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Goldman Sachs to drop a documentary on Amazon Prime next week Goldman Sachs (GS) is releasing a documentary film series on Amazon (AMZN) Prime on Monday, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the investment banking giant. "Goldman Sachs at 150" is a 10-part film series covering the firm's 150-year history in 150 minutes. Yahoo Finance obtained a copy of the trailer ahead of next week’s debut. "What is it about this organization, about its culture, about its history, about its people, that's allowed it to be nimble, adapt, adjust, move forward, pick itself up when it's been knocked down, and really get stronger for it, every step of the way?" CEO David Solomon is seen asking during the teaser’s opening. The film tells the story of the founding of Goldman Sachs, a rags-to-riches story of an immigrant outsider, Marcus Goldman, who managed to make his way in the world to the highest ranks of American capitalism. For the project, Goldman Sachs hired noted historical documentary filmmaker Ric Burns. "It was an incredible opportunity to plunge in and see 'what's this world like?' I think it's true to say very few people really know how banking works," Burns said. Years ago, Burns worked with Goldman on an internal film series that was shown beginning in 2012. "Seven years later, it's our 150th anniversary, and it seemed like a natural time to update the film," said Liz Bowyer, co-head of brand and content strategy at Goldman Sachs. "And, given the positive response internally, we thought it made sense to share the films more broadly with people who might be interested in the stories,” she added. The film focuses on milestones in Goldman's history, from its 1869 founding to the 1929 stock market crash, to the 1999 IPO, and other moments. Some of the voices retelling the firm’s history include ex-Goldman chiefs Lloyd Blankfein and Hank Paulson, and billionaire investor Warren Buffett, among others. "Through in-depth interviews with leaders of Goldman Sachs past and present, as well as perspectives from historians and other business leaders, the films explore the firm’s century and a half of growth, innovation and change," John F. W. Rogers wrote in a firm-wide email. "These stories highlight not only our significant achievements, but also the many lessons we have learned over the course of 150 years – and the importance of protecting and enhancing our culture as we embark upon our next chapter,” Rogers added. To be sure, the film is not an investigation into the financial crisis, but instead a biography of the bank. "Many people think they know Goldman Sachs and often we think of these organizations as monolithic, but like all human endeavors, they are run by people who are passionate, smart, driven, and curious,” Bowyer said. “What struck me is the power of their stories over those 150 years and how they shaped the culture of the firm and what it is today,” she added. — Julia La Roche is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her onTwitter. • 59% of U.S households are Amazon Prime members, analyst says Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,SmartNews,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit.
'Firefly' actress Jewel Staite praises teens for kind act after church's pride flag is defaced Jewel Staite shared a photo of inclusive messaged chalked outside a church sidewalk (Credit: Twitter) After a Gay Pride flag that hung outside a church was repeatedly defaced, local high school students stepped in to take matters into their own hands, writing messages of support on the front sidewalk. Bringing to good deed into the national spotlight was Canadian actress Jewel Staite, known for her roles as Kaylee Frye in the TV series Firefly, and as Dr. Jennifer Kelley in the science fiction TV series Stargate. She shared a photo on Twitter of the sweet messages chalked by the teens. “Our local church in my small town hung a Pride flag that was defaced,” her tweet reads. “They hung another and that one was defaced, too. So the high school kids went over and drew rainbows and messages of inclusion all over the sidewalk out front. The next generation is not taking any BS.” The sidewalk was decorated with hearts and affirming notes, such as, “Trans rights are human rights,” “Unconditional love” and “Love you neighbor.” Our local church in my small town hung a Pride flag that was defaced. They hung another and that one was defaced, too. So the high school kids went over and drew rainbows and messages of inclusion all over the sidewalk out front. The next generation is not taking any BS. ❤️🌈 pic.twitter.com/EJP23jVsmN — Jewel Staite (@JewelStaite) June 21, 2019 Staite’s Twitter followers immediately responded, pointing out how unfortunate it is that people still aren’t free to be themselves. One person praised the students, calling their efforts a “beautiful and loving gesture,” but said that life as a lesbian person is still dangerous. On behalf of the LGBTQ community I thank these young people. Their valiant efforts are a beautiful loving gesture & every such effort, no matter how small, makes my life as a Lesbian....I was going to say 'easier' but its really: 'less dangerous'. — pÅ!ñ+€Г🌈 (@Alice23802230) June 21, 2019 There is hope after all? Thanks for sharing - I needed that. — Kitty Greycloak (@KGreycloak) June 21, 2019 Other Twitter users related to Staite, sharing their own stories of young students making bad situations a little bit better. Story continues One person posted photos of a different sidewalk, onto which elementary school children drew small cartoons about saving the environment. One of the images shows chalk artwork of a person standing next to a tree with an axe, cut out with a red X. Others encourage recycling, conservation and saving turtles. The kids in the elementary school across the street did these. The kids are alright. 🌎🌍🌏 pic.twitter.com/0ldsMc4V31 — Mer Brebner (@merbrebner) June 21, 2019 While her followers shared their own experiences, one thing they all had in common was mutual appreciation for the kids — showing that, as it turns out, the next generation isn’t so bad after all. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: • Gay couple receives letter saying they gave young neighbor the 'courage' to come out: 'Visibility is so important ' • Man buys U.S. town, renames it 'Gay Hell' to protest Trump's ban on pride flags • Teen fired from Christian camp counselor job for being gay: ‘I’m heartbroken’ Follow us on Instagram , Facebook , and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
Largest U.S. banks clear first round of 'stress tests,' fewer banks tested TheFederal Reservesaid Friday that 18 of the largest banks in the United Statespassed the first round of stress tests, suggesting that some of the biggest names in the financial system should be able to weather a hypothetical recession. But regulatory changes over the last year resulted in fewer banks being tested. Eighteen of the 35 banks tested last year were required to take the test this year, meaning that smaller firms like BB&T (BBT), SunTrust (STI), and Citizens Financial Group (CFG) were exempt for 2019. “The results confirm that our financial system remains resilient,” Fed Vice Chairman Randal Quarles said in a statement. “The nation’s largest banks are significantly stronger than before the crisis and would be well-positioned to support the economy even after a severe shock.” The central bank reported the results as part of its annual Dodd-Frank Act stress test (abbreviated as DFAST), in which regulators require banks to “shock” their balance sheets, income statements, and capital positions to measure their ability to withstand a severe economic shock. Compared to last year’s test, this year’s “severely adverse” scenario involved a steeper downturn in the U.S. economy in which real GDP falls by about 8% compared to its pre-recession peak and in which the 10-year Treasury falls to a trough of about 0.75%. In equities, the Fed required banks to model substantially more volatility, with the U.S. Market Volatility Index (VIX) touching 70%. Still, banks were able to slightly improve their capital positions in the theoretical shock. Under this year’s test, the 18 banks totaled losses of $410 billion. That figure is a slight decline from the $464 billion that the same 18 firms booked in the 2018 scenario. Senior Federal Reserve officials said that despite the tougher assumptions in this year’s tests, the banks have improved the quality of assets on their balance sheets. Compared to the 2018 scenario, most of the 18 banks improved projected loan losses under the hypothetical severe stress. Only three saw increases: Capital One (COF), Deutsche Bank’s U.S. arm, and State Street Corporation (STT). Capital One projected the highest loan losses, at 15.1% of average balances, mostly due to its heavy portfolio of credit cards. The Fed cautions that comparing the 2018 to 2019 results is tricky because the assumptions are different. Regulatory changes led to fewer banks being tested. A bill passed by Congress in 2017 — the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act — provided some exemptions for banks with less than $250 billion in total assets. Those with between $100 billion and $250 billion still have to take the test, but on a biennial frequency. The most systemic banks are still required to take the test, covering the likes of JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), and Wells Fargo (WFC). The Fed says the firms tested this year covers about 70% of the assets of all U.S.-operating banks. The DFAST results are unlikely to surprise the street. “The stress test is yet one more validation that the U.S. banking industry is the most resilient in a generation,” Wells Fargo Securities wrote in a preview note June 19. Brian Cheung is a reporter covering the banking industry and the intersection of finance and policy for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter@bcheungz. • Why the labor market is the key to the Fed’s next move • Trump hints that Fed should match possible ECB rate cuts • Federal Reserve may lose 'patience' on Wednesday • FOMC Preview: Threading the needle on rate changes for July • The battle of US banking giants could be won in Charlotte • Lael Brainard: Regulators may be 'whittling away' at financial stability • Congress may have accidentally freed nearly all banks from the Volcker Rule Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,SmartNews,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit.
Dow Jones Today: A Typical Summer Friday Interestingly, June 21 marks the official start of summer, and the summer months often bring lethargy in the equity markets, particularly on Fridays. That was the case today as stocks, broadly speaking, were mostly listless. Source: Shutterstock To close the week, theS&P 500fell a scant 0.13%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.24%. TheDow Jones Industrial Averagealso lost 0.13%. Long-term investors can find some solace on the day of the summer solstice with an article inBarron’stoday indicating Dow 30,000 could arrive sooner than expected. “To stick with our 2025 forecast now would be to suggest that stocks over the next 5½ years will climb just 2.1% a year, plus dividends,”according toBarron’s. “It’s possible, but pessimistic. The Dow could reach 30,000 much sooner than 2025.” InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips The article indicates it is possible the Dow sees 30,000 sometime in 2021, a bullish forecast considering the blue-chip index closed around 26,800 today. That is a long-term forecast. Over the near-term,the Federal Reservewill likely dominate the conversation and that is not surprising. For investors hoping for rate cut this year, good news: Fed funds traders bet on such a move in record fashion this week,according toCNBC. By the end of the day, just two of the 30 Dow Jones stocks were sporting gains of 1% or more. The clear powerhouse wasUnitedHealth Group(NYSE:UNH), which gained 1.82% on new that it is acquiring health-care payments providerEquian LLCfor $3.2 billion. • The 7 Best Dow Jones Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2019 That is a drop in the bucket for UnitedHealth, which has a market capitalization of $240 billion and a stellar return for Equian’s private equity owner New Mountain, which purchased the company four years ago forjust $225 million. Defensive names have beengetting some attentionhere in recent weeks and with good reason. Today, Dow componentWalmart(NYSE:WMT), on essentially no news to merit a move like this, jump 0.73% to hit an all-time high. The largest U.S. retailer is up almost 20% year-to-date. Pharmaceuticals giantPfizer(NYSE:PFE) added 0.88% after the European Commission approved the company’s TALZENNA treatment for breast cancer patients. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the treatment last October. “We are thrilled that we can now offer these patients in Europe, who are often diagnosed at a younger age and have limited treatment options, an effective, once-daily, alternative treatment to chemotherapy,”said Pfizer in a statement. Staying in the blue-chip pharmaceuticals space,Merck & Co.(NYSE:MRK) closed modestly lower, but three analysts raised price targets on the stock to $90, $95 and $96, respectively. In either case, that is some decent upside from Merck’s Friday close around $84.50. With all the talk about a potential rate cut, investors should not forget that second-quarter earnings season will soon be here. While glum earnings may be baked into the market at current levels, investors should still expect some less-than-positive sentiment around the second-quarter numbers. “As of today, the estimated earnings decline for the second quarter for the S&P 500 stands at -2.6%,”saidFactSetin a note out Friday. “If -2.6% is the actual earnings decline for the quarter, it will mark the first time the index has reported two straight quarters of year-over-year declines in earnings since Q1 2016 and Q2 2016. It will also mark the largest year-over-year decline in earnings since Q2 2016 (-3.2%).” Unfortunately, the same note indicates analysts are ratcheting down third-quarter estimates with the energy and technology sectors looking like the worst offenders. As of this writing, Todd Shriber did not own any of the aforementioned securities. • 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid • The 7 Best Dow Jones Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2019 • 5 Boring Stocks to Buy This Summer • 7 S&P 500 Stocks to Buy With Little Debt and Lots of Profits Compare Brokers The postDow Jones Today: A Typical Summer Fridayappeared first onInvestorPlace.
Savings, Checking, CD, or Money Market: Which Should You Pick? The financial industry is so big that we’re spoiled for choice, even at the smallest neighborhood bank. Here’s a guide to four traditional types of bank instruments -- savings accounts, checking accounts, CDs, and money market accounts. It’s no exaggeration to say that there are thousands of ways to pack money away. Even your humble, friendly neighborhood bank has a generous selection of account types to choose from. There’s an awful lot of choice offered by banks these days, so how do you select the right financial instrument for your hard-earned cash? We’re here to help in this process with a bank account guide that covers four classic account and investment types available at most lenders. Read on to figure out which one -- or ones -- might be right for your needs. Ideal for: • Those who need to stash money away for the long- or the short-term. • Individuals seeking to earn interest on their money at very low risk. Also occasionally known as a “passbook account,” the humble savings account is the most classic of the classic bank financial instruments. As it says on the label, a savings account is intended to be the place where funds are saved, rather than spent. Because of this, it tends to pay higher interest than that other classic account type, checking (more on the checking account in a moment). This is, of course, relative. In these days of still-thin interest rates, we’re not talking double-digit numbers; even the loftier APYs onhigh-yield savings accountsfall shy of 2%. Still, that’s more than you can earn from thebest checking accounts. But you don’t get those (slightly) higher rates for nothing. Savings accounts have limits to their activity, some of them federally mandated. The Federal Reserve’s Financial Crisis-era Regulation D stipulates that holders of savings and money market accounts (see below) can effect only six “convenient” withdrawals or outgoing transfers per month; in fact, some banks allow only three or four (although I should note that some common types of transactions, such as ATM withdrawals, do not fall under this restriction). Any further withdrawals/transfers generate penalties, which can vary widely by financial institution. They can range from modest fees, to account closure for repeated transgressions within a certain period. It’s rare that a bank allows its savings account holders to write checks for fund disbursement (this privilege is, of course, generally reserved for holders of checking accounts). You might also be on the hook if the account balance dips below a certain level, or if you don’t continually fund the account on a regular basis. Examples abound; Bank of America docks savings account holders not enrolled in its high-end Preferred Rewards program $5 per month if they fail to carry a minimum daily balance of at least $300. Account holders are also charged that amount if they don’t fund their account with automatic transfers from a linked Bank of America checking account at a minimum of $25 monthly. All said, savings accounts are extremely secure, as -- like other bank accounts -- at nearly every financial institution they’re insured by up to $250,000 per account holder by the FDIC. So even if your chosen bank is on shaky financial ground (which happens, although far less frequently than in decades past) the federal government has your back 100%. Ideal for: • Use as a “go-to” account for frequent spending. • Paying recurring expenses such as rent, utilities, cable TV, etc. As a savings account is an instrument for saving, a checking account is essentially one for spending. Compared to its relative, there are typically fewer restrictions on drawing money from a checking account. That’s what makes it the ideal vehicle for regular depositing and spending; it’s very “liquid” in financial parlance, meaning cash can be moved in and out of it quickly. The use of checks in transactions has declined with the rise of more convenient solutions, such as credit cards and e-payment systems. Yet checks are still often the instrument of choice for purchasing higher-cost items, so checking accounts are a durably popular account option. On top of that, checking accounts typically include a Visa or Mastercard debit card, and offer features such as automated bill pay services. Since there are numerous ways to disburse funds from a checking account, it’s perfect for regular spending needs. There’s a price to pay for this access and flexibility, however. Interest is often non-existent, or there’s a token rate at best. Even at the top end of the APY ladder, checking accounts typically pay well under 1%, which isn’t competitive with savings account rates. You can probably make more by combing the sidewalk for pennies and nickels. Fees are also commonplace for checking accounts, as a means of bolstering bank income in a low interest rate environment. Some of these are commonplace for banking services in general, while others are more typical of checking accounts. • Monthly maintenance fee-- The good news is that this usually isn’t too burdensome, coming in anywhere from $15 to $35 per month, depending on the bank and the perks and features that come with the account. • Minimum balance fee-- Fortunately, banks will often waive this fee if certain conditions are met. For example, the TD Bank Convenience checking account incurs a monthly fee of $15, but this is waived if the account holder maintains an average daily balance of $100 within a given month. Another common fee waiver is the use of direct deposit at a certain dollar minimum and/or frequency. • Overdraft fees-- Overdrafting your checking account could result in a fee. It’s important to note that many banks offer overdraft protection when linking a savings account at the same bank. • ATM and other fees-- You may incur an ATM fee on machines out of the lender’s network, statement printing/mailing fees, and wire transfer fees. Anyone considering a new checking account should always familiarize himself or herself with these charges, in order to avoid unpleasant surprises down the road. Checking accounts are insured for up to $250,000 of FDIC insurance per depositor, per bank. Ideal for: • Savers with extra money they can afford to lock up for a certain period of time. • Yield hunters. Are you one of those lucky people that has a pile of extra cash? Want to earn a bit of scratch on it but don’t want to throw it into a risky investment? If so,a certificate of deposit (CD)might be the way to go. A CD -- or a share certificate, the credit union version -- is a type of financial instrument known as a time deposit, basically an account that has a certain expiration date. • Term length-- The “life” of a CD is called the term length. Terms generally last from several months to five years or more. • Maturity date-- The expiration date of the CD is known as the maturity date. This is when your money is returned to you if not being rolled over into another CD with a new term. • CD Rates are almost always higher than savings account rates and checking account rates -- At times, the difference can be significant. This is a major reason for their popularity. Another plus is that, unlike traditional bank accounts, they rarely carry monthly fees. • The higher return is a reward for socking away your money until maturity -- Generally, the longer the term length, the higher the APY. Again, though, we’re in an era of low CD rates, so some max out at an APY of around 3% for terms of three to five years. A popular strategy that produces income on a regular basis is called theCD ladder. This consists of spreading an overall CD investment among a set of CDs with consecutive annual maturities (e.g. one-year, two-year, three-year, etc.). After the one-year CD matures, the proceeds are rolled into a new five-year CD. Before long, the CD ladder starts producing reliable income on a yearly basis. Here are three things to bear in mind regarding CD ladders: 1. If done correctly, they can earn an account holder steady income at fixed intervals.2. They require continued rollover of maturing CDs, and thus full commitment with principal funds.3. The CD ladder is a fine way to play rising interest rates, due to the constant rollover. The big caveat with CDs is the lock-up commitment. Banks take this seriously, and there can be tough penalties for violating it -- early withdrawal charges are notoriously steep. Mirroring the time period/APY dynamic, the longer the maturity period, the heavier the penalty. A CD with a six-month maturity might generate a penalty of three months’ interest, while taking money out prematurely from a five-year CD could cost the violator a full year of interest. Additionally, some early withdrawal penalties include any bonuses earned when opening the CD (such bonuses aren’t as common as inducements for opening, say, checking accounts, but they exist). Finally, over the years CD variations have sprung up on the market, including: • Liquid CDs -- These CD’s offer some scope for accessing your money before maturity, with the trade-off that APYs are lower than standard CDs. • Bump-up and Step Up CDs -- These CDs increase their rates over time. With the former, a holder can request a rate increase once during the term length if overall market interest rates climb. A step-up CD’s APY automatically increases at certain specified intervals. For deep-pocketed savers, jumbo CDs tend to have slightly higher APYs, and a minimum deposit commitment of $100,000. CDs of all types are covered under the FDIC’s $250,000 per account holder guarantee. Ideal for: • People that want a higher yield than the typical savings account, but with more flexibility. • Those with enough funds to satisfy opening and minimum balance requirements. A relatively recent arrival to the bank scene is themoney market account. This is not to be confused with the money marketfund, a type of vehicle that allows investors to tap directly into the namesake financial instruments. The money market account is a form of savings account that has many features in common with classic savings products, although there are some important distinctions. The big factor that sets the two apart is what the bank does with the funds from the respective accounts. In a savings account, the bank can only use your cash to provide loans to its clients. The funds from a money market account, meanwhile, can be deployed for investment into low-risk securities. • Rates-- As with many prudent investors, banks are eager to diversify their assets. As a result, money market accounts earn slightly more interest than their savings account cousins. These days, it isn’t hard to find a money market account that comes close to, or even exceeds, a 2% APY. • Withdrawals-- Those considering opening a money market account need to be aware that it can be as restrictive as a savings account in terms of utilizing funds. Money market accounts fall under the Fed’s Regulation D, so they’re similarly restricted to six withdrawals and/or transfers per month. • Checks-- Yet they have distinct advantages over savings accounts. Many offer the ability to write checks (although this can be limited), which is almost always a no-no with a savings account. Examples of accounts that offer check-writing options are Ally’s Money Market Account, and Discover’s Money Market. • Debit cards-- Some money market accounts provide debit cards whereas savings accounts do so less frequently. • Minimum balances-- One notable difference between savings and money market accounts is that the latter tends to require a higher minimum balance to waive fees. Additionally, money market accounts often mandate a higher opening balance. For instance the Discover Money Market account requires both an opening and minimum average daily balance of $2,500. That number falls precipitously to $0 for both line items in Discover’s Online Savings Account. • FDIC insurance-- Money market and savings accounts do have one crucial feature in common, though -- the level of protection from the federal government. Like its close relative, the money market account is insured up to $250,000 by the FDIC for each account holder. All of us have different needs when it comes to finance. Some people have, or want, to save, while others are more geared towards spending. This is where on the scale each of the mentioned account types lies: • Savings account: Appropriate as a place to store and keep money. If you’re looking for flexible withdrawals on a consistent basis (more than six per month), then a checking account is better. • Checking account: This is a spending account, very useful for everyday, recurring, and occasional expenses. Basically it’s suitable as a central account for a person or family. Major caveat: it typically earns little to no interest. • CD: The CD is arguably the most appropriate account type for savers, as they’re penalized (often severely) for early withdrawal of their funds -- it’s a pure invest-and-wait situation. This commitment is rewarded, though, by interest rates that are usually higher than the other three account types. • Money market account: Another financial instrument geared towards savers, the money market account offers slightly higher interest rates than the traditional savings account. Similar withdrawal/transfer restrictions apply, however, so account holders shouldn’t actively move their money around more than strictly necessary. The Motley Fool owns and recommends MasterCard and Visa, and recommends American Express. We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule. If we wouldn’t recommend an offer to a close family member, we wouldn’t recommend it on The Ascent either. Our number one goal is helping people find the best offers to improve their finances. That is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.
Here's What MyState Limited's (ASX:MYS) P/E Is Telling Us Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! The goal of this article is to teach you how to use price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use MyState Limited's (ASX:MYS) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity.What is MyState's P/E ratio?Well, based on the last twelve months it is 13.22. That means that at current prices, buyers pay A$13.22 for every A$1 in trailing yearly profits. See our latest analysis for MyState Theformula for P/Eis: Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS) Or for MyState: P/E of 13.22 = A$4.4 ÷ A$0.33 (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.) A higher P/E ratio means that buyers have to paya higher pricefor each A$1 the company has earned over the last year. That isn't necessarily good or bad, but a high P/E implies relatively high expectations of what a company can achieve in the future. If earnings fall then in the future the 'E' will be lower. That means even if the current P/E is low, it will increase over time if the share price stays flat. Then, a higher P/E might scare off shareholders, pushing the share price down. MyState shrunk earnings per share by 3.0% last year. And EPS is down 3.9% a year, over the last 3 years. So you wouldn't expect a very high P/E. The P/E ratio indicates whether the market has higher or lower expectations of a company. As you can see below MyState has a P/E ratio that is fairly close for the average for the mortgage industry, which is 13.1. Its P/E ratio suggests that MyState shareholders think that in the future it will perform about the same as other companies in its industry classification. So if MyState actually outperforms its peers going forward, that should be a positive for the share price. Further research into factors such asmanagement tenure, could help you form your own view on whether that is likely. The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. The exact same company would hypothetically deserve a higher P/E ratio if it had a strong balance sheet, than if it had a weak one with lots of debt, because a cashed up company can spend on growth. Such expenditure might be good or bad, in the long term, but the point here is that the balance sheet is not reflected by this ratio. Net debt totals a substantial 273% of MyState's market cap. This is a relatively high level of debt, so the stock probably deserves a relatively low P/E ratio. Keep that in mind when comparing it to other companies. MyState's P/E is 13.2 which is below average (16.2) in the AU market. Given meaningful debt, and a lack of recent growth, the market looks to be extrapolating this recent performance; reflecting low expectations for the future. When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. If it is underestimating a company, investors can make money by buying and holding the shares until the market corrects itself. So thisfreereport on the analyst consensus forecastscould help you make amaster moveon this stock. Of courseyou might be able to find a better stock than MyState. 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.
Why Innovative Industrial Properties, Korn Ferry, and Sprint Slumped Today Friday was fairly calm on Wall Street, with theDow Jones Industrial Averageclosing modestly lower as the small-capRussell 2000index saw more significant decreases. Geopolitical tension between the U.S. and Iran remained on investors' minds, as did longer-term concerns in areas like trade and global economic growth. Yet some stocks saw big declines due to company-specific issues.Innovative Industrial Properties(NYSE: IIPR),Korn Ferry(NYSE: KFY), andSprint(NYSE: S) were among the worst performers. Here's why they did so poorly. Shares of Innovative Industrial Properties suffered a 13% drop despite the company announcing yet another deal to make a property acquisition for its cannabis-centered real estate portfolio. Innovative Industrial acquired a Michigan property in the central part of the state, paying $6.9 million and committing to another $3.1 million in reimbursements for tenant improvements. The cannabis real estate investment trust simultaneously entered into a lease with Emerald Growth Partners, which will use it as a licensed medical-use cannabis cultivation and processing facility. Today's decline came after ahuge upward run for the marijuana REIT, which had climbed almost 60% during the month of June after announcing another huge dividend increase, and nothing about today's news suggests that the recent downward move is anything but a pause. Executive search providerKorn Ferry saw its stock drop 17.5%following the release of its fiscal fourth-quarter financial report. Korn Ferry's results were reasonably good, with a modest rise in sales and a roughly 9% climb in adjusted net income. However, the company's outlook for the current quarter didn't live up to expectations, and stock analysts following Korn Ferry cut their price target on the company's shares, as they judged that economic weakness in China and elsewhere in the industrial sector could hurt the company's performance. Despite moves designed to make it less vulnerable to cyclical effects, Korn Ferry's shareholders seem nervous that they'll still lose out if economic conditions deteriorate in the U.S. and across the globe. Finally, shares of Sprint lost 7%. The wireless telecom company ran into more obstacles in its efforts to merge with rivalT-Mobile US, as four states added themselves to a complaint from attorneys general in other states to challenge the deal. Officials in Hawaii, Nevada, Minnesota, and Massachusettsjoined peers from 10 other states, alleging that higher prices resulting from the deal would hurt consumers. The company still hopes to find ways to appease regulators and get the merger to go through, perhaps by divesting certain assets. Yet after long delays, Sprint investors are getting impatient for the deal to gain final approval, and any impediment to that could be devastating. 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 recommends Innovative Industrial Properties and TMUS. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Trump Blacklists More China Tech Companies Days Before Xi Summit (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. put five more Chinese tech entities on a trade blacklist just days ahead of a high-stakes summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping even as it offered a quiet olive branch by postponing a potentially provocative speech. The move on Friday to list four companies and a research institute involved in China’s super-computing efforts follows the similar blacklisting of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. last month, blocking it from buying U.S. software and components. The Huawei action has raised fears that a trade war launched last year is turning into a broader economic conflict focused on cutting off China from U.S. technology while also forcing U.S. companies to shift their supply chains out of China. The Commerce Department action against the super-computing entities will only add to those concerns in Beijing. But it also comes as the two sides try to avoid an escalation in their trade war that many see as the greatest risk to an already-slowing global economy. Trump earlier this week announced he and Xi would meet on the sidelines of the June 28-29 Group of 20 summit in Japan in an effort to restart trade talks that broke down last month. In an apparent peace gesture the White House on Friday confirmed it postponed a speech critical of China’s human rights record by Vice President Mike Pence that had been scheduled for Monday as a result of progress in the discussions with Beijing. Rights Speech Trump and Pence decided the speech should be delivered after Trump and Xi speak in Japan, a White House official said. The speech already had been postponed from June 4, the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. The twin actions illustrated some of the competing tensions inside the administration on China. While some are eager to see Trump reach a deal with Xi that would remove a drag on the U.S. economy going into the 2020 election cycle others in the administration are more intent on proceeding with a multifaceted crackdown on China. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs of up to 25% on a further $300 billion in Chinese goods on top of the $250 billion already subject to import taxes. In a statement on Friday, the Commerce Department said the new entities listed were part of China’s efforts to develop supercomputers. It said they raised national security concerns because the computers were being developed for military uses or in cooperation with the Chinese military. The Chinese embassy in Washington didn’t respond to a request for comment. “While Huawei gets attention, the most important sector for U.S.-China economic competition is semiconductors,” said Derek Scissors, a China expert at the American Enterprise Institute, who informally advises the Trump administration. “Coming a week before the president meets Xi Jinping, it’s a welcome sign the U.S. won’t trade advanced technology for Chinese commodities purchases.” Among those added to the blacklist were AMD’s Chinese joint-venture partner Higon, Commerce said in the statement. Also included were Sugon, which Commerce identified as Higon’s majority owner, along with Chengdu Haiguang Integrated Circuit and Chengdu Haiguang Microelectronics Technology, both of which the department said Higon had an ownership interest in. The ban affects AMD’s Chinese joint venture THATIC, which was established in 2016. AMD uses THATIC to license its microprocessor technology to Chinese companies including Higon. THATIC, or Tianjin Haiguang Advanced Technology Investment Co., is a Chinese holding company comprising an AMD joint venture with two entities, according to an AMD regulatory filing. THATIC provides chips to Sugon, a Chinese server and computer maker. Lisa Su, AMD’s chief executive officer, said at a recent conference in Taiwan that AMD would not license its newer technologies to Chinese companies. “We are currently evaluating the addition of five new entities,” AMD spokesman Drew Prairie wrote in an email on Friday. “AMD will comply with the regulations governing that list, just as we have complied with U.S. laws to date. We are reviewing the specifics of the order to determine next steps related to our joint ventures with THATIC in China.” The blacklisting requires American companies doing business with the Chinese firms to get a license from the U.S. government in order to sell their products. The policy for granting such licenses is that there’s a presumption of denial of such a request, according to the Commerce Department statement. "Sugon is going to be pinched," said Anand Srinivasan, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. "The THATIC joint venture may have been to grease AMD’s entry into China. It was to appease the Chinese to give them a bit of intellectual property to expand their capabilities. For AMD, it is a high-margin business, but it is not material." The U.S. said on Friday that Sugon is “involved in activities determined to be contrary to the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.” Sugon is open about its work with the Chinese government. The company hopes to “gradually build a cloud data service network covering hundreds of cities and sectors to provide a wealth of intelligent applications and services for the government, industry and the general population,” according to its website. Sugon had the largest share of China’s supercomputer market from 2009 to 2016, according to the company’s website. The fifth entity is the Wuxi Jiangnan Institute of Computing Technology, which Commerce said was owned by the People’s Liberation Army’s 56th Research Institute. That institute’s mission, according to Commerce, is “to support China’s military modernization.” The notice will be published in the federal register on Monday, making it an official directive. (Updates throughout with Pence speech postponement and context.) --With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs, Mark Gurman and Alistair Barr. To contact the reporters on this story: Jenny Leonard in Washington at jleonard67@bloomberg.net;Shawn Donnan in Washington at sdonnan@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Murray at brmurray@bloomberg.net, Sarah McGregor For more articles like this, please visit us atbloomberg.com ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
STUDY: Arsenic in Bottled Water Found at Walmart, Target, Whole Foods There were high levels of arsenic found in bottled water that was sold in a number of major grocery stores, raising health concerns as arsenic can cause cancer if consumed by humans. Two bottled water brandssold atWhole Foods, Walmart and Target were found to have the toxin following a new batch of tests that was commissioned by the California nonprofit Center for Environmental Health (CEH). The companies in question are Starkey, which creates bottled water products and is owned by Whole Foods, as well as Peñafel, which is owned by Keurig Dr Pepper and sold at Target and Walmart. The aforementioned unveiled a press release Tuesday noting that these products have arsenic amounts “above the level requiring a health warning under California’s consumer protection law.” The toxic can reportedly cause cancer and reproductive harm, per the release. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips CEH’s CEO, Michael Green, noted that some may see bottled water as being a safer choice than tap water, but it could lead to serious health problems in this case. “Consumers are being needlessly exposed to arsenic without their knowledge or consent,” Green said. “They are ingesting an extremely toxic metal.” Green added that the exact levels of arsenic were not disclosed by the organization because it is now suing both Whole Foods and Keurig Dr Pepper over the issue. Nevertheless, CEH said its findings corroborated Consumer Reports research regarding high levels of arsenic in the bottled water brands. The April Consumer Reports tests on Starkey water found that the arsenic levels in three samples came in between 9.48 to 9.86 ppb, while a fourth was 10.1 ppb, slightly higher than the federal limit of 10 ppb. • 7 Value Stocks to Buy for the Second Half • 6 Stocks Ready to Bounce on a Trade Deal • The 7 Best Dow Jones Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2019 Compare Brokers The postSTUDY: Arsenic in Bottled Water Found at Walmart, Target, Whole Foodsappeared first onInvestorPlace.
General Electric to scrap California power plant 20 years early By Alwyn Scott NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Electric Co said on Friday it plans to demolish a large power plant it owns in California this year after only one-third of its useful life because the plant is no longer economically viable in a state where wind and solar supply a growing share of inexpensive electricity. The 750-megawatt natural-gas-fired plant, known as the Inland Empire Energy Center, uses two of GE’s H-Class turbines, developed only in the last decade, before the company’s successor gas turbine, the flagship HA model, which uses different technology. The closure illustrates stiff competition in the deregulated energy market as cheap wind and solar supply more electricity, squeezing out fossil fuels. Some utilities say they have no plans to build more fossil plants. It also highlights the stumbles of Boston-based GE with its first H-Class turbine. The complex, steam-cooled H design takes hours to start, suffered technical problems and sold poorly, experts said. “We have made the decision to shut down operation of the Inland Empire Power Plant, which has been operating below capacity for several years, effective at the end of 2019,” GE told Reuters. The plant “is powered by a legacy gas turbine technology ... and is uneconomical to support further.” GE declined to comment on whether it would take a charge for shutting the plant. GE operates few power plants of its own. In a filing with the California Energy Commission on Thursday, GE said the plant is “not designed for the needs of the evolving California market, which requires fast-start capabilities to satisfy peak demand periods.” GE's newer HA turbine can power up in under an hour, more quickly than the H to match fluctuating supplies of wind and solar power, GE said. The large market for the H turbine that GE anticipated “did not develop and has resulted in an orphan technology installation at IEEC,” the filing said. It added that GE will no longer support or make replacement parts for the H turbine. Only one other plant uses H turbines, Baglan Bay in Wales. California approved the Inland Energy Center, located in Riverside County, about 75 miles (120.7 km) east of Los Angeles, in 2003 and the plant opened in 2009. Industry experts estimated it cost nearly $1 billion. Similar combined-cycle gas-power plants run for 30 years before being decommissioned, according to a recent study by S&P Global Market Intelligence. One of the two Inland Empire turbines was mothballed in 2017, cutting the plant’s output to about 376 megawatts, according to the filing and the California Independent System Operator, which oversees the state’s electricity grid. Closing the plant will eliminate about 23 jobs, the filing said. GE has been promoting its “H-Class” turbines amid a severe downturn in demand for fossil-fuel power plants. The two “H” turbines being demolished in California differ from GE's current HA, which uses air cooling, said a former GE engineer familiar with both turbine types. Still, premature closure of a turbine marketed as “H-Class” is a negative for GE as it struggles to restore profits at its power business, the expert noted. Power, once GE's largest division, lost $22.8 billion last year as the company grapples with slack demand for fossil-fuel plants. The company is set to lose up to $2 billion in cash this year. GE is selling the California power plant site to a company that makes battery storage, which is increasingly used to make wind and solar power available when needed, replacing the need for some fossil fuel plants. (Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Additional reporting by Scott DiSavino; editing by David Gregorio and Leslie Adler)
U.S. judge rejects Greece bid to dismiss Sotheby's lawsuit over bronze horse By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK, June 21 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday rejected Greece's effort to dismiss an unusual lawsuit in which Sotheby's and the owners of an ancient Greek bronze horse sued the country, seeking court permission to put the statue on the auction block. U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla rejected Greece's claim that she lacked jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, saying the case triggered an exception for "commercial activity" that allowed Greece to be sued. Greece had argued that the case should be dismissed, warning that a broad interpretation of the commercial activity exception "would have a chilling effect on the ability of foreign sovereigns to protect their cultural heritage." Leila Amineddoleh, a lawyer for Greece, said "we're obviously disappointed" with the decision, adding that the country may appeal. Gary Stein, a lawyer for Sotheby's, declined to comment. The June 2018 lawsuit was thought to be Sotheby's first against a government, according to the Financial Times. Filed by Sotheby's and descendants of art collectors Howard and Saretta Barnet, the lawsuit sought a declaration that the family owned the 14-centimeter (5.5-inch) high horse, which dates from the 8th century BC - and that Sotheby's could sell it. According to the complaint, the horse was purchased by the Barnets for about 15,000 British pounds in 1973, and might have fetched $150,000 to $250,000 at an auction that had been scheduled for May 14, 2018. But the plaintiffs said the auction was scuttled when Sotheby's received a "demand letter" from Greece's Ministry of Culture on May 11, 2018, which said the horse had been stolen and must be returned to the country. In her 18-page decision, Failla said Greece engaged in commercial activity by sending the letter, triggering the exception to sovereign immunity. She also said some U.S. courts have said acts taken to advance a sovereign country's cultural mission could be deemed commercial in nature. Greece's demand letter "is analogous to a private citizen attempting to enforce his property rights," Failla wrote. The case is Barnet et al v Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Hellenic Republic, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 18-04963. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Sandra Maler )
Court tosses black man's murder conviction over racial bias WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court on Friday threw out the murder conviction and death sentence for a black man in Mississippi because of a prosecutor's efforts to keep African Americans off the jury. The defendant already has been tried six times and now could face a seventh trial. The removal of black prospective jurors deprived inmate Curtis Flowers of a fair trial, the court said in a 7-2 decision written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The long record of Flowers' trials stretching back more than 20 years shows District Attorney Doug Evans' "relentless, determined effort to rid the jury of black individuals," with the goal of an all-white jury, Kavanaugh wrote. In Flowers' sixth trial, the jury was made up of 11 whites and one African American. Prosecutor Evans struck five black prospective jurors. In the earlier trials, three convictions were tossed out, including one when the prosecutor improperly excluded African Americans from the jury. In the second trial, the judge chided Evans for striking a juror based on race. Two other trials ended when jurors couldn't reach unanimous verdicts. "The numbers speak loudly," Kavanaugh said in a summary of his opinion that he read in the courtroom, noting that Evans had removed 41 of the 42 prospective black jurors over the six trials. "We cannot ignore that history." In dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas called Kavanaugh's opinion "manifestly incorrect" and wrote that Flowers "presented no evidence whatsoever of purposeful race discrimination." Justice Neil Gorsuch joined most of Thomas' opinion. Thomas, the only African American on the court, said the decision may have one redeeming quality: "The state is perfectly free to convict Curtis Flowers again." Flowers has been in jail more than 22 years, since his arrest after four people were found shot to death in a furniture store in Winona, Mississippi, in July 1996. Story continues Flowers was arrested several months later, described by prosecutors as a disgruntled former employee who sought revenge against the store's owner because she fired him and withheld most of his pay to cover the cost of merchandise he damaged. Nearly $300 was found missing after the killings. Defense lawyers have argued that witness statements and physical evidence against Flowers are too weak to convict him. A jailhouse informant who claimed Flowers had confessed to him recanted in recorded telephone conversations with American Public Media's "In the Dark" podcast. A separate appeal is pending in state court questioning Flowers' actual guilt, citing in part evidence that reporters for "In the Dark" detailed. "A seventh trial would be unprecedented, and completely unwarranted given both the flimsiness of the evidence against him and the long trail of misconduct that has kept him wrongfully incarcerated all these years. We hope that the state of Mississippi will finally disavow Doug Evans' misconduct, decline to pursue yet another trial and set Mr. Flowers free," Sheri Lynn Johnson, who represented Flowers at the Supreme Court, said in an emailed statement. Evans said he remained confident of Flowers guilt but hadn't decided on retrial, according to American Public Media. However, he denied trying to exclude African Americans from the jury. In the course of selecting a jury, lawyers can excuse a juror merely because of a suspicion that a particular person would vote against their client. Those are called peremptory strikes, and they have been the focus of the complaints about discrimination. The Supreme Court tried to stamp out discrimination in the composition of juries in Batson v. Kentucky in 1986. The court ruled then that jurors couldn't be excused from service because of their race and set up a system by which trial judges could evaluate claims of discrimination and the race-neutral explanations by prosecutors. Justice Thurgood Marshall, who had been the nation's pre-eminent civil rights attorney, was part of the Batson case majority, but he said the only way to end discrimination in jury selection was to eliminate peremptory strikes. Flowers' case has been to the high court before. In 2016, the justices ordered Mississippi's top court to re-examine racial bias issues in Flowers' case following a high court ruling in favor of a Georgia inmate because of a racially discriminatory jury. But the Mississippi justices divided 5-4 in upholding the verdict against Flowers. The state, defending the conviction, said the justices must narrow the focus from Evans' broader record to the case at hand. But Kavanaugh said that even on the narrower basis, there is evidence that at least one prospective black juror for the sixth trial, Carolyn Wright, was similarly situated to white jurors and was improperly excused by Evans. "The trial court clearly erred in ruling that the state's peremptory strike of Wright was not motivated in substantial part by discriminatory intent," Kavanaugh wrote. ___ Associated Press writer Jeff Amy contributed to this story from Jackson, Mississippi.
Analysts Expect Breakeven For Venturex Resources Limited (ASX:VXR) Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Venturex Resources Limited's (ASX:VXR): Venturex Resources Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration and development of mineral resources in Australia. The AU$55m market-cap posted a loss in its most recent financial year of -AU$2.5m and a latest trailing-twelve-month loss of -AU$2.4m shrinking the gap between loss and breakeven. The most pressing concern for investors is VXR’s path to profitability – when will it breakeven? I’ve put together a brief outline of industry analyst expectations for VXR, its year of breakeven and its implied growth rate. See our latest analysis for Venturex Resources VXR is bordering on breakeven, according to the 2 Metals and Mining analysts. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2019, before generating positive profits of AU$4.1m in 2020. So, VXR is predicted to breakeven approximately a couple of months from now! What rate will VXR have to grow year-on-year in order to breakeven on this date? Using a line of best fit, I calculated an average annual growth rate of 60%, which is rather optimistic! If this rate turns out to be too aggressive, VXR may become profitable much later than analysts predict. I’m not going to go through company-specific developments for VXR given that this is a high-level summary, however, bear in mind that generally metals and mining companies, depending on the stage of operation and metals mined, have irregular periods of cash flow. So, 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. VXR has managed its capital prudently, with debt making up 4.5% of equity. This means that VXR has predominantly funded its operations from equity capital,and its low debt obligation reduces the risk around investing in the loss-making company. This article is not intended to be a comprehensive analysis on VXR, so if you are interested in understanding the company at a deeper level, take a look atVXR’s company page on Simply Wall St. I’ve also compiled a list of essential aspects you should further examine: 1. Valuation: What is VXR worth today? Has the future growth potential already been factored into the price? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether VXR is currently mispriced by the market. 2. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look atwho sits on Venturex Resources’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.
10 Simple and Free Budgeting Tools Not everyone relishes the idea of proactively managing money and maintaining a budget. However, creating a budget -- and sticking to it -- are key first steps toward reaching financial goals large and small. Unfortunately, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the complexity of creating and keeping a detailed budget, not to mention the time required. "Some people cringe when they hear the word budget," says Carl Casper, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Connex Credit Union in North Haven, Connecticut. The good news is that creating a workable spending plan doesn't have to be complicated, and there are plenty of budgeting tools and resources such as spreadsheets and computer software to get you started. [ See: 10 Ways to Save More in 2019. ] Once you are ready to start making your budget, the following free tools will make the process easier: -- Pen and paper. -- Envelopes. -- Spreadsheets. -- Worksheets. -- BudgetPulse. -- GnuCash. -- Banking Tools. -- Mint. -- Goodbudget. -- EveryDollar. Pen and Paper While budgeting apps and software are popular, you don't need anything more than a pen and some paper to write a budget. "To get started, you need to write down all of your expenses, from your home payment to the coffee you got on your way in to work," Casper says. Then, categorize those expenses according to whether they are needs or wants. Next, add up your income. Earmark your income for your needs first and any money left over can be spent on wants. The biggest challenge for many people is developing a budget that takes a big-picture view of household finances, says Jonathan Clarke, associate professor of finance in the Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech. "(They) tend to focus on balancing their budget for the month or over a short-time horizon," Clarke explains. "They don't anticipate some of the future expenses that could come along like kids, child care expenses, home repairs, etc." A good way to prepare for those future needs is to live below your means and pay yourself first. You can do that by depositing money into savings before covering other expenses. "The goal is to operate your household off 40-65% of your net income," says Scott Morris, lifestyle wealth advisor at the financial firm International Assets Advisory, which is headquartered in Orlando, Florida. "Pay yourself the difference to minimize revolving credit to cover vacations and incidentals." Story continues If your expenses exceed your income, you'll need determine what changes to make. You may be able to balance your budget by cutting wants like dining out or a gym membership, but in some cases, you may need to consider more significant changes such as moving to an area with a lower cost of living. Envelopes Using envelopes is another low-tech way to budget. "The envelope system is pretty simple," explains Rachel Cruze, a bestselling author and host of "The Rachel Cruze Show." Cruze's father, personal finance expert Dave Ramsey, helped popularize the system. "Once you have set your budget, you will use cash for each category of your budget and keep it tucked away in envelopes." An envelope system makes it easy to see how much money is available for each spending category. When money in a particular envelope, such as clothing or groceries, is gone, it signals that no more spending should occur in that category until the cash is replenished. "This is a great tool to help you stop overspending," Cruze says. "You will also make more intentional decisions with your spending because you know that once that cash is gone, it's gone." [ See: 10 Expenses Destroying Your Budget. ] Spreadsheets For a highly customizable way to track income and expenses, use a spreadsheet. Despite all the other budgeting tools that are available, "I also still sketch out a budget in (Microsoft) Excel to start," Clarke says. Both Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets offer free budget templates to users. You can also create your own, though there can be a learning curve to using the programs. Microsoft provides free online training lessons on its support website for Office products. Otherwise, plenty of tutorials can be found on YouTube. Maintaining a spreadsheet budget can require more time than other options, but the extra effort may help you have a better understanding of your money. Worksheets For those making a budget for the first time, Morris often provides a budget sheet or packet, depending on the complexity of a person's financial situation. "If you are a do-it-yourselfer, you can do a search on the internet and find a budget form that works best for you," he says. One organization offering free budgeting worksheets online is American Consumer Credit Counseling. The nonprofit credit counseling provider has sheets for household budgeting, expense tracking and budgeting for specific needs. "You should have a budget that you stick to every month, but it's also a good idea to have an individual budget for things like school supplies for your children when they go back to school in the fall," says Katie Ross, education and development manager for American Consumer Credit Counseling. BudgetPulse Several free computer software programs have been designed specifically with budgeting in mind. "If you're looking for software with a few more bells and whistles than Microsoft Excel, try BudgetPulse," suggests former U.S. News contributor David Bakke. "It will let you input your financials onto its site, then begin to manage expenses, cash flow and even create longer-term financial goals for yourself." GnuCash GnuCash is another free option and unique in that it's available on the Linux operating system as well as Windows and macOS. It offers robust tools that make it suitable for both home and small business use. You can use it to track income and spending as well as bank, investment and retirement accounts. This is a serious accounting tool, but it's simple enough for most home users. Banking Tools Free budgeting tools may be as close as your bank's website. Bank of America and Connex Credit Union are among the institutions that provide customers budgeting resources that can track expenses, run spending reports and export data to spreadsheets or computer software. These tools won't create a budget for you, but they do offer the information you need to develop a workable spending plan. For example, they may categorize your expenses, making it easy to see where your money is currently going. Banks may also offer other tools that aren't specific for budgeting but can be helpful to manage money. For instance, you may be able to set up automatic transfers to savings or receive alerts when account balances are low, Casper says. Mint No list of free budgeting tools would be complete without mentioning the many free budgeting websites available today. Mint may be the most well-known of the internet and smartphone-based budgeting applications, and it offers comprehensive services at no cost. Once you've entered basic information such as banking, credit and investment accounts, Mint begins automatically tracking your money. The default categories are sufficient for most people, and you can add your own. The built-in goal-setting tools are robust and easy to use, and since it's owned by Intuit, your data feeds directly into TurboTax at tax time . [ See: 50 Ways to Improve Your Finances in 2019. ] Goodbudget This savvy budgeting software is intended for those who like the idea of an envelope cash management system, but don't want the hassle of carrying physical envelopes. Instead, Goodbudget lets users fund virtual envelopes that are used to track expenses and sync and share budget information across devices. The free version includes 10 regular envelopes, 10 more envelopes, one year of account history and access to community support forums. EveryDollar EveryDollar is based on Dave Ramsey's financial philosophy and uses a zero-based budgeting method that encourages people to track and plan for every penny. The free version of the service lets users manually enter income and expenses, while upgrading to EveryDollar Plus ($129.99 per year) will let users sync to their bank account for automatic tracking. All free accounts come with a 15-day trial of EveryDollar Plus, so you can decide if the convenience is worth the cost. More From US News & World Report Best Budget Apps 14 Money Moves You Will Be Thankful For 15 Little Things That Impact Your Finances
Samantha Bee and Jason Jones: The case for mixing business with pleasure They are a comedy power couple: Jason Jones and Samantha Bee. Together, they created the hilarious and subversive TBS series, “The Detour,” which stars Jones and just started its fourth season this week. And they are both executive producers of “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee,” the award-winning news satire program that also airs on TBS. As a happily married couple and parents to three children, they are true ambassadors for mixing business with pleasure. But how? “I have to be honest, I don't see how youdon'twork with your wife,” Jones told Yahoo Finance’s Jen Rogers in this week’s episode ofMy Three Cents. “Couples that have just these separate lives are so disconnected in so many ways. We can't escape each other, which is kind of great because I think when you escape each other, you grow apart. So, it's kind of been a success secret to our relationship, really. We're always together.” Jones and Bee have been together for decades: They met in Canada working in children’s theater, married, and later became household names as correspondents on “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart. They’re so comfortable working together that Bee even took what could have been an uncomfortable role for a less gutsy wife and actress: playing the mother of Jones’ character on The Detour. “Is it some deep-seated Oedipal complex? No,” says Jones. “She had the biggest balls to play that part. She only plays my mom in flashbacks and then my son plays me. So it felt right because, you know, she knows my mom.” It’s an all-in-the-family formula that works for Jones: “I love my kids. I love my wife. I love my job. So, it makes for an easy life. It makes for an easy balance.” “The Detour” airs Tuesdays 10:30/9:30c on TBS; “Full Frontal” airs Wednesdays 10:30/9:30c on TBS. My Three Centsis a weekly interview series that explores celebrities’ history with — and relationship to — money. Find it exclusively onYahoo Finance. Read more: • ‘We're the spine of the country': Design superstar Genevieve Gorder on what the Midwest taught her about money • What ‘This is Us’ star Chrissy Metz learned working at McDonald’s • 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' star Ellie Kemper explains why it's okay to be a quitter
Is Altria's Cigarette Price Hike Really the Bullish Sign Analysts Think? Cigarette giants' pricing power has always been one of their most attractive investment features, since the ability to raise prices while still retaining plenty of customers makes their dividend payments especially stable. Altria(NYSE: MO)just flexed its pricing muscle again, raising the cost of its cigarettes by about $0.06 per pack on average, only two months after it had raised them by $0.09 to $0.11 per pack. Image source: Getty Images. Tobacco companies typically raise their prices twice a year, once in the spring and again six months later. But Altria's increase after having just done so has analysts believing the cigarette maker could be making three price hikes this year, if not more. While some see this as a bullish sign for the tobacco companies -- since it lets them offset declining volumes while bolstering the bottom line -- perhaps it should be seen as a more troubling development. Cigarette smoking, at least in the U.S. and many other developed markets, is in the midst of a contraction that isn't expected to ever reverse. Last month,Nielsendata showed cigarette dollar sales fell almost 7% in the four-week period ending May 18 as volume sales plunged over 11%, the worst performance measured by the market researcher in four years. That news caused shares of Altria,British American Tobacco, andPhilip Morris Internationalto tumble. While individual company data indicates the decline is not nearly as precipitous as what Nielsen showed, likely because of sampling bias due to major metropolitan areas being surveyed primarily, the direction of the trend is still correct. Sales are falling and will continue to do so. The tobacco companies are nowhere near reaching "cigar butt" investment status -- a class of stock that has just about reached the end of its value, though there are still a few risk-free puffs remaining. (Warren Buffett once said of such stocks, "Though the stub might be ugly and soggy, the puff would be free.") But even the cigarette makers realize they need to pursue alternatives. Electronic cigarettes give manufacturers an opportunity to embrace what Philip Morris calls a "smoke-free future," (assuming regulators don'tkill off the industry) while alternative nicotine products likesnuff and snusallow them to still harness the strength of their tobacco business. Investments in cannabis producers are a potential long-term driver of growth, ignoring the irony that some governments are legalizing and cheering on the use of marijuana while still railing against tobacco. Yet traditional cigarettes are still the backbone of tobacco companies, as they generate the vast bulk of their revenue. Offsetting volume declines by increasing prices remains one of the levers they can still pull. Because of nicotine's addictive qualities, smokers reluctantly pay up for the ability to smoke cigarettes, or what economists term price inelasticity of demand. But smokers are more readily abandoning cigarettes and moving to alternatives (or quitting altogether) as tobacco companies squeeze them on one end and federal, state, and local governments do so on the other with onerous taxes (which, when raised, tobacco companies typically match with more price hikes). Raising prices again as Altria is doing now will only further lock it and the industry into the vicious cycle of an accelerating decline. It should also be worrisome that Altria actually feels the need to hike prices right now, and it could indicate that the Nielsen data may not be quite so off the mark as believed. If so, it would suggest Altria badly needs to bolster its margins to offset declines -- downturns it can't easily or readily make up for through its investment in Juul Labs or cost-cutting initiatives. E-cigs, marijuana, and other alternatives are probably the future for Altria and its peers, and perhaps a cynic could say Altria's action is purposefully herding smokers in that direction sooner than they might otherwise switch. But the future is not here yet, and going to the well too many times to extract tribute from their customers may cause the tobacco giants to suffer a backlash they're not ready to face. 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 Rich Dupreyhas 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.
Shake Shack 4-Day Work Week: How It Works Shake Shack(NYSE:SHAK) is rolling out a 4-day work week in some of its locations as the company hopes to become a more humanist workplace that caters to the needs of its workers in an industry that often leads to employees being overworked. The burger joint announced that it has already begun testing the4-day work weekfor its restaurant workers in several of its Las Vegas locations, and it has now expanded the move to some of its restaurants on the West Coast, according to a statement from CEO Randy Garutti. The Shake Shack 4-day work week will not be cheap as it is likely to add a higher cost burden to the company, but Garutti says the move is the right thing to do as restaurant workers with families often sacrifice their time and health to complete their jobs. “I have been working in restaurants since I was 13, the restaurant business is super hard on families as our people work a lot of hours,” the company boss explains. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips “Why does it have to be that way is the question we have asked. We don’t know if it will work, it’s something we are testing at our West Coast shacks,” he adds. “We want to see if we can attract, retain and develop more people by changing how we think about how the restaurant business works.” SHAK stock is down 0.8% today. • 7 Value Stocks to Buy for the Second Half • 6 Stocks Ready to Bounce on a Trade Deal • The 7 Best Dow Jones Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2019 Compare Brokers The postShake Shack 4-Day Work Week: How It Worksappeared first onInvestorPlace.
Why Crocs Stock Popped Today Shares ofCrocs(NASDAQ: CROX)strolled as much as 10.3% higher on Friday before settling to close up 8.3% after Baird analyst Jonathan Komp upgraded shares of the casual footwear specialist. More specifically, Komp raised his rating on Crocs to outperform from neutral, and maintained his $29-per-share price target. IMAGE SOURCE: CROCS. It helps that Crocs stock has plunged more than 30% since early May to $19.40 per share as of this writing. But to further justify his relative bullishness, Komp argued the sell-off is "overdone" considering Crocs appears to be enjoying reasonably solid brand and revenue momentum. To be sure, the decline appeared to be largelydriven by the threat of tariffsimpacting the broader apparel and footwear markets. Those concerns effectively overshadowed Crocs' own better-than-expected first-quarter 2019 results, after which CEO Andrew Rees insisted the company was "off to a great start" in 2019, with strong product demand and its fifth straight quarter of double-digit direct-to-consumer comparable sales growth. Crocs also raised its share-repurchase authorization by $500 million at the time, Rees added, "as a reflection of [their] optimism." I'd be surprised, then, if Crocs hasn't exhausted at least some of that big repurchase plan by the time it releases second-quarter results in early August. If Komp is correct in predicting the company will be able to maintain its momentum going into the second half, today's upgrade could be the start of a much longer upward trend. 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 Symingtonhas 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 fell on Friday, with major benchmarks in the green for most of the session, but slipping into negative territory at the end of the day. TheDow Jones Industrial Average(DJINDICES: ^DJI)and theS&P 500(SNPINDEX: ^GSPC)both lost about 0.1%. [{"Index": "Dow", "Percentage Change": "(0.13%)", "Point Change": "(34.04)"}, {"Index": "S&P 500", "Percentage Change": "(0.13%)", "Point Change": "(3.72)"}] Data source: Yahoo! Finance. As for individual stocks, investors were let down byCanopy Growth's(NYSE: CGC)results, butCarMax(NYSE: KMX)rose on strong used-car sales. Image source: Getty Images. Canadian marijuana producer Canopy Growth reported revenue for thefiscal fourth quarterthat metexpectations, but high losses and a decline in kilograms sold compared with last quarter disappointed investors, and shares fell 8.1%. Revenue of 94.1 million Canadian dollars was an increase of 313% over the period a year ago and 13% growth over last quarter. Net loss per share ballooned to CA$0.98 compared with CA$0.31 in Q4 last year and CA$0.38 in Q3. Total kilograms sold were 9,326, a decline of 7.7% from last quarter. Canopy is ramping up its harvest rapidly, though. The company harvested 14,469 kilograms of marijuana in Q4, roughly double the 7,556 kilograms harvested in Q3. It expects to double the harvest again to 34,000 kilograms in the current quarter. Officials on the conference call pointed out that roughly two-thirds of sales in a given quarter are from the harvest in the prior quarter, so sales in Q4 reflect the 50% dip in the Q3 harvest due to a retrofitting of production facilities. Canopy expects that the rapid ramp-up of production this quarter and last will result in improved profitability in the second half. Shares of used-car seller CarMax jumped 3.2% after the company reportedfirst-quarter resultsthat beat expectations. Revenue increased 12% to $5.37 billion and earnings per share grew 19.5% to $1.59. Analysts were expecting the company to earn $1.47 per share on revenue of $5.12 billion. Unit sales in comparable stores increased a healthy 9.5%, and total unit sales of used cars, including results from newer stores, grew 13%. Pricing was stable, with the average selling price per vehicle falling only 0.1%. CarMax said the strong sales growth was helped by a robust lending environment and a shift in the timing of tax refunds. Looking ahead, the company plans to open 14 new stores in the next 12 months, increasing the store base by almost 7%, and looks forward to rolling out itsonline buying experienceto most of its customers by the end of the fiscal year. CarMax continues to buy back its stock aggressively, with the number of shares outstanding now 6.6% below the count a year ago. 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 Crumlyowns shares of Canopy Growth. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends CarMax. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Is Kroger a Value Play or a Falling Knife? Kroger(NYSE: KR), the largest supermarket chain in America, was once considered a promising growth stock. Between 2006 and 2016, its annual sales surged 74% from $66.1 billion to $115.3 billion, and its EPS rose 33%, buoyed by the stability of its core business and acquisitions of smaller chains. Kroger's stock surged more than 300% during that decade, compared to the S&P 500's 55% gain. But over the past three years, it has lost about a third of its value as it faced tougher competition fromCostco(NASDAQ: COST), superstores likeWalmart(NYSE: WMT)andTarget(NYSE: TGT), andAmazon(NASDAQ: AMZN)-- which acquired competitor Whole Foods in 2017. That three-year sell-off reduced Kroger's forward P/E to less than 10, and it still pays a decent forward yield of 2.4%. Do those numbers indicate that Kroger is a value play for patient investors, or is it a falling knife that could still wound the bulls? Image source: Getty Images. Kroger's identical-store sales, excluding fuel sales, held steady over the past year, indicating that it wasn't losing too many shoppers to its rivals. [{"Metric": "Identical-store sales", "Q1 2018": "1.9%", "Q2 2018": "1.6%", "Q3 2018": "1.6%", "Q4 2018": "1.8%", "Q1 2019": "1.5%"}] Source: Kroger quarterly reports. Excluding fuel. Kroger's forecast for 2% to 2.25% adjusted identical sales growth for the full year was also encouraging. However, Kroger's gross margin is contracting due to the lower margins and softer performance of its pharmacy segment. Kroger's gross margin of 22.2% in the first quarter initially looks like a 40-basis-point improvement from a year earlier. But on a FIFO (first-in, first-out) basis, which excludes fuel sales, its gross margin fell 40 basis points. Kroger's operating margin also slid from 2.7% to 2.4% as it pumped more cash into its "Restock Kroger" turnaround plan. That three-year initiative, which started in late 2017, aims to optimize prices and product selectionswith analytics, expand its portfolio with private-label and acquired brands, and launch new e-commerce services and delivery options. Image source: Getty Images. These efforts are paying off. Kroger's digital sales rose from nothing in 2014 to an annual run rate of $5 billion in 2018. That accounted for just 4% of Kroger's top line, but its digital sales are still soaring, with 42% growth in the first quarter. Kroger believes that it can eventually hit $9 billion in annual digital sales. Kroger also noted that its digital services now cover 93% of its customers. That reach was boosted by the launch of its pickup service ClickList, its direct-to-consumer shipping platform Ship, partnerships with couriers like Instacart, and a big investment in British online grocer Ocado. These moves all widen its moat against Amazon, Walmart, and Target -- which are all ramping up their grocery pickup and delivery efforts in a digital arms race. Between January and December 2018, the number of "click-and-collect" locations at select retailers across America surged from 2,451 to 5,800, according to CommonSense Robotics -- with Amazon, Walmart, and Kroger leading the charge. Kroger's margins will remain throttled by its Restock initiatives, but it expects its steady sales growth and consistent buybacks to boost its adjusted EPS 2% to 6% for the full year. It has also hiked its dividend for 10 straight years. Kroger's growth is stable, and like Walmart, it can counter Amazon by turning its network of 2,761 stores into hubs for digital pickups and deliveries. But Kroger can't afford to grow complacent, since Amazon is still aggressively cutting pricesat Whole Foods(especially for Prime subscribers), and Walmart and Target are launching even more aggressive digital initiatives. I think Kroger's low valuation, decent dividend, and sound turnaround plans make it an attractive investment at these levels. It probably won't rebound until its margins stabilize, but I think its downside is fairly limited. 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.Leo Sunowns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Advice For New Traders When Momentum Dries Up After a handful of weeks of strong momentum, I’m now looking at logging my first red week of June. As of this writing, I’m down by about -$18,000 on the week with just one more trading day to go. The loss of momentum is unfortunate, but not devastating. I had luckily built a large enough cushion through the start of the month that I’m still on pace to meet my monthly benchmark of $40,000. While that perspective is good to have, it’s not always easy to maintain after several red days in a row. Part of making a career of day trading is understanding that swings in momentum like this happen, and traders need to be prepared for dry spells. The tricky thing for those new to day trading, and even market veterans, is maintaining the balancing act between not getting discouraged while also keeping an eye on how much risk to take on in case momentum suddenly makes a comeback The first step in finding balance while momentum disappears is recognizing when reliable trading setups become less reliable. While my Monday morning trades inContraVir Pharmaceuticals Inc.(NASDAQ:CTRV) constituted some of my largest losses for the week, it was really Tuesday’s openinggap and gosetup inCesca Therapeutics Inc.(NASDAQ:KOOL) that tipped me off that it wastime to apply the brakes. Ultimately, gap and go trading is a riskier approach to the market since it requires traders to enter the position quickly, usually on thefirst couple candlesof the day. In the case of KOOL, the setup just didn’t hold. Wednesday’s losses were additionalsalt on the wound, but it drove the message home. My trades that day were all proven setups, looking for red to green moves following consolidation off of highs.Melinta Therapeutics Inc.(NASDAQ:MLNT) was ultimately poor timing, but my next trade inEstre Ambiental Inc.(NASDAQ:ESTR) followed all the rules, but just didn’t yield results. And that’s the bitter pill traders sometimes have to swallow. There are no sure things in the market. Experienced traders have the benefit of surviving red streaks or a big daily loss. Unfortunately, newer traders still have to take their lumps. While that might not be much of a comfort to anyone else who might be in a slump, the best advice I can provide is to quote Winston Churchill: “If you’re going through hell, keep going” See more from Benzinga • Why Consistent Trading Doesn't Always Lead To Consistent Results • 3 Foolproof Strategies To Minimize Risk • Lessons Learned From May's Multiple Personality Market © 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Queer Eye's Antoni Porowski Really Wants You to Have This One Thing in Your Kitchen Photo credit: Matt Winkelmeyer From House Beautiful Netflix's Queer Eye has become a hit seemingly overnight, but co-star and member of the Fab Five (and Taylor Swift music video star ) Antoni Porowski hasn't lost sight of what's truly important in life: food, a great kitchen, and of course, coffee. Oh, okay, and great people to share it all with-that too. Over Saecco espresso at the Langham Hotel-Antoni prefers an iced double espresso with oat milk and a biodegradable straw, to be exact-the Queer Eye star revealed exactly what would be in his ideal kitchen , the appliance everyone should splurge on (hint: It's definitely not what you'd think), and how certain kitchen items fit into his philosophy that the things you surround yourself with should have meaning behind them. "For me, when there’s a personal story attached to it-when there’s a way that I can relate to it in like a really intimate way-I think about that every single time I use the piece," Antoni explains. For example, Antoni still has the water boiler he used in his college days-the $20 pot may be in rough shape, but it triggers fond memories for him every time he uses it to brew tea or boil and egg. Another fond item in the Queer Eye star's kitchen was gifted to him by one of his best friends, right before season one of the show started-and it's something he thinks everyone should have in their kitchens. "It’s not a pricey item," Antoni says. "But one thing that I really do love, I love making fresh pasta. And I have a crank that I use for pappardelle from Phillips." "It does everything for you," the Fab Five member says of his trusty pasta crank. "When you’re making a fresh sauce, you can make fresh pasta from scratch and a sauce in under 20 minutes with that." View this post on Instagram WE FEEL SEEN A post shared by Queer Eye (@queereye) on Mar 30, 2019 at 8:56am PDT Sounds like something I need to invest in. As for his dream kitchen? Antoni doesn't have too many demands on the design-he's more interested in function. Story continues Photo credit: Hearst Owned "Massive island," were the first two words out of the Netflix star's mouth when asked what's in his ideal kitchen. "Big sink," he continued. But, he said, you'll need to make sure it's deep . "It's very important," the Fab Five member continued. "Shallow sinks I don’t really understand, because the water sprays everywhere." Besides a huge island and a deep sink, Antoni's dream kitchen layout includes keeping his everyday appliances out on display. "Things that I use every single day I kind of like to keep exposed," he said. Among those items is his impressive collection of knives, which he's collected during different trips-he recommends keeping them displayed on a long magnetic strip, instead of losing counterspace to a giant butcher's block. Or taking up an entire drawer. "I love to have them exposed," Antoni said. "They’re so beautiful. I remember the places I visited, get to look at them." Queer Eye returns to Netflix for season four on July 19th. Follow House Beautiful on Instagram . ('You Might Also Like',) 7 Secrets HomeGoods Employees Won't Tell You 19 Closet Organization Ideas You'll Want to Steal Immediately 15 Styling Tricks That Make A Small Living Room Seem Bigger Than It Is
Trump 'threatened journalist with prison time' for taking photograph of letter from Kim Jong-un Donald Trump appeared to threaten a journalist with jail time after they took a photograph of a letter he said had been sent to him by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un . During an interview earlier this week with reporters from Time magazine, the president showed them a letter from the North Korean, who he said had dispatched it to him recently. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders intervened when a photographer took a photograph of it. The interview then continued, but appeared to become testy when the topic of special counsel Robert Muellers probe was brought up. Excuse me, Mr Trump said. Under Section II well, you can go to prison instead, because, if you use, if you use the photograph you took of the letter I gave youconfidentially, I didnt give it to you to take photographs of it. So dont play that game with me. The reporter then asked of Mr Trump: Were you threatening me with prison time? The president replied: Well, I told you the following. I told you you can look at this off-the-record. That doesnt mean you take out your camera and start taking pictures of it. OK? So I hope you dont have a picture of it. Mr Trump, who has a love-hate relationship with the media, which he has referred to as the enemy of the people despite loving the attention he gets, then complained about the magazines coverage of him. So go have fun with your story. Because Im sure it will be the 28th horrible story I have in Time magazine, he said. Its incredible. With all Ive done and the success Ive had, the way that Time magazine writes is absolutely incredible. The White House has not immediately responded to enquiries about the interview.
Should You Be Adding K&S (ASX:KSC) To Your Watchlist Today? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! It's only natural that many investors, especially those who are new to the game, prefer to buy shares in 'sexy' stocks with a good story, even if those businesses lose money. But the reality is that when a company loses money each year, for long enough, its investors will usually take their share of those losses. So if you're like me, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, likeK&S(ASX:KSC). Now, I'm not saying that the stock is necessarily undervalued today; but I can't shake an appreciation for the profitability of the business itself. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, but time is often a friend of the profitable company, especially if it is growing. See our latest analysis for K&S In a capitalist society capital chases profits, and that means share prices tend rise with earnings per share (EPS). So like the hint of a smile on a face that I love, growing EPS generally makes me look twice. It is therefore awe-striking that K&S's EPS went from AU$0.059 to AU$0.18 in just one year. Even though that growth rate is unlikely to be repeated, that looks like a breakout improvement. Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. K&S maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 11% to AU$909m. That's progress. You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart. K&S isn't a huge company, given its market capitalization of AU$215m. That makes it extra important to check on itsbalance sheet strength. Like that fresh smell in the air when the rains are coming, insider buying fills me with optimistic anticipation. That's because insider buying often indicates that those closest to the company have confidence that the share price will perform well. Of course, we can never be sure what insiders are thinking, we can only judge their actions. The good news for K&S shareholders is that no insiders reported selling shares in the last year. So it's definitely nice that Independent Non-Executive Director Graham Walters bought AU$7.9k worth of shares at an average price of around AU$1.50. K&S's earnings have taken off like any random crypto-currency did, back in 2017. Growth investors should find it difficult to look past that strong EPS move. And indeed, it could be a sign that the business is at an inflection point. For me, this situation certainly piques my interest. Of course, just because K&S is growing does not mean it is undervalued. If you're wondering about the valuation, check outthis gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry. There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. So if you like the sound of K&S, you'll probably love thisfreelist of growing companies that insiders are buying. Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Burning 'Toy Story 4' questions answered Toy Story 4 (Photo: Pixar) Warning: Major spoilers for Toy Story 4 ahead! Toy Story 4 unwraps in theaters nationwide this weekend, and anticipation for it is... well, as high and enthusiastic as you'd expect for a Toy Story movie. Disney-Pixar's original trilogy grossed almost $2 billion worldwide, and the latest critically acclaimed adventure — which finds Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen) and friends on a road trip with their new kindergartener owner Bonnie and family — is projected to once again add serious coin to the piggy bank. Before (or after) packing up your own family for a trip to the cineplex, check out 8 good-to-know (and super-spoilery) tidbits about Pixar's latest gem. Why'd they make a fourth Toy Story ? Didn't No. 3 wrap up the trilogy perfectly? Toy Story 3 ended the Toy Story franchise until Toy Story 4 came along. (Photo: Buena Vista Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection) You already know the real answer to this question: It's green and rhymes with "honey" (just see above). With live action remakes of Disney animated classics coming out the wazoo and new Star Wars and Marvel vehicles landing on an annual basis, Disney is a certifiable IP machine—one that's really, really good at generating the green stuff for its shareholders. But let's be less cynical for a moment and talk about the artistic merits of a fourth installment. Yes, 2010's Toy Story 3 did perfectly wrap up a trilogy, or at least how it pertained to the arc of our beloved playthings’ relationship with longtime owner Andy, who passed them on to young Bonnie during that film's tearjerking climax. But according to ousted ex-Pixar chief John Lasseter (who directed the first two Toy Story films), once he and other company brass like Andrew Stanton, Peter Docter and Lee Unkrich came up with a story for a fourth installment, they "could not stop thinking about it." (Lasseter was originally slated to direct.) Toy Story has been the flagship franchise for Pixar after the first movie put them on the map in 1995, so it's understandable that they'd want to continue breathing life into these characters. And at this point, we've learned a dozen times over not to doubt the masterminds behind Up , Inside Out , Ratatouille , etc etc etc. While some fans may have been justifiably a bit trepidatious in thinking a fourth chapter could be too much of a good thing, Pixar has once again come through with another triumph. Toy Story 4 , currently humming with a 98 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, is one of the best chapters yet. Story continues What sets this one apart most? Woody (Tom Hanks) and Bo Peep (Annie Potts) reunite in 'Toy Story 4' (Photo: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection) While every Toy Story (including this one) qualifies as an "adventure," the fourth chapter was conceived as a romantic comedy that focuses on the relationship between Woody and Bo Peep (Annie Potts). It was clear Bo crushed on Woody in the first two movies, but the feelings never felt fully reciprocated until we saw the heartbroken way Woody reacted to a mention that Bo had been given away prior to the start of Toy Story 3 . The opening moments of Toy Story 4 show exactly what happened to Bo: given to another family after Andy’s sister decides she doesn’t need her anymore. Ultimately, the movie fulfills that initial rom-com promise by crafting a sweet and convincing love story between the two. Even with a new dash of romance, Toy Story 4 has to qualify as a comedy above all else. And we’re happy to report that the film is flat-out hilarious—easily the funniest installment yet—to the point where critics who screened the film early bemoaned that they missed out on a good chunk of dialogue due to all the laughter in the theater. And when Yahoo Entertainment attended the film’s premiere, one of our daughters asked us to stop laughing so loudly because they couldn't hear some lines. How did it get to be that funny? Credit first and foremost has to go to the writers, which at one point included Parks and Recreation alum Rashida Jones and her writing partner Will McCormack, who previously collaborated on the indie romance Celeste and Jesse Forever . (Jones and McCormack left the project in November 2017, with Jones referencing Pixar's not-so-gleaming track record on hiring women and minorities in a subsequent interview.) The film also feels distinct in its visual aesthetic—it's littered with sight gags—which has to be credited to director Josh Cooley, who was given the reins on Toy Story 4 after working in the story department on Inside Out among other Pixar hits. Cooley is also one of eight writers who receive a story credit on the film, with Stanton and Stephany Folsom received final screenwriting credits. Last but not least, there are some truly gut-busting new characters, which brings us to… Who is this "Forky" guy I keep hearing about? Woody, Buzz and Jessie are joined by Forky (Tony Hale) in 'Toy Story 4' (Photo: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection) In addition to the usual suspects, Toy Story 4 features such new voices as Keanu Reeves, Christina Hendricks, and the dynamic duo of Jordan Peele and Keegan- Michael Key. But it's Forky—voiced by Veep veteran Tony Hale—who is stealing the hearts of Toy Story 4 viewers everywhere. Made up of a spork (why he's not called Sporky remains a mystery), a red pipe cleaner and various other odds and ends, Forky immediately becomes Bonnie's most important toy...even if he's a distinctly lo-fi creation. He also gives Woody a renewed sense of purpose. Forky, you see, is suffering from a severe existential crisis . He believes he’s meant to be used once and thrown out (environmental message!), and it's up to Woody and gang to convince him that he is now, in fact, a beloved toy with a purpose. Played to pitch perfection by Hale, this lovably neurotic quickly establishes himself as a toy no one wants to see lost. Trust us when we tell you that you and your kids will be randomly screaming "Trash!" for days after seeing. Who do Key & Peele play? The 'Key & Peele' stars voice Ducky and Bunny respectively in 'Toy Story 4' (Photo: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection) Four years after the end of their brilliant Comedy Central sketch series —and three years after the entertaining, if underseen Keanu— we finally have another legit Key & Peele joint. The pair don't just co-star: they're literally a tandem act throughout the film's story. Ducky (Key) and Bunny (Peele) are two carnival prizes desperate for a kid to snatch them up when they're unwittingly drawn into Woody's plot to rescue Forky from creepy antique shop-dwelling doll, Gabby Gabby (Hendricks). In what's surely a surprise to no one, they're responsible for some of the film's biggest laughs. Peele recently extended those laughs to Twitter where he called Bunny "My favorite rabbit in a film this year”—a sly reference to all those four-legged furballs that turned up in his sophomore horror hit, Us . How awesome is Keanu Reeves? Toy Story 4 (Photo: Pixar) In case you had any lingering doubts, Toy Story 4 confirms that Keanu Reeves Canada-do everything. The actor -- who grew up in Toronto -- continues his epic 2019 by voicing the Canadian answer to Evel Knievel: Duke Caboom. Sporting a patriotic red-and-white outfit and an awesome mutton-chop mustache, Duke looks the part of a late ‘70s stunt biker. But Reeves invests so much earnest emotion in the character as well, which making him more than a one-trick pony...uh, motorcycle rider. As we discover, Duke has painful tragedy in his past: his first owner rejected him when it became clear that the Duke Caboom commercials exaggerated the jumping abilities of the toy version. That fear that he’ll never be good enough has stayed in his head ever since, preventing him from soaring through the air like a stunt rider should. But Duke eventually proves himself worthy of the Caboom name, performing a death-defying leap in the film’s climax that saves the day...and gives Neo a run for his money in the “leaping between tall things” department. How much will you cry? Gabby Gabby (Hendricks) isn't the villain she appears to be in 'Toy Story 4' (Photo: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection) Fair warning: your tear ducts will probably start filling up early… like, say, the very first scene, a nine-years-earlier prologue that reveals how Woody and Bo Peep were wrenched apart. Parents of young children will also experience watery eyes as they watch Bonnie struggle to adjust to kindergarten -- something that they’ve almost certainly experienced themselves. But the character that’ll really give you all the feels is the film’s ostensible villain, Gabby Gabby (Hendricks). Introduced as a fearsome doll of the Annabelle variety, she’s eventually revealed to be a damaged toy who only wants to experience the joy that comes with being welcomed into a child’s home. Woody even sacrifices his own voice box so that Gabby Gabby can speak clearly for the first time, and thus capture the imagination of the girl she’s had her eye on. Unfortunately, that girl rejects her, too -- a rejection that you’ll feel in the pit of your stomach. All hope seems lost for Gabby Gabby, until Woody and her other foes-turned-friends spot a lost little girl at the carnival and orchestrate an introduction. United in their shared fear and sadness, the girl and the doll find comfort in each other, and, just like that, Gabby Gabby has a forever home. If you’re already sniffling just reading about this scene, trust us: you’re gonna need an entire box of Kleenex with you in the theater. And this all happens before best buds Woody and Buzz go their separate ways in the film's closing moments (more on that below). Are there bonus scenes? Buzz Lightyear takes flight in 'Toy Story 4' (Photo: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection) No, Nick Fury doesn’t show up talking about a “Pizza Planet Initiative.” But yes, you should plan on staying through the credits for Toy Story 4 ’s extra scenes. The first shows Woody and his friends helping kids win stuffed critters at the carnival’s deliberately unwinnable shooting game. Then we see Ducky and Bunny regaling Duke with a hyper-exaggerated, hyper-awesome version of their “plush rush” attack: one that involves them turning into giant monsters with laser eyes. Just like Duke, it’s sure to make you go, “Woah.” The next scene takes us back to Bonnie’s room: it’s one year later and she’s headed into first grade. Just as she did on her kindergarten orientation day, she’s brought home a toy made out of a plastic utensil. Instead of a spork, though, this time she chose a knife…hence the name, Knifey. Just as Forky’s origin story was akin Frankenstein , what happens next is pure Bride of Frankenstein . Forky approaches Knifey overjoyed to see someone like him. But his would-be new friend is overwhelmed. “Why am I alive,” Knifey moans, echoing Forky’s own fears one year earlier. Here’s hoping these two crazy kids can figure it out together. Last, but not least, Duke rides onscreen one more time to ensure that poor Combat Carl gets that high-five that Woody failed to provide earlier. The Canadian daredevil also dares to mess with the Pixar logo, squishing the “I” with his bike. But because this is Keanu Reeves we’re talking about, we can’t possibly stay angry at him for that. Will there be a Toy Story 5 ? Bonnie's toys face a Woody-free future in wherever the 'Toy Story' franchise goes next (Photo: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection) Based on the critical hosannas -- and the virtual certainty of mega box-office numbers -- another Toy Story chapter is a “when, not if” proposition. And the emotional ending of Toy Story 4 leaves the franchise in a place where it can pursue multiple directions going forward. During the film’s climax, Woody, Buzz and the rest of Andy’s old toys once again use teamwork to make the dream work, successfully finding a home for Gabby Gabby and reuniting Bonnie and Forky. But then things go off-script: instead of rejoining his pals, Woody decides to stay with Bo Peep (and her sheep), finally choosing the road-less-travelled that he avoided nine years ago when she was first given away. That officially makes the sheriff a lost toy, which means he belongs to no one…except himself. It’s an ideal ending for Woody, who spends most of Toy Story 4 struggling to accept the fact that while Bonnie is a delightful child, she’ll never need him as much as Andy did. Once that clicks into place, his choice is clear. But it’s also clear that this doesn’t have to be the end of his journey. After all, he and Bo Peep have plans to see the world—or, at least, more of their state—and there are sure to be other toys (and kids) to help along the way. They’ll be joined in their travels by fellow lost toys, Giggle McDimples, Ducky and Bunny and Duke Caboom, so Woody will have a posse of pals to lead wherever life takes him next. Meanwhile, back in Bonnie’s room, playtime isn’t in any danger of coming to an end. That means Buzz, Jessie, Slinky Dog and the rest of the gang can still look forward to more years of being inserted into whatever adventures she dreams up. And with Woody gone, it’s up to Sheriff Jessie to help keep the peace among her sometimes unruly friends. Considering her somewhat reduced presence in Toy Story 4 , we’d love to see a Jessie-centric chapter. Only one request: please no reprises of “ When She Loved Me .” We might actually drown in our tears if we had to see Jessie lose another owner. Watch the trailer: Toy Story 4 is now in theaters. Visit Fandango for tickets and showtimes information. Read more on Yahoo Entertainment: To 'Toy Story' and beyond: Permanent Pixar player John Ratzenberger takes us through all his roles The It List: 'Toy Story 4,' Tim Burton's 'Batman' turns 30, Mark Ronson drops 'Late Night Feelings' and the best in pop culture the week of June 10, 2019 The must-have 'Toy Story 4' toys: From teddy bears and star command centers to Lego sets and Keanu Reeves Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle's newsletter.
Amazon and Netflix can actually coexist: RBC Amazon’s (AMZN) foray into an industry could be devastating news for its competitors. But that doesn't seem to be the case for Netflix (NFLX). Seventy-three percent of Amazon Prime members are also Netflix subscribers, the latest survey by RBC Capital found. The percentage of Prime members on Netflix has inched up in recent years from 67% in 2016 to 70% in 2018, according to the survey. This is higher than non-Prime members who shop on Amazon — 43% of those people are subscribed to Netflix. Despite recent price hikes, the $119 annual Prime membership and a Netflix subscription, which rose to $12.99 per month this year, are considered the top deals in the U.S., according to RBC analysts. Netflix lists Amazon as one of its competitors in its filings, but emphasizes its focus is to serve customers better. “Tech firms like Apple, Amazon and others are investing in premium content to enhance their distribution platforms,” the online entertainment giant said in its earnings report in October. “Amid these massive competitors on both sides, plus traditional media firms, our job is to make Netflix stand out so that when consumers have free time, they choose to spend it with our service.” The overlap of Prime and Netflix subscribers could make the case for giants like Disney (DIS) and AT&T (T) to get into the video streaming war, since there is still room for Americans to pay more for bundled video services. “The average American right now is spending between $90 and $100 a month for multi-channel television,” Rich Greenfield, media analyst at BTIG, said on Yahoo Finance’s YFi AM. “Q2 is going to break new records for cord-cutting.” “Certainly the most ambitious content is on these services. And so I think the reality is you're going to subscribe to a bunch of these,” Greenfield said, referring to streaming services including Netflix and Hulu, which on average cost less than $20 a month. The RBC survey also found the majority of Prime members still expect to use Netflix “more” or “about the same.” Analysts say millennial Netflix subscribers are dependent on online entertainment and view Amazon Video as a great extra stop to binge-watch their favorite shows. Another reason why Amazon Prime members may not mind paying for Netflix is that they merely see Prime Video as a nice add-on perk. According to the survey, the top reason why people pay for Amazon Prime membership is for the free two-day shipping. People also expressed increased interest in one-day shipping, which Amazon said they would invest $800 million in the second quarter to achieve. RBC estimates there are over 75 million Amazon Prime members in the U.S. —that’s 59% of U.S. households— and Netflix has over 60 million U.S. subscribers. Krystal Hu covers technology and China for Yahoo Finance. Follow her onTwitter. Read more: • New bipartisan bills threaten Chinese IPOs and Chinese companies listed in the U.S. • Amazon just got FAA approval to fly drones for deliveries • Huawei is still winning 5G contracts around the world despite the U.S. ban Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,SmartNews,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit.
5 Construction Stocks to Add to Your Portfolio The construction sector, which has returned 23.99% year to date, is one of the most attractive areas right now. The sector P/E (F1) is 14.08X compared to 17.66X for the S&P 500. Its PEG of 1.40X is also better than the 1.92X for the S&P 500. Of the 80 companies in the sector that have reported to date, 49 (61%) topped the Zacks Consensus estimate, 3 (4%) were in line while 27 (34%) missed. Despite a substantial number of negative estimate revisions, EPS is still expected to grow 10.25% this year, better than the 5.94% growth expected of the S&P 500. Primary Catalysts Data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that in 2018, the industry’s contribution to U.S. GDP was close to its 2008 peak level while output was much higher. While the sector is coming off a relatively strong 2018, there are indications that growth will continue this year, albeit at a slower rate. Thinking of the sector as the sum of its parts, we have public works like highways and bridges and building construction, including residential (single family and multi-family) and other (commercial, institutional, government). As far as thepublic works segmentis concerned, the Chief Economist, American Road & Transportation Association (ARTBA) says that spending on public highway, street and related investment will be up 4.8% from $63.4 billion in 2018 to $66.5 billion this year. Additionally, the real value of bridge and tunnel construction work will increase 1.5% from $31.2 billion to $31.7 billion. Both federal and state governments will contribute to the increased spending. Following initiatives to raise funds by increasing or adjusting motor fuel tax rates and other fees by 30 states, local governments now have sufficient resources to pump into required construction projects. Federal investments through the 2018 appropriations bill that approved spending of $2.5 billion and the 2015 FAST Act will add to these funds, when the states choose to deploy them (they can take up to 4 years). Theresidential construction marketis expected to be flattish this year because the positives and negatives are roughly balancing off. High prices, raised interest rates and steady mortgage rates have impacted affordability on the demand side through last year and with interest rates holding steady this year, there is limited incentive to buy. On the other hand, rising labor and materials costs have made it more difficult to profitably produce the smaller apartments that are more affordable and so in greater demand. This is leading to inventory buildup in more expensive units and short supply in the more affordable dwellings. Cost inflation is the primary factor driving dollar growth in the segment. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) expects construction activity to be mostly concentrated in the west and south where job and population growth remains strong. Thecommercial and other constructionside remains more attractive because of continued spending on lodging, data centers, warehouses, airports and K-12 schools. Main Roadblocks The primary challenge for the industry is the scarcity ofskilled labor. The softness in homebuilding may free up some labor, but the shortage actually stems from an aging skilled force. According to IHS Markit, 30% of the industry’s skilled workforce will retire over the next 10 years. So training, retraining, building and retaining the workforce is a top priority. This is raising costs for construction companies. Compounding this problem istechnological disruptionin the form of robotics, drones, 3D printing, artificial intelligence and modularization. If the industry is able to harness technology as it trains new hands, it may be able to come out of the labor shortage problem. But it is typically slow to change, so these moves will take time. The other major factor impacting costs ismaterialsstemming from the government’s decision to increase tariffs on steel and aluminum. Since the higher prices are being passed on to construction companies, it is raising costs for them, which they in turn are trying to pass off on to customers. Also, because the market is expected to be less robust than in 2018, there will be morecompetitionfor projects. Given this backdrop, here are some great picks – EMCOR Group, Inc. EME EMCOR Group is a provider of critical infrastructure systems including electrical, mechanical, lighting, air conditioning, heating, security, fire protection, and power generation systems across sectors. EMCOR Construction Services is a nationwide group of mechanical and commercial electrical contractors for U.S. commercial, healthcare, institutional, education, hospitality, manufacturing, transportation and water and wastewater markets. EMCOR Building Services is involved in maintenance of facilities. EMCOR Industrial Services focuses on project execution in the refining and petrochemical industries. This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company topped estimates in the last quarter by 21.9% (average 4-quarter surprise is 14.46%). Its 2019 estimate is up 3.8% and 2020 estimate is up 4.5% in the last 60 days. Its 15.0% expected growth for the next 5 years surpasses the industry’s 9.80%. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation GLDD Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation is the largest provider of dredging services in the U.S., maintaining shipping channels, reclaiming ocean land and re-nourishing storm-damaged coastlines. Around 25% of its operations are international, mainly in the Middle East. This Zacks Rank #1 company topped estimates in the last quarter by 357.14% (average 4-quarter surprise is 547.62%). Its 2019 estimate is up 47.8% and 2020 estimate is not available yet. It has grown 10.6% in the last 5 years. MasTec, Inc. MTZ MasTec is one of the largest providers of construction services to the U.S. telecommunications industry. It is primarily involved in the installation and maintenance of aerial, underground and buried copper and fiber optic cable, underground conduit, manhole systems and related construction for local telephone companies, including regional bell operating companies such as BellSouth Telecommunications, U.S. West and SBC Communications, and non-Bell local telephone companies such as Sprint and GTE. This Zacks Rank #1 company topped estimates in the last quarter by 34.88% (average 4-quarter surprise is 11.23%). Its 2019 estimate is up 4.6% and 2020 estimate is up 4.9% in the last 60 days. It has grown 17.9% over the last five years and will grow at an average 8.0% in the next five. North American Construction Group Ltd. NOA North American Construction Group provides heavy construction and mining services primarily in Canada. It offers services to large oil, natural gas and resource companies. This Zacks Rank #1 company topped estimates in the last quarter by 8.33% (average 4-quarter surprise is 36.11%). Its 2019 estimate is up 16.4% and 2020 estimate is up 8.1% in the last 60 days. Its revenue and EPS are expected to grow 64.35% and 221.43%, respectively in 2019. Anhui Conch Cement Co. AHCHY Anhui Conch Cement Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells clinkers and cement products under the CONCH brand in the People's Republic of China and internationally. It also provides construction and installation services for industrial purposes; logistic and loading services; and mining and related services. In addition, the company manufactures and sells cement packaging products and refractory materials; trades in coal products; and develops and sells profile and related products, as well as exports clinker and cement products. Anhui Conch or Conch Cement is the largest cement manufacturer in mainland China. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Today's Best Stocks from Zacks Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%. This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year. See their latest picks 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 reportAnhui Conch Cement Co. (AHCHY) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMasTec, Inc. (MTZ) : Free Stock Analysis ReportGreat Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (GLDD) : Free Stock Analysis ReportEMCOR Group, Inc. (EME) : Free Stock Analysis ReportNorth American Construction Group Ltd. (NOA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
An analysis of Wrapped Bitcoin Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is an Ethereum token launched on Jan. 31 as an attempt to bring the liquidity effects of bitcoin (BTC) into the Ethereum ecosystem. WBTCs are backed 1-to-1 by BTC secured by centralized custodians. WBTC’s token contract is governed by a multi-signature contract managed by a group including custodians that manage BTC to burn and mint WBTC and merchants who initiate burn/mint calls on behalf of users who want to trade in their BTC for WBTC, and vice-versa. The Block has analyzed the status of WBTC as the token nears six months on the Ethereum network. Since launching at the end of January, the circulating supply of WBTC has grown 340%, with nearly 320 WBTC (~$3 million) deployed on the Ethereum blockchain. Join Genesis nowand continue reading,An analysis of Wrapped Bitcoin!
Global Coin Research: Top news in Asia from Tuesday to today This twice-weekly newsletter is republished with permission from Global Coin Research, a global research firm with a focus on Asia blockchain and related technologies. You can find more resources on Asia Cryptocurrency and Blockchain at GlobalCoinResearch.com and on Twitter at @globalcoinrsrch The most popular Japanese messaging giant LINE(but it's actually a Korean company) close to securing Japanese regulator’s approval to launch crypto exchange.Source Feedback about Libra in Asia -Pony Ma, founder of WeChat,comments on Libra: “the technology [component] is already very mature, it’s not too difficult. It all depends on whether regulators allow it.” Additionally, it’s been reported that Libra will not be available in India and has yet to file with the Reserve Bank of India.Source CheckoutTwittertakeawaysfrom the GCR x The Information conference call on Facebook’s Libra announcement. The Information invited one of Libra’s founding association members, Anchorage, a custody solution, to discuss how Libra has evolved over time.Source An Essential and Practical Guideto Chinese Community by Toya from Nervos.Source Carbon footprint of Bitcoin- an extensive analysis: study determines that there is 68% Asian, 17% European, and 15% North American computing power in the network.Source The government of Georgiahas signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with blockchain technology firm Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK) to implement blockchain-enabled projects across business, education and government services.Source What Happened in Hong Kongand to the Crypto Markets.Source Highlights and Excerpts from Neo Global Capital’sAll-Weather Investment Strategy for Crypto.Source Social currency startup Rollhas raised a $1.7 million seed round to help content creators monetize relationships with their fans, led by Arthur Hayes, the CEO of BitMEX.Source Blockchain mastery among top 3 rising skillsin Singapore according to LinkedIn- specifically, CTOs, developers and consultants are highly sought after.Source China Wanxiang Holdings has partneredwith blockchain-based tech firm PlatOn to develop a “smart city” in Hangzhou.Source Japan’s Nomura and Nomura Research InstituteSign MOU to Establish Joint Venture Company.Source Conglomerates’ Deep PocketsContinue Blockchain Growth in South Korea Despite Crypto Ban.Source Sony Music has adopted Amazon Managed Blockchainfor developing an infrastructure to manage music rights.Source GCR Workshop #4: On Security Token Offeringswith Jacqueline Kwok of Securitize.Source The City of Chongqing, China,has launched a government service platform on blockchain incorporation with Alipay.Source The Department of Federal Revenue of Brazil (RFB)has released new rules requiring that cryptocurrency exchanges inform the regulator about users’ transactions in order to identify tax fraud.Source The Philippines Department of Information and Communications Technologyhas signed a Memorandum of Agreement with U.S.-based blockchain company Monsoon.Source Russia’s parliament will adoptthe country’s major crypto bill “On Digital Financial Assets” in the next two weeks. the authority has approved separate legislation for initial coin offerings, which will be a part of Russia’s law on crowdfunding.Source
Dior brings art to Paris fashion for sculpted men's show PARIS (AP) Dior brought art to Paris Fashion Week on Friday as designer Kim Jones used a monumental plaster sculpture on the runway to inspire his architectural show. Guests including Kate Moss, Christina Ricci and Kelly Osbourne marveled at the giant artwork by American artist Daniel Arsham that spelled out "DIOR" in broken up plaster with jewels surreally glimmering beneath. Here are some highlights of spring-summer 2020 menswear shows. ___ DIOR'S GOES BACK TO PAST "It's quite incredible," exclaimed Osbourne. "The artist puts real crystals inside his work." The metaphor of the jewel hidden inside the sculptures provided Dior Man with its theme: Beauty unearthed from the past. It was the starting point of a collection that went back to the past of Christian Dior, who revolutionized the global fashion industry after World War II with his sculpted, couture styles. These were evoked throughout the 49 looks. Softly sculpted suits single and double-breasted, and in pale shades sported long contrasting silken strips that cleverly evoked the shading of the real sculptures on the runway. Stiff, sanitized coats that were A-line and in white, meanwhile, referenced the house's popular saddle bag by using the item's curves here as storm flaps. Elsewhere, the newspaper print first used by former designer John Galliano two decades ago featured on socks, saddle bags and sheer shirts. The overly-referential designs are a frequent downside for Dior but Jones ensured he didn't lose his own identity. Indeed, the collection's strongest looks like a simple T-shirt with a whoosh of blue watercolor on one shoulder looked just like Jones exploring his own artistic self. ___ BERLUTI'S COLOR VISION The scent of flowers that seemed to float into Berluti's venue the resplendent Luxembourg Gardens was so intoxicating it had fashion insiders guessing that the perfume was, in reality, artificial. Story continues The show itself by designer Kris Van Assche, which seemed inspired by the bright colors of a tropical forest, had a similar problem. There is courage in putting men in bright hues a point which should be duly credited to the Belgian who's been at the helm of the Berluti house one year. He's certainly succeeded in bringing a new aesthetic to the storied 19th-century brand, a former Italian shoemaker, since arriving from Dior. But the yellow citrines, vivid blues, electric oranges and electric reds that were chosen for the spring-summer looks were so eye-poppingly industrial they seemed to distract from all else. The dazzling hues came on suits and long, loosely flowing sleeveless jackets. And instead of being broken up with more neutral colors, for instance, or used sparingly, they were sometimes splashed across "total look" ensembles. It looked rather heavy-handed. Still, the show had some great one-off moments including one from model, Gigi Hadid, who closed the show in a verdigris pant-look speckled with matching diaphanous embroidered feathers. ___ ECOLOGY ESCAPES PARIS FASHION The art of the chic invite is still very much a staple of Paris fashion. Houses compete to produce the most eye-catching, inventive and flamboyant show invitations delivered often by gas-guzzling courier to each guest's personal or professional address with little thought for ecology. The little works of art sometimes provide a hint as to what the collection has in store. Often, they are just plain wacky. The invite to Louis Vuitton's boyhood-themed show was a giant box containing a complete kite construction kit. The edgy it-brand Vetements sent out an actual condom in a plastic packet that some fashionistas opened in the belief their seating placing was contained inside. They were wrong. While, the house of Berluti sent out a chunky wooden block, as was historically used in the construction of classic footwear, with their show details on top. ___ JUUN J.'S VARIATIONS Korean designer Juun J.'s spring collection was called "Module," a term that describes independent units used to construct a more complex structure. The units in this show of oversize designs comprised: Huge utilitarian pockets, triangular hoods, sharp shoulders, cinched segmented waists on voluminous pants and some gargantuan, statement fanny packs. They were all used like a puzzle across the 40 looks in varying rates and intervals. It produced a diverse, yet coherent, series of variations or modulations on a theme that worked well. Juun J.'s go-to color palette of black, white and khaki began the show moving into some space-age sheens of silver and pink that were on female models. Their billowing skirts seemed to melt down the body, artistically. ___ BALMAIN SPARKLES AGAIN Shimmer, sparkle, stripes in the intoxicating style of the '80s that was the essence of designer Olivier Rousteing's spring collection for Balmain that didn't break any mold. And why should it? The 33-year-old French designer's tried-and-tested formula for bold, big-shouldered opulence is financially successful. This season, he loosened the silhouette and put on a fashion show with dramatic black and white stripes as well as all-out looks comprising embroidered mirrored pallettes and dazzling silver space pants. To say that this collection didn't tread much out of Rousteing's comfort zone demonstrates how totally he has redefined the aesthetic and reputation of the age-old Parisian house founded in 1945 by icon Pierre Balmain, a contemporary of Christian Dior. ___ BALMAIN'S DEMOCRATIC FASHION PARTY Balmain's show is being billed as part of Paris' annual all-night music celebration, la Fete de la Musique. The event_as much concert as runway_is being held inside the French capital's historic, 384-year-old Jardin des Plantes. For the final moments of sunshine on the longest day of the year, it will take place outdoors and will be followed by musical performances, kicked off by Gesaffelstein. Earlier in the month, 1,500 free tickets to the event were available, free of charge. Designer Olivier Rousteing said it was his way of "democratizing" fashion. Money is being raised for (RED), a charity that helps fight AIDS. ___ Thomas Adamson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ThomasAdamson_K
Here's Why You Should Hold On to Fang Holdings (SFUN) Stock Fang Holdings LimitedSFUN is expected to register 42.9% earnings per share growth in 2019. A Look at the Positives Fang Holdings’ multiple initiatives to strengthen its client base looks impressive. Apart from offering free trials for an unlimited time period, the company lures its free trial users with incentives to upgrade their free trial accounts to paid subscriptions to increase visibility. Also, the company attempts to retain its special listing customer base by updating them periodically about industry developments to help them manage brand management strategically. We believe these efforts have kept the average number of paying subscribers in good shape. The average number of paying subscribers in 2018, 2017 and 2016 were 206,250, 265,649 and 211,280, respectively. This business services company has been also undertaking several initiatives such as closure of the self-owned brokerage stores, effective cost control methods and other similar types to improve its operational efficiency. The company has successfully managed to reduce its total operating expenses by reducing costs associated with advertisements, promotions and sales commission and deduction of staff costs. We believe these efforts will help the company keep its bottom line in good shape. Further, the company continues to witness solid demand for its database and research services. This is evident from growth across other value-added services segment, which provides access to the company’s information database and industry-related research reports. In 2018, revenues from other value-added services increased 22% year over year to $36.4 million. The figure represented 12% of total revenues in 2018 compared with 6.7% and 2.8% of total revenues, respectively, in 2017 and 2016. Risks Lower e-commerce services revenues, due to Fang Holdings’ reversion to a technology-driven platform model, are weighing on its top line. Seasonality in China’s real estate sector is also a concern. Stiff competition and stringent government regulations and tightening policies of the Chinese market act as a major hindrance to Fang Holding’s business. Despite these headwinds, we believe that the company has enough positives that justify the stock’s retention in investors’ portfolio. Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider Fang Holdings currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. A few better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are Navigant Consulting NCI, NV5 Global NVEE and FLEETCOR Technologies FLT. While Navigant Consulting sports a Zacks Rank #1, FLEETCOR and NV5 Global carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Long-term expected EPS (three to five years) growth rate for Navigant Consulting, FLEETCOR and NV5 Global is 13.5%, 15.4% and 20%, respectively. Today's Best Stocks from Zacks Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%. This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year. See their latest picks 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 reportFang Holdings Limited (SFUN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportFleetCor Technologies, Inc. (FLT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportNavigant Consulting, Inc. (NCI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportNV5 Global, Inc. (NVEE) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
FDA approves drug for loss of female sexual desire June 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Palatin Technologies Inc and Amag Pharmaceuticals Inc's drug to restore sexual desire in premenopausal women, Amag said. The drug, Vyleesi, is the latest effort to come up with a treatment that some have dubbed a "female Viagra," most of which have failed. Analysts have said that a drug that safely and effectively treats loss of sexual desire in women could eventually reach annual sales approaching $1 billion. Vyleesi, known chemically as bremelanotide, works by activating pathways in the brain involved in sexual desire and response, helping premenopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). (Reporting by Saumya Sibi Joseph in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Shounak Dasgupta)
Does Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers Limited (ASX:KPT) Create Value For Shareholders? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! While some investors are already well versed in financial metrics (hat tip), this article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE) and why it is important. We'll use ROE to examine Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers Limited (ASX:KPT), by way of a worked example. Over the last twelve monthsKangaroo Island Plantation Timbers has recorded a ROE of 10%. Another way to think of that is that for every A$1 worth of equity in the company, it was able to earn A$0.10. View our latest analysis for Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers Theformula for return on equityis: Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders' Equity Or for Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers: 10% = AU$12m ÷ AU$124m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.) It's easy to understand the 'net profit' part of that equation, but 'shareholders' equity' requires further explanation. It is all earnings retained by the company, plus any capital paid in by shareholders. The easiest way to calculate shareholders' equity is to subtract the company's total liabilities from the total assets. Return on Equity measures a company's profitability against the profit it has kept for the business (plus any capital injections). The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that the higher the ROE, the more profitable the company is. So, all else equal,investors should like a high ROE. That means it can be interesting to compare the ROE of different companies. One simple way to determine if a company has a good return on equity is to compare it to the average for its industry. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. You can see in the graphic below that Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers has an ROE that is fairly close to the average for the Forestry industry (11%). That's not overly surprising. ROE tells us about the quality of the business, but it does not give us much of an idea if the share price is cheap. I will like Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out thisfreelist of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying. Virtually all companies need money to invest in the business, to grow profits. That cash can come from retained earnings, issuing new shares (equity), or debt. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. In the latter case, the debt used for growth will improve returns, but won't affect the total equity. That will make the ROE look better than if no debt was used. Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers has a debt to equity ratio of 0.22, which is far from excessive. Its ROE isn't particularly impressive, but the debt levels are quite modest, so the business probably has some real potential. Conservative use of debt to boost returns is usually a good move for shareholders, though it does leave the company more exposed to interest rate rises. Return on equity is useful for comparing the quality of different businesses. In my book the highest quality companies have high return on equity, despite low debt. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt. Having said that, while ROE is a useful indicator of business quality, you'll have to look at a whole range of factors to determine the right price to buy a stock. The rate at which profits are likely to grow, relative to the expectations of profit growth reflected in the current price, must be considered, too. So I think it may be worth checking thisfreethisdetailed graphof past earnings, revenue and cash flow. If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss thisfreelist of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
People Are Freaking Out About Halsey's Armpit Hair In This Photo Photo credit: Jamie McCarthy - Getty Images From Women's Health Rolling Stone shared a sneak-peek photo of The Hot Issue with Halsey on the cover to Instagram. In the photo, the singer has natural curls, tanned skin, and visible stubble on her armpits. The comments lit up with fans and celebrities praising her grooming choice. Halsey definitely walks to the beat of her own drum when it comes to uh, literally everything-and yes, that includes her "grooming" choices. Rolling Stone dropped their cover for The Hot Issue, set to hit newsstands on July 2. The cover photo, shared on Instagram, shows Halsey wearing a sporty white top with natural brunette curls, tanned skin, and arms raised with her hands behind her head. Also very visible: armpit stubble. Au natural, the singer looks stunning. (Halsey liked the snap too, and she shared it to her own Instagram.) But, what really set the internet on fire was the body hair on her armpits. And for the most part, fans and celebrities are shouting her praises for the unedited look. View this post on Instagram Here's a first look at our upcoming cover featuring Halsey. You can pick it up on newsstands July 2nd. Photograph by @paolakudacki. Styled by @thealexbadia A post shared by Rolling Stone (@rollingstone) on Jun 20, 2019 at 7:19am PDT Comments came rolling in: "I loooove the fact that they didn't edit the armpits like most magazines would do. Women are not little babies who don't have body hair." Another fan shared a tip for society at large: "Waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much attention is given to who shaves what when. As a society we need to get over it. Beautiful woman. Beautiful photo." As one commenter noted, there were people who weren't quite as stoked about the photo. "I love the armpit hair so much. Disappointed by the people in the comments telling her to shave or 'letting her know' it's there. She knows it's there, her photographers do too. Conscious liberation xx" Story continues Singer Demi Lovato added her two cents, as well. "There [is] so much yes about this picture idk where to start," she wrote. Singer Zara Larsson also chimed in on Twitter. ""I loooove the fact that they didn't edit the armpits like most magazines would do," she wrote. Women are not little babies who don't have body hair." Halsey's definitely not the first woman to embrace body hair for a big photo shoot. In fact, last October fitness instructor Bethany C. Meyers graced the pages of Women's Health with unshaven pits. They shared a photo to Instagram of the story with the caption: "Not only did Women’s Health choose a photo that highlights my armpit hair and tattoos, they also respected my request to be referred to in they/them pronouns 🙌." View this post on Instagram This month I’m featured in @womenshealthmag and it’s one of my favorite write-ups to date. Not only did Women’s Health choose a photo that highlights my armpit hair and tattoos, they also respected my request to be referred to in they/them pronouns 🙌. When you read the short snips from our interview, I think it’s apparent that I believe movement should be a form of healing, not punishment. “Now Meyers is on a mission to reframe movement as self-care. Launching @thebecomeproject, a body-positive fitness app, is just the beginning.” Btw if you aren’t be.coming with me yet...um you should be. #leanintolove ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Thank you to @alcuffey @ekbacharach and @womenshealthmag - stunning. A post shared by Bethany C. Meyers (@bethanycmeyers) on Oct 17, 2018 at 9:54am PDT Grooming is a very personal choice, and every woman, Bethany and Halsey included should rock whatever look makes them feel beautiful. You do you. ('You Might Also Like',) 14 Keto Breakfast Recipes That Make Waking Up So Much Easier 13 MS Symptoms In Women That Shouldn't Be Ignored Love Carbs? We Created This 21-Day Keto Diet Plan Just for You
Bethenny Frankel denies yelling at Sunny Hostin's child A feud appears to be brewing between the star of The Real Housewives of New York City , Bethenny Frankel, and co-host of The View , Sunny Hostin. Frankel , also known for her creation of the “Skinny Girl” brand of products, was accused of yelling at Hostin’s child on a beach for being too loud while Frankel’s daughter was taking a nap. “Bethenny yelled at my child on the beach,” said Hostin. “It was in the middle of the day and my child was about seven playing with other children at about 2 in the afternoon and she said her child was napping inside with the window open and that our children were being too loud on the beach,” she added. Hostin continued, “I went out there and stood in front of my child and I yelled at her and told her that, ‘Adults speak to adults.’” Frankel appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen , and Cohen asked about the incident. “I don’t know,” said Frankel. “I think she’s been drinking or taking some drugs, I don’t know. I don’t know her,” she added. Hostin took to Twitter and reacted to Frankel’s denial: Not surprising that a Reality TV personality who yells and bullies little kids on a beach lies. But I have witnesses @Bethenny . @rmjansen feel free to weigh in. #receipts Oh and @Bethenny - defamation ain’t cute....... https://t.co/QpMWknAAuf — Sunny Hostin (@sunny) June 21, 2019 Hostin’s friend, Regina Jansen, responded with confirmation that she was there and said the incident did indeed happen: Co-signed! @Bethenny you yelled at our kids playing during the day. I was in the house & heard you yelling at our young kids to lower their voices because your baby was sleeping. Heard you & wondered “Why is this gown woman yelling over a fence at my child?” @sunny handled it. — Regina Jansen (@rmjansen) June 21, 2019 Less than an hour later, Hostin posted a screenshot, which appears to show that Frankel blocked Hostin on Twitter: Story continues 🤔 pic.twitter.com/L1O7bHxpfD — Sunny Hostin (@sunny) June 21, 2019 Despite Hostin’s and her friend’s account of the event, many stepped forward to defend Frankel: Coming for a business tycoon like @Bethenny is not going to keep you relevant, @sunny . Instead, it makes you look pathetic and desperate. pic.twitter.com/qG37OLC59U — Jay H (@jayh1115) June 21, 2019 @Bethenny What is up with Sunny Hostin??? I think it's very strange that she is trying to start something with you. Women should build up other women rather than bring them down. — Renee Cohen (@rc111) June 21, 2019 But Hostin had supporters in her corner too, and they made their voices heard: Yesssss Sunny tell that child yeller to take a SEAT! pic.twitter.com/H60XLtUdfx — TheViewFirst (@TheViewFirst1) June 21, 2019 Go ahead, @sunny ! Tell her how it is! Anyone who buys into this bad behavior and helps these folks get rich off bad behavior is complicit in the seeming disappearance of basic civility! — Dawn Masino (@dawn10271) June 21, 2019 Whoopi Goldberg defends Joe Biden amid accusations of racism: Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Veteran meteorologist 'let go' from job after objecting to station's 'Code Red' weather alerts Meghan McCain says Gwyneth Paltrow's living situation with her husband 'sounds like rich people stuff' 'Fox & Friends' co-host Brian Kilmeade says crowd boos are 'not for Ivanka' Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle's newsletter.
Amazon gets U.S. patent to use delivery drones for surveillance service (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc is exploring using drones not just to deliver packages but also to provide surveillance as a service to its customers, according to a patent granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The delivery drones can be used to record video of consented user's property to gather data that can be analyzed to look out, say for example, a broken window, or a fire or if a garage door was left open during the day, the patent described. According to the patent, the surveillance function of the drone can be limited through geo-fencing, a technology used to draw a virtual boundary around the property under surveillance. Any image or data that the drone captures outside the geo-fence would be obscured or removed. The application for the patent was filed by the e-commerce giant in 2015 and granted on June 4. Earlier this month, Amazon said it will start drones delivering packages to customers in 30 minutes or less in the coming months. (Reporting by Soundarya J in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
Here's Why PBF Energy Stock Jumped on Friday Shares ofPBF Energy(NYSE: PBF)gained 11% Friday on extremely heavy trading volume as investors rushed to buy shares of the small oil refiner. Today's big gain for PBF wasn't a product of anything the company itself has done, but was based on speculation that it would be the biggest beneficiary of thefire at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) refineryin South Philadelphia early this morning. The refinery, which is jointly owned by multiple private and public companies, is said to be the biggest in the eastern U.S. and is a major supplier to the region. For PBF, the thesis goes, this could be a boon. There's a chance this fire could have a major impact on fuel supplies in the region, and PBF's refineries in the area would be needed to fill the gap to meet demand. To be specific, PBF isn't the only refiner that would benefit from any prolonged shutdown of the PES refinery; moreover, there are plenty of other major refiners on the Eastern Seaboard that would play some role in filling the supply gap. Image source: Getty Images. However, what makes PBF unique is its size. As a small refiner, it is positioned to see the most in per-share profits from higher demand for fuel from its nearby refineries, while its bigger peers simply wouldn't see as much upside from a single, localized incident such as this. Let's start with the catalyst for today's surge: I think it's a blind risk to buy solely based on speculation that the PES refinery fire is creating an opportunity for PBF. To start, there's very little to go on at this stage to quantify how much impact the fire will have on the refinery's operations, or what effect it will have on fuel supplies in the region. And even in a likely worst-case scenario, I wouldn't expect PBF to see any benefits from a sustained outage lasting more than a few quarters. That makes buying on speculation over this fire a terrible thesis to underpin an investment. However, from a long-term perspective, there are some things about PBF that look good. Management told us onthe first-quarter earnings callthat it has front-loaded its maintenance capital spending this year, and expects to have completed all of its 2019 annual maintenance projects by the end of the second quarter. That should result in improved operations and profitability across its entire refining operation in the second half of the year. Moreover, the company has severalplansthat should pay off in coming years, by building pipelines to add much-needed capacity to major oil and gas plays. Bottom line: Don't get too caught up in the short-term speculation around one event; it could end up being a nothing burger with a side of nope, causing short-term losses as other speculators sell off when they realize there's not really any upside to the fire. But a patient investor with a longer-term focus could find value in PBF over the next few years. 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 Jason Hallhas 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.
Explosions, fire rock US oil refinery; gas prices could rise PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Explosions and a blaze at the largest oil refinery on the East Coast sent a fireball into the sky and shook homes before dawn Friday, though authorities reported only a few minor injuries and said the air was safe to breathe. The fire at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining Complex was deemed contained and controlled but continued to burn late Friday afternoon, said Craig Murphy, deputy fire commissioner. The fire broke out around 4 a.m., PES spokeswoman Cherice Corley said. Video showed the enormous orange blast bursting into the sky about 20 minutes later. Five refinery workers were treated for minor injuries, and nearby residents were asked to stay inside. The cause of the fire was still unclear. Three explosions, felt miles away, went off as the fire worked its way through the tangle of pipes carrying fuel across the complex, Corley said. It happened at the Girard Point refinery, one of two at the PES complex in southern Philadelphia. The fire happened at a tank containing a mix of butane and propane, Murphy said. The blaze was still being fed by a main, he said, but it was unsafe for workers to access the valve to shut it off. If firefighters extinguished the blaze, the gases would continue to bleed into the atmosphere, he said. "It is safer if it burns itself out; otherwise the product would be looking for an ignition source," he said. "Right now, it is contained and controlled." Air samples taken both downwind and upwind from the refinery have been tested, and no threat to public safety has been found, the city's health department said in a statement. The 150-year-old oil refining complex processes 335,000 barrels of crude oil daily, PES says. The refinery turns the crude into gasoline, jet fuel, propane, home heating oil and other products. It was the second blaze at the refinery this month, following a June 10 fire in which no injuries were reported. Gasoline prices in the Northeast could rise over the next few weeks as a result of the explosion, but an increase isn't likely to last long, said Claudio Galimberti, a refining analyst at S&P Global Platts. Story continues Thick black smoke billowed across the city after the fire started. Jonathan Triboletti, of Hammonton, New Jersey, saw that smoke and the explosion when he and his mother were driving to the nearby Philadelphia Airport. "I noticed the sky light up orange ahead of us for maybe 5 or 6 seconds," he said. Triboletti said he even felt the heat in the car. "It kind of made our skin crawl a little bit because we didn't know what was going on. It was something you normally see in a movie theater," he said. It's unknown whether the explosions will cause any financial strain the oil markets. "This is obviously not a good thing to happen in a jittery market, but U.S. refined product demand has been relatively weak," said Jim Burkhard, vice president for oil markets at IHS Markit. "So this is a disruption, but it's probably not going to cause major problems in a market that is generally well supplied." ___ This story has been corrected to show that Philadelphia Energy Solutions processes crude oil, not produces it.
Can We See Significant Insider Ownership On The Kopore Metals Limited (ASX:KMT) Share Register? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Every investor in Kopore Metals Limited (ASX:KMT) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones. 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.' Kopore Metals is a smaller company with a market capitalization of AU$4.9m, so it may still be flying under the radar of many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about KMT. View our latest analysis for Kopore Metals Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index. Kopore Metals already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own 7.0% of the company. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Kopore Metals, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too. Kopore Metals is not owned by hedge funds. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known. 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. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO. 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 insiders own a significant proportion of Kopore Metals Limited. Insiders have a AU$1.0m stake in this AU$4.9m business. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You canclick here to see if they have been buying or selling. The general public, mostly retail investors, hold a substantial 64% stake in KMT, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This level of ownership gives retail investors the power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio. Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 7.4%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research. While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. I always like to check for ahistory of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart ofhistoric revenue and earnings in thisdetailed graph. Of course,you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere.So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
The One Metric That Makes Nio Stock a Loser InvestorPlace’s Vince Martin pointed out in his June 7articlethat Chinese electric vehicle makerNio(NYSE:NIO) had a negative gross margin in the first quarter. That’s not a good sign if you own Nio stock. Source: Shutterstock InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips In fact, Martin suggested that the Nio stock price could hit zero in the future, despite all the promise of the electric car maker’s products. “Nio isn’t necessarily going bankrupt in three quarters or even three years. But it does not have unlimited time. It’s unlikely to be able to borrow much, given its meager asset base. Selling additional Nio stock will be difficult and would send Nio stock price even lower,” MartinwroteJune 7. Frankly, I’m not sure why anyone would invest in a company that has negative gross margins. Yet, Nio’s had negative gross profits inthreeout of the last four quarters and investors are still buying Nio stock. • 7 Top S&P 500 Stocks of 2019 (So Far) Is that the definition of insanity or what? By comparison,Tesla’s(NASDAQ:TSLA) had positive gross profits for the last five years — its gross profits had grown from$881.7 millionin 2014 to $4.0 billion in 2018 — and, yet, some investors are actually opting to buy Nio stock over TSLA. While the company’s negative gross margin is a big reason to shy away from investing in Nio stock, it isn’t the financial metric that makes Nio stock a loser. For that, one needs to calculate the company’s Altman Z-Score, which assesses the likelihood of a company going bankrupt within two years. I won’t bore you with the formula. You can find thathere. The important thing is that the Altman Z-Score gives you a better idea of a company’s financial health at any given time. As the numbers on a company’s balance sheet and income statement change, so too will its score, both positively and negatively. Taking its latest balance sheet and income statement financials from Morningstar, I’ve calculated Nio’s Altman Z-Score to be -4.67. Anything less than 1.81 represents a company in distress. NIO’s Altman Z-Score Working Capital 546,244,434 A 0.22 Total Assets 3,048,600,000 B -2.51 Retained Earnings -5,460,092,704 C -1.69 EBIT -1,556,919,155 D -1.01 Market Cap 2,730,000,000 E 0.31 Total Liabilities -2,709,419,890 Net Sales 953,366,948 Calculation-4.67Book Value 334,736,250 So, although my colleague didn’t suggest it’s going bankrupt anytime soon, I believe Nio’s Altman Z-Score indicates that if it doesn’t shore up its business soon, there’s an excellent possibility it could face financial distress in the next 12-24 months. • 7 Stocks Flashing Signs of Strong Insider Buying That’s especially true when you consider how much competition Nio has on the electric front in China. It’s tough enough to right the ship financially when the competition isn’t a problem, but things are going to get very difficult for Nio in the second quarter and beyond. Therefore, based on the company’s competitive threats, a negative gross margin, and the real threat of bankruptcy in the future, I’m not sure how you can consider Nio stock anything but a losing proposition. At the time of this writing Will Ashworth did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. • 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid • The 7 Best Dow Jones Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2019 • 5 Boring Stocks to Buy This Summer • 7 S&P 500 Stocks to Buy With Little Debt and Lots of Profits Compare Brokers The postThe One Metric That Makes Nio Stock a Loserappeared first onInvestorPlace.
4 ETFs to Help Investors Access Innovative Disruptors New disruptive technologies are changing the way we interact with the world, providing growth opportunities for exchange traded fund investors whom are looking to diversify into these quickly developing segments. “We break it down to five innovative platforms that we’ve identified in our research – that is robotics energy, storage, blockchain technology, DNA sequencing and artificial intelligence. Those five major innovation platforms drive further innovation, and we do top-down and bottom-up research to then identify where’s technology bringing us. Is the top technology ready for prime time and ready to provide growth for our investors?” Sebastian Benkert, CMO,ARK Invest, said at the Morningstar Investment Conference. As a way to access disruptive innovations through a targeted fund strategy, ARK Invest offers a suite of actively managed ETFs focused specifically on the main innovative segments, including the ARK Industrial Innovation ETF (ARKQ), ARK Web x.0 ETF (ARKW), ARK Genomic Revolution Multi-Sector Fund (ARKG) and the broader ARK Innovation Fund (ARKK). ARKQ captures the converging industrial and technology sectors, capitalizing from autonomous vehicles, robotics, 3D printing, and energy storage technologies. The ARK Web x.0 ETF targets next-gen internet innovations like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain technology. The ARK Genomic Revolution Multi-Sector ETF tracks the convergence of tech and health care. The ARK Innovation ETF is a catch-all for or a broader theme based on the investments across all of the firm’s innovation themes. For more ETF-related commentary from Tom Lydon and other industry experts, visit ourvideo category on ETF Trends. Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com.
Wynn CEO: Boston casino a model for company's future growth EVERETT, Mass. (AP) — A brilliantly colored carousel sculpture made of tens of thousands of fake flowers and jewels greets visitors as they step into the opulent lobby of Encore Boston Harbor, the first casino to open in the Boston area and third in Massachusetts. Twenty-six floors above, in the casino's swooping, bronze-toned hotel tower, a pair of penthouse villas each boast butler service for a three-bedroom, 3½-bath spread totaling 5,800 square feet across two floors. And within the casino proper, private gambling salons and high limit tables are perched on a mezzanine, looking down onto an expansive casino floor buzzing with slot machines and blackjack, roulette and craps tables. Ahead of its much-anticipated Sunday opening, casino officials on Friday toured reporters through the $2.6 billion hotel, casino and entertainment complex in Everett, Massachusetts. The 33-acre waterfront development, which involved environmental cleanup of a former chemical plant site, is one of the biggest private developments in state history. It's also been mired in controversy since Wynn Resorts won the lone state gambling license reserved for the wealthy and populous Boston area nearly five years ago. New CEO Matthew Maddox, in an interview ahead of the tours, said the company believes the resort — the company's first outside the gambling centers of Las Vegas and Macau — can be a template for the company's future and possibly for the casino industry broadly. He envisions the company continuing to extend its reach beyond the traditional gambling centers of Las Vegas and Macau to major metro areas like New York and Chicago. Maddox said that more than 30 states currently have gambling facilities, but that too many have been built far from major cities like Boston. "This can be a great example of what's to come, once other states see the potential for this," he said. "This isn't a local casino. This isn't regional gambling. This is the first time a major city has a five-star, large-scale, integrated resort." Story continues Massachusetts' two other casinos are MGM Springfield in the western corner of the state and the Plainridge Park slots parlor near the Rhode Island state line. In the coming months, Maddox said Wynn Resorts will turn its attention to major expansions and overhauls of its flagship casinos in Las Vegas and Macau. Wynn is also among the casino companies looking to win a license to operate Japan, which recently legalized casino gambling. "What I see going forward is building these kinds of resorts within the city fabric, not as something an hour and a half away," he said of the Massachusetts casino. "This can be our calling card to other cities and destinations around the world, really." Maddox said the company is also moving past the scandal that nearly crippled it last year: the allegations of sexual misconduct against Steve Wynn, the company's founder and namesake. Steve Wynn has denied the misconduct allegations, but resigned as CEO and sold off his company shares last year. Maddox, a longtime confidante of the casino mogul, took over as CEO and oversaw the overhaul of its executive team, its board of directors and its sexual harassment and discrimination policies. Casino regulators in Massachusetts and Nevada hit the company with more than $50 million in fines and other penalties this year after determining company officials had for years failed to investigate or act on allegations and complaints against Steve Wynn. The company paid the fines to both states and is in the process of meeting the other mandates imposed by Massachusetts, Maddox said. Among those are requirements that Maddox take training on leadership, communication and sensitivity. The state's Gaming Commission will also appoint an independent monitor to track the progress of the company's internal reforms. "The controversy is behind us. The transition is finished," Maddox said. "Our eyes are on the future." ___ Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.
How the U.S.-China Trade War Could Kill the iPhone 11 Apple's(NASDAQ: AAPL)much-awaited iPhone 11 is expected to drop sometime in September this year, and many people will be lining up once again at their nearest stores to lap up Cupertino's latest and greatest device. But the lines might be shorter this year because the iPhone 11 could end up costing a ton thanks to theU.S-China trade warsaga that could take a turn for the worse later this month. U.S. government officials are expected to meet their Chinese counterparts at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, toward the end of June. Apple will be hoping for a resolution because the sales of its upcoming iPhone 11 could be severely affected if the trade war continues. Image source: Apple The trade war would force Apple to raise the price of the iPhone 11. Blue Silk Consulting, a global supply chain consultancy firm, estimates that the price of the iPhone 11 could cost at least $375 more than the current generation of iPhones. The consultancy firm estimates that Apple's production costs could increase as much as 30% if it decides to move iPhone production out of China to fall in line with the Trump administration's current stance and avoid the duties it will have to pay on Chinese goods. Apple has a nicely integrated supply chain in China, where it produces most of its iPhones, including the critical final assembly part that's executed by contractor Foxconn. This allows Apple to keep costs under control, an advantage that it would lose in case it moves out of the country. So even though Foxconn claims that it is capable of moving iPhone's entire production out of China if needed, the move would present a new set of challenges for Apple, especially an increase in costs. The problem is that if Apple keeps iPhone production in China, the potential imposition of higher tariffs by the Trump administration on Chinese imports would also inflate iPhone prices. This means that the iPhone 11 is in a double-whammy situation because Apple will have to pass on the increase in costs to customers. If it doesn't do that, Apple's earnings and the stock price will take a hit. Bloomberg reports that Apple's earnings could fall by 6% to 7% if it decides to maintain production in China, assuming that the iPhone maker chooses to absorb the tariffs and doesn't pass them on to the consumer. However, higher tariffs will further dent the company's bottom line, and it will be forced to hike prices. The Bloomberg report went on to add that iPhone prices could rise anywhere between 9% and 16% if Apple decides against absorbing the tariffs. As a result, demand for the next iPhone could fall by 10% to 40%. The current-generation iPhone XS starts at $999 in the U.S., while the XS Max begins at $1,099. The priciest iPhone XS Max variant retails for $1,449 in the U.S. Assuming that Apple's costs rise 30%, the price of its next flagship could increase to at least $1,300, with the top-of-the-line device going for nearly $1,900 -- if Apple decides to pass on the tariffs to its customers. This is bad news for Apple, which is already struggling on account ofweak iPhone demandthanks to the rise of potent competitors such as Huawei. The situation could get worse if it gets caught in the crossfire of the U.S.-China trade war and makes the iPhone 11 so expensive that it fails to fly off the shelves. Gartner analyst Tuong Nguyen believes that people are no longer upgrading smartphones as regularly as they used to because most users have "more phone than they can handle, or need." So, once a user has bought an expensive flagship, he or she wouldn't need to buy the next-generation device with incremental upgrades and spend a ton of money once again. Apple is feeling the pinch of this trend: iPhone unit volumes reportedly dropped in the rangeof 23% to 30%in the first quarter per third-party estimates. The company has stopped reporting official numbers. As such, don't be surprised to see the iPhone 11 turn in a disappointing sales performance because potentially higher pricing on account of the trade war could render the device dead on arrival. 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 Harsh Chauhanhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Business Highlights ___ S&P 500 notches 3rd straight weekly gain after wobbly day Wall Street finished a milestone-setting week on a downbeat note Friday after a late flurry of selling nudged stocks lower, ending the market's four-day winning streak. Even so, the market notched its third straight weekly gain, and the benchmark S&P 500 index hovered just below its record high close from a day earlier. Investors have been reassured by statements from the Federal Reserve this month that suggest the Fed is prepared to cut interest rates in response to a slowing global economy. ___ US blacklists 5 Chinese groups working in supercomputing WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is blacklisting five Chinese organizations involved in supercomputing, calling them national security threats and cutting them off from critical U.S. technology. The move Friday by the U.S. Commerce Department could complicate talks next week between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, aimed at deescalating a trade dispute between the world's two biggest economies. ___ APNewsBreak: California launches anti-illegal pot campaign LOS ANGELES (AP) — California is taking its fight against illegal marijuana sales to cellphones and social media. The state that's home to the nation's largest pot market is launching an ad campaign to discourage consumers from shopping in unlicensed shops. It's called "Get #weedwise." Ads will urge shoppers to check on a state website to verify that a shop is licensed before they make a purchase. The ads make a simple argument: You don't know what you're getting if you buy illegal products. ___ Explosions, fire rock US oil refinery; gas prices could rise PHILADELPHIA (AP) — An analyst says gas prices in the Northeast could temporarily rise over the next few weeks as a result of an explosion and fire at a Philadelphia oil refinery. Explosions and a blaze at the East Coast's largest refinery sent a fireball into the sky and shook homes before dawn Friday. Authorities reported only a few minor injuries and said the air was safe to breathe. Five refinery workers were treated for minor injuries, and nearby residents were asked to stay inside. Story continues ___ New drug to boost women's sex drive approved in US WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators have approved a prescription drug to boost sex drive in women. The Food and Drug Administration OK'd the shot for premenopausal women troubled by a lack of sexual desire. The positive decision for tiny drugmaker Amag Pharmaceuticals marks only the second time regulators have approved a drug for the condition. Doctors caution that some women may not be willing to give themselves a shot to temporarily boost their sex drive. ___ Fed says largest banks would survive crisis, in latest tests NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve is saying that 18 of the nation's largest and most complex banks passed its stress tests and are strong enough to withstand a severe economic downturn. This year the Fed tested how well the nation's largest banks would handle a substantial drop in commercial real estate prices as well as heightened stress in the corporate debt markets. ___ US home sales climbed 2.5% in May amid lower mortgage rates WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home sales jumped 2.5% in May, as lower mortgage rates appeared to help buyers overcome affordability challenges. The National Association of Realtors says that existing homes sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.34 million last month. Still, the real estate market has yet to shake off last year's slump. Home sales are down 1.1% from a year ago. ___ Airlines reroute flights after Iran downs US military drone DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Airlines have rerouted flights to avoid airspace near the Strait of Hormuz after Iran shot down a U.S. military surveillance drone there and American aviation officials warned that commercial jetliners could be mistakenly attacked. The incident reflects a dangerous escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran. ___ Mitsubishi Motors shareholders approve ouster of Ghosn TOKYO (AP) — Mitsubishi Motors Corp. shareholders have approved the ouster of Carlos Ghosn, who was pivotal in the Japanese automaker's three-way partnership with Nissan and Renault until he was arrested on financial misconduct charges. Nissan owns part of Mitsubishi Motors. Nissan shareholders decided in April to oust Ghosn as chairman. He says he's innocent of the charges. ___ Foxconn chairman stepping down amid talks of political bid TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The chairman of Foxconn, the world's largest contract assembler of consumer electronics for companies such as Apple, is stepping down amid speculation he could be planning a presidential run in Taiwan next year. Terry Gou made the announcement Friday at the company's annual shareholders meeting. His resignation is the latest challenge for Foxconn, which has been caught up in the ongoing U.S.-China trade war. ___ The S&P 500 index dipped 3.72 points, or 0.1%, to 2,950.46. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 34.04 points, or 0.1%, to 26,719.13. The Nasdaq composite fell 19.63 points, or 0.2%, to 8,031.71. The Russell 2000 index slumped 13.87 points, or 0.9%, to 1,549.63.
Dominican Republic Tourism Minister Denies Existence Of 'Mystery Deaths' The Dominican Republic is insisting that there are no “mystery deaths” on the island despite a series of puzzling fatalities among U.S. tourists that have prompted the FBI to step in. During a Friday press conference, Tourism Minister Francisco Javier Garcia slammed media coverage of the cases, arguing that each of the deaths could be explained. “A cause of death has been determined for all of the deaths that have occurred,” he said, according to a translation from The Washington Post . “Therefore, mystery deaths do not exist in the Dominican Republic. We have demonstrated that it is not true that there is an avalanche of deaths in of American tourists in the country.” At least nine Americans have died while vacationing in the country within the past year. Most recently, 55-year-old Joseph Allen of New Jersey was reported dead after having been found in his room at Terra Linda Resort in Sosúa just over a week ago. Days before that, 53-year-old Leyla Cox was also found unresponsive in her hotel room. Though causes of death have been determined in each the cases, ranging from heart issues to respiratory failure, the majority of the fatalities appear to be sudden and unexpected, several of them having occurred after tourists consumed drinks from their mini bars. Multiple deaths have been reported at Bahía Príncipe’s resorts and the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Punta Cana. In a separate instance in April, 47 people became violently ill on a Jimmy Buffet cruise with symptoms including diarrhea, vomiting and fevers, though none of them died. On Wednesday, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) wrote a letter to the State Department asking it to reassess its travel advisory for the island ― currently a Level 2 ― “so that it accurately reflects possible risks.” “The circumstances surrounding the untimely deaths of nine Americans is heartbreaking, and I ask that you immediately take steps to update the bereaved families and ensure they are given all information on the cause of their loved one’s death as the investigation continues,” he wrote. Story continues In light of a deluge of news reports keeping count of the vacations turned deadly, Garcia suggested on Friday that the coverage was unprecedented. “I have been leading the ministry of tourism for 11 years, never in 55 years has there been a debate in the media around tourists ― of any nationality ― that had died in a country,” he said. “This is a debate that for the first time, appears in the media, and it appears that the place chosen to initiate this debate has been the Dominican Republic.” Taking a similar tone in a June 7 press release , Bahía Príncipe Hotels alleged that “inaccurate and false information has been spread or circulated of by various media, digital platforms and social networks,” though it was not immediately clear to which news reports the company was referring. In a statement sent to HuffPost on Friday, the State Department said it is “closely monitoring ongoing investigations by Dominican authorities” of the recent deaths. However, it added that there are more than 2.7 million Americans travel to the island each year, “and we have not seen an uptick in the number of U.S. citizen deaths reported to the Department.” Related Coverage What We Know About The Recent Deaths Of American Tourists In The Dominican Republic State Department Confirms Another Tourist Death In Dominican Republic Lawmaker Calls For Reassessment Of Travel Advisory to Dominican Republic Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost .
Huawei files lawsuit against U.S. Commerce Department over seized equipment: filing By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies Co Inc filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Commerce Department on Friday challenging whether telecommunications equipment it sent from China to the United States, and then back to China, is covered by Export Administration Regulations, according to a court filing. The lawsuit is the latest salvo in a battle between the U.S. government and Huawei. Washington says the Chinese company's telecommunications gear could be used by Beijing to spy. Huawei denies that is the case. In the lawsuit, Huawei said that it shipped telecommunications equipment from China, including a computer server and Ethernet switch, to a testing laboratory in California. After the testing was done, the equipment was shipped back to China. No application for a license was made because none was needed, the lawsuit claims. But the equipment was seized in Alaska by the U.S. government, and no decision has been made about whether a license is required to ship it, the filing said. "The equipment, to the best of HT USA's knowledge, remains in a bureaucratic limbo in an Alaskan warehouse," Huawei said in its lawsuit. The Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Huawei contends that the equipment did not require a license because it did not fall into a controlled category and because it was made outside the United States and was being returned to the same country from which it came. Huawei asked for the equipment to be either released for shipment or for the Commerce Department to decide that it was shipped illegally. In May, the Trump administration added Huawei to the entity list, barring it from buying needed U.S. parts and components without U.S. government approval. U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States could resolve complaints about Huawei as part of a trade deal. Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, daughter of the company's founder, has been detained in Canada since December on a U.S. warrant. She is fighting extradition on charges that she misled global banks about Huawei's relationship with a company operating in Iran. Shortly after her detention, Chinese authorities detained two Canadians citizens, charging them with espionage. (Reporting by Diane Bartz and Jon Stempel, editing by G Crosse and Bill Berkrot)
Pelosi Drug Plan Under Fire from Both Left and Right House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s burgeoning plan to reduce Medicare drug prices is drawing complaints from both progressives and conservatives, saysRoll Call’s Andrew Siddons. Pelosi and the House Democratic leaders developing the plan reportedly want to give the federal government the power to negotiate the prices of some drugs covered by Medicare. Under the plan, the Health and Human Services Secretary would enter into direct negotiations with drug manufacturers over the prices of the most expensive drugs. In the event of a disagreement between the parties, the Government Accountability Office would make the final call on pricing, and companies that refuse to accept the arbitrator’s decision would get hit with a tax penalty. But that proposal has features that are sounding alarms on both sides of the aisle. What bothers liberal Democrats:Progressives say that the Pelosi-led plan doesn’t go far enough and risks creating a system that drugmakers can manipulate to their advantage. They want the government to negotiate the prices for all drugs, not just a subset of the most expensive ones (Pelosi expanded the list of drugs from 25 to 250 under pressure from critics), and they want to give the government the power to strip patents from companies that refuse to negotiate in good faith. “Arbitration is a very lengthy process,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), one of the leading liberal critics. “If that’s still the main piece of how we get these drug prices down, I’m concerned that we may not have the ability to take on a lot of drugs.” The arbitration process could be gamed by the drug industry, as well, progressives say, with high-paid lawyers and lobbyists running circles around government negotiators. What bothers Republicans and Big Pharma:Pelosi’s critics on the right are also worried about her proposal to use negotiation and arbitration, but for different reasons. Conservatives say that Pelosi’s plan would give the government the power to set prices in ways that violate the free market principles they hold dear. “This comes down to government setting the price, just because someone is going to have to pick the arbitrator, and in doing so, you will start setting the prices by political mechanisms,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former head of the Congressional Budget Office who now serves as the president of the American Action Forum, a free-market think tank that receives funding from Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America, the trade group that represents drugmakers. The drug industry has also spoken out directly against Pelosi’s proposal, claiming that it would give government employees too much power and delay the development of new medicines. “[U]nder government arbitration, a government employee, without necessarily any medical background, would make the decision about whether a Medicare beneficiary could access the medicines that their doctors prescribed,” Juliet Johnson of the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America wrote earlier this month. What comes next:Pelosi has forwarded her proposal to the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees for further refinement. But the opposition from all sides suggests it has a rough road ahead of it. “It’s not a guarantee that progressive caucus members will be for any old bill,” said Rep. Mark Pocan. And even if Democrats can work out their differences on the negotiation process, there’s no sign that Republicans in the Senate have much interest in their approach. Rep. Ro Khanna of California, a liberal Democrat who has released his own plan to lower drug prices, said he sees no reason to compromise on the bill given its bleak prospects. “I just don’t get the politics here,” he said. Like what you're reading? Sign up for ourfree newsletter.
Get Ready to Order Taco Bell's Newest Limited-Edition Menu Item: a Hotel Room Taco Bell will start accepting reservations next Thursday for The Bell, itsrecently announced pop-up resort—where fans of the brand will be able to melt like a Cheesy Gordita under the Palm Springs sun while floating the day away on a hot sauce packet-shaped pool raft. And for late-night cravings? Taco Bell’sNacho Frieswill be a room service-call away. The fast food chain expects The Bell’s 70 rooms to sell out “incredibly fast,” Jennifer Arnoldt, Taco Bell’s senior director of retail engagement and experience, toldFortunevia email. Reservations, only availableon the hotel’s website,will go live Thursday, June 27 at 10 a.m. PT. “Our team will be completely transforming an existing hotel into its taco-inspired destination,” Arnoldt said, describing the company’s temporary takeover of the V Palm Springs Hotel. “We believe that fans can have a craveable, truly Taco Bell experience at a value that’s competitive with nearby Palm Springs resorts.” The Taco Bell hotel experience is being offered at a price point that should even appeal to vacationers who occasionally favor the chain’s value menu. The taco-chic rooms at the limited-run hotel, open from August 8 to August 12, will start at $169 a night, with no minimum night stay. The price to stay at The Bell is only slightly higher than the $156 nightly rate that the V Palm Springs is charging guests for a Thursday to Tuesday stay the week before,according to the hotel’s website at time of publication. The Bell will feature a modern and spacious design, including an on-site salon that will offer taco-inspired nail art, a gift shop, pool, and a “Freeze Lounge,” inspired by Mountain Dew Baja Blast. The on-site entertainment will include “dive in” movies and musical performances from bands inTaco Bell’s “Feed The Beat”program. To eat? What else? A menu packed with newly debuted items. (Maybe some of them will be vegetarian?) While Taco Bell declined to comment on the cost of the hotel takeover or how it plans to measure the ROI for an event of this nature, it has already earned buzz on social media from fans hoping to be among the lucky few to secure a spot. The Bell’s Instagram-perfect experience continues Taco Bell’s marketing through immersive experiences, including the‘Demolition Man’ restaurant takeover in San Diego during Comic Con,designed to look like a “Taco Bell of the future,” and the “nearly every weekend”Las Vegas-based Taco Bell Cantina that couples can book for weddings,said Arnoldt. And Palm Springs is more than happy to be the site of Taco Bell’s latest stunt. “The Bell hotel has provided incredible national exposure on how to find your tacOASIS,” Scott White, president and CEO of the Greater Palm Springs Area Convention & Visitors Bureau,told theDesertSun.Palm Spring’stourism taglineis “Find Your Oasis.” Will fans who don’t secure their spot Thursday have another chance to order Taco Bell in bed from room service rather than Postmates? Will The Bell’s premiere run also be its last? Although executives wouldn’t say whether this could become an annual tradition, they will be paying close attention to how the five-day weekend unfolds. According to Arnoldt, “We’re focused on the excitement fans have expressed for The Bell Hotel and Resort thus far and look forward to hearing what their favorite parts of the experience were, and then building upon this in Taco Bell moments in the future.” —Women’s World Cupendorsements in the wings —Big Gay Ice Creamgrowing from coast to coast —GameStop wants to bethe ‘local church’ of gaming —Trump’sChina tariffs threaten U.S. BridalGown Industry —Apple turns toBest Buy for repairs. —Listen to our new audio briefing,Fortune500 Daily FollowFortuneon Flipboardto stay up-to-date on the latest news and analysis.
Can We See Significant Insider Ownership On The Kopore Metals Limited (ASX:KMT) Share Register? 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 Kopore Metals Limited (ASX:KMT), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. 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. Kopore Metals is a smaller company with a market capitalization of AU$4.9m, so it may still be flying under the radar of many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutional investors have bought into the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about KMT. Check out our latest analysis for Kopore Metals 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. We can see that Kopore Metals does have institutional investors; and they hold 7.0% of the stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone, since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Kopore Metals's earnings history, below. Of course, the future is what really matters. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Kopore Metals. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known. The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board; and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board, themselves. 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. It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Kopore Metals Limited. Insiders own AU$1.0m worth of shares in the AU$4.9m company. I would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You canclick here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling. The general public, who are mostly retail investors, collectively hold 64% of Kopore Metals shares. This level of ownership gives retail investors the power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio. Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 7.4%, of the company's shares. 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. Many find it usefulto take an in depth look at how a company has performed in the past. You can accessthisdetailed graphof past earnings, revenue and cash flow. Of coursethis may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see ourfreecollection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials. 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.
MasterCard (MA) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, MasterCard (MA) closed at $264.51, marking a -0.85% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Prior to today's trading, shares of the processor of debit and credit card payments had gained 6.83% over the past month. This has outpaced the Business Services sector's gain of 5.99% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.13% in that time. Investors will be hoping for strength from MA as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, MA is projected to report earnings of $1.82 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 9.64%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $4.10 billion, up 11.81% from the year-ago period. Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $7.60 per share and revenue of $16.78 billion. These totals would mark changes of +17.1% and +12.22%, respectively, from last year. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for MA. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system. Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.01% lower within the past month. MA is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Looking at its valuation, MA is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 35.09. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 23.87. It is also worth noting that MA currently has a PEG ratio of 2.11. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Financial Transaction Services stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.97 based on yesterday's closing prices. The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 29, which puts it in the top 12% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. To follow MA in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com. 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 reportMastercard Incorporated (MA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
United States Steel (X) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know United States Steel (X) closed at $14.66 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.76% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Heading into today, shares of the steel maker had gained 6.2% over the past month, lagging the Basic Materials sector's gain of 7.12% and outpacing the S&P 500's gain of 4.13% in that time. Investors will be hoping for strength from X as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect X to post earnings of $0.44 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 69.86%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $3.57 billion, down 0.97% from the year-ago period. For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.16 per share and revenue of $13.96 billion, which would represent changes of -78.36% and -1.53%, respectively, from the prior year. Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for X. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook. Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 27.62% lower. X is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell). Digging into valuation, X currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 12.6. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 10.48, which means X is trading at a premium to the group. Also, we should mention that X has a PEG ratio of 1.57. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Steel - Producers was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.57 at yesterday's closing price. The Steel - Producers industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 221, putting it in the bottom 14% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com. 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 reportUnited States Steel Corporation (X) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Health Insurance Innovations (HIIQ) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, Health Insurance Innovations (HIIQ) closed at $26.09, marking a -1.84% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Prior to today's trading, shares of the Web-based health coverage provider had gained 7.96% over the past month. This has outpaced the Finance sector's gain of 3.25% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.13% in that time. Wall Street will be looking for positivity from HIIQ as it approaches its next earnings report date. On that day, HIIQ is projected to report earnings of $0.45 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 26.23%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $82.08 million, up 14.45% from the year-ago period. HIIQ's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $3.92 per share and revenue of $452.71 million. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +50.77% and +31.07%, respectively. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for HIIQ. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 17.29% higher. HIIQ is holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) right now. Valuation is also important, so investors should note that HIIQ has a Forward P/E ratio of 6.78 right now. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 7.04. The Insurance - Life Insurance industry is part of the Finance sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 67, which puts it in the top 27% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions. 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 reportHealth Insurance Innovations, Inc. (HIIQ) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Chesapeake Energy (CHK) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, Chesapeake Energy (CHK) closed at $1.95, marking a -1.52% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.13%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Coming into today, shares of the natural gas company had lost 3.88% in the past month. In that same time, the Oils-Energy sector gained 0.64%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.13%. Wall Street will be looking for positivity from CHK as it approaches its next earnings report date. In that report, analysts expect CHK to post earnings of -$0.02 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 113.33%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $1.21 billion, up 22.99% from the year-ago period. CHK's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of -$0.06 per share and revenue of $4.89 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -106.67% and -5.09%, respectively. Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for CHK. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 11.54% higher. CHK currently has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). The Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 88, putting it in the top 35% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com. 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 reportChesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Realty Income Corp. (O) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, Realty Income Corp. (O) closed at $72.23, marking a -1.45% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.24%. Prior to today's trading, shares of the real estate investment trust had gained 3.84% over the past month. This has outpaced the Finance sector's gain of 3.25% and lagged the S&P 500's gain of 4.13% in that time. O will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect O to post earnings of $0.81 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 1.25%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $360.87 million, up 9.72% from the prior-year quarter. Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.30 per share and revenue of $1.47 billion. These totals would mark changes of +3.45% and +10.38%, respectively, from last year. Any recent changes to analyst estimates for O should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.09% higher within the past month. O is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Valuation is also important, so investors should note that O has a Forward P/E ratio of 22.23 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 14.56, so we one might conclude that O is trading at a premium comparatively. Also, we should mention that O has a PEG ratio of 4.97. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. REIT and Equity Trust - Retail stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 3.45 based on yesterday's closing prices. The REIT and Equity Trust - Retail industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 150, putting it in the bottom 42% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com. 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 reportRealty Income Corporation (O) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Nordstrom (JWN) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, Nordstrom (JWN) closed at $33.40, marking a +0.57% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.13%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Coming into today, shares of the department store operator had lost 1.77% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector gained 4.55%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.13%. Wall Street will be looking for positivity from JWN as it approaches its next earnings report date. On that day, JWN is projected to report earnings of $0.80 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 15.79%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $3.94 billion, down 3.04% from the year-ago period. Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.35 per share and revenue of $15.58 billion. These totals would mark changes of -5.63% and -1.75%, respectively, from last year. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for JWN. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.92% lower. JWN is holding a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) right now. Digging into valuation, JWN currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.92. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 11.94. We can also see that JWN currently has a PEG ratio of 1.65. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Retail - Apparel and Shoes was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.1 at yesterday's closing price. The Retail - Apparel and Shoes industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 82, which puts it in the top 33% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com. 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 reportNordstrom, Inc. (JWN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
North American Construction (NOA) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, North American Construction (NOA) closed at $10.62, marking a -0.84% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.13%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Prior to today's trading, shares of the heavy construction and mining services company had lost 4.12% over the past month. This has lagged the Construction sector's gain of 5.1% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.13% in that time. NOA will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $122.63 million, up 99.11% from the year-ago period. For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.35 per share and revenue of $520.38 million, which would represent changes of +221.43% and +64.35%, respectively, from the prior year. Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for NOA. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. NOA currently has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy). Looking at its valuation, NOA is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 7.93. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 11.45, so we one might conclude that NOA is trading at a discount comparatively. The Building Products - Heavy Construction industry is part of the Construction sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 52, which puts it in the top 21% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions. 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 reportNorth American Construction Group Ltd. (NOA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Nvidia (NVDA) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, Nvidia (NVDA) closed at $151.76, marking a -1.52% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Coming into today, shares of the maker of graphics chips for gaming and artificial intelligence had gained 4.6% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector gained 3.92%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.13%. NVDA will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.14, down 41.24% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $2.55 billion, down 18.46% from the prior-year quarter. Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.28 per share and revenue of $10.90 billion. These totals would mark changes of -20.48% and -6.93%, respectively, from last year. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for NVDA. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.37% lower. NVDA is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. In terms of valuation, NVDA is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 29.2. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16. Investors should also note that NVDA has a PEG ratio of 3.11 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Semiconductor - General stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.82 based on yesterday's closing prices. The Semiconductor - General industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 76, which puts it in the top 30% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions. 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 reportNVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
JD.com, Inc. (JD) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, JD.com, Inc. (JD) closed at $29.06, marking a -0.21% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.13%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Coming into today, shares of the company had gained 9.06% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector gained 4.55%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.13%. Wall Street will be looking for positivity from JD as it approaches its next earnings report date. On that day, JD is projected to report earnings of $0.10 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 100%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $21.75 billion, up 17.69% from the year-ago period. Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $0.68 per share and revenue of $81.36 billion. These totals would mark changes of +100% and +17.39%, respectively, from last year. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for JD. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. JD is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Digging into valuation, JD currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 42.82. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 26.93. The Internet - Commerce industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 177, which puts it in the bottom 31% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com. 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 reportJD.com, Inc. (JD) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Tesla (TSLA) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know Tesla (TSLA) closed at $221.86 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.02% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.13%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Prior to today's trading, shares of the electric car maker had gained 12.34% over the past month. This has outpaced the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector's gain of 5.44% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.13% in that time. Investors will be hoping for strength from TSLA as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect TSLA to post earnings of -$0.70 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 77.12%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $6.36 billion, up 59% from the prior-year quarter. For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of -$1.32 per share and revenue of $25.74 billion, which would represent changes of +0.75% and +19.93%, respectively, from the prior year. Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for TSLA. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system. Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. TSLA is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Automotive - Domestic industry is part of the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 52, putting it in the top 21% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions. 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 reportTesla, Inc. (TSLA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Walmart (WMT) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, Walmart (WMT) closed at $111.11, marking a +0.72% move from the previous day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Coming into today, shares of the world's largest retailer had gained 8.31% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector gained 4.55%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.13%. Investors will be hoping for strength from WMT as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, WMT is projected to report earnings of $1.21 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 6.2%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $130.49 billion, up 1.92% from the year-ago period. WMT's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4.83 per share and revenue of $526.69 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -1.63% and +2.39%, respectively. Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for WMT. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook. Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system. Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.52% higher within the past month. WMT currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Digging into valuation, WMT currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 22.82. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.09. Also, we should mention that WMT has a PEG ratio of 4.82. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. WMT's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.51 as of yesterday's close. The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 19, which puts it in the top 8% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. To follow WMT in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com. 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 reportWalmart Inc. (WMT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Limbach Holdings, Inc. (LMB) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, Limbach Holdings, Inc. (LMB) closed at $8.32, marking a +1.84% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.24%. Prior to today's trading, shares of the company had lost 18.46% over the past month. This has lagged the Business Services sector's gain of 5.99% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.13% in that time. LMB will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect LMB to post earnings of $0.19 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 111.11%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $138 million, down 1.1% from the prior-year quarter. Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $1.07 per share and revenue of $559.98 million. These totals would mark changes of +305.77% and +2.46%, respectively, from last year. Any recent changes to analyst estimates for LMB should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. LMB is holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) right now. Valuation is also important, so investors should note that LMB has a Forward P/E ratio of 7.67 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 28.77, so we one might conclude that LMB is trading at a discount comparatively. Also, we should mention that LMB has a PEG ratio of 0.48. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Building Products - Maintenance Service stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.28 based on yesterday's closing prices. The Building Products - Maintenance Service industry is part of the Business Services sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 101, putting it in the top 40% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com. 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 reportLimbach Holdings, Inc. (LMB) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Gilead Sciences (GILD) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, Gilead Sciences (GILD) closed at $69.38, marking a +1.18% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.24%. Heading into today, shares of the HIV and hepatitis C drugmaker had gained 2.08% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's gain of 5.8% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.13% in that time. Investors will be hoping for strength from GILD as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.73, down 9.42% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $5.52 billion, down 2.24% from the prior-year quarter. Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $6.89 per share and revenue of $22.07 billion. These totals would mark changes of +3.3% and -0.25%, respectively, from last year. Any recent changes to analyst estimates for GILD should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model. Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. GILD is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Investors should also note GILD's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 9.95. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 23.53. It is also worth noting that GILD currently has a PEG ratio of 0.63. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. GILD's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.83 as of yesterday's close. The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 74, which puts it in the top 29% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com. 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 reportGilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Pinterest (PINS) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, Pinterest (PINS) closed at $27.96, marking a +1.53% move from the previous day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.24%. Heading into today, shares of the digital pinboard and shopping tool company had gained 15.71% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 3.92% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.13% in that time. PINS will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for PINS. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook. Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model. Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 3.03% higher within the past month. PINS is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). The Internet - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 86, putting it in the top 34% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions. 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 reportPinterest Inc. (PINS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
SunPower (SPWR) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, SunPower (SPWR) closed at $10.36, marking a -1.05% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.13%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Prior to today's trading, shares of the solar products and services company had gained 35.45% over the past month. This has outpaced the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 0.64% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.13% in that time. Investors will be hoping for strength from SPWR as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of -$0.04, down 300% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $445.90 million, down 0.28% from the year-ago period. Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of -$0.37 per share and revenue of $1.95 billion. These totals would mark changes of +48.61% and +7.2%, respectively, from last year. Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for SPWR. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system. Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. SPWR is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). The Solar industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 52, which puts it in the top 21% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. To follow SPWR in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com. 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 reportSunPower Corporation (SPWR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Northrop Grumman (NOC) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know Northrop Grumman (NOC) closed at $322.03 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.55% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.24%. Prior to today's trading, shares of the defense contractor had gained 4.09% over the past month. This has lagged the Aerospace sector's gain of 6.5% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.13% in that time. Investors will be hoping for strength from NOC as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, NOC is projected to report earnings of $4.64 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 18.07%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $8.40 billion, up 18% from the prior-year quarter. NOC's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $19.41 per share and revenue of $33.91 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -9% and +12.66%, respectively. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for NOC. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook. Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.08% higher. NOC is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Looking at its valuation, NOC is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 16.69. This represents a no noticeable deviation compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.69. Investors should also note that NOC has a PEG ratio of 1.3 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Aerospace - Defense was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.94 at yesterday's closing price. The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 34, which puts it in the top 14% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions. 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 reportNorthrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
GoPro (GPRO) Flat As Market Sinks: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, GoPro (GPRO) closed at $5.85, marking no change from the previous day. This move was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.13%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Coming into today, shares of the action video camera maker had lost 18.18% in the past month. In that same time, the Consumer Discretionary sector gained 3.74%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.13%. Investors will be hoping for strength from GPRO as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, GPRO is projected to report earnings of $0.04 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 126.67%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $301.28 million, up 6.58% from the year-ago period. GPRO's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $0.38 per share and revenue of $1.26 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +265.22% and +9.77%, respectively. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for GPRO. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook. Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system. Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. GPRO is holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) right now. Investors should also note GPRO's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 15.4. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.3. We can also see that GPRO currently has a PEG ratio of 1.54. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. GPRO's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.85 as of yesterday's close. The Audio Video Production industry is part of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 36, putting it in the top 15% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com. 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 reportGoPro, Inc. (GPRO) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
A Medicare Glitch Could Leave Seniors Scrambling Many seniors who are onMedicareandSocial Securityat the same time have their Medicare premiums deducted from their Social Security benefits directly. Doing so ensures that they aren't late with their payments and makes the whole process more convenient. Not only that, but seniors who pay Medicare Part B premiums directly from their Social Security benefits are protected from a loss in income in the event that Medicare premium increases outweigh their Social Security cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs. It's a provision known ashold harmless, and it basically guarantees that a given senior's Social Security benefits won't take a tip because of a Medicare hike alone. Image source: Getty Images. But while this setup is meant to benefit seniors, a recent glitch could leave many thousands on the hook for unexpected Medicare premium bills. The Social Security Administration recently announced that it did not properly deduct Medicare premium payments from some retirees' benefits earlier this year. As such, those recipients should be on the lookout for bills to make up that difference. Compounding the problem is that many seniors may not have realized that their Medicare premiums weren't being paid. As such, they may have already spent the extra money in their Social Security benefits, leaving them with no easy way of paying their past-due Medicare premiums once billed for them. Another tricky aspect of this glitch is that it impacted premium payments earmarked forMedicare Advantageplans and Part D drug plans. As such, seniors who didn't have their premiums paid will need to work with their plan providers individually to come up with a means of making them whole. All in all, it's a tough situation for seniors to be in, and it underscores the need for adequate savings during retirement. Working Americans and retirees alike needemergency savingsto cover unanticipated expenses -- and a string of Medicare premium bills most definitely falls into this category. Now one might argue that the bills in question don't qualify as unexpected, since seniors on Medicare are aware that they need to be paying for their plans on a monthly basis. But the fact that they thought those premiums were being paid, and are now potentially stuck with a number of overdue premiums bunched together, highlights the importance of having extra money on hand for the unexpected. At a minimum, it's best to have three months' worth of living expenses available in a savings account. Six months' worth buys additional protection. Seniors with ample savings who now face a large Medicare bill are apt to be less stressed over paying it than those with little to no money in the bank, and little leeway in their monthly budgets. The good news in this situation is that the aforementioned glitch has since been fixed, and that all Medicare plans are required to offer enrollees a grace period for paying missed premiums before canceling their coverage. Still, this hiccup should serve as a very important lesson: to have savings on hand at all times, and at any age. 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 The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Oasis Midstream Partners LP (OMP) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know Oasis Midstream Partners LP (OMP) closed the most recent trading day at $20.19, moving +1.87% from the previous trading session. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Coming into today, shares of the company had lost 4.39% in the past month. In that same time, the Oils-Energy sector gained 0.64%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.13%. OMP will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, OMP is projected to report earnings of $0.81 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 80%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $120.30 million, up 80.74% from the year-ago period. For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.26 per share and revenue of $441.20 million, which would represent changes of +79.12% and +62.43%, respectively, from the prior year. Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for OMP. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model. The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 9.4% higher. OMP is holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) right now. In terms of valuation, OMP is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 6.08. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 11.86. Investors should also note that OMP has a PEG ratio of 0.55 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. OMP's industry had an average PEG ratio of 3.44 as of yesterday's close. The Oil and Gas - Production Pipeline - MLB industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 52, putting it in the top 21% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com. 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 reportOasis Midstream Partners LP (OMP) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Devon Energy (DVN) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know Devon Energy (DVN) closed the most recent trading day at $28.24, moving +0.61% from the previous trading session. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Coming into today, shares of the oil and gas exploration company had gained 3.31% in the past month. In that same time, the Oils-Energy sector gained 0.64%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.13%. DVN will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, DVN is projected to report earnings of $0.49 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 44.12%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $2.39 billion, up 6.26% from the year-ago period. For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.81 per share and revenue of $8.02 billion, which would represent changes of +40.31% and -35.08%, respectively, from the prior year. Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for DVN. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model. The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 16.76% lower. DVN is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. In terms of valuation, DVN is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 15.5. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 11.09. Investors should also note that DVN has a PEG ratio of 2.21 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. DVN's industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.84 as of yesterday's close. The Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 88, putting it in the top 35% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com. 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 reportDevon Energy Corporation (DVN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
American Tower (AMT) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know In the latest trading session, American Tower (AMT) closed at $215.18, marking a -1.08% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.13% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.13%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Heading into today, shares of the wireless communications infrastructure company had gained 7.2% over the past month, outpacing the Finance sector's gain of 3.25% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.13% in that time. Investors will be hoping for strength from AMT as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect AMT to post earnings of $1.93 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 1.58%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $1.84 billion, up 3.22% from the prior-year quarter. For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $7.78 per share and revenue of $7.36 billion, which would represent changes of -2.63% and -1.06%, respectively, from the prior year. Any recent changes to analyst estimates for AMT should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system. Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.2% higher. AMT is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Digging into valuation, AMT currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 27.96. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.69. Meanwhile, AMT's PEG ratio is currently 1.72. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. AMT's industry had an average PEG ratio of 3.11 as of yesterday's close. The REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry is part of the Finance sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 83, which puts it in the top 33% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions. 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 reportAmerican Tower Corporation (REIT) (AMT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
New Residential Investment (NRZ) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know New Residential Investment (NRZ) closed the most recent trading day at $15.89, moving +0.38% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.13%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Coming into today, shares of the real estate investment trust had lost 4.18% in the past month. In that same time, the Finance sector gained 3.25%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.13%. Wall Street will be looking for positivity from NRZ as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.54, down 6.9% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $240.28 million, down 10.97% from the year-ago period. NRZ's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $2.19 per share and revenue of $957.36 million. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -7.98% and -9.49%, respectively. Any recent changes to analyst estimates for NRZ should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system. Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. NRZ is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. In terms of valuation, NRZ is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 7.24. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 10.05. The REIT and Equity Trust industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 240, putting it in the bottom 7% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com. 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 reportNew Residential Investment Corp. (NRZ) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Crown Castle (CCI) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know Crown Castle (CCI) closed the most recent trading day at $135.78, moving -0.83% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Heading into today, shares of the operator of wireless communications towers had gained 7.23% over the past month, outpacing the Finance sector's gain of 3.25% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.13% in that time. CCI will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.28, down 2.29% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $1.43 billion, up 7.29% from the year-ago period. Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.88 per share and revenue of $5.79 billion. These totals would mark changes of +7.3% and +6.69%, respectively, from last year. Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for CCI. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook. Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. CCI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should also note CCI's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 23.3. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.69. Story continues It is also worth noting that CCI currently has a PEG ratio of 1.5. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The REIT and Equity Trust - Other was holding an average PEG ratio of 3.11 at yesterday's closing price. The REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry is part of the Finance sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 83, which puts it in the top 33% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com. 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 report Crown Castle International Corporation (CCI) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Waste Management (WM) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know Waste Management (WM) closed the most recent trading day at $115.84, moving -0.19% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Prior to today's trading, shares of the garbage and recycling hauler had gained 5.9% over the past month. This has lagged the Business Services sector's gain of 5.99% and outpaced the S&P 500's gain of 4.13% in that time. Wall Street will be looking for positivity from WM as it approaches its next earnings report date. In that report, analysts expect WM to post earnings of $1.08 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 6.93%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $3.94 billion, up 5.33% from the prior-year quarter. WM's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4.30 per share and revenue of $15.62 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +2.38% and +4.75%, respectively. Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for WM. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook. Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.35% lower. WM currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). In terms of valuation, WM is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 26.98. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 28.02. It is also worth noting that WM currently has a PEG ratio of 3.15. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. WM's industry had an average PEG ratio of 3 as of yesterday's close. The Waste Removal Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 101, which puts it in the top 40% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com. 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 reportWaste Management, Inc. (WM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Fuel Tech (FTEK) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know Fuel Tech (FTEK) closed the most recent trading day at $1.31, moving +1.55% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.13%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Coming into today, shares of the maker of air pollution control systems had lost 18.87% in the past month. In that same time, the Industrial Products sector gained 5.33%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.13%. Wall Street will be looking for positivity from FTEK as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of -$0.02, up 71.43% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $12.11 million, up 2.19% from the year-ago period. Any recent changes to analyst estimates for FTEK should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook. Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system. The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. FTEK currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Pollution Control industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 177, which puts it in the bottom 31% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com. 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 reportFuel Tech, Inc. (FTEK) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Halliburton (HAL) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know Halliburton (HAL) closed the most recent trading day at $22.84, moving -0.17% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.24%. Prior to today's trading, shares of the provider of drilling services to oil and gas operators had lost 2.68% over the past month. This has lagged the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 0.64% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.13% in that time. Wall Street will be looking for positivity from HAL as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be July 22, 2019. On that day, HAL is projected to report earnings of $0.29 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 50%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $5.97 billion, down 2.84% from the year-ago period. For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.38 per share and revenue of $24.37 billion, which would represent changes of -27.37% and +1.55%, respectively, from the prior year. Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for HAL. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system. Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.03% lower within the past month. HAL is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should also note HAL's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 16.61. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.67. Meanwhile, HAL's PEG ratio is currently 1.24. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Oil and Gas - Field Services was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.85 at yesterday's closing price. The Oil and Gas - Field Services industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 149, putting it in the bottom 42% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com. 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 reportHalliburton Company (HAL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
NextEra Energy (NEE) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know NextEra Energy (NEE) closed the most recent trading day at $207.55, moving +0.57% from the previous trading session. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.13% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.24%. Prior to today's trading, shares of the parent company of Florida Power & Light Co. Had gained 1.4% over the past month. This has lagged the Utilities sector's gain of 4.99% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.13% in that time. NEE will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.29, up 8.53% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $4.53 billion, up 11.4% from the year-ago period. For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $8.34 per share and revenue of $18.19 billion, which would represent changes of +8.31% and +8.66%, respectively, from the prior year. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for NEE. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model. Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.72% lower. NEE is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Investors should also note NEE's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 24.73. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 20.47. It is also worth noting that NEE currently has a PEG ratio of 3.12. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Utility - Electric Power stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 3.88 based on yesterday's closing prices. The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 154, putting it in the bottom 40% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com. 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 reportNextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
How Do Analysts See Texwinca Holdings Limited (HKG:321) Performing In The Next Couple Of Years? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! The most recent earnings announcement Texwinca Holdings Limited's (HKG:321) released in June 2019 showed that the company gained from a slight tailwind, eventuating to a single-digit earnings growth of 6.9%. Below, I've laid out key growth figures on how market analysts perceive Texwinca Holdings's earnings growth trajectory over the next few years and whether the future looks even brighter than the past. Note that I will be looking at net income excluding extraordinary items to get a better understanding of the underlying drivers of earnings. See our latest analysis for Texwinca Holdings Market analysts' consensus outlook for the coming year seems buoyant, with earnings increasing by a robust 19%. This growth seems to continue into the following year with rates reaching double digit 34% compared to today’s earnings, and finally hitting HK$479m by 2022. While it is informative knowing the rate of growth each year relative to today’s level, it may be more valuable analyzing the rate at which the earnings are growing on average every year. The advantage of this technique is that it removes the impact of near term flucuations and accounts for the overarching direction of Texwinca Holdings's earnings trajectory over time, which may be more relevant for long term investors. To compute this rate, I've appended a line of best fit through the forecasted earnings by market analysts. The slope of this line is the rate of earnings growth, which in this case is 13%. This means, we can anticipate Texwinca Holdings will grow its earnings by 13% every year for the next few years. For Texwinca Holdings, I've put together three important aspects you should look at: 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 321 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 321 is currently mispriced by the market. 3. Other High-Growth Alternatives: Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of 321? 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.
Trump Says He 'Never Met' Author Who Has Accused Him of Sexual Assault President Donald Trump said Friday that he never met a New York advice columnist and author who claims that he sexually assaulted her in the dressing room of a high-end New York department store in the 1990s. In a statement, Trump said there is zero evidence to support longtime Elle columnist E. Jean Carrolls account of a chance meeting with Trump at Bergdorf Goodman that she says ended with assault. Carroll recounts the episode in an upcoming memoir, What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal , an excerpt of which was published in New York magazine earlier in the day. Ive never met this person in my life, Trump said in the statement. She is trying to sell a new book that should indicate her motivation. It should be sold in the fiction section. The article includes a photo of Trump and Carroll , along with their then-spouses at an NBC party around 1987. In the book, Carroll says that she ran into Trump while shopping in the fall of 1995 or spring of 1996, and he asked her for advice on a gift for a girl, joking with her about a lacy bodysuit as she heads toward the dressing room. The moment the dressing-room door is closed, he lunges at me, pushes me against the wall, hitting my head quite badly, and puts his mouth against my lips, she writes. She added that he then unzipped his pants, forcing his fingers around my private area and thrusts his penis halfway or completely, Im not certain inside me. Read More: These Are the Women Who Have Accused President Trump of Sexual Misconduct Carrolls allegations are the most serious yet against Trump of sexual misconduct. Eighteen other women have come forward to publicly describe incidents in which Trump kissed them without their consent, grabbed their breasts or put his hand up their skirts, at times with little warning and in public places. Story continues Trump called his accusers liars and threatened to sue them after the election. He did not, though he currently faces a defamation suit from one of the women, former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos. In the statement, Trump argued that false sexual assault allegations are an epidemic, an argument that he made during Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaughs confirmation hearings, when he said that it was a a very scary time for young men in America. Shame on those who make up false stories of assault to try to get publicity for themselves, or sell a book, or carry out a political agenda, he said in the statement. Its just as bad for people to believe it, particularly when there is zero evidence. Worse still for a dying publication to try to prop itself up by peddling fake news its an epidemic. Shortly before the election, the Washington Post obtained a tape of Trump with Access Hollywood host Billy Bush in which Trump said that his celebrity has given him an opening to assault women. I just start kissing them. Its like a magnet. Just kiss. I dont even wait. And when youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything, Trump was recorded saying. Grab them by the py. You can do anything. During the second presidential debate on Oct. 10, 2016, Trump described his words on the tape as locker room talk, and apologized to his family and the American people. Im not proud of it, he said.
iRobot Buys Root Robotics, Boosts Robot Product Offerings iRobot CorporationIRBT recently closed the buyout of Root Robotics in an effort to strengthen its educational robot product offerings. The financial details of the acquisition were kept under wraps. Spun out of Harvard University’s Wyss Institute, Root coding robot is a user friendly educational robot that helps in training children in coding and in problem solving. Notably, the two-wheeled, mobile platform robot is functional on flat surfaces such as floors, tables, and magnetic whiteboard. Also, the robot provides users with an option to pair it with a mobile application. This allows users to instruct the robot to scan colors, draw artwork, respond to touch and sound, apart from playing music. Notably, the buyout will also support iRobot’s STEM education efforts by offering a market proven educational robotic platform to people of different age groups, including students. As noted by the company, the buyout is not likely to have material impact on the company’s 2019 financial results. Our Take Strong demand for products like Roomba i7/i7+ in the overseas end markets will drive iRobot’s near-term revenues. The company anticipates that innovation investments, diverse product portfolio and increasing international businesses will boost the top line. Notably, the company expects to generate revenues in the range of $1.28-$1.31 billion (with estimated year-over-year growth rate of 17-20%) in 2019. Also, the company is raising global household adoption rates of Roomba and Braava products through sales and marketing programs. In addition, the company has rolled out its robotic lawnmower, Terra, in January 2019. This product — equipped with wire-free beacon system, Imprint Smart Mapping technology and iRobot HOME app — is predicted to reinvent the lawn-cutting process. Moreover, the company announced an increase in the existing revolving credit facility (in July 2018) from $75 million to $150 million, and extended its term to 2023. Notably, the new revolving line of credit facility will provide the company with greater financial flexibility for strategic acquisitions and product innovation programs. In the past six months, the Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company has returned 21.3% compared with industry’s increase of 11.7%. Other Key Picks Some other top-ranked stocks from the Zacks Industrial Products sector are Chart Industries, Inc. GTLS, IDEX Corp. IEX and Kaman Corp. KAMN. While Chart Industries sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), IDEX and Kaman carry a Zacks Rank #2. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Chart Industries outpaced estimates thrice in the preceding four quarters, the average positive earnings surprise being 16.56%. IDEX surpassed estimates in each of the preceding four quarters, the average positive earnings surprise being 5.69%. Kaman beat estimates twice in the preceding four quarters, the average positive earnings surprise being 15.00%. Today's Best Stocks from Zacks Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%. This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year. See their latest picks 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 reportiRobot Corporation (IRBT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportIDEX Corporation (IEX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportKaman Corporation (KAMN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportChart Industries, Inc. (GTLS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Huawei Sues Over U.S.’s Seizure of Telecommunications Gear (Bloomberg) -- Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. sued the U.S. over the seizure of telecommunications equipment by American officials who were investigating whether the gear required an export license to leave the country. Huawei, China’s largest smartphone maker, said it’s been waiting for nearly two years for a decision by the U.S. Commerce Department on whether the unspecified equipment can be moved back to China. The hardware had been in the U.S. for testing, according to the company’s lawsuit. “Defendants have neither made a licensing determination for the equipment nor even indicated” when that call will be made, according to the suit, which was filed Friday in federal court in Washington. “They have instead simply left the equipment in limbo.” The withheld gear is another point of dispute between Huawei and the U.S. government, which have been at loggerheads for months over claims that the company defrauded at least four banks by concealing business dealings in Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions. The U.S. blacklisted Huawei last month, blocking it from buying U.S. software and components. Rebecca Glover, a Commerce Department spokeswoman, didn’t return an email seeking comment on the suit. Meng Wanzhou, the Huawei chief financial officer who was charged in the case, remains free on bail in Vancouver, British Columbia, as she fights extradition to the U.S. by arguing that the charges are politically motivated. Meng, who is the daughter of the company’s billionaire founder, was arrested by Canadian authorities in December at the request of U.S. prosecutors. Huawei’s lawyers said the equipment was sent to a California lab for testing in July 2017. The gear was under the control of executives of Huawei’s U.S. unit. On its way back to China, the hardware was seized in Alaska while officials checked to see whether it needed an export license. The Chinese firm said it provided all requested information about the equipment, which at the time of shipment didn’t require a license under the U.S.’s Export Administration Regulations, according to the suit. Commerce officials have sat on their hands for 20 months and not made a decision on the licensing issue, Huawei’s lawyers said. Huawei is asking a judge to find that the Trump administration “unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed agency action” on the seized equipment. The case is Huawei v. U.S. Department of Commerce, 19-cv-1828, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington). (Updates with details from suit starting in third paragraph.) --With assistance from Joshua Fineman. To contact the reporters on this story: Jef Feeley in Wilmington, Delaware at jfeeley@bloomberg.net;Kartikay Mehrotra in San Francisco at kmehrotra2@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, David S. Joachim For more articles like this, please visit us atbloomberg.com ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
‘Don’t Hold Your Breath:’ Australia’s Central Bank Chief Bearish On Libra The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Chief, Philip Lowe, declared himself to be profoundly skeptical on the impact of Facebook’s new cryptocurrency. The goal of Libra as a massively adopted digital currency might look good on paper for some, butthe regulatordoesn’t see it as much of a possibility in the short run. “There’s a lot of water under the bridge before Facebook’s proposal becomes something we’re using all the time,” Lowe said. Related:Australia to Crack Down on Crypto Tax Avoidance Schemes In declarations given during apress conference, Lowe commented that Libra’s outcome is still uncertain. The digital currency proposal is yet to comply with regulatory standards, which is themain concernamong regulators at an international scale. “There are a lot of regulatory issues that need to be addressed and they’ve got to make sure there’s a solid business case,” Lowe said. The social media platform announcement has already sparked achain of reactionsthis week, with distrust being commonplace from regulators and developers alike. The RBA’s Chief extended his reticence to the use of cryptocurrencies in general, arguing that cryptocurrencies “would not take off” in Australia since the population is already used to digital payments controlled by banks. Related:Australian Securities Watchdog Updates Guidance on ICOs and Crypto Assets “We already have a very, very efficient electronic payments system that allows anyone of us to make bank payments to another person in five seconds just knowing their mobile phone number,” Lowe said. On the same note, the RBA alsopublishedits views on the future of cryptocurrencies in Australia. Unsurprisingly, its conclusions are not very far from its main representative opinions. According to the institution, centralized digital payment methods leave no room for massive adoption of cryptocurrencies, stating that the use of this form of money requires a control that many are against. “Many projects generally come at the cost of making a cryptocurrency more centralized, a feature that may not be attractive to crypto-libertarians and in any case makes them more similar to established payment systems,” the RBA said. Australian flag image via Shutterstock • Australian Government Employee Charged With Mining Crypto at Work • Zebpay Opens Crypto Exchange In Australia
What Should You Know About Texwinca Holdings Limited's (HKG:321) Future? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! The latest earnings announcement Texwinca Holdings Limited (HKG:321) released in June 2019 suggested that the company benefited from a small tailwind, eventuating to a single-digit earnings growth of 6.9%. Below, I've presented key growth figures on how market analysts predict Texwinca Holdings's earnings growth trajectory over the next couple of years and whether the future looks even brighter than the past. Note that I will be looking at net income excluding extraordinary items to get a better understanding of the underlying drivers of earnings. See our latest analysis for Texwinca Holdings Market analysts' prospects for this coming year seems positive, with earnings rising by a robust 19%. This growth seems to continue into the following year with rates reaching double digit 34% compared to today’s earnings, and finally hitting HK$479m by 2022. While it’s informative knowing the growth year by year relative to today’s value, it may be more insightful to estimate the rate at which the company is moving on average every year. The benefit of this approach is that we can get a bigger picture of the direction of Texwinca Holdings's earnings trajectory over the long run, irrespective of near term fluctuations, which may be more relevant for long term investors. To calculate this rate, I've inserted a line of best fit through the forecasted earnings by market analysts. The slope of this line is the rate of earnings growth, which in this case is 13%. This means that, we can expect Texwinca Holdings will grow its earnings by 13% every year for the next few years. For Texwinca Holdings, there are three key factors you should further research: 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 321 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 321 is currently mispriced by the market. 3. Other High-Growth Alternatives: Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of 321? 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.
Bitcoin ATMs Installed at 20 Circle K Convenience Stores in Western US ByCCN Markets: For once, we’re not talking about California or New York when we discuss a significant expansion of retail crypto availability. Instead, we’re talking about Arizona and Nevada, where a block of 20 Circle K convenience storesnow host bitcoin ATMs from DigitalMint. The ATMs currently only serve BTC, with a more than 10% mark-up for purchases. Withbitcoincurrently averaging around $9,800, DigitalMint currently asks $10,987. Dubbed a “pilot program,” Circle K’s more than 15,000 other locations could be next. Important to note: the corporation owns some Circle K locations, andfranchise operators own some.The latter could be a stumbling stone in a full roll out across the chain. DigitalMint and Circle K announced the installation of 20 new bitcoin ATMs at Circle K locations across Nevada and Arizona. Most went to Arizona, as you can see. Source: DigitalMint According to a press release, the ATMs are mainly one-directional. Some further research on DigitalMint’s website found that some of the machines will accept credit or debit cards. Read the full story on CCN.com.
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard criticized for supporting vaccines As California considers a bill that will make it harder for children to avoid vaccinations, Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are making it clear that theyre firmly in support of it. Bell and Shepard, who are parents to two daughters Lincoln, 6, and 4-year-old Delta both tweeted this week about the controversial proposed Senate Bill-276 . Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell attend the premiere of "The Boss" in Los Angeles on March 28, 2016. (Photo: REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni While the state requires children be vaccinated before attending public or private schools or daycares, the current law allows doctors to excuse a child from receiving one or more vaccinations for medical reasons. Lawmakers allege that some doctors are granting too many exemptions for insufficient reasons, endangering the health of others, and they want the California Department of Public Health to review exemptions for children who attend schools with high exemption rates and those written by doctors who frequently grant them. Shepard gave his view. I would have a hard time keeping my opinion to myself if someone was telling me their 8 month-old did not need a car seat. The same hard time I'm having currently with anti-vaxxers. #yourenotapediatrician #measeltov dax shepard (@daxshepard) June 19, 2019 Bell later retweeted him and added her own take. 95% is the immunization threshold for preventing outbreaks in a community. Under #SB276 , All medically valid exemptions will remain, so kids who are immunocompromised, who NEED to sit out, are protected. 1/1 Kristen Bell (@IMKristenBell) June 20, 2019 It will also work to safeguard those very kids by making oversight available in areas where the herd immunity falls below 95%. It will make it so Physicians wont be able to charge for completing exemption forms. 2/2 Kristen Bell (@IMKristenBell) June 20, 2019 #Sb276 will ensure communities in CA are safe from vaccine-preventable disease. I want my kids and your kids to be safe and healthy at school. Lets stop outbreaks and support science based public health policy. Join me at https://t.co/tOexnaMvzz to make your voice heard too.3/3 Kristen Bell (@IMKristenBell) June 20, 2019 While the Centers for Disease Control adamantly endorses vaccines, the comments on Bells post captured some of the criticism against them. Story continues The govt is taking control of our bodies. People are up in arms about the govt telling women they cant have abortions but its ok for them to inject us with all this poison bc it makes them billions, a commenter wrote. Another replied, Oh please. A woman having an abortion affects no one but herself but vaccine denialists can infect other people if theyre exposed to vaccine preventable disease & end up putting innocent people in the hospital, leave them with disabilities or even kill them. There was a lot of flat-out rejection of Bells statements, such as, You popped out a kid, not a PhD. An angrier reaction: Won't be joining you and the hell it will. Say hi to Dax before you block me also. Cowards. Bells message was also called disgraceful. Mothers are bawling right now while you're laughing and applauding, one reader commented. However, there was support of Bells words, too. Kristen, I could hug you right now. Thank you for saying this, a commenter wrote. Others replied, Thank you so much! Vaccines are a medical miracle and have saved millions of lives! and What we owe to each other. Bell and Shepards stance on vaccines is nothing new. When their daughters were newborns, their friends could only hold them if they had been vaccinated. "It's a very simple logic: I believe in trusting doctors, not know-it-alls, the Good Place actress told The Hollywood Reporter in February 2015. Read more on Yahoo Entertainment: James Gandolfini's son Michael remembers his dad on anniversary of his death: 'Six years is too long' Kristin Cavallari reveals secrets from 'The Hills' reboot (even though she won't be on it) Julia Louis-Dreyfus experienced 'true fear' after breast cancer diagnosis Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle's newsletter.
Netflix's First Original Arabic Series, 'Jinn,' Stirs Up Outrage in Jordan On a high school trip to Jordan’s ancient city of Petra, a group of teenagers sneak out at night to drink beer, smoke weed and gossip around a bonfire. A girl asks her frisky boyfriend to take things slow. By globalNetflixstandards, its first original Arabic seriesJinnhardly pushes the envelope. But when the show debuted last week, many Jordanians were shocked and appalled by a program that had been billed as a point of national pride. Some Twitter users blasted the series as pornographic. Government ministers vowed to censor it. Jordan’s grand mufti denounced it as “a moral degradation.” Lawmakers called an emergency session. The attorney general demanded the cyber-crimes unit “take immediate, necessary action” to pull it from Netflix. While the government has not made good on its threats, the outrage nonetheless has shaken Jordan’s self-image as a bastion of tolerance in a turbulent region. It reflects a cultural gap between the reputation of the country’s Western-allied ruling elite and conservative Muslim public, many of whom consider it “haram”—forbidden—to drink alcohol, smoke marijuana, or even kiss before marriage, and look to television to deliver morality. “Jordan likes to think of itself as miles ahead of other Arab countries,” said Jordanian media analyst Saed Hattar. “But the reality is, although social media is flooding millennials with more modern content, our traditional values and morals have not changed.” The five-episode thriller centers on a private school in the capital of Amman, a bubble of liberalism and privilege in the country. School buses cart the teenagers off to a wide-open desert haunted by ancient demons that make strange and terrifying things happen. Prior to the release, the internet was buzzing with pride in the first Netflix original from the Middle East. Directed by Lebanese filmmaker Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya and locally produced by Elan and Rajeev Dassani, the series, featuring an all-Jordanian cast and backdrop, sought to portray Arab youth outside Hollywood stereotypes and shine a long-awaited spotlight on Jordan’s nascent TV industry. In a Netflix statement, Bassel Ghandour of Jordan’s first Oscar-nominated filmTheeb, hailed the series as a “real turning point” for Jordanian representation. Entertainment bloggers praisedJinnas an antidote to the grim news from the volatile region. Jordan rolled out the red carpet for the series premiere at an upscale Amman golf course flocked by paparazzi. The show appeared in line with the liberal, tolerant image that the Western-educated King Abdullah II and his glamorous wife Queen Rania have promoted for Jordan in spite of the country’s widespread poverty, largely tribal society and authoritarian legislation. As the U.S.’s closest Arab ally, Jordan is one of the largest recipients of American aid. But the royal family’s cosmopolitan reputation doesn’t entirely reflect Jordanian society. Almost immediately following its debut, excerpts from the pilot episode spurred scathing posts on social media. Complaints were various. For starters, the actors curse in Jordanian dialect. “This will encourage teenagers to use indecent language in the streets, with their families,” said Laith al-Tantawi, a 31-year-old Amman resident. Of all places, these transgressions occur in the historic site of Petra, the country’s crown jewel of tourism. But what seemed to bother viewers most was the kiss. “I will never allow my children to watch it. This is impossible,” said Khetam al-Kiswani, 42, a mother from Amman. “It contradicts our morals, society and our religion, it contradicts everything.” Hattar, the media analyst, said that while far more scandalous American shows flood the country’s screens, he had never before seen Jordanian actors kiss on TV. “Much of the country lives in camps and rural areas and follows the orders of patriarchal society. They do not condone such public displays, even if these things happen privately,” he said. Jordan’s Royal Film Commission, which had grantedJinnproducers approval to shoot, sidestepped responsibility, saying in a statement that it neither “condones or approves or encourages the content of a film or series.” It tried to play down the controversy as the outcome of “divergent opinions that reflect the diversity of Jordanian society.” The Tourism Ministry, which had preemptively welcomed the show as a promo for Petra, also tried to deflect blame, berating its “lewd scenes” as “a contradiction of national principles… and Islamic values.” Jinn’s progressive defenders dove into the online combat. In an op-ed, journalist Daoud Kuttab argued that because a mere 1% of Jordan subscribes to Netflix, “to say that it corrupts society is an exaggeration.” Jordanian TV critic Maia Malas wrote that the show’s brazen exploration of young love defies Jordan’s long legacy of self-censorship. In response to a request for comment, Netflix said the series “seeks to portray the issues young Arabs face as they come of age, including love, bullying, and more.” It added: “We understand that some viewers may find it provocative but we believe it will resonate with teens across the Middle East and around the world.” So far, attacks onJinnhave been rhetorical. Although Jordan’s attorney general and information ministry threatened to block local access, it’s still unclear if and how the government will take action. “It’s highly unlikely they’ll end up censoring it,” said Hattar. “It’s a familiar strategy. The loudest voices are calling for harsh punishment, and the government needs to look like it’s responding.” Netflix said content removals are rare but that it complies with take-down requests from authorities. The streaming site drew global condemnation earlier this year when it obeyed Saudi Arabia’s order to pull an episode of its showPatriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, which criticized the crown prince, from the kingdom’s Netflix feed. Despite the firestorm, Netflix is accelerating its push to the region, announcing that its second Middle Eastern original,Al-Rawabi School for Girls, would launch later this year. Its Jordanian director, Tima Shomali, says the series, with its focus on the travails of young Arab women, strives to push cultural boundaries and spark conversations in her country. —Beyond the lineup:Bonnaroo’s elevated campground experiences —Radiohead got hacked—andmade the most of it —Exclusive:Quibi taps Mellody Hobson, Roger Lynchfor board of directors —Salesforce’s Tableau purchase made aToy StoryOscar winner a billionaire —Listen to our new audio briefing,Fortune500 Daily FollowFortuneon Flipboardto stay up-to-date on the latest news and analysis.
Why Netflix Wants You—and All of Hollywood—to Know That Everyone’s Watching ‘Murder Mystery’ In an earnings call back in January,Netflix, long a black box of viewer ratings, finally chose to reveal details ofhow many subscribers view their original content. Now months later, with the release of the streaming giant’s newest original comedyMurder Mystery,Netflix is dropping viewer brags again, this time, perhaps, becauseit’s got a bonafide hit on its hands. According to an official Netflix Twitter account, more than30.8 millionNetflix accounts streamed the new movie in three days. That’s an eye-popping number, even compared to Netflix’s ‘Bird Box,’ which saw45 million accountsstreaming the movie in its first week. Netflix revealing its viewership information is quite the about-face for the Hollywood maverick. Until recently, Netflix’s view counts and the inner working of its deals have largely been hidden. Many industry watchers have speculated that the service hid its ratings information because subscribers don’t necessarily care about ratings, and Netflix that has no need to prove its popularity to advertisers, since the service has no ads. So why go public with viewership info now? One reason may be because the company knows it has some heavy-hitters this year. Along withMurder MysteryandBird Box, the recent release of Ava Duvernay’s movieWhen They See Us,a documentary about the Central Park Five, is another example of a high-traffic, Netflix-funded project. LikeMurder Mystery, Duvernay’s documentary also attracted a lot of eyeballs:When They See Uswas the most-streamed series every single day in the U.S. in the two-week period after its release, announced Netflix. This roster of popular movies can be coupled with Netflix’s desire to stay competitive against the HBO’s, Hulu’s and, soon,Disney PlusandApple TV Plus‘s of the world. Put simply: If Netflix wants to keep attracting big names, the service will have to let the world know it can bring in lots of viewers. Along with strong numbers, Netflix also hopes its big budgets can attract top talent. During that January investor call, the service promised toincrease the amount it spends on original contentto nearly $15 billion. For reference, Netflix executives expected to spend$8 billionon content 2018 and ended up spending $8.9 billion,according to Variety. Moving forward, Netflix can probably afford to splurge a bit more.Statistanotes that the company has nearly 149 million subscribers and they each pay a least$9 or moreeach month to use the service. That accounts for $1.3 billion in revenue each month. But not every film is falling for flush-with-cash Netflix deals. Films likeCrazy Rich Asiansturned downNetflix, opting to pursue the fanfare associated with a traditional theatrical release, instead of accepting a bigger initial payout for a streaming deal. That’s why releasing viewership numbers had less to do with “financial metrics” and more to do with “cultural metrics,” as Netflix’s Ted Sarandos said in that January earnings call. Netflix wants to prove that its movies can shine in Hollywood, even if they never actually light up a marquee.
House Democrats Unveil $4.5 Billion Emergency Border Funding Bill House Democrats on Friday unveiled emergency funding legislation that would provide$4.5 billionto address the growing humanitarian crisis at the southern border. The measure is expected to get a floor vote next week as lawmakers scramble to meet the needs of migrants seeking to enter the United States and those of the cash-strapped agencies responsible for their care and shelter. Lawmakers have little time left before they leave for a 10-day July Fourth recess. “We’re going to run out of money in July because the numbers are just so high,” Health and Human Service Secretary Alex Azar said Friday, according to theAssociated Press. “This is not about politics. This is not about immigration policy. This is a humanitarian relief package. And it has got to pass. It’s got to pass immediately. We are out of money and we are out of capacity.” The 27-pageHouse billis similar to compromise legislationapprovedoverwhelmingly this week in a bipartisan vote by Senate appropriators. Like the $4.6 billionSenate bill, the House version provides hundreds of millions of dollars for processing facilities, food, water and medical services. But it also contains somekey differencessought by liberals, including extra oversight requirements for the administration, restrictions on how the money can and cannot be spent and significantly less funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “There are serious humanitarian needs at the border, and we all recognize the clear need to act,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY). “This legislation would address the humanitarian crisis in a way that balances the needs at the border with the imperative to hold the administration accountable.” The bottom line:“The bill sets up a clash with the Senate, which had painstakingly worked out its own bipartisan compromise bill with the expectation that it would pass quickly through both chambers,” The Hill’s Niv Elliswrites. But Andrew Taylor of the Associated Press says that many lawmakers expect the Senate’s compromise version “will generally prevail.” Read more at theAssociated Press,PoliticoandThe Hill. Like what you're reading? Sign up for ourfree newsletter.
New drug to boost women's sex drive approved in US WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. women will soon have another drug option designed to boost low sex drive: a shot they can give themselves in the thigh or abdomen that raises sexual interest for several hours. The medication OK'd Friday by the Food and Drug Administration is only the second approved to increase sexual desire in a women, a market drugmakers have been trying to cultivate since the blockbuster success of Viagra for men in the late 1990s. The other drug is a daily pill. The upside of the new drug "is that you only use it when you need it," said Dr. Julia Johnson, a reproductive specialist at UMass Memorial Medical Center who was not involved in its development. "The downside is that it's a shot — and some people are very squeamish." The drug's developer, Amag Pharmaceuticals, could also face some of the same hurdles that have plagued the lone pill previously approved for the condition, including unpleasant side effects and limited insurance coverage. The company declined to release price information. The FDA approved the new drug, Vyleesi (pronounced vie-LEE'-see), for premenopausal women with a disorder defined by a persistent lack of interest in sex, causing stress. The most common side effect in company studies was nausea. The approval was based on women's responses to questionnaires that showed increases in sexual desire and decreases in stress related to sex. The women didn't report having more sex, the original goal for the drug. "Women are not desiring more sex. They want better sex," said Dr. Julie Krop, Amag's chief medical officer. Flushing, injection site reactions and headache are other common side effects. Women with high blood pressure or heart disease should not take the drug because increases in blood pressure were observed after injections, the FDA said. It also could interfere with oral naltrexone, a drug for people with alcohol and opioid dependence, the FDA said. Story continues Because so many factors affect sexual desire, doctors must rule out other causes before diagnosing the condition, including relationship issues, medical problems and mood disorders. The condition, known as hypoactive sexual desire disorder, is not universally accepted, and some psychologists argue that low sex drive should not be considered a medical problem. Still, the pharmaceutical industry has long pointed to surveys — some funded by drugmakers — suggesting that it is the most common female sexual disorder in the nation, affecting roughly 1 in 10 women. Amag estimates nearly 6 million U.S. women meet the criteria for the drug. Cynthia Pearson, executive director of the National Women's Health Network, urged women to avoid using the drug "until more is known about its safety and effectiveness." She noted in a statement that Amag had not yet published full clinical trial results. The search for a pill to treat women's sexual difficulties was once a top priority for many of the world's biggest drugmakers, including Pfizer, Bayer and Procter & Gamble. Those companies and others studied and later abandoned drugs acting on blood flow, testosterone and other targets. Vyleesi acts on receptors for a brain-stimulating hormone called melanocortin, which is associated with sexual arousal and appetite in both men and women. Waltham, Massachusetts-based Amag plans to pitch the drug to consumers through social media, including a website called unblush.com that tells women that low sex drive "is nothing to blush about." Amag's campaign has some of the hallmarks that helped launch the first female libido drug, Addyi, a once-a-day pill approved in 2015. The FDA decision followed a contentious four-year review that included a lobbying effort funded by Addyi's maker, Sprout Pharmaceuticals, which framed the lack of female sex drugs as a women's rights issue. Women taking Addyi showed a slight uptick in "sexually satisfying events" per month and improved scores on psychiatric questionnaires. Those results were only slightly better than what women taking a placebo reported, but they were significant enough to meet FDA effectiveness standards. The pink pill — originally developed as an antidepressant — was ultimately approved with a bold warning that it should not be combined with alcohol, due to risks of fainting and dangerously low blood pressure. Most insurers refused to cover the drug, citing lackluster effectiveness, and many women balked at the $800-per-month price. Last year, Sprout slashed the price to $400. It was prescribed just 6,000 times last year, according to investment analyst data. UMass's Johnson said drugs should not be the first choice for treating women's sexual problems. Instead, she recommends counseling to help women "separate all the stresses of life" from their sex life. "But if that doesn't work, having a medication that may help is worth trying," she said. ___ Follow Matthew Perrone on Twitter: @AP_FDAwriter ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Why Shopify Stock at $300 Makes Sense in the Big Picture In a market dominated by tech stocks, one stock that has consistently shined brighter than the rest isShopify(NYSE:SHOP). The e-commerce solutions provider has rattled off big-growth quarter after big-growth quarter, the sum of which has convinced investors that this company is in the early innings of transforming the multi-trillion-dollar global e-commerce market. As investors have become convinced of this, SHOP stock has increased by a factor of 10 over the past three years — from $30 in June 2016 to $300 in June 2019. Source:Shopify via Flickr With the stock have coming so far in such a short time, the bears have begun to pile on. Indeed, many of my peers atInvestorPlacethink SHOP stock is overvalued (seehere,hereandhere). Ostensibly, it is. The forward and trailing valuation metrics on Shopify stock are out-of-this-world big. We are talking a 20-plus forward sales multiple, and a 500-plus forward earnings multiple. Those are big, even for a hyper-growth tech stock. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips But they’ve been very big for a long time — and SHOP stock has done nothing but continue to head higher. Why? • 10 Monthly Dividend Stocks to Buy to Pay the Bills Because an ostensible look at forward valuation metrics oversimplifies the situation here. Shopify is a small company, rapidly gaining share in a big market. The only way to value a company like that is to roll up your sleeves, make some projections about the future, and model it out. When you do that, it becomes more and more obvious that SHOP stock maynotbe overvalued. Instead, it may actually be undervalued. In simple terms, skeptics think that Shopify stock is overvalued because they look at the valuation metrics, without doing the dirty work of making long-term projections. Indeed, if you just look at the valuation metrics today, you’d easily walk away with the idea that Shopify stock is wildly overvalued. The stock trades at 23 times forward sales. That’s huge. TheS&P 500trades at2 timesforward sales. Even in the highly respected FANG group, the average forward sales multiple is around 6. The biggest forward sales multiple belongs toFacebook(NASDAQ:FB) — and that number is below 8. Meanwhile, SHOP stock also trades at over 500 times forward earnings. The S&P 500 forward-earnings multiple is around 16. The average forward-earnings multiple in the FANG group is around 55. The biggest forward-earnings multiple in the group is fromNetflix(NASDAQ:NFLX), and it’s just 100. In other words, Shopify stock is richly valued — on its face, relative to the market, and relative to big-tech peers. Thus, if you just looked at those valuation metrics, you, too, would walk away saying that SHOP stock is overvalued. The global e-commerce market measured around $2.8 trillion in sales last year. That represented just 11.9% of total retail sales, up from 8.6% in 2016 and 10.2% in 2017. By 2021, that share is projected to hit 17.5%, and the total e-retail market is expected to measure $4.9 trillion. By 2030, e-retail could easily have a 25% penetration rate, and easily measure well north of $10 trillion. Shopify’s gross merchandise value was around $41 billion last year. Thus, in 2018, Shopify controlled just ~1.5% of the global e-commerce market. That’s tiny. But, it’s also up from 0.8% in 2016, and 1.1% in 2017. If current growth rates persists, Shopify’s 2019 market share could creep up on 2%. By 2030, it could easily grow to 5-10%. At the midpoint in a $10 trillion-plus addressable market, this implies GMV potential north of $750 billion. Shopify’s take rate of GMV normally hovers around 1.5%, so that equates to merchant revenue well north of $10 billion. Assuming the subscription business grows somewhat in line with the merchant business, sub revenues could easily get to $4-$5 billion by 2030. Thus, Shopify’s revenues could easily get to $15 billion-plus by 2030. Gross margins have hovered in the mid-50% range recently, and could get to 60% with scale. The opex rate hovers around 55%, and that will easily fall a ton as scale kicks in. It will probably settle around 30%, implying 30% operating profits and $4.5 billion-plus operating profits. Taking out 20% for taxes, this produces around $3.6 billion in net profits. Based on a big-growth 25 forward multiple, this implies a 2029 valuation target of $90 billion-plus. Discounted back by 10% per year, that equates to a 2019 valuation target of $34 billion-plus. Shopify stock currently has a market cap of around $34 billion. • The 7 Best Dow Jones Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2019 Don’t just look at the multiples and call SHOP stock overvalued. Instead, look at the opportunity, recognize the trends, and project where this company will be in ten years. When you do that, it becomes obvious that there’s fundamentally supported rationale for why SHOP stock has rallied to $300 in a hurry. As of this writing, Luke Lango was long SHOP, FB, and NFLX. • 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid • The 7 Best Dow Jones Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2019 • 5 Boring Stocks to Buy This Summer • 7 S&P 500 Stocks to Buy With Little Debt and Lots of Profits Compare Brokers The postWhy Shopify Stock at $300 Makes Sense in the Big Pictureappeared first onInvestorPlace.
American Software Inc (AMSWA) Q4 2019 Earnings Call Transcript Image source: The Motley Fool. American Software Inc(NASDAQ: AMSWA)Q4 2019 Earnings CallJun 19, 2019,5:00 p.m. ET • Prepared Remarks • Questions and Answers • Call Participants Operator Good day, everyone, and welcome to today's Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2019 Preliminary Earnings Results Call for American Software. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. But, later on, you will have the opportunity to ask questions during the question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions) Please note that today's call may be recorded, and I will be standing by if you should need any assistance. It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Vince Klinges, CFO of American Software. Please go ahead, sir. Vincent Klinges--Chief Financial Officer Thank you, Jenisha. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the American Software Fourth Quarter Earnings Call. On the call with me is Allan Dow, President of American Software. I will review the numbers and then Allan will give some remarks after that. But I would like to remind you that this conference call may contain forward-looking statements, including statements regarding, among other things, our business strategy and growth strategy. Any such forward-looking statements speak only as of this date. These forward-looking statements are based largely on our expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified and are beyond our control. Future developments and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by or underlying the forward-looking statements. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by statements made on this call. Such factors include, but are not limited to, changes and uncertainty in general economic conditions, the growth rate of the market for our products and services, the timely availability and market acceptance of these products and services, the effect of competitive products and pricing and other competitive pressures and the irregular and unpredictable pattern of revenues. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that the forward looking information will prove to be accurate. So looking at the fourth quarter of fiscal '19 compared to the same period last year, total revenues for the quarter decreased 11% to $26.3 million compared to $29.4 million the same quarter last year. Subscription fees were $3.8 million for the quarter. That was a 47% increase compared to $2.6 million for the same period last year, while software license revenues were $1.7 million or 42% decrease compared to $2.9 million in the same period last year. And this reflects our continued transition to the SaaS engagement model. Our cloud annual contract value, or ACV, increased approximately 36% to $17.3 million for the current quarter, and that compares to $12.7 million for the same period last year. Professional services and other revenues decreased 23% to $9.9 million for the current quarter and that compares to $12.9 million in the same quarter last year. And that was also -- that was down to -- also due to -- we had some several large implementation projects that were finishing in the fourth quarter of '18. Our maintenance revenues decreased 1% to $10.8 million compared to $10.9 million. Our combined recurring revenue streams of maintenance and cloud services were 56% of total revenues for the current quarter, and that's up from 46% in the same period last year. Looking at some of our overall costs, our gross margin was 54% for the current quarter that compares to 56% in the same period last year. The license fee margin was 34% for the current quarter, that compares to 46% in the same period last year, that's due to lower license fees and the relatively fixed expense, cost of amortization of cap software, amortization of intangible, that is non-cash. Our subscription fees margin decreased to 47% compared to 60% in the same period last year, and that's primarily due to a true-up allocation of a non-cash amortization of cap software, which was $1.1 million of the total $2 million of costs due to the overall increase of subscription revenue. So the gross margin without the non-cash cap software allocation would have been 77%. Our services margin decreased to 30% compared to 39% in the last -- in the same period last year, and that's due to timing of implementation projects. Our maintenance margin increased to 82% for the current quarter, and that compares to 78% in the same period last year. So looking at operating expenses, our gross R&D expenses were 19% of total revenues for the current period compared to 16% in the same period last year, and that's due to increased development efforts. As a percentage of revenues, our sales and marketing expenses were 22% of revenues for the current quarter compared to 19% in the same period last year, and that's primarily due to expenses related to our customer conference, which was held in March for approximately $600,000 this year. G&A expenses were 16% of total revenues for the current and prior year quarter. So our operating income decreased 59% to $1 million for the current quarter compared to $2.5 million in the same quarter last year. Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes stock-based compensation, decreased 23% to $3.5 million this quarter -- current quarter compared to $4.5 million in the same period last year. So our GAAP net income increased 48% to $1.9 million or earnings per diluted share of $0.06 for the current quarter compared to net income of $1.3 million or $0.04 earnings per diluted share. Our adjusted net income was $2.7 million or adjusted -- earnings per diluted share of $0.09 for the fourth quarter compared to net income of $2 million or $0.06 earnings per share. And these adjusted numbers exclude the amortization of intangibles related to acquisitions and stock-based compensation expense. International revenues this quarter increased to 22% of total revenues, and that compares to 17% in the prior year quarter. So taking a look at the full year fiscal '19 compared to the same period last year, our total revenues decreased 4% to $108.7 million compared to $112.7 million over the same period last year. Subscription fees were $14 million, a 58% increase when compared to $8.9 million in the same period last year. Our license revenues were $7.1 million or 54% decrease compared to $15.3 million in the same period last year. And this again reflects our continuing transition to the SaaS engagement model. Services revenues decreased 6% to $42.2 million compared to $44.7 million last year. Our maintenance revenues increased 4% to $45.4 million compared to $43.8 million last year. Looking at our overall gross margins for the 12-month period was 52% for the current quarter or current year compared to 56% last -- the prior year. License fee margin decreased to 10% from 59% in the prior year due to lower license fees and, again, related to the FX expenses related to amortization of cap software and amortization of intangibles. Our subscription fee gross margin increased to 59% compared to 57% in the same period and that's primarily due to increased SaaS deployments. Our services margin was 25% compared to 31% in the same period last year and that's again due to timing of implementation projects and, also, due to increase in services revenue from our lower IT consulting business unit. Our maintenance margin was 82% for the year compared to 79% in the same period last year, and that's due to higher revenue, maintenance revenue and also cost containment efforts. Looking at operating expenses, a total gross R&D expenses were 18% of total revenues for the 12-month period compared to 15% in the same period last year and that's due to increased headcount and increased development efforts. As a percent of total revenues, our sales and marketing expenses were 19% of the -- for the current year compared to 18% in the prior year period. G&A expenses were 16% of total revenues for the current year compared to 14% in the prior year and that's up due to additional expenses related to the Halo acquisition. So our operating income for the year decreased 61% to $5.3 million compared to operating income of $13.5 million. Our adjusted EBITDA for the year decreased 30% to $14.8 million compared to $21 million in the same period last year. And so, the GAAP net income was $6.8 million or $0.22 earnings per diluted share compared to a net income of $12.1 million or $0.40 earnings per diluted share in the prior year. Adjusted net income was $10.5 million or earnings per diluted share of $0.33 compared to $13.5 million or earnings per diluted share of $0.44 for the same period last year. And these adjustments exclude amortization of intangible expenses related to acquisitions, our stock-based compensation expense and in fiscal '18 it related to a discrete tax adjustment related to the Jobs Act of 2017. So for the full year, our international revenues were 20% of revenues compared to '19. Looking at our balance sheet, our financial position remains strong with cash and investments of approximately $88.5 million at the end of April 30, 2019. During the quarter, we paid out $3.4 million in dividends. Other aspects of our balance sheet, our bills, accounts receivable was $18.8 million, our unbilled is $1.5 million for a total of $20.3 million and our deferred revenues are $33.3 million and our shareholder equity is $114.6 million. The current ratio is 2.6 as of April 30, 2019. That compares to 2.3 the same period last year. And our days sales outstanding as of April 30, 2019, was 70 days compared to 68 days for the same period last year. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Allan Dow. H. Allan Dow--President Thank you, Vince. We continued the transition to a software-as-a-service engagement model, which was evidenced by the 47% year-over-year increase in subscription revenue and 36% growth in annual contract value for cloud services over the prior year period. The trend toward a subscription model is driven by our expertise in delivering the value-added services for our solutions that the customers desire and the ability to deliver a solution faster. We're still feeling the effect of delayed or deferred projects, which impacted our performance in the fourth quarter, but, as you've seen in the numbers, we've continued the upward trend in cloud services. The annual contract value for cloud services associated with new contracts increased from $12.7 million in Q4 of our last fiscal year to $17.3 million this year -- this past year. While delays in securing several deals affected our ACV performance in the fourth quarter, we have since closed the majority of these opportunities and have already exceeded the 600,000 of net new ACV booked in Q1 of 2019. We remain confident on our prospects for ACV growth in fiscal '20 and beyond. This was another good quarter for customer acquisition adding 17 new logos, which brings us to 64 for the fiscal year 2019, of which 33 of those were subscription contracts. During the fourth quarter, our recurring revenue streams of maintenance and cloud services represented approximately 56% of total revenues, which is compared to 46% of the same period of the prior year due to the growth in our subscription contracts. We expect the percentage of recurring revenue to continue trending higher in the future, which will improve the financial predictability and our profitability. We announced on the last call that Mac McGary has joined us as the Executive Vice President of Global Sales. Mac has helped us accelerate our market segmentation strategy and is leading a transformation toward industry-targeted sales and marketing efforts. We're seeing an impact on our close rates due to Mac's influence, which has bolstered our confidence that we will be able to accelerate our growth in the years ahead. Looking forward, we are continuing to see an uptick in the transformational projects, which leverage the optimization depth, advanced analytics, machine learning and optimize solution capabilities from our suite. Transforming their supply chain enabled by continuous and autonomous planning will allow our customers to leverage our supply chain as a strategic advantage. In summary, we're encouraged by the progress we are making with our sales and marketing transition under Mac's leadership as we strive for continued success. And we will continue to focus on our core purpose, which is to make our customers more successful by leveraging our investments to help them achieve a supply chain competitive advantage. We are confident that we will continue to grow both revenue and profitability during our transition to the software-as-a-service engagement model and are proud to be delivering incremental benefits for our customers. Jenisha, at this time, we'd like to open the call for any questions we may have from our audience. Operator Absolutely. (Operator Instructions) We'll go and take our first question from Matt from William Blair. Please go ahead. Your line is open. Matthew Pfau--William Blair -- Analyst Hey, Allan and Vince, can you guys hear me OK? Vincent Klinges--Chief Financial Officer Yeah. H. Allan Dow--President Yeah, Matt, we can hear you. Matthew Pfau--William Blair -- Analyst Great. So, first, it sounds like the deals that were delayed, those have been closed, so that issue has been rectified. What about in general on the sales cycles, have they returned to a more normal cadence or are you still seeing them a bit of long-dated? H. Allan Dow--President There's a mix, Matt. That's a good question. We are still seeing some areas where the cycle is longer than we have traditionally seen, but we're also now seeing some acceleration. We've got a number of those contracts that we actually closed this quarter that are shorter than we had seen over the last fiscal year. So, we're encouraged by that. We think that it's a combination of some of the market conditions settling out with the reality that they need to move forward regardless of some of the macroeconomic conditions and various things that are happening across the globe, but also the impact that Mac has had and helping us position a stronger "Get Started Now" message. Matthew Pfau--William Blair -- Analyst And are fears over tariffs having any impact, either positive or negative, on your business? H. Allan Dow--President It's an interesting -- another interesting one. It's actually both. So some of the acceleration has come as a result of companies realizing that this dynamic environment is probably going to continue when you think about tariffs and trade wars and Brexit and all the different things that are going on rather than -- a few companies have rather than just be fearful of them back down, they're saying this is the new reality we have to act. On the other hand, we've had companies that said, this new news given us pause and made up is nervous, so we're going to wait and see a little bit. So we're seeing some of both actually. So it's kind of a strange environment right now. Matthew Pfau--William Blair -- Analyst Got it. And in terms of investments for the next fiscal year, you talked about some of the strategies Mac has implemented and they have already started to show some results. Is there additional investment there needed in the segment case in your strategy and also the strategy to, perhaps, sign larger deals as well as bring on some partners and any other key areas you would call out as investments for the upcoming fiscal year? Vincent Klinges--Chief Financial Officer Well, the primary investment is, under Mac's leadership, we are expanding the sales team. So that's an effort that will come forward for us. We believe that the shortened sales cycle -- we -- could actually have an impact on the back half of the year, near the end of the year from that investment. Some of the other things are really just strategically how do we position, how do we organize. So they don't require a financial investment, it requires an effort, investment of resources and time and commitment, but we've got a commitment from our leadership team, which is solid and in place and under Mac's direction there. And then related to the systems integrators, we are -- we have been investing with them. We've got a number of the contracts which actually had executed last year and extending into this year that we were doing joint projects with them, that did have an impact on some of our services revenue, but we're fine with that, because we believe that the long-term investment with the systems integrators is a positive trend and will influence our market position. So, we're going to continue to work there. Again, that's not a financial investment, it's really more of an effort put forward by our team to continue to foster those relationships and build on their education and whatnot that they need for delivering the implementations. Matthew Pfau--William Blair -- Analyst Got it. And last one I have for you guys, maybe just an update on Halo and your analytics efforts more broadly. That was a big focus at your User Conference, just interesting this year what the feedback was from customers there and what sort of interest you're seeing coming out of the User Conference? H. Allan Dow--President Yeah, it's been tremendous actually. So -- having an impact in a couple of ways. Some of the new developments that we announced at the User Conference have actually been integral to the recent projects that were happening here in the first quarter as well as it's continued to stimulate incremental demand for upgrades. So keeping the customers that were particularly on the perpetual licenses doesn't have nearly as big of an impact on the subscription model. But those who had the perpetual licenses are more encouraged in moving forward with some upgrades, which will have a positive impact on our services revenue in the months ahead and quarters ahead. Matthew Pfau--William Blair -- Analyst Got it. That's it for me, guys. Thanks a lot. H. Allan Dow--President Thanks, Matt. Good chatting with you. Operator (Operator Instructions) We'll take our next question from Zach from B. Riley FBR. Please go ahead. Your line is open. Zachary Cummins--B. Riley FBR, Inc. -- Analyst Hi. Good afternoon, Allan and Vince. Just to start it off, it sounds like some of the deals were delayed during the quarter, was this more related to overall macro issues or concerns or is it a lot of it more just company-specific? H. Allan Dow--President No, macro. There was really nothing going on internally we -- that would -- was causing the delays. There is really a macro environment where we had a number of projects that were queued up and going through the final stages of the approval process and they just didn't get those done as quickly. And so when we say macro, they -- obviously, they didn't get delayed substantially, but I think the cautious nature of approving expenditures on software projects, in particular, has just taken a couple of extra loops through. So that had the impact on the ability to get them approved and finalized in the timeframe that we thought we were going to be able to get done into the fourth quarter. Zachary Cummins--B. Riley FBR, Inc. -- Analyst Understood. And can you talk about the mix of the pipeline as you're going forward? Is it really still trending majority of the opportunities toward SaaS? H. Allan Dow--President Oh yeah, by a long shot. Even more so than in the past, I think we're well above the 50% range now, we're up in the 60%, 70% range where the pipeline is targeted toward subscription model, and that's trending up and we're seeing more of the larger transactional -- transformational projects come back, which will not only bolster our cloud revenue model but also will help us improve the margins and revenue flow for the services business as well. Zachary Cummins--B. Riley FBR, Inc. -- Analyst Understood. And you briefly mentioned that Mac has had a pretty substantial impact in just a short amount of time, so can you talk about kind of where you are in the process of implementing his new segmentation strategy? And how all that new -- how the sales reps are really embracing this new go-to-market approach? H. Allan Dow--President The sales team is very positive about it. Most of what we've been implementing was already in play when Mac joined us, but he emphasized that we had to move with speed and has been able to put a lot of time and attention and really focus on that, because that was his primary responsibility over the last few months to get those programs in place. So his background of going through that process before helped us accelerate that. So I think we're in a very good position now entering the new fiscal year. Zachary Cummins--B. Riley FBR, Inc. -- Analyst Understood. And then, Vince just one question for you. I know you kind of briefly call it out in the script, but can you provide a little more color around what drove the dip in subscription margin here in Q4? And how we should expect that line to trend going forward over the next couple of quarters? Vincent Klinges--Chief Financial Officer Yes, Zach. The capitalized software amortization is allocated between cost of license fees and cost of subscriptions options based on a methodology of how much we're selling. So we had an estimate of how much the mix was going to be and the estimate was incorrect. It was more leaning toward -- we sold more cloud. So we had to make an adjustment in the fourth quarter and allocate some more caps offer to the cloud line. As far as where I think it's going forward, we came in at about 59% for the year. I think, we'll probably end up a couple of basis points higher than that at the end of next year, probably in the low -- maybe mid-60s, somewhere around there. Zachary Cummins--B. Riley FBR, Inc. -- Analyst Understood. That's helpful. Well, thanks again for taking my questions, and best of luck in the upcoming quarters. Vincent Klinges--Chief Financial Officer Sure. H. Allan Dow--President Thanks, Zach. Good chatting with you. Operator (Operator Instructions) And it doesn't look like we have any further questions on the phone line at this time. H. Allan Dow--President Jenisha, thank you very much. And for all those participating in the call this evening, we appreciate your time and attention, and we'll look forward to talking to you again in the near future. Operator This does conclude today's program. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect. Duration: 28 minutes Vincent Klinges--Chief Financial Officer H. Allan Dow--President Matthew Pfau--William Blair -- Analyst Zachary Cummins--B. Riley FBR, Inc. -- Analyst More AMSWA analysis Transcript powered byAlphaStreet This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see ourTerms and Conditionsfor additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. 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 Motley Fool Transcribershas 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.
Why Aspial Corporation Limited's (SGX:A30) High P/E Ratio Isn't Necessarily A Bad Thing Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today, we'll introduce the concept of the P/E ratio for those who are learning about investing. We'll apply a basic P/E ratio analysis to Aspial Corporation Limited's (SGX:A30), to help you decide if the stock is worth further research.Aspial has a price to earnings ratio of 14.54, based on the last twelve months. In other words, at today's prices, investors are paying SGD14.54 for every SGD1 in prior year profit. View our latest analysis for Aspial Theformula for P/Eis: Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS) Or for Aspial: P/E of 14.54 = SGD0.19 ÷ SGD0.013 (Based on the year to March 2019.) The higher the P/E ratio, the higher the price tag of a business, relative to its trailing earnings. That isn't necessarily good or bad, but a high P/E implies relatively high expectations of what a company can achieve in the future. P/E ratios primarily reflect market expectations around earnings growth rates. When earnings grow, the 'E' increases, over time. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers. Aspial's earnings made like a rocket, taking off 312% last year. Even better, EPS is up 38% per year over three years. So you might say it really deserves to have an above-average P/E ratio. Unfortunately, earnings per share are down 24% a year, over 5 years. We can get an indication of market expectations by looking at the P/E ratio. You can see in the image below that the average P/E (9.5) for companies in the real estate industry is lower than Aspial's P/E. That means that the market expects Aspial will outperform other companies in its industry. Shareholders are clearly optimistic, but the future is always uncertain. So investors should delve deeper. I like to checkif company insiders have been buying or selling. The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. 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). Spending on growth might be good or bad a few years later, but the point is that the P/E ratio does not account for the option (or lack thereof). Aspial has net debt worth a very significant 290% of its market capitalization. This is a relatively high level of debt, so the stock probably deserves a relatively low P/E ratio. Keep that in mind when comparing it to other companies. Aspial's P/E is 14.5 which is above average (12.6) in the SG market. While its debt levels are rather high, at least its EPS is growing quickly. So despite the debt it is, perhaps, not unreasonable to see a high P/E ratio. Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. People often underestimate remarkable growth -- so investors can make money when fast growth is not fully appreciated. Although we don't have analyst forecasts, shareholders might want to examinethis detailed historical graphof earnings, revenue and cash flow. But note:Aspial may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20). 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.
Missouri rejects license renewal for lone abortion clinic ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri's only abortion clinic lost its license to perform the procedure on Friday, though it remains open at least temporarily under a judge's order. The state health department notified the Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis that its abortion license will not be renewed. A letter from the state cited "serious and extensive" deficiencies. The state's decision came at the deadline set by St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer. During a brief hearing, Stelzer said a preliminary injunction he previously issued would remain in place, meaning the clinic can continue to perform abortions at least until he issues a final ruling outlining the next steps. He offered no timetable for that ruling. M'Evie Mead, director of Planned Parenthood Advocates in Missouri, stressed after the hearing that the bottom line is that the clinic remains open. "You can still come to Planned Parenthood today for all of your reproductive health care, and that is a good day for women," Mead said. The fight between the Republican-led Missouri state government and Planned Parenthood has raged since the state health department allowed the clinic's license to lapse effective June 1. Stelzer ruled earlier this month that the state needed to be more definitive and set the Friday deadline to either approve or deny the license. The fate of the clinic has drawn national attention because Missouri would become the first state since 1974, the year after the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, without a functioning abortion clinic if it closes. The battle also comes as abortion rights supporters raise concerns that conservative-led states are attempting to end abortion through tough new laws and tighter regulation. The state has said concerns about the clinic arose from inspections in March. Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said at a news conference in Jefferson City that Planned Parenthood corrected just four out of 30 cited deficiencies. Story continues Mead, with Planned Parenthood, said the health department's concerns were addressed with "medically accurate and thorough responses." She said Missouri is using the licensing process as a weapon aimed at halting abortions. Among the problems health department investigators have cited were three "failed abortions" requiring additional surgeries and another that led to life-threatening complications for the mother, The Associated Press reported this week, citing a now-sealed court filing. Williams described a failed abortion as "a very rare complication" in which a woman has a surgical abortion but later finds out she's still pregnant. "It's very hard to explain how that could happen," Williams said. Missouri is among several conservative states, emboldened by new conservative justices on the Supreme Court, to pass new restrictions on abortions in the hope that the high court will eventually overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973 that legalized abortion nationwide. Republican Gov. Mike Parson signed legislation on May 24 to ban abortions at or beyond eight weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for medical emergencies but not for rape or incest. Parson, in a statement, said the clinic "failed to meet basic standards of care, placed multiple patients in life threatening situations, performed multiple failed abortions where patients remained pregnant, and intentionally impeded the state's health investigation by not allowing health inspectors to talk to the abortion doctors. "If you don't comply with the law, there will be consequences," Parson said. Rhetoric has been inflammatory from both sides. Missouri Right to Life called the St. Louis facility "the most dangerous abortion clinic in the country" and said more than 70 emergency vehicles had appeared at the clinic. The group didn't offer a time frame or data source for the statement about 70 vehicles, or provide any independent evidence for either claim. Meanwhile, Mead described the state's requirement of a pelvic examination at the time of consultation, 72 hours before an abortion, as "state-mandated sexual assault." Planned Parenthood on Thursday stopped performing the preliminary pelvic exam, calling it medically unnecessary and intrusive. The state appeared to concede on that issue. Williams said the state has determined that Planned Parenthood can defer the preliminary pelvic exam if they cite a medical reason. The number of abortions performed in Missouri has declined every year for the past decade, reaching a low of 2,910 last year. Of those, an estimated 1,210 occurred at eight weeks or less of pregnancy, according to health department data. In fact, more Missouri women are getting abortions in Kansas than in Missouri. Information from the state of Kansas shows that about 3,300 of the 7,000 abortions performed there last year involved Missouri residents. Kansas has an abortion clinic in Overland Park, a Kansas City suburb just 2 miles (3 kilometers) from the state line. The nearest clinic to St. Louis is in Granite City, Illinois, less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) away. Illinois does not track the home states of women seeking abortions so it's unknown how many Missouri residents have been treated there. ___ Ballentine reported from Jefferson City, Missouri.
Chart of the Day: Medicare Part D Enrollees with High Out-of-Pocket Costs The standard Medicare Part D drug benefit has a “catastrophic threshold” above which enrollees pay up to 5% of their prescription costs out-of-pocket. TheKaiser Family Foundationfinds that, in 2017, a million Part D enrollees who didn't qualify for subsidies had out-of-pocket spending above the catastrophic threshold, with average annual out-of-pocket costs exceeding $3,200. The foundation says that, although people with out-of-pocket costs above the threshold accounted for only 2% Part D enrollees in 2017, their costs accounted for 20% of the $16 billion in total out-of-pocket spending by beneficiaries that year. Like what you're reading? Sign up for ourfree newsletter.
Medicaid Work Requirements Haven’t Boosted Employment: Report With approval from the Trump administration, the state of Arkansas rolled out work requirements for Medicaid recipients in June 2018. In the following months, 18,000 adults fell off the Medicaid rolls, though it was not clear exactly why. Did some number, spurred by the work requirements, find new jobs that provided health insurance, eliminating their need for Medicaid? A new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine answers that question, finding that the people who lost their insurance did not find new jobs. Researchers found instead that the policy reduced the insured rate among the roughly 100,000 30-to-49 year-olds targeted by the work requirements. “The idea of work requirements is to get people into new jobs and private insurance. But in our study that didn’t happen,”saidlead author Benjamin Sommers of Harvard University’s School of Public Health. “We didn’t find any employment changes and instead we see Medicaid coverage rates dropping and more people without health insurance–usually because the process itself was confusing or beneficiaries didn’t even know about the new requirements.” The findings prompted some critics to question the purpose of the work requirements, which are being rolled out in numerous states. “If Medicaid work requirements don't lead to more work, what should we conclude about whether they work?”askedLarry Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation. Answering his own provocative question, he wrote: “Maybe they're more about differentiating between the so-called deserving and undeserving poor.” Like what you're reading? Sign up for ourfree newsletter.
What Does Aspial Corporation Limited's (SGX:A30) P/E Ratio Tell You? 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). To keep it practical, we'll show how Aspial Corporation Limited's (SGX:A30) P/E ratio could help you assess the value on offer.Aspial has a price to earnings ratio of 14.54, based on the last twelve months. That means that at current prices, buyers pay SGD14.54 for every SGD1 in trailing yearly profits. Check out our latest analysis for Aspial Theformula for P/Eis: Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS) Or for Aspial: P/E of 14.54 = SGD0.19 ÷ SGD0.013 (Based on the year to March 2019.) A higher P/E ratio means that buyers have to paya higher pricefor each SGD1 the company has earned over the last year. That is not a good or a bad thingper se, but a high P/E does imply buyers are optimistic about the future. Earnings growth rates have a big influence on P/E ratios. When earnings grow, the 'E' increases, over time. And in that case, the P/E ratio itself will drop rather quickly. And as that P/E ratio drops, the company will look cheap, unless its share price increases. Aspial's 312% EPS improvement over the last year was like bamboo growth after rain; rapid and impressive. Even better, EPS is up 38% per year over three years. So you might say it really deserves to have an above-average P/E ratio. On the other hand, the longer term performance is poor, with EPS down 24% per year over 5 years. One good way to get a quick read on what market participants expect of a company is to look at its P/E ratio. You can see in the image below that the average P/E (9.5) for companies in the real estate industry is lower than Aspial's P/E. Its relatively high P/E ratio indicates that Aspial shareholders think it will perform better than other companies in its industry classification. The market is optimistic about the future, but that doesn't guarantee future growth. So investors should delve deeper. I like to checkif company insiders have been buying or selling. One drawback of using a P/E ratio is that it considers market capitalization, but not the balance sheet. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. The exact same company would hypothetically deserve a higher P/E ratio if it had a strong balance sheet, than if it had a weak one with lots of debt, because a cashed up company can spend on growth. Such expenditure might be good or bad, in the long term, but the point here is that the balance sheet is not reflected by this ratio. Aspial's net debt is considerable, at 290% of its market cap. This level of debt justifies a relatively low P/E, so remain cognizant of the debt, if you're comparing it to other stocks. Aspial has a P/E of 14.5. That's higher than the average in the SG market, which is 12.6. While its debt levels are rather high, at least its EPS is growing quickly. So it seems likely the market is overlooking the debt because of the fast earnings growth. 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, shareholders might want to examinethis detailed historical graphof earnings, revenue and cash flow. Of course,you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates.So take a peek at thisfreelist of companies with modest (or no) debt, trading on a P/E below 20. 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.
Here's Where Amazon and Walmart Differ on In-Home Delivery Although surveys indicate consumers remain leery about letting strangers into their homes,Walmart(NYSE: WMT)announced it was expanding its in-fridge delivery service into three cities that itbegan testing in 2017in Silicon Valley. Believing convenience will ultimately outweigh privacy concerns, Walmart will offer some 1 million customers in Kansas City, Mo., Pittsburgh, and Vero Beach, Fla. the opportunity to order groceries online and have them delivered and put away in their homes by a Walmart employee starting this fall. Image source: Walmart. There are a few differences between the pilot program and the new, expanded service. The pilot program used a homeowner's existing August Home security camera system to monitor the movements of third-party drivers from Deliv as they put the groceries away. The test ended last year, and in February, Walmart severed its e-commerce delivery relationship with Deliv. The new service now uses Walmart's own employees to make the delivery, and they will wear a camera so their actions can be seen by the customer via their smartphone. Walmart said in a statement, "Now we can serve customers not just in the last mile, but in the last 15 feet." The grocery delivery service is called InHomeDeliveryand is similar toAmazon.com's(NASDAQ: AMZN)Amazon Key program, which also lets it deliver packages into a customer's homeor car. A good argument can be made that there is a certain level of demand for the service based on a need to prevent theft. Packages left on doorsteps are notoriously vulnerable to being stolen by so-called "porch pirates," who even follow delivery vehicles around waiting for packages to be left unattended while the homeowner is away at work. The benefit of the Walmart service is that unlike Amazon Key, which is primarily a service for packaged items ordered online, InHomeDeliveryis targeting consumers who are ordering perishable items, meaning there is a certain urgency in getting them into the home and put away quickly to minimize food safety concerns. Walmart is also putting the weight of its brand behind the delivery service by having its own employees make the deliveries rather than some gig worker, as is often the case with Amazon Key. That ought to lessen worries about strangers roaming around inside their house because there is a more direct relationship (and established reputation) with the company. And for those still concerned about giving a stranger access to their home's interior, customers can arrange to have the food delivered to a refrigerator located in a garage, an option also available with Amazon Key. As an added bonus, InHomeDeliverycustomers can also arrange for returns of items purchased on Walmart.com. By simply leaving the package on the counter for the employee to pick up, it enables a process even more convenient than Amazon'spartnershipwith department-store operatorKohl's. Cost for in-home delivery hasn't been revealed yet, but customers currently pay $9.95 per delivery. And for what it's worth, Walmart just announced it was testing another new service called Delivery Unlimited, which for $98 a year gives customers unlimited grocery deliveries for orders over $30, though whether in-fridge delivery will eventually be a part of it is uncertain as Walmart is testing it in four different cities. Like Amazon Key, InHomeDeliveryalso requires the homeowner to have a smart-entry lock on their home that the delivery person can access, but Amazon requires the customer to have a cloud-based camera setup, too. Key is also only available to Prime members, which costs $119 a year, though you do get a host of other benefits with the program. There seem to be some issues that still need to be addressed, such as homes with pets or security systems, and the idea that it is a relatively expensive, labor-intensive service for Walmart to implement to attract a very narrow slice of the market. Not only does it require a customer willing to give a stranger access to their home, but also one whose home has been enhanced by technology and who is willing to pay up for the service. Still, by offering "food aisle to fridge" service, Walmart is ensuring its customers are able to shop where they want, how they want, and when they want, and telling Amazon.com at the same time that it is willing to match it step for step and not ceding any ground to it. 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.Rich Dupreyhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Facebook cofounder says the company's cryptocurrency plans are 'frightening' One of Facebook's most prominent critics is now sounding the alarm about the social network's cryptocurrency plans. Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes, who made waves earlier this year when he called forthe breakupof the company, is describing Facebook's crypto plans as "frightening" and warning that the endeavor could make the social media giant even more powerful. In anew op-ed, published in theFinancial Times, Hughes lays out his concernsabout Libra, the Facebook-backed cryptocurrency revealed earlier this week. SEE ALSO:Every Facebook insider who has turned against the company Hughes takes issue with the idea that Libra will be a "decentralized" platform and argues that it will actually make Facebook (and its Libra partners) more powerful.Read more... More aboutTech,Facebook,Libra,Cryptocurrency, andTech
Demi Moore and Her Giant Hat Were So Invested in the Royal Ascot [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] Hollywood royal Demi Moore is upping her cred with the actual royals in a big way. Not only did she attend Princess Eugenie's wedding back in October, she just made her debut at the Royal Ascot today, which happened to include plenty of royal guests. Could Moore be implying something with all of her rubbing elbows with British aristocracy? Only time will tell, but Moore definitely looked the part with a huge hat — which was designed by none other than famed British milliner Philip Treacy, one of Kate Middleton's go-to designers. Royal Ascot is an annual horse-racing event, according to People . It's also a way for the royals to usher in summertime every year and showcase select pieces from their fascinator collections. Moore's hat was out-of-this-world big, a far cry from the sometimes-tiny hats that Middleton and Meghan Markle wear to events. Moore didn't just attend the event, however. She had herself a time. She was snapped clapping her hands, clutching her figurative pearls, and cheering with the rest of the attendees. Eagle-eyed fans will spy her name tag, because just in case anyone didn't know, she's Demi Moore. RELATED: Bruce Willis and Demi Moore's Daughters Just Hilariously Trolled the Paparazzi David M. Benett/Getty Images Karwai Tang/Getty Images Karwai Tang/Getty Images Karwai Tang/Getty Images Moore gave her Instagram followers a preview of her headgear before the big event, tagging Treacy and telling everyone that she was "honored" to have her very first visit to Royal Ascot. "SNEAK PEEK-The master @philiptreacy working his hat magic and letting his genius come out to play for my first Royal Ascot experience! So honored!!" she captioned the image. View this post on Instagram SNEAK PEEK-The master @philiptreacy working his hat magic and letting his genius come out to play for my first Royal Ascot experience! So honored!!😊😘❤️🥰😍 A post shared by Demi Moore (@moore2d) on Jun 20, 2019 at 5:51pm PDT RELATED: Why Is Demi Moore Working Out in Shearling Boots? Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Princess Eugenie have all made appearances at this year's festivities (Kate wore a Treacy fascinator to the event's first day). Anyone wondering how Moore fits into the bigger picture may be surprised to learn that she's close friends with Princess Eugenie's parents, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, and Prince Andrew. That explains how she snagged an invite to that particular royal wedding and got the VIP treatment at this year's Royal Ascot events.
Could The PSL Holdings Limited (SGX:BLL) Ownership Structure Tell Us Something Useful? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! The big shareholder groups in PSL Holdings Limited (SGX:BLL) have power over the company. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies. 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. PSL Holdings is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of S$6.7m, which means it wouldn't have the attention of 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 BLL. Check out our latest analysis for PSL Holdings Institutional investors often avoid companies that are too small, too illiquid or too risky for their tastes. But it's unusual to see larger companies without any institutional investors. There are many reasons why a company might not have any institutions on the share registry. It may be hard for institutions to buy large amounts of shares, if liquidity (the amount of shares traded each day) is low. If the company has not needed to raise capital, institutions might lack the opportunity to build a position. On the other hand, it's always possible that professional investors are avoiding a company because they don't think it's the best place for their money. PSL Holdings might not have the sort of past performance institutions are looking for, or perhaps they simply have not studied the business closely. Hedge funds don't have many shares in PSL Holdings. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known. While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO. 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 PSL Holdings Limited stock. This gives them a lot of power. That means they own S$3.7m worth of shares in the S$6.7m company. That's quite meaningful. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish todiscover(for free)if they have been buying or selling. The general public, with a 45% stake in the company, will not easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run. While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. I always like to check for ahistory of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart ofhistoric revenue and earnings in thisdetailed graph. Of coursethis may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at thisfreefreelist of interesting companies. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Hannity and Manaforts Gushing Text Messages Revealed: We Are All on the Same Team Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photo Getty Throughout Special Counsel Robert Muellers prosecution of Paul Manafort, he found a willing and enthusiastic ally and confidant: Fox News host and presidential pal Sean Hannity . On Friday, a D.C. federal judge released dozens of pages of private text messages between the former Trump campaign chairman and Hannity, who at one point offered anything I can do to help. The messages show Hannity apparently reached out shortly after the FBI raided Manaforts Alexandria, Virginia apartment in August 2017. Hannity checked in on Manafort throughout the course of the special counsels investigation and prosecution of him, asking if he was OK. Like many other higher-ups in Trumps orbit, Manafort maintained a friendly relationship with Hannity during the 2016 election and kept in touch after he left the Trump campaign in August 2016. The Special Counsels Office charged Manafort with tax and bank fraud counts in Virginia and tried him in a separate case in Washington, D.C., for acting as an unregistered foreign agent, money laundering and obstruction of justice. Trump to Hannity: Youre Not Really a Patriot, You Just Want Great Ratings Hannity spent large portions of his texts with Manafort discussing (and rehashing) episodes of his own television show. He complained about never-Trumpers, Hillary Clinton, and the special counsels investigation. Hannity also repeatedly invited Manafort on TV, saying it would give him a chance to defend himself against Muellers prosecutors. Hannity told Manafort to connect him with his lawyer to get information on important developments. Manafort repeatedly declined, citing a court gag order restricting him from publicly discussing his case. But the text messages were perhaps the most blatant behind-the-scenes look at how cozy the host was with Manafort, the subject of hours of news coverage on Fox and Hannitys show in particular. Hannity in one instance declared he was NOT a fair weather friend, and told Manafort how unfairly he believed he was being treated. Story continues We are all on the same team, he said. Manafort also had plenty of compliments for Hannity, saying he was on fire, great on radio, and declared that in a fair world, you would get a Pulitzer prize for your incredible reporting. He said he loved Hannitys interview with former Trump adviser Roger Stone, and in one instance, Manafort said he watched the show with his three-month-old grandson, who was apparently mesmerized. I swear to God. He was totally focused. Your audience is growing demographically, he said. You help me keep my hope and sanity, Manafort said on another occasion. And throughout the investigation and trial, Hannity repeatedly publicly called for the charges against Manafort to be dropped. Hannity even hinted at insider knowledge of attempts to retaliate against those involved in the Russia investigation. When Manafort said he hoped that then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions would appoint a new special counsel to investigate the Russia inquiry, Hannity texted He has to [do] it [or else] he is gone. Talked to a friend. While its unclear who Hannity was talking about, he often speaks to Trump. After the text messages were revealed on Friday, Hannity appeared to shrug them off, writing on Twitter that his views on the Russia investigation and Manafort were made clear every day to anyone who listens to my radio show or watches my TV show. Manafort is currently serving a 7.5-year prison sentence after he was found guilty of financial crimes by a Virginia jury and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice and defraud the United States in a separate D.C. case. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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