for theS&P 500(SNPINDEX: ^GSPC). TheDow Jones Industrial Average(DJINDICES: ^DJI) also gained close to 1%. Index Percentage Change Point Change Dow 0.94% 249.17 S&P 500 0.95% 27.72 Data source: Yahoo! Finance. As for individual stocks,Slack Technologies(NYSE: WORK) traded publicly for the first time, andKroger(NYSE: KR) reported earnings. Shares of collaboration software specialist Slack Technologies started trading publicly today in a direct listing, opening 48% above the $26 reference price set by the New York Stock Exchange and rising 0.5% higher to close at $38.62. At the end of the session, the company was valued at over $20 billion. Slacksells a platformdesigned around chat groups that is intended to replace email as the primary communication tool within organizations. The company had over 10 million daily active users and 95,000 paying customers in the most recent quarter, with the latter figure up 42% from the period a year ago and 8% sequentially. Revenue in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2019, was $401 million, up 82% from the prior year, with a net loss of $139 million. Adjusted free cash flow in the most recent quarter was negative $34.2 million. Unlike an initial public offering, adirect listingdoesn't raise money for the company, but Slackalready has plenty, with $793 million in cash and securities on its balance sheet. Investors at the moment seem to have a limitless appetite for shares offast-growing, unprofitable unicorns, so today's warm reception is no surprise. Grocery chain Kroger met Wall Street expectations for its fiscal first-quarter results, but weakening sales trends discouraged investors, and shares fell 2.2%. Sales declined 1.3% to $37.3 billion, a bit above the $37.2 billion analyst consensus. Adjusted earnings per share of $0.72 was in line with expectations. Identical sales excluding fuel grew 1.5%, which was less than the 1.9% growth Kroger reported last quarter and in the period a year ago. Digital sales increased 42% compared with last year. Kroger doesn't break out those sales in its report, but on the conference call said that the annual run rate of digital revenue reached about $5 billion in 2018, or about 4% of total sales. Kroger had appeared tomake progress with market share in 2018, so the identical sales results were surprising given the investments the company is making in its "Restock Kroger" initiative and its success with digital sales. The company maintained guidance for identical sales growth above 2% for the full year. 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 Jim Crumlyhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
What's Next in Blockchain? Ask This Teenage Engineer A 17-year-old, brain-computer interface developer is challenging people to rethink the possibilities of blockchain by creating her own encrypted interface where people can share genetic data. Ananya Chadha—the youngest interviewee atFortune’s inauguralBrainstorm Financeconference in Montauk, N.Y.—toldFortuneEditor-at-Large Shawn Tully that “blockchain is so powerful for things that most people forget about.” Rather than shying away from defining the complexity of blockchain, Chadha explained on Thursday how the basic principles of blockchain can be used for more than just cryptocurrency—it can be used for social good. Similar to building our lives in virtual reality, Chadha said blockchain can be used in the real world to establish a “digital identity.” Through a combination of data points and biometrics like your brainwaves or fingerprints, she noted these different factors tell the blockchain who you are and what you own. Chadha also illustrated how establishing our identity in the blockchain could address problems of identity theft or be applied to proper attribution in copywriting attribution. “Blockchain adds value in a lot of interesting places,” she said. “If something can give you value and it’s possible to create value, then people will use it.” The young engineer lit up as she discussed blockchain as a means for establishing trust—take the example ofFacebook’s launch of Libra. This past week,Facebookfbrolled out its own mode of cryptocurrency, which Chadha described as “cool.” While many worry about regulating the social media giant’s cryptocurrency, Chadha acknowledged the potential and scalability of this well-accepted platform. “Things grow so fast that it’s super important we adapt our systems to where things are going,” Chadha explained. Chadha’s interest in the intersection between genomics and blockchain began at age 14, and has since propelled her into the field of brain computer interfaces. Currently, Chadha is developing a brain controlled prosthetic arm, drone, and virtual reality games forMicrosoft. “We need to think about what’s next and not what’s already been created,” Chadha said. —Brainstorm Finance 2019: Watch the livestreamof the inaugural conference —Andreessen Horowitz: HowFacebook’s Libra cryptocurrencywill be governed —Welcome to the next generation ofcorporate phishing scams —Western Union and Zelle dishon the competition and talk mobile payments —Millennials arenot basement-dwelling potheads, says Wealthfront CEO Sign up forThe Ledger, a weekly newsletter on the intersection of technology and finance.
Results of AGM and Corporate Update Annual General and Special Meeting LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / June 20, 2019 /Gabriel Resources Ltd. ("Gabriel" or the "Company") announces that all of the matters submitted to shareholders for approval, as set out in the Company's Management Information Circular dated May 16, 2019 ("Circular"), were approved by the requisite majority of votes cast at its annual and special meeting ("Meeting") held in Vancouver, British Columbia, earlier today, including resolutions: • Electing (or re-electing, as the case may be) Keith Hulley, Dag Cramer, Ali Erfan, Alfred Gusenbauer, Wayne Kirk, Dan Kochav, David Peat, Walter Segsworth, Janice Stairs and Dragos Tanase as directors of the Company; • Re-appointing PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditors of the Company for the ensuing year; and • Approving the continuation of the amended and restated incentive stock option plan of the Company. Immediately prior to the Meeting, the Company was formally notified that one of the proposed nominees for election as director, Mr. David Kay, who previously served as the nominee of Enescu Investments, LLC ("Enescu") (an entity managed by Tenor Capital Management Company, L.P.), a significant securityholder in the Company, would not be standing for re-election and that Enescu wished instead to nominate Mr. Dan Kochav, the Chief Operating Officer of Tenor Capital Management Company, LP., as its substituted nominee for appointment to the Board of Gabriel ("Board"). In accordance with the terms referenced in the form of proxy circulated to shareholders of Gabriel in advance of the Meeting, discretionary authority is conferred on the proxyholder in respect of amendments or variations to matters identified in the Notice of Meeting or other matters that properly come before the Meeting. As such, the Board determined to put forward Mr. Kochav for election as a new director at the Meeting and as Enescu's nominee in Mr. Kay's stead, and the persons named in the form of proxy accompanying the Circular exercised their discretion to vote for the election of Mr. Kochav as the substituted Enescu nominee, in addition to the election of the other nine nominees set out in the Circular. Arbitration Update In May 2019, a revised procedural calendar for the Company's ICSID arbitration claim against Romania ("ICSID Arbitration") was issued by the tribunal appointed to adjudicate the dispute ("Tribunal"). In accordance with the revised procedural calendar, on May 24, 2019, the Respondent filed its rejoinder ("Rejoinder") with ICSID in response to the Company's reply submission of November 2, 2018. The oral hearings on the merits of the claim are scheduled to take place in Washington D.C. between December 2 and 13, 2019. Gabriel, together with its counsel, White & Case LLP, is currently analyzing the Rejoinder and preparing for the hearings in December. On June 28, 2019, Gabriel will file its surrejoinder on the further objection to the jurisdiction of the Tribunal filed by the Respondent with ICSID on May 25, 2018. The Rejoinder is subject to the confidentiality provisions of the procedural orders issued by the Tribunal, which can be found on the ICSID website, and Gabriel anticipates the Rejoinder will be published on the ICSID website in the second half of 2019. Corporate Update Gabriel has consistently confirmed its willingness to enter into a process of consultation with the Romanian authorities in order to achieve an amicable resolution of the ICSID Arbitration dispute or a settlement enabling the Gabriel group of companies ("Group") to develop the Roșia Montană gold and silver project in Romania ("Project"). To this end, in March 2019, Gabriel's principal operating subsidiary, Rosia Montana Gold Corporation S.A ("RMGC"), submitted an application to the Romanian National Agency for Mineral Resources ("NAMR") requesting the extension of the term of the exploitation concession license No. 47/1999 ("License") for the Project for a further term of five years. The initial 20-year term of the License was due to expire on June 21, 2019. In mid-June 2019, NAMR presented to RMGC a draft addendum to the License providing for, amongst other things, a 5-year term extension and the establishment of an increased royalty rate from 4% to 6% on mineral production value, the 6% rate being the level of royalty set forth in Romanian law since 2014. NAMR made it clear to RMGC that the License would not be extended unless RMGC agreed to such royalty provision. While Gabriel and RMGC strongly disagrees with NAMR's position and interpretation of the law and has conveyed in writing its disagreement with such position and NAMR's handling of the License extension process, Gabriel and RMGC concluded that, in view of the existing circumstances, there was no other way to preserve RMGC's existing rights under law, including an extension of its License, other than to accept the increased royalty rate, as required by NAMR. Accordingly, an addendum providing for the extension of the term of the License to June 20, 2024, and including the revised royalty rate, was concluded on June 18, 2019. For information on this press release, please contact: Dragos TanasePresident & Chief Executive OfficerPhone: +4021 223 1351dt@gabrielresources.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. About Gabriel Gabriel is a Canadian resource company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company's principal focus has been the exploration and development of the Roșia Montană gold and silver project in Romania . The Project, one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in Europe, is situated in the South Apuseni Mountains of Transylvania, Romania, an historic and prolific mining district that since pre-Roman times has been mined intermittently for over 2,000 years. The License for the Project is held by Roșia Montană Gold Corporation S.A., a Romanian company in which Gabriel owns an 80.69% equity interest, with the 19.31% balance held by Minvest Roșia Montană S.A., a Romanian state-owned mining company. It is anticipated that the Project would bring over US$24 billion (at US$1,200/oz gold) to Romania as potential direct and indirect contribution to GDP and generate thousands of employment opportunities. Upon obtaining the License in June 1999, the Group focused substantially all of their management and financial resources on the exploration, feasibility and subsequent development of the Roşia Montană Project. Despite the Company's fulfilment of its legal obligations and its development of the Project as a high-quality, sustainable and environmentally-responsible mining project, using best available techniques, Romania has blocked and prevented implementation of the Project without due process and without compensation. Accordingly, the Company's current core focus is the ICSID Arbitration. For more information please visit the Company's website atwww.gabrielresources.com. Forward-looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking information" (also referred to as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of the Company's operating environment. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. In this press release, forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies that may cause the Company's actual financial results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied herein. Some of the material factors or assumptions used to develop forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the uncertainties associated with: the ICSID Arbitration, actions by the Romanian Government, conditions or events impacting the Company's ability to fund its operations (including but not limited to the completion of further funding noted above) or service its debt, exploration, development and operation of mining properties and the overall impact of misjudgments made in good faith in the course of preparing forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors including those set out below, that may never materialize, prove incorrect or materialize other than as currently contemplated which could cause the Company's results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "expects", "is expected", "is of the view", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategy", "goals", "objectives", "potential", "possible" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events, conditions or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of fact and may be forward-looking statements. Numerous factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including without limitation: • delay or extension to the duration of the ICSID Arbitration; • required disclosure, costs, process and outcome of the ICSID Arbitration against Romania; • changes in the liquidity and capital resources of Gabriel, and the group of companies of which it is directly or indirectly parent; • access to funding to support the Group's continued ICSID Arbitration and/or operating activities in the future; • equity dilution resulting from the conversion or exercise of new or existing securities in part or in whole to Common Shares; • the ability of the Company to maintain a continued listing on the TSX Venture Exchange or any regulated public market for trading securities; • the impact on business strategy and its implementation in Romania of: unforeseen historic acts of corruption, uncertain fiscal investigations; uncertain legal enforcement both for and against the Group and political and social instability; • regulatory, political and economic risks associated with operating in a foreign jurisdiction including changes in laws, governments and legal regimes and interpretation of existing and future fiscal and other legislation; • volatility of currency exchange rates, metal prices and metal production; • the availability and continued participation in operational or other matters pertaining to the Group of certain key employees and consultants; and • risks normally incident to the exploration, development and operation of mining properties. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and investors should not infer that there has been no change in the Company's affairs since the date of this press release that would warrant any modification of any forward-looking statement made in this document, other documents periodically filed with or furnished to the relevant securities regulators or documents presented on the Company's website. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements or the foregoing list of assumptions or factors, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, subject to the Company's disclosure obligations under applicable Canadian securities regulations. Investors are urged to read the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulatory agencies which can be viewed online atwww.sedar.com. ENDS SOURCE:Gabriel Resources Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/549413/Results-of-AGM-and-Corporate-Update
Trimble Mapping Solutions Unit Gains Momentum with 3Gtms Deal Trimble Inc.TRMB continues to focus on enhancing mapping and routing solutions portfolio which in turn is aiding it to win clients.A provider of Tier 1 transportation management software, 3Gtms, Inc. is collaborating with Trimble to enhance offerings in the area of transportation.Notably, Trimble’s commercial routing solutions will be leveraged by 3Gtms for this purpose. Further, the partnership will enable 3Gtms’ customers to utilize Trimble’s commercial data and map-centric technology.The latest partnership expands the client base of Trimble MAPS (Maps and Applications for Professional Solutions) division which is likely to drive the segment’s top line.Coming to the price performance, shares of Trimble have gained 32.6% on a year-to-date basis, outperforming the industry’s rally of 23.1%. Trimble MAPS Gaining MomentumThe company created Trimble MAPS as a separate division earlier this year aimed at aiding commercial vehicles with navigation solutions, innovative routing, visualization and scheduling.Trimble MAPS is the amalgamation of ALK Technologies’ industry standard mileage, mapping, routing and navigation and TMW Appian Final Mile’s fleet routing, scheduling and optimization solutions.The company’s tie-up with 3Gtms is expected to aid its momentum across customers. The combination of its map-centric technology with the latter’s transportation management system will help Trimble in serving asset and non-asset-based transportation service organizations better by delivering operational efficiency and overall cost savings in the inbound and outbound logistics of freight.All these will aid the company in gaining momentum in the growing digital map space which as per a report from Transparency Market Research, is expected to reach $306.15 billion by 2026 at a CAGR of 16.2% between 2018 and 2026. Trimble Inc. Revenue (TTM) Trimble Inc. revenue-ttm | Trimble Inc. Quote Product Portfolio: A Key Catalyst The company’s portfolio strength remains its key growth driver.Trimble MAPS’ integrated platform enables the companies to develop end-to-end transportation solutions which will help them in achieving operational efficiency and delivering advanced customer service.Apart from this, the company’s buyout of Veltec, a fleet management provider, expanded its fleet safety and efficiency solutions portfolio. The buyout has enhanced transportation solutions offerings and global footprint.We believe an expanding transportation solutions portfolio will expand Trimble’s reach into transportation industry and aid it in transforming the traditional commercial transportation system.Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderCurrently, Trimble carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are Fitbit, Inc. FIT, Universal Electronics Inc. UEIC and Koninklijke Philips N.V. PHG. All the three stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Long-term earnings growth rate for Fitbit, Universal Electronics and Koninklijke Philips is pegged at 17.47%, 15% and 14.48% respectively.Will you retire a millionaire?One out of every six people retires a multimillionaire. Get smart tips you can do today to become one of them in a new Special Report, “7 Things You Can Do Now to Retire a Multimillionaire.”Click to get it free >> 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 reportFitbit, Inc. (FIT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportUniversal Electronics Inc. (UEIC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTrimble Inc. (TRMB) : Free Stock Analysis ReportKoninklijke Philips N.V. (PHG) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
U.S. charges 4 ex-executives at Canadian payments firm PacNet with fraud By Jonathan Stempel June 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday announced criminal charges accusing four former executives of the Canadian payment processor PacNet Services Ltd of running an international mail fraud scheme that cheated U.S. victims out of tens of millions of dollars a year. PacNet's founder Rosanne Day, 51, and her colleagues Robert Paul Davis, 63; Genevieve Renee Frappier, 49; and Miles Kelly, 55, were accused in a 41-count indictment of helping make the Vancouver-based company the "payment processor of choice" for fraudulent mass mailers around the world. Prosecutors said that for more than two decades, PacNet knowingly acted as a middleman for scammers that misled victims, including many who were elderly or "vulnerable," into thinking they would receive prizes or other valuable items in exchange for making payments. They said the scheme also proved lucrative for Day, who founded PacNet in 1994 and led its Vancouver headquarters, and Davis, who ran its office in Shannon, Ireland, saying they each made about C$15 million in salary and bonuses from 2013 to 2015. The defendants were each charged with 34 mail fraud counts, five wire fraud counts, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors said each charge carries a maximum 20 years in prison. Lawyers for the defendants could not immediately be identified. A lawyer representing PacNet in civil proceedings in Vancouver did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The office of U.S. Attorney Nicholas Trutanich in Las Vegas, where the indictment was filed, did not immediately respond to a similar request. PacNet stopped offering payment processing in September 2016, when U.S. authorities designated it a "significant transnational criminal organization," froze some of its assets, and filed related criminal and civil charges against various other defendants. The designation was removed in October 2017. The case is U.S. v. Day et al, U.S. District Court, District of Nevada, No. 19-cr-00155. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Tom Brown)
NBA draft: Indiana trades for Phoenix SF T.J. Warren The Indiana Pacers struck a deal for Phoenix Suns forward T.J. Warren on Thursday afternoon, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Indiana has traded for Phoenix’s TJ Warren, league source tells ESPN. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 20, 2019 The Suns, per Wojnarowski, also sent Indiana the No. 32 pick in Thursday’s NBA draft. In return, the Pacers sent the Suns cash. Warren averaged 18 points and four rebounds in 43 games for the Suns last season, his fifth in the league, and shot nearly 43 percent from the 3-point line. A bone bruise in his right ankle sidelined him for the final 33 games of the year. The 25-year-old, who the Suns picked up with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft, signed a four-year, $50 million extension in 2017. He is still owed nearly $35 million over three years on that deal, which the Suns wanted to unload to create cap space. The trade, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks , will be finalized on July 6 after the Pacers have room to absorb him. Indiana now holds three picks in the NBA draft, Nos. 18, 32 and 50, and will still have about $31 million in cap space. The Suns, less than an hour later, traded the No. 6 overall pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves for forward Dario Saric and the No. 11 overall pick. More from Yahoo Sports: Marketing company suing Zion for $100M Report: Davis, Lillard to feature in ‘Space Jam 2’ Authorities: Ortiz wasn’t intended target of shooting How Celtics shockingly combusted so quickly
What Kind Of Shareholders Own Xref Limited (ASX:XF1)? 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 Xref Limited (ASX:XF1), 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. I quite like to see at least a little bit of insider ownership. As Charlie Munger said 'Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.' With a market capitalization of AU$94m, Xref is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it's seems that institutions own shares in the company. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about XF1. Check out our latest analysis for Xref 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 22% of Xref. 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 Xref's earnings history, below. Of course, the future is what really matters. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Xref. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track. 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. 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 Xref Limited. Insiders have a AU$37m stake in this AU$94m business. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checkingif those insiders have been buying recently. With a 35% ownership, the general public have some degree of sway over XF1. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run. It seems that Private Companies own 3.4%, of the XF1 stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company. While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. 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 are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can checkthis free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.
Red Hat (RHT) Beats Q1 Earnings and Revenue Estimates Red Hat (RHT) came out with quarterly earnings of $1 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.85 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.72 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 17.65%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this open-source software company would post earnings of $1.01 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.16, delivering a surprise of 14.85%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times. Red Hat, which belongs to the Zacks Computer - Software industry, posted revenues of $934.11 million for the quarter ended May 2019, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.88%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $813.53 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates just once over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Red Hat shares have added about 7% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 16.7%. What's Next for Red Hat? While Red Hat has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Red Hat was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.99 on $949.14 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $3.96 on $3.87 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Computer - Software is currently in the bottom 36% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. 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 reportRed Hat, Inc. (RHT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Blank Slate: Google to Stop Producing Its Own Tablet Computers Googleis giving up its tablet business and is doubling down on laptops. Rick Osterloh, Google’s senior vice president of devices and services, says his team now plans to abandon their self-made tablets, and will focus on making new laptops instead. The announcement comes amid speculation that Google had two new tablets under development that would serve as follow-ups to thePixel Slate. The company’s hardware division released its most recent Pixel Slate tablet last November. While the $599 tablet earned raves for its display, the price point was steep compared to the competition. That price also didn’t include all of the extras that people tend to buy for tablets, including a keyboard and stylus, driving the price point up even higher. Many reviews noted the Pixel Slate was a luxury that simply wasn’t worth it, given competing, lower-cost tablets. While Google is abandoning its tablet business, Osterloh said Google would continue to support Pixel Slate owners for the long term. The announcement does not effect Google’s partners, most notably Samsung, who use Google’s software on their mobile devices. The pivot in direction for Google will also not have an affect on the Pixel phone business, since Google’s phones and computers are made in two separate departments. Google typically hosts its annual hardware “Made By Google” release event every October. In previous years, the company has used it to introduce the Google Home smart assistant, new Pixel phones, tablets, and laptops. Shares of Alphabet closed the day at $1,113.20, up 0.79%. —The fall and rise of VR: The struggle tomake virtual reality get real —“It’s just lazy”: Current’s CEO onFacebookCalibra’s similar logo —Slack went publicwithout an IPO. Here’s how a direct offering works —Welcome to the next generation ofcorporate phishing scams —Listen to our new audio briefing,Fortune500 Daily Catch up withData Sheet,Fortune‘s daily digest on the business of tech.
Keanu Reeves Has Been Approached to Star in 'Almost Every' Marvel Film Keanu Reeves was made to be a Marvel superhero. He just doesn't know it yet. According to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, the 54-year-old actor has been approached many times to join the MCU, and they're still trying to get him on board. "We talk to him for almost every film we make," Feige told Comicbook.com . "I don't know when, if, or ever he’ll join the MCU, but we very much want to figure out the right way to do it." Marvel's official plans post- Avengers: Endgame have yet to be laid out, but sequels to Doctor Strange and Black Panther are both in the works, as is a standalone Black Widow movie. Reeves was rumored to be joining Angelina Jolie in The Eternals , but judging by Feige's comments, Reeves hasn't committed to the project. Reeves is a busy guy these days. The actor, who is coming off the success of John Wick: Chapter 3 -- Parabellum and Always Be My Maybe, also stars in the upcoming Toy Story 4. And his Speed co-star, Sandra Bullock, told ET she'd be open to making a sequel. "Maybe [when we're] 67, 69 years old," Bullock joked of the idea of a Speed reunion with Reeves at the 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards. "We'll be old and in the bus where they have that lift for the older people." "We'll be an old married couple," she added of the potential plot. "We'll have the walker and it will be about how we can get to the old people home before curfew. So, that will be the [new] Speed . It will be a slow film, but a play on the word 'speed.'" See more in the video below. RELATED CONTENT: Fans Are Petitioning for Keanu Reeves to Be 'Time's Person of the Year' Inside Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock's Enduring Friendship Sandra Bullock Explains Why She Won't Set Keanu Reeves Up on a Date Related Articles: Hollywood's Best Bikini Bods Over 40 Biggest Celebrity Breakups of 2019 -- So Far! Celebrities in Their Underwear
Here's Who Won Big as Slack Went Public After months of anticipation,Slack Technologies(NYSE: WORK)finally went public today. Shares of the fast-growing, cloud-basedoffice-communication platformjumped in their unconventional debut, rising more than 50% in afternoon trading from the $26 reference price the company set yesterday. Slack chose to go public through adirect listing, rather than the standard initial public offering. It's a move that saves the company money on underwriting fees, but also forgoes the usual windfall from new investors that an IPO brings in. Direct listings tend to be favored by companies that are confident in their cash position and their ability to turn a profit, and believe their offering will be well-received by the market. Direct public offerings don't come with the usual "road show," where companies pitch their stock to big investors ahead of the IPO. Since Slack doesn't have to pay underwriting fees or dilute its stock with additional shares sold to new investors, the move strongly favors current shareholders, including insiders and early investors. What's more, those insiders won't have to abide by the usual lockup period of 90 or 180 days before they can sell their shares. It's no wonder, then, that Slack's shareholders are celebrating after the company's valuation soared to roughly $24.3 billion. That's more than triple its $7.1 billion valuation in its last funding round, last August. A screenshot of the Slack interface. Image source: Slack. In addition to insiders like CEO Stewart Butterfield, who owns 42.5 million shares (8.4% of the company), four major investors stand to reap a huge windfall from today's public offering. They are: • Accel Partners, a venture capital firm; it owns 119.8 million shares, or 23.8% of the company. • Andreessen Horowitz, another well-known VC firm; it owns 66.5 million shares, or 13.2% of the company. • Social Capital, a venture capital firm; it owns 50.9 million shares, equivalent to 10.1% of the company. • Softbank, the Japanese conglomerate and prolific investor; its Vision Fund owns 36.6 million shares, or 7.3% of the company. During its 15 funding rounds, Slack sold 373,372 shares outstanding of convertible preferred stock at an average price of $3.73. With the stock trading above $41 per share as of Thursday afternoon, the investors listed above saw gains of about 1,000%. Slack said that it expected its registered shareholders to sell about 11.5 million shares on its debut day. By 2:30 p.m. EDT, more than 118 million shares had exchanged hands, indicating that day traders are moving in and out of the stock quickly, though the stock price has been relatively stable since it opened shortly after noon. It's clear that Slack made early investors and insiders rich to the tune of more than $20 billion. But can it do the same for you? Slack's revenue grew 82% to $400.5 million last year, an impressive growth rate, but in the first quarter that slowed to 67%. Over the last four quarters, the company has reported $454 million in sales, giving the stock a sky-high trailing price-to-sales ratio of about 50 following its market debut. By comparison, the average stock on theS&P 500trades at aprice-to-earningsratio of about 22, and Slack even looks dearly priced compared to other recent SaaS (software-as-a-service) IPOs likeOkta,PagerDuty, andMongoDB, which trade with P/S ratios in the range of 20 and are also seeing rapid growth. In other words, investors have very high expectations for Slack, and its stock could easily tumble if growth disappoints or the company encounters unforeseen challenges. Competition for the email disruptor is also rising, in particular fromMicrosoftTeams, but also fromAlphabet's Google andCisco Systems. Slack has no debt and about $800 million in cash and marketable securities, which explains why the company did not seek any additional funding when it went public. However, it lost $140 million last year, and $33.3 million in the first quarter, indicating that profitability may be years away. In its risk factors, the company warned it may never achieve profitability, though this is a standard disclosure for unprofitable companies going public. Considering that Slack's market cap has already exceeded $20 billion, its price-to-sales valuation is one of the highest on the market, and competition is moving into the space, new investors may want to temper their expectations for Wall Street's latest debutante. 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 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors.Jeremy Bowmanowns shares of MDB and OKTA. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends GOOGL, GOOG, MSFT, MDB, and OKTA. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
UPDATE 1-Group sues Trump administration for withholding information on mining decision (Adds details on location of hard rock mineral leases in paragraph 6) By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - A conservation group on Thursday sued the Trump administration for withholding documents related to its decision to cancel a 20-year ban on mining in a Minnesota wilderness area and open it up to copper production. The Wilderness Society filed the lawsuit in a Washington, D.C., federal court to force the Trump administration to respond to six of their two dozen Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for documents detailing its decision to open up the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to sulfide ore copper mining. The group requested FOIA records last September from the Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management but received no response. USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue announced last September that the Forest Service would cancel the ban on mining in the area and terminated the environmental impact study on mining on the Boundary Waters. "We believe that the documents in question will confirm what we all know, which is that the science and public opinion definitively show that copper mining poses an unacceptable risk to this iconic wilderness area," said Allison Flint, a lawyer for the Wilderness Society. Last month, the BLM renewed hard rock mineral leases in the watershed of the wilderness area to Twin Metals Minnesota LLC, a subsidiary of Chile's Antofagasta. Conservation and local groups, as well as some Minnesota lawmakers, have for years opposed the idea of opening up the area near the Boundary Waters to mining because of the environmental risk it poses to the area's gray wolves, black bears, and moose and a variety of fish. The Canadian government also raised concerns about the impact mining could have on Canada's water quality and ecosystems, since the leases would be in shared U.S. and Canadian watersheds, during the comment period on the environmental assessment. Maya Kane, an attorney representing the Wilderness Society, said the agencies failed to comply with FOIA's statutory mandates by withholding documents, which limits public access to information about the environmental impact of opening up the popular wilderness area. Twin Metals CEO Kelly Osborne had said the Trump decision to open up the area for mining was "very good news for us and for the communities in northeastern Minnesota who look forward to the hundreds of jobs and major economic development this mine will bring." (Reporting by Valerie Volcovici Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Lisa Shumaker)