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The Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) Share Price Is Up 33% And Shareholders Are Holding On Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! If you buy and hold a stock for many years, you'd hope to be making a profit. But more than that, you probably want to see it rise more than the market average. ButOld Republic International Corporation(NYSE:ORI) has fallen short of that second goal, with a share price rise of 33% over five years, which is below the market return. However, if you include the dividends then the return is market beating. Over the last twelve months the stock price has risen a very respectable 12%. See our latest analysis for Old Republic International In his essayThe Superinvestors of Graham-and-DoddsvilleWarren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time. Over half a decade, Old Republic International managed to grow its earnings per share at 2.7% a year. This EPS growth is lower than the 5.9% average annual increase in the share price. So it's fair to assume the market has a higher opinion of the business than it did five years ago. That's not necessarily surprising considering the five-year track record of earnings growth. The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. Thisfreeinteractive report on Old Republic International'searnings, revenue and cash flowis a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further. It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of Old Republic International, it has a TSR of 72% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments! It's good to see that Old Republic International has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 17% in the last twelve months. Of course, that includes the dividend. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 11% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. It is all well and good that insiders have been buying shares, but we suggest youcheck here to see what price insiders were buying at. If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love thisfreelist of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them). Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
What Investors Should Know About Canadian Natural Resources Limited's (TSE:CNQ) Financial Strength Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Investors pursuing a solid, dependable stock investment can often be led to Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ), a large-cap worth CA$42b. Risk-averse investors who are attracted to diversified streams of revenue and strong capital returns tend to seek out these large companies. However, the health of the financials determines whether the company continues to succeed. This article will examine Canadian Natural Resources’s financial liquidity and debt levels to get an idea of whether the company can deal with cyclical downturns and maintain funds to accommodate strategic spending for future growth. Remember this is a very top-level look that focuses exclusively on financial health, so I recommend a deeper analysisinto CNQ here. Check out our latest analysis for Canadian Natural Resources CNQ's debt level has been constant at around CA$23b over the previous year including long-term debt. At this stable level of debt, CNQ's cash and short-term investments stands at CA$639m to keep the business going. On top of this, CNQ has produced cash from operations of CA$8.6b over the same time period, resulting in an operating cash to total debt ratio of 38%, signalling that CNQ’s current level of operating cash is high enough to cover debt. With current liabilities at CA$5.6b, it seems that the business may not be able to easily meet these obligations given the level of current assets of CA$4.3b, with a current ratio of 0.76x. The current ratio is the number you get when you divide current assets by current liabilities. CNQ is a relatively highly levered company with a debt-to-equity of 65%. This is common amongst large-cap companies because debt can often be a less expensive alternative to equity due to tax deductibility of interest payments. Accordingly, large companies often have lower cost of capital due to easily obtained financing, providing an advantage over smaller companies. By measuring how many times CNQ’s earnings can cover interest payments, we can evaluate whether its level of debt is sustainable or not. As a rule of thumb, a company should have earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of at least three times the size of net interest. For CNQ, the ratio of 6.31x suggests that interest is well-covered. Large-cap investments like CNQ are often believed to be a safe investment due to their ability to pump out ample earnings multiple times its interest payments. Although CNQ’s debt level is towards the higher end of the spectrum, its cash flow coverage seems adequate to meet debt obligations which means its debt is being efficiently utilised. However, its lack of liquidity raises questions over current asset management practices for the large-cap. This is only a rough assessment of financial health, and I'm sure CNQ has company-specific issues impacting its capital structure decisions. I recommend you continue to research Canadian Natural Resources to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at: 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for CNQ’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor CNQ’s outlook. 2. Valuation: What is CNQ 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 CNQ is currently mispriced by the market. 3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ): Commentary On Fundamentals Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Building up an investment case requires looking at a stock holistically. Today I've chosen to put the spotlight on Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ) due to its excellent fundamentals in more than one area. CNQ is a highly-regarded dividend-paying company with a an impressive history of delivering benchmark-beating performance. Below, I've touched on some key aspects you should know on a high level. For those interested in digger a bit deeper into my commentary, take a look at thereport on Canadian Natural Resources here. CNQ is also a dividend company, with ample net income to cover its dividend payout, which has been consistently growing over the past decade, keeping income investors happy. For Canadian Natural Resources, I've compiled three key aspects you should look at: 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for CNQ’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor CNQ’s outlook. 2. Financial Health: Are CNQ’s operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why we’ve done it for you. Check out ourfinancial health checks here. 3. Other Attractive Alternatives: Are there other well-rounded stocks you could be holding instead of CNQ? Exploreour interactive list of stocks with large 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.
A Look At The Fair Value Of Century Casinos, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNTY) Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Century Casinos, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNTY) as an investment opportunity by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. I will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward. Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in theSimply Wall St analysis model. See our latest analysis for Century Casinos We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate: [{"": "Levered FCF ($, Millions)", "2019": "$21.87", "2020": "$22.72", "2021": "$23.51", "2022": "$24.28", "2023": "$25.03", "2024": "$25.78", "2025": "$26.53", "2026": "$27.28", "2027": "$28.05", "2028": "$28.84"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2019": "Analyst x1", "2020": "Analyst x1", "2021": "Est @ 3.48%", "2022": "Est @ 3.26%", "2023": "Est @ 3.1%", "2024": "Est @ 2.99%", "2025": "Est @ 2.91%", "2026": "Est @ 2.86%", "2027": "Est @ 2.82%", "2028": "Est @ 2.79%"}, {"": "Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 9.49%", "2019": "$19.97", "2020": "$18.95", "2021": "$17.91", "2022": "$16.89", "2023": "$15.90", "2024": "$14.96", "2025": "$14.06", "2026": "$13.21", "2027": "$12.40", "2028": "$11.64"}] Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= $155.91m "Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 10-year government bond rate of 2.7%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 9.5%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$29m × (1 + 2.7%) ÷ (9.5% – 2.7%) = US$438m Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= $US$438m ÷ ( 1 + 9.5%)10= $176.88m The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is $332.79m. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding.This results in an intrinsic value estimate of $11.3. Compared to the current share price of $9.7, the company appears about fair value at a 14% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent. We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Century Casinos as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 9.5%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.135. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business. Whilst important, DCF calculation shouldn’t be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Century Casinos, There are three additional factors you should further research: 1. Financial Health: Does CNTY have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk. 2. Future Earnings: How does CNTY's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with ourfree analyst growth expectation chart. 3. Other High Quality Alternatives: Are there other high quality stocks you could be holding instead of CNTY? Exploreour interactive list of high quality stocksto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the NASDAQ every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks justsearch here. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
OneCoin Crypto Scam Boss Faces Jail Trial after $20 Million Bail Fail The CEO of the OneCoincryptocurrency scam, Konstantin Ignatov, will have to undergo trial while still in custody. The New York Southern District Court’s Judge Edgardo Ramos denied a bond application filed by Ignatov despite the top leader of the cryptocurrency scam having proposed attractive release conditions, as first ported byFinance Feeds. Ignatov is accused of a conspiracy to commit wire fraud, a crime which could see him serve a maximum of 20 years in jail. Among the release conditions that Ignatov’s defense team had proposed included a $20 million personal recognizance bond. Ignatov had also agreed to wear GPS tags as well as foot the bill to hire round-the-clock armed guards who would ensure he doesn’t flee. Access to his residence would also only be allowed to those with pre-authorized permission. Additionally, Ignatov had agreed to avoid using computers or cellphones other than for note taking and reviewing discovery. In opposing his bond application the U.S. government insisted that Ignatov was a flight risk and that the proposed release conditions were not a guarantee that he would not flee. Additionally, the U.S. government argued that releasing Ignatov on bail would not deter him from causing more harm. This argument was based on the fact that the OneCoin scheme is still operational. At the time of his arrest in March in California, Ignatov was scheduled to attend OneCoin events in the U.S. Read the full story on CCN.com.
Are You An Income Investor? Don't Miss Out On CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) 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 take a closer look at CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) from a dividend investor's perspective. Owning a strong business and reinvesting the dividends is widely seen as an attractive way of growing your wealth. If you are hoping to live on your dividends, it's important to be more stringent with your investments than the average punter. Regular readers know we like to apply the same approach to each dividend stock, and we hope you'll find our analysis useful. While CSX's 1.2% dividend yield is not the highest, we think its lengthy payment history is quite interesting. The company also bought back stock during the year, equivalent to approximately 7.4% of the company's market capitalisation at the time. There are a few simple ways to reduce the risks of buying CSX for its dividend, and we'll go through these below. Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. CSX paid out 22% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. Given the low payout ratio, it is hard to envision the dividend coming under threat, barring a catastrophe. Another important check we do is to see if the free cash flow generated is sufficient to pay the dividend. CSX paid out 24% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservative and suggests the dividend is sustainable. It's positive to see that CSX's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut. As CSX has a meaningful amount of debt, we need to check its balance sheet to see if the company might have debt risks. A quick check of its financial situation can be done with two ratios: net debt divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), and net interest cover. Net debt to EBITDA is a measure of a company's total debt. Net interest cover measures the ability to meet interest payments. Essentially we check that a) the company does not have too much debt, and b) that it can afford to pay the interest. With net debt of 2.16 times its EBITDA, CSX's debt burden is within a normal range for most listed companies. Net interest cover can be calculated by dividing earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by the company's net interest expense. CSX has EBIT of 7.89 times its interest expense, which we think is adequate. We update our data on CSX every 24 hours, so you can always getour latest analysis of its financial health, here. One of the major risks of relying on dividend income, is the potential for a company to struggle financially and cut its dividend. Not only is your income cut, but the value of your investment declines as well - nasty. CSX has been paying dividends for a long time, but for the purpose of this analysis, we only examine the past 10 years of payments. During this period the dividend has been stable, which could imply the business could have relatively consistent earnings power. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was US$0.29 in 2009, compared to US$0.96 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 13% a year over that time. It's rare to find a company that has grown its dividends rapidly over ten years and not had any notable cuts, but CSX has done it, which we really like. While dividend payments have been relatively reliable, it would also be nice if earnings per share (EPS) were growing, as this is essential to maintaining the dividend's purchasing power over the long term. It's good to see CSX has been growing its earnings per share at 18% a year over the past 5 years. Rapid earnings growth and a low payout ratio suggests this company has been effectively reinvesting in its business. Should that continue, this company could have a bright future. To summarise, shareholders should always check that CSX's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. Firstly, we like that CSX has low and conservative payout ratios. Next, growing earnings per share and steady dividend payments is a great combination. All these things considered, we think this organisation has a lot going for it from a dividend perspective. Earnings growth generally bodes well for the future value of company dividend payments. See if the 19 CSX analysts we track are forecasting continued growth with ourfreereport on analyst estimates for the company. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at ourcurated list of dividend stocks yielding above 3%. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
3 Marijuana Stocks That Are Book-Value Bargains Few industries have investors seeing green quite like legal marijuana. After generating "only" $10.9 billion in worldwide sales in 2018, a new report from Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics suggests that global licensed-store salescould nearly quadruple over the next six years. Once supply-side issues die down throughout North America, it should pave the way for a number of marijuana stocks to earn healthy profits. However, the expectation of exceptionally fast sales growth and eventual profitability for a handful of pot stocks has sent most cannabis company valuations significantly higher over the past couple of years. As a result, most are quite pricey, based on traditional fundamental metrics. But there are a small number of marijuana stocks that appear to be book-value bargains.Book valuetakes into account a company's assets minus its outstanding liabilities. And while it's by no means an end-all in determining value, it's one piece of a big puzzle that can help investors identify value. Let's take a closer look at three book-value bargain pot stocks to see if there's real value to be had or if they're nothing more than wolves in sheep's clothing. Image source: Getty Images. On the surface, vertically integrated dispensary operatoriAnthus Capital Holdings(NASDAQOTH: ITHUF)looks like the steal of the year at just 80% of its book value. Following the completion of itsmammoth acquisition of MPX Bioceuticalearlier this year, iAnthus now has retail licenses to open as many as 68 stores in nearly one dozen U.S. states. Since the United States is the crown jewel of the cannabis movement, the expectation is that iAnthus should see rapidly rising sales as new retail stores open. Also, once its acquisition of CBD for Life closes -- CBD for Life's products are currently being distributed in over 1,000 retail locations -- iAnthus' sales should see a nice boost. But there are also two glaring reasons behind this stock's relative "cheapness," which can be uncovered with a quick glance of its complete income statement, filed with SEDAR. First, iAnthus' current assets of 84.7 million Canadian dollars are lower than its current liabilities of CA$106.7 million, implying that the company will need to raise capital to meet its financial obligations over the next 12 months. That usually meansissuing stock and diluting existing shareholders. Secondly, and perhaps more worrisome given that raising money hasn't been much of an issue for pot stocks, iAnthus'goodwilltotals CA$555.4 following its MPX acquisition, which represents 70% of the company's total assets. Such a high percentage of goodwill puts iAnthus Capital at significant risk of a big future writedown that could wipe out some of its currently recognized shareholder equity. The company's low P/B looks to be a reflection of this inherent risk. Image source: Getty Images. Aside from iAnthus Capital, the only other pure-play marijuana stock currently trading below its book value isAleafia Health(NASDAQOTH: ALEAF). Aleafia Health made noise earlier this year when itacquired Emblem in an all-stock deal, thereby combining two companies that shared the same business philosophy. These cannabis growers run a combined 40 medical clinics that've served over 60,000 patients and, when capacity expansion is complete, the Aleafia-Emblem duo should be capable of138,000 kilos a year of production. The idea being that medical cannabis patients tend to generate much better margins than recreational users, so if Aleafia can keep medical patients within its network and buying its in-house-grown product, it can be quite successful. So, why has Aleafia's stock hit the skids, relative to book value? One answer might be the company's goodwill relative to total assets. While not as high as iAnthus, Aleafia does recognize CA$186.6 million in goodwill following its Emblem deal, which is 44.4% of its CA$420.8 million in total assets. Such a high percentage of goodwill representing total assets could portend a future writedown that reduces shareholder equity. The other issue might be that Aleafia Health is a relative unknown. In order to move 138,000 kilos, and complete the buildout of its existing grow farms, it's going to burn through quite a bit of capital, and it'll need to secure a number of domestic and international supply deals. Relative to iAnthus Capital, I view Aleafia Health as being the more attractive of the two from a value perspective, but wouldn't rule out future dilutive capital raises. Image source: Getty Images. A third book-value bargain in the cannabis industry is upscale multistate dispensary operatorMedMen Enterprises(NASDAQOTH: MMNFF). MedMen is currently valued at just 31% more than its book value. What MedMen brings to the table is one of the highest licensed-store counts in the U.S., assuming its proposed$682 million acquisition of privately held PharmaCanncloses in the second half of this year. On a pro forma basis (i.e., including PharmaCann's assets), MedMen has 37 open dispensaries, which is second only toCuraleaf Holdings' 45, and it has 86 retail licenses -- good enough forfourth-highest among dispensary operators. As a company focused on normalizing the cannabis buying experience, MedMen has generated sales per square foot in its oldest California locations that have rivaled highly successfulApplestores. If you're wondering why MedMen is getting no love from Wall Street, the answer likely boils down to two issues. For starters, MedMen is lugging around $108.2 million in goodwill (MedMen reports in U.S. dollars), which represents almost 20% of its $552.1 million in total assets. Though this isn't as high of a percentage as Aleafia Health and iAnthus Capital, it's bound to go higher once the mammoth PharmaCann deal is complete. Essentially, MedMen's book-value discount could represent Wall Street's growing expectation that it won't recoup the premium it's paid for acquisitions. The second concern is that MedMenhas been losing money hand over fist. The company's fiscal third-quarter report, released in May, featured a loss from operations of $53.3 million, with an operating loss of $178.4 million in the first three quarters of 2019. Even with plenty of cash on hand, MedMen cannot continue to bleed this much capital each year without its stock being shrouded in pessimism. From what I can see on MedMen's income statement, skepticism is fully warranted. Of the three book-value bargains listed here, it's Aleafia Health thatlooks to be the most attractive. More From The Motley Fool • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today Sean Williamshas 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.
Is One Liberty Properties, Inc.'s (NYSE:OLP) CEO Salary Justified? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Patrick Callan became the CEO of One Liberty Properties, Inc. (NYSE:OLP) in 2008. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid. View our latest analysis for One Liberty Properties Our data indicates that One Liberty Properties, Inc. is worth US$570m, and total annual CEO compensation is US$1.8m. (This number is for the twelve months until December 2018). That's a notable increase of 11% on last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$813k. We examined companies with market caps from US$200m to US$800m, and discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$1.7m. So Patrick Callan receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. While this data point isn't particularly informative alone, it gains more meaning when considered with business performance. You can see, below, how CEO compensation at One Liberty Properties has changed over time. Over the last three years One Liberty Properties, Inc. has shrunk its earnings per share by an average of 5.8% per year (measured with a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 4.6%. Sadly for shareholders, earnings per share are actually down, over three years. And the modest revenue growth over 12 months isn't much comfort against the reduced earnings per share. It's hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. Shareholders might be interested inthisfreevisualization of analyst forecasts. Most shareholders would probably be pleased with One Liberty Properties, Inc. for providing a total return of 50% over three years. This strong performance might mean some shareholders don't mind if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for a company of its size. Patrick Callan is paid around the same as most CEOs of similar size companies. We're not seeing great strides in earnings per share, but the company has clearly pleased some investors, given the returns over the last three years. So we can't see a reason to suggest the pay is inappropriate. If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really likethis free visualization of insider trading at One Liberty Properties. If you want to buy a stock that is better than One Liberty Properties, thisfreelist of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Bulls & Bears Of The Week: AT&T, Carnival, McDonald's, Microsoft And More • Benzinga has examined prospects for many investorfavorite stocksover the past week. • M&A candidates were among both the bullish and bearish calls last week. • Top software stocks also saw both bullish and bearish calls. The big U.S. indexes ended the past week down marginally as investors seem to be in wait-and-see mode ahead of apossible trade deal with Chinacoming out of the G-20 meeting in Japan this weekend. It was also a week that sawbank stress test results, a surprisemanagement shakeup, someindex reshufflingand fresh GDP numbers. As usual, Benzinga continues to examine the prospects for many of the stocks most popular with investors. Here are just a few of this past week's most bullish and bearish posts that may be worth another look. Bulls Concerns about the low valuation atAT&T Inc.(NYSE:T) are overdone and the company's cash flow and dividend yields are particularly attractive, according to Dave Royce's "BofA Bullish On AT&T: 'The Network Has Never Performed Better'." "Cowen: Aurora Is 'Top Pick In Cannabis'" by Wayne Duggan reveals whyAurora Cannabis Inc(NYSE:ACB) is the clear top choice in the Canadian adult-use cannabis market, even though a number of Wall Street analysts have come out bullish on marijuana stocks in recent months. In "McDonald's Hits New All-Time High After Quarter Pounder Update, Bullish Rating," Tanzeel Akhtar explains why recent trends atMcDonald's Corp(NYSE:MCD) mean that it is effectively expanding its competitive moat relative to competitors. Priya Nigam's "KeyBanc: Salesforce Poised To Benefit From Data Opportunity After Tableau Acquisition" presents reasons why investors may want to purchaseSalesforce.com, inc.(NYSE:CRM) shares ahead of its investor event in July. For additional bullish calls, also have a look at Gold ETFs Are Having A Moment and A Walgreens Analyst's Takeaways From Q3 Earnings. Bears In Wayne Duggan's "Microsoft's Azure Is No AWS, Says Bearish Jefferies," see why one key analyst believes that investors should not expect theMicrosoft Corporation(NASDAQ:MSFT) cloud platform to take the same trajectory as that of its well-known rival. An activist investor is urging the boards ofUnited Technologies Corporation(NYSE:UTX) andRaytheon Company(NYSE:RTN) to reevaluate their proposed merger. So says "Dan Loeb Voices Opposition To United Technologies-Raytheon Deal" by Tanzeel Akhtar. Shanthi Rexaline's "Bristol-Myers Slips As Regulatory Hiccups Delay Celgene Deal; Liver Cancer Study Faces Setback" discusses recent headwinds that acted as a drag onBristol-Myers Squibb Co(NYSE:BMY) shares last week. "Carnival Gets Price Target Cut On Weak Continental Europe Demand" by Brett Hershman takes a look at what it means for investors that the recipe of earnings growth forCarnival plc(NYSE:CCL) has been changing. Be sure to check out Credit Suisse Initiates Tesla At Underperform, Says Company Compares 'Most Appropriately' To Volkswagen and BMO: Chemours' Second Half 'More Difficult Than Anticipated' for additional bearish calls. Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter. See more from Benzinga • Notable Insider Buys This Past Week: American Airlines, MGM and More • Barron's On: Why JPMorgan Is A Solid Bet Now • Barron's Picks And Pans: GameStop, JPMorgan, Uber And More © 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
ONE Cannabis Appoints Frank Knuettel As CFO ONE Cannabisannounced this week the expansion of its leadership team with the additions of Frank Knuettel as Chief Financial Officer, Kacy Sindel as Director of Operations, Cultivation and Jayne Levy as Director of Communications. The company plans to add more than three dozen employees within the next six months across the corporate and store level, increasing the employee count to more than 100 by year-end. The addition of Knuettel and his background and experience serving as CFO for multiple public companies will be an integral piece as ONE Cannabis grows into its next phase. Prior to joining ONE Cannabis, Knuettel was CSO and CFO atMJardin Group, Inc.(OTC:MJARF), as well as CFO at several public companies, includingAqua Metals, Inc.(NASDAQ:AQMS) andMarathon Patent Group, Inc.(NASDAQ:MARA). “Frank is a great example of the growing movement of executives from traditional industries, with high qualifications and expertise, self-identifying opportunities in cannabis," ONE Cannabis Ceo Chris Hageseth told Benzinga. "Ten years ago, it would have been nearly impossible to successfully recruit talent from the beverages or retail spaces to the cannabis industry, but now we’re seeing a fundamental shift in the way people look at cannabis. It’s people like Frank who are going to push the industry forward and position companies like ours for success." Need more cannabis news?Check out all of our coveragehere. See more from Benzinga • CB2 Insights Enters New Jersey Cannabis Market With NJAM Acquisition • Cannabics Pharmaceuticals Gets New Directors • Cannabis Advocate Jonathan Hay Drops New Jazz Album, Looking To Repeat Recent Billboard Success © 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut Continues to Give and Point the Finger As the film adaptation of the smash animated hit turns 20, we look back at the legacy of its commentaries on censorship. Blame TV. Blame your parents. Blame movies. Blame society. Hell, blame Canada. But whatever you do, blame something, and quickly, before someone thinks of blaming you . South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut turns 20 this weekend, and for as much as the movies Saddam Hussein-heavy, Celine Dion-referencing take on the world is very much of its time, the film nevertheless captures the ways in which American culture would continue to take deeply entrenched, compex cultural problems, and hunt for convenient scapegoats and easy answers in the years to come. There is no issue too inflammatory, no societal malady too multifaceted, that it cannot be oversimplified and laid at the feet of a readily-available boogeyman. Bigger, Longer, and Uncut channels that idea through a premise filled with classic South Park absurdity. After Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny sneak into Asses of Fire a cinematic encore to their favorite flatulence-based television show Terrence & Phillip they walk out cursing a blue streak. The combination of their foul mouths and an imitative stunt, which brings about the inevitable Oh my God, you killed Kenny! moment, leads to their parents (and Mrs. Brofllowksi in particular) going on a crusade against the fart-firing, curse-hurling villains who they believe have poisoned their childrens minds. This being South Park , that spirals into a war with our Canadian neighbors, a resistance movement led by 10-year-olds to smuggle their heroes away from a public execution, and eventually the apocalypse, as Satan and his boyfriend Saddam Hussein mount an invasion from the netherworld. Its part and parcel of South Park s trademark comic escalation, where standard moral panics are taken to ridiculous extremes until children are implanted with V-chips and an all-out war with the devil erupts from a movie featuring some naughty language. Story continues [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aav9EyVjtWc?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent&w=806&h=454] Still, theres a grain of truth beneath all of the absurdity. For as exaggerated as the notion of going to war with another country over a juvenile cartoon seems in the film, and in general, the practice of blaming bad cultural influences from other countries for corrupting our children is all too real and dangerous. From McCarthyism and old satanic panic , to the Parents Television Councils frequent rebukes of South Park in the 90s, to modern-day instances of Islamophobic fearmongering, theres a long strain of certain factions in the United States trying to sound the alarm against supposed cultural pollution. However silly the idea of the government branding and executing a couple of sophomoric T.V. entertainers as war criminals may seem in the film, the easy impulse to blame troubling behavior in a younger generation on movies and music and video games is just as present now as it was then. Most importantly, South Park s first (and thus far, only) foray onto the big screen bluntly tackles the ways in which we use this approach to absolve ourselves of moral responsibility. Its not my kids fault, its the evil messages coming from those damn screens. Its not the parents fault, its a society gone mad. Its not our countrys fault, its those damn outsiders who are diluting our culture. As the immortal Blame Canada captures in song, its easy to throw these sorts of recriminations at any number of external causes, because it helps keep people from thinking to throw them your way. Especially when you have them coming. Theres a certain irony to this message, when viewed in 2019. Arguably, it wasnt until around South Park s 20th season that the series itself began to reckon with its influence on popular culture. While the series would typically deflect blame back onto the moral guardians who showered it with disdain and disapproval, 2016 was a watershed moment for the show in the same way it was for many Americans. In the age of trolls and edgelords and other internet denizens crossing lines just to provoke a reaction, even South Park had to reluctantly face some harsh truths of its own. The series had to confront the possibility that the individuals who had unreflectively followed its boundary-pushing example were a part of the problem. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOR38552MJA?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent&w=806&h=454] For its part, Bigger, Longer, and Uncut gives away the game in its opening song. Stans mother describes her son as so tender and mild that hes like Jesus, and thanks God for their life in an idyllic little town far from any big city evils. Mrs. Broflowksi describes her son and his friends as frail and fragile boys, lamenting the wider world as a rotten place that could otherwise threaten to spoil such innocence. That notion goes against everything that South Park has stood for since the beginning. Contrary to popular belief, the animating impulse of the series is not that censorship is wrong, or that caring is lame. Its that children are not sweet innocent angels, but rather flawed, crude, and sometimes messed-up individuals like the rest of us, and the more we try to point to outside factors to account for that, the more we deny who and what we are. In the films final act, Kyle pleads with his mother, Whenever I get in trouble, you go off and blame everybody else. But Im the one to blame. Deal with me. It is, perhaps, not quite as eloquent as to say, The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, but the sentiment is the same. The thesis of the film, beyond South Park s usual missives against the censors, is that when problems arrive in our backyard, Americans go hard-charging against whatever external causes, real or imagined, they can conjure up, when the real sources of our problems are usually a lot more complicated, and a lot closer to home. Trey Parker and Matt Stone posit that such troubles are far more internal and intractable than we might like to believe. For all the curse-heavy mania of the film, South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut is about angry communities, unwilling to look in the mirror, and instead looking for someone or something at which to point the finger. Its an impulse that is, unfortunately, still with us and, if anything, more prominent and dangerous today then it was in 1999. So wheres Brian Boitano to save the day when you need him? This is really all his fault. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut Continues to Give and Point the Finger dsuzannemayer
Face-Reading AI Will Tell Police When Suspects Are Hiding Truth (Bloomberg) -- American psychologist Paul Ekman’s research on facial expressions spawned a whole new career of human lie detectors more than four decades ago. Artificial intelligence could soon take their jobs. While the U.S. has pioneered the use of automated technologies to reveal the hidden emotions and reactions of suspects, the technique is still nascent and a whole flock of entrepreneurial ventures are working to make it more efficient and less prone to false signals. Facesoft, a U.K. start-up, says it has built a database of 300 million images of faces, some of which have been created by an AI system modeled on the human brain, The Times reported. The system built by the company can identify emotions like anger, fear and surprise based on micro-expressions which are often invisible to the casual observer. “If someone smiles insincerely, their mouth may smile, but the smile doesn’t reach their eyes — micro-expressions are more subtle than that and quicker,” co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Allan Ponniah, who’s also a plastic and reconstructive surgeon in London, told the newspaper. Facesoft has approached police in Mumbai about using the system for monitoring crowds to detect the evolving mob dynamics, Ponniah said. It has also touted its product to police forces in the U.K. The use of AI algorithms among police has stirred controversy recently. A research group whose members include Facebook Inc., Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc published a report in April stating that current algorithms aimed at helping police determine who should be granted bail, parole or probation, and which help judges make sentencing decisions, are potentially biased, opaque, and may not even work. The Partnership on AI found that such systems are already in widespread use in the U.S. and were gaining a foothold in other countries too. It said it opposes any use of these systems. To contact the reporter on this story: Ellen Milligan in London at emilligan11@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Eric Pfanner at epfanner1@bloomberg.net, Srinivasan Sivabalan, Amanda Jordan For more articles like this, please visit us atbloomberg.com ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Group of Digital Asset Trade Associations to Establish Global Cryptocurrency Association A group of national trade associations representing the local Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) announced their intention to establish an association to provide a global representative for firms in the industry in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on June 29. Per the release, the aforementionedJapanesetrade association signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Osaka aiming to establish the association. The associations that signed the agreement include the Australian Digital Commerce Association (ADCA), Singapore Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Industry Association, Japan Blockchain Association, Korean Blockchain Association, Hong Kong Blockchain Association, and the Taiwan Parliamentary Coalition for Blockchain & Industry Self-Regulatory Organization. The signing ceremony took place at the inaugural V20 VASP summit, which took place in parallel with theG20meeting in Osaka which has seen VASP representative collaborate with regulators. ADCA founder and V20 convenor Ronald M. Tucker commented: “We’ve brought everyone on the journey to create a new body that will assist in establishing a means to engage with government agencies and the FATF to ensure our best interests are understood and valued at an international level.” The press release explains that the MOU aims to establish dialogue with governments and regulators, support information exchange, promote policy and procedures, increase awareness of the industry and facilitate compliance. As Cointelegraphreportedearlier this month, G20 finance ministers and central bank governors asked the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and global standard-setting organizations to monitor risks aroundcryptoassets. Adam Back, who invented the hashcashproof-of-worksystem and was one of the first people to work on bitcoin (BTC),spokeabout the positive uses ofblockchainat this year’s G20 summit. • Japan’s Financial Watchdog Orders Hacked Exchange Zaif to Improve Business • India: Another Crypto Exchange Closes Due to Regulatory Pressure • FATF to Strengthen Control Over Crypto Exchanges to Prevent Money Laundering • Japan’s Line Reportedly Close to Obtaining FSA License for Japanese Crypto Exchange
How Apple Inc and Other Hedge Fund Favorites Performed in Q2 Insider Monkey tracks hedge funds, billionaires, and prominent value investors for a very simple reason: their consensus picks generally outperform the market. We aren’t the only research shop broadcasting this fact using a bullhorn. Here is what strategist Ben Snider said in Goldman Sachs’ periodic hedge fund report: “Despite the strong track record of popular hedge fund stocks, investors often view high ownership as a negative trait when evaluating stock prospects. Clients often ask us to include hedge fund ownership data in stock screens, expressing a preference for buying ‘under-owned’ stocks.” “In fact, during the past decade hedge fund popularity has been a more useful criterion for selecting stocks than valuations…. The signals from hedge fund popularity and valuation have been particularly useful in combination, especially for investors with slightly longer investment horizons. During the past decade, popular stocks have generally outperformed unpopular stocks across both 3- and 12-month investment horizons” Snider concluded. It may sound like I am tooting my own horn, but Insider Monkey’s quarterly newsletter is actually superior to Goldman’s report. That’s because we separated the hedge fund favorites into long and short buckets. Our long bucket of hedge fund favorites returned 34.1% in the first half of 2019, whereas our short bucket of hedge fund favorites gained 21.4% during the same period. Hedge funds’ favorite top 20 stocks, on the other hand, returned 24% so far in 2019. You could have beaten the S&P 500 Index funds by 5.7 percentage points by investing inhedge funds’ top 20 picksin 2019, whereas you could have outperformed the index funds by 15.8 percentage points if you invested in our top hedge fund picks. You cantry out our newsletterfree of charge for 14 days to see hedge funds’ latest best stock picks. The #11 most popular stock among the 743 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey wasApple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).Apple was also the seventh most popular stock among hedge funds at the end of December (see the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds). We have to warn you against indiscriminately imitating hedge funds' all stock picks. Hedge funds' top 20 stock picks outperformed the S&P 500 Index funds by 5.7 percentage points this year, but hedge funds' top 500 stock picks had the same return as the S&P 500 Index this quarter. Investing in a hedge fund's 35th best idea doesn't give you the same return as investing in a hedge fund's best idea. [caption id="attachment_315178" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Warren Buffett[/caption] We're going to take a look at the key hedge fund action surrounding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). At Q1's end, a total of 98 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -16% from the previous quarter. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in AAPL over the last 15 quarters. So, let's find out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Warren Buffett'sBerkshire Hathawayhas the number one position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), worth close to $47.4095 billion, amounting to 23.8% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Ken Griffin ofCitadel Investment Group, with a $2.3818 billion call position; 1.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining members of the smart money with similar optimism consist of Ken Fisher'sFisher Asset Management, Cliff Asness'sAQR Capital Managementand D. E. Shaw'sD E Shaw. Because Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has experienced falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there was a specific group of hedge funds who were dropping their entire stakes heading into Q3. Interestingly, Jim Simons'sRenaissance Technologiesdropped the largest stake of the 700 funds watched by Insider Monkey, worth an estimated $435.4 million in stock, and Philippe Laffont's Coatue Management was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $88.3 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 18 funds heading into Q3. Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) but similarly valued. These stocks are Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B). This group of stocks' market caps are similar to AAPL's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position AMZN,166,19399725,-2 GOOGL,147,11115409,1 GOOG,133,13597514,-8 BRK-B,91,20086059,4 Average,134.25,16049677,-1.25 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 134.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $16050 million. That figure was $55104 million in AAPL's case. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B) is the least popular one with only 91 bullish hedge fund positions. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.4% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by more than 2 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on AAPL, though not to the same extent, as the stock returned 4.6% during Q2 and outperformed the market as well. Apple shares had much bigger gains in Q1 returning 26.5% year-to-date. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
Better Buy: Ballard Power Systems vs. Plug Power What's worse than a company that hasn't posted a profitable quarter since 2015? One that hasn't posted one since 2014, naturally. And today, we'll be looking at two hydrogen fuel cell companies that fit the bill:Ballard Power Systems(NASDAQ: BLDP)andPlug Power(NASDAQ: PLUG). All joking aside, though, the difference between a company that's been unprofitable for four years and one that's been unprofitable for five isn't that big in the long run. What really matters is how the companies are doing today and what their prospects for profitability -- not to mention growth -- look like. With that in mind, let's look at these underperformers to see which one seems like the better buy. Ballard Power Systems and Plug Power are hoping to make hydrogen fuel cells a top green energy source. Image source: Getty Images. Neither Ballard nor Plug gave investors much confidence they'd turn profitable anytime soon in their first-quarter 2019 earnings reports. After Plug posted positive adjustedEBITDAin the fourth quarter of 2018, investors were hoping that it could repeat its success, but that turned out not to be the case. Instead, Plug reported negative $6.7 million in adjusted EBITDA, which was slightly better than the negative $10.1 million in adjusted EBITDA it reported in the year-ago quarter. However, it also saw lower revenue of $22.8 million as opposed to $28.3 million in Q1 2018. On Plug'sQ1 2019 earnings call, CEO Andy Marsh blamed the declines on the "timing of closing a project financing deal," but admitted that he was "disappointed" with the lower billings during the quarter. Ballard's CEO Randall MacEwen, on the other hand, expressed no disappointment onhis Q1 earnings call, but admitted that the company's underwhelming results were "consistent with our expectation for a softer start to the year." Ballard saw across-the-board declines as well, including a 20% year-over-year drop in revenue, 19 points of margin deterioration, a 45% drop in cash from operations, and a larger net loss -- on both an adjusted and unadjusted basis -- than in the year-ago quarter. Interestingly, the one spot where Ballard saw a big improvement in its numbers -- material handling revenue, which was up 676% year over year, to $2.8 million -- was "a result of higher fuel cell stack shipments to Plug Power." That's right: The biggest highlight of Ballard's Q1 numbers was thanks to Plug. That, plus Plug's slight year-over-year increase in adjusted EBITDA, gives it the win in this category. Winner: Plug Power Both Ballard and Plug are firmly established in the material handling (read: forklift) market, but have struggled to expand into other sectors. However, breaking out of their niche is going to be critical to growth and profitability. Ballard has set its sights on the "heavy-duty motive" segment, envisioning fleets of hydrogen-powered delivery vehicles, buses, trains, and maritime equipment. To facilitate growth in this area, it's partnering with Chinese companies to develop and deploy this technology, including a major joint venture with Weichai Power. But putting all of your growth eggs in one Chinese basket is a risky strategy, as Ballard seems to be finding out. During Ballard's last few quarters, its Chinese ventures have been underperforming. In Q3 2018, for example, Ballard's joint venture with Guangdong Synergyunderperformed, causing it to miss revenue expectations. In Q1 2019, Ballard blamed its year-over-year revenue declines on lower membrane electrode assembly shipments to China, particularly those in its heavy-duty motive division. This comes amid an apparent slowdown in the overall Chinese economy. Worse, Ballard has been diluting its shares to finance these joint ventures. In the third quarter of 2018,it received$164 million from Weichai in exchange for 46.1 million shares, and $20 million from Chinese company Zhongshan Broad-Ocean Motor in exchange for 5.7 million shares. On the one hand, this keeps the unprofitable company from having to go into debt to keep the lights on, but it's of concern to investors. Plugused to seeChina as a potential growth engine, but it's since been looking elsewhere for growth, after a 2016 partnership with specialty vehicle makerDongfengfell through thanks to Dongfeng's shaky financial situation. It looks like that may have been to investors' benefit. Winner: Plug Power Although Ballard is primarily looking to China for growth, both companies have inked recent deals and partnerships that they hope will help broaden the reach of fuel cells. Ballard has focused on maritime applications, recently announcing plans to build what it calls a "Marine Center of Excellence" at its subsidiary in Hobro, Denmark. This center will design and manufacture heavy duty fuel cells to address zero-emission maritime powertrain requirements. It also announced participation in Europe's H2PORTS project, which seeks to transition European port equipment like loaders/unloaders and terminal tractors to zero-carbon alternatives. The company also inked a deal with Norway's Norled A/S to provide two fuel cell modules to power a hybrid ferry. Plug, on the other hand, has been announcing a dizzying array of purchases and contracts recently, with CEO Marsh teasing that he has more "in his pocket." These include the company's acquisition of Canadian hydrogen specialist EnergyOr, which specializes in ultralightweight fuel cell applications suitable for drones and robots. It also includes a deal with electric-vehicle manufacturer StreetScooter to provide fuel cell arrays for 200 delivery vans forDeutsche Post DHL. In recent info sessions on Quora and Reddit, Marsh alsofloated the possibilityof Plug's providing fuel cells as backup power for 5G communications networks. Honestly, though, although it seems as though Plug may have more irons in the fire than Ballard, it's tough to know in which -- if any -- of these sectors hydrogen fuel cells will gain traction. It almost seems like a "throw it all to the wall and see what sticks" strategy. Winner: TIE. Without the ability to compare the companies on traditional valuation metrics like price-to-earnings ratio (because earnings are negative) or price-to-free-cash-flow ratio (because free cash flow is also negative), we need to rely on the companies' situations, and it looks as though Plug Power is in a better spot right now than Ballard. However, even though Plug Power may be the "better" buy, it isn't necessarily agoodbuy: The company -- and the fuel cell industry in general -- is highly speculative and only suitable for investors who have a high tolerance for risk. Most investors would do better to look atother opportunitiesin the alternative energy sector. 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 Bromelshas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
What's Missing in Democratic Debates About Russia and Election Security—Cyber Saturday Cybersecurity received short shrift at this week’s Democratic debates as the U.S. presidential contenders jockeyed for an early lead ahead of next year’s election. But one related topic did catch a modicum of airtime: Russian election interference. During the first night’s verbal brawl, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio made the most noise. He ranked Moscow’s meddlingat the top of America’s national security threat list. Russia has “been trying to undermine our democracy and they’ve been doing a pretty damn good job of it and we need to stop them,” he said. His rivalscitedclimate change, nuclear proliferation, China, and President Donald Trump as the U.S.’s most pressing threats. Despite the rancor caused by Russian hackers in 2016, the subject of election insecurity surfaced just a few times on Wednesday. An hour and 20 minutes into the 2-hour debate, Beto O’Rourke, former Texas congressman, called out Russian President Vladimir Putin who, he said, “has attacked and invaded our Democracy in 2016 and who President Trump has offered another invitation to do the same.” Ten minutes later, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, talked upher proposed election security legislationwhile knockingits biggest opponent, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. “If we do not do something about Russian interference in the elections and we let Mitch McConnell stop all the backup paper ballots, then we’re not going to get what we want,” Klobuchar said. (Her bill intends to make mandatory voter-verified paper ballots, designed to prevent election tampering.) Mentions of voting vulnerabilities remained sparse during the next day’s debate; the matter arose mostly as a proxy for censuring Trump. Senator Kamala Harris of California, widely recognized as Thursday evening’sbreakout star, justified labeling Trump as the U.S.’s top national security threat by saying “he takes the word of the Russian president over the word of the American intelligence community when it comes to a threat to our democracy and our elections.” The other contestantsraised the election interference issue a few times too. Andrew Yang said the Russians have “been laughing their assess off about” subverting the last U.S. presidential election and “we should focus on that before we start worrying about other threats.” Eric Swalwell, a California congressman, said he would prioritize “breaking up with Russia and making up with NATO” if elected president. And Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado placed Russia atop America’s list of threats “because of what they’ve done with our election.” (Trump was apparently unfazed by the remarks. A few hours after the Democrats’ debate concluded, he made light of Russia’s electoral intrusions during a meeting with Putin at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. “Don’t meddle in the election,” he said,playfully admonishing Putin with a grin.) Russia is not the only mischief-maker, of course. Multiple adversaries—China,Iran, and others—seek to influence and interfere with elections both at home and abroad. In those fleeting moments when our presidential hopefuls talked about the importance of election security, they tended to play up the Moscow menace at the expense of other threats. The tactic can make for an effective soundbite. But let’s not kid ourselves. Moscow is hardly the only foreign power angling to sway the 2020 race. *** While the Democrats were facing off Thursday night, I attended the Loeb Awards dinner where Andy Greenberg, senior writer atWired, deservedly won the “international” category for his piece, “The Code that Crashed the World.” Read it. It’s an outstanding, insider account documenting the wreckage of NotPetya, one of the worst cyberattacks in history. In his acceptance speech, Greenberg called attention to the murky world of cyberwar, which is having disastrous, life-threatening effects in places such as Russia-besieged Ukraine. Distances between nation states have collapsed in the digital realm. Congrats and good on you for raising awareness, Andy. Robert Hackett @rhhackett robert.hackett@fortune.com Welcome to the Cyber Saturday edition of Data Sheet,Fortune’s daily tech newsletter.Fortunereporter Robert Hackett here. You may reach Robert Hackett viaTwitter,Cryptocat,Jabber(see OTR fingerprint on myabout.me), PGP encrypted email (see public key on myKeybase.io),Wickr,Signal, or however you (securely) prefer. Feedback welcome. 1. THREATSBull in a China shop.While the U.S. and China look torestart trade talks, there’s been no shortage of cybersecurity news pertaining to China.Reutersdug intoyears-long Chinese hacksof major technology providers, such asHewlett Packard EnterpriseandIBM.Huaweiclaimed that itdoes not cooperate with the Chinese military, despite reportssaying otherwise. TheWall Street Journalreported that Huawei’s telecommunications equipment isfar more vulnerable to hackingthan rivals’ gear, based on findings from an Ohio-based cybersecurity firm. And Brian Krebs, an independent cybersecurity journalist, made a compelling case that mobile malwareGooglesaid has affected itsAndroidoperating system originated witha certain Chinese vendor.Who you gonna call?TheWashington Post’seditorial board argues that the federal government should make it illegal for cities,latelybesiegedby hacks,to make ransomware payments. Instead, the paper recommends theDepartment of Homeland Security“set up a digital ghostbusters task force to help municipalities come back online after an attack.”Gathering clouds.Western intelligence agencies infiltratedYandex, the Russian search engine company, to spy on users in late 2018,Reutersreported.PCM, a cloud solutions provider based in Calif., seems to havesuffered a data breach. Years ago, employees ofMySpaceused a tool called Overlord to spy on users,Motherboardreports. And theU.S. National Security Agencyis alleged once again to have improperly collected people’s phone records, per theWall Street Journal.Upstarts and false starts.Google Cloudhassnapped upChronicle, the cybersecurity startup that recently spun out ofAlphabet’s moonshot factory X. The two will be fully integrated by the fall, Chronicle’s CEO said in ablog post. Antivirus firmMcAfeeis suing former employees who left for competitorTanium, claiming that the threetook trade secrets with them.Moody’steamed up withTeam8, an Israeli startup accelerator, to create a joint venture that will performcybersecurity risk assessmentsfor businesses.Big un-Friendly Giant.Border Gateway Protocol, or BGP, a fixture of the Internet’s data-routing backbone, continues to cause trouble, despite people knowing about these issues for decades.Cloudflare, an Internet infrastructure startup based in Calif., blamed the technology—andVerizon—forcausing big outages this week.Wiredhas a great piece explainingwhat’s going on behind the scenes.Let he who is without sinlob the first Molotov cocktail.Share today’s Cyber Saturday with a friend:http://fortune.com/newsletter/cybersaturday/Looking for previous Data Sheets? Clickhere 2. ACCESS GRANTEDHear me out.In response to mass shootings, someschoolsandhospitalsare installing in their facilities audio sensors designed to detect stress and anger before violent outbursts. But aninvestigation byProPublica, the nonprofit news organization, finds that the technology often misidentifies sounds and fails to trigger at appropriate times.undefined 3. FORTUNE RECONMicrosoft Excel Vulnerability Could Put 120 Million Users At Riskby Chris MorrisMark Zuckerberg: Facebook is Working on a Policy for Policing Deepfake Videosby Danielle AbrilReddit Quarantines Pro-Trump Message Board, Citing Threats to Police Officersby Kevin KelleherFederal Cybersecurity Failures Include a 48-Year-Old System Few People Knew How to Useby Alyssa Newcomb‘Silex’ Malware Renders Internet-of-Things Devices Useless. Here’s How to Prevent Itby Xavier HardingChinese Hackers Infiltrated Eight Major Tech Providers For Years With ‘Devastating’ Impact: Reportby Chris Morris5 Ways Apple’s iOS 13 Public Beta Can Improve Your iPhone Privacy Right Nowby Xavier HardingWorrying About Artificial Intelligence Starting a Nuclear War: Eye on A.I.by Jonathan Vanian 4. ONE MORE THINGBreach the Street.Data breaches are good for business—if you’re a cybersecurity firm. A blog post on the website of theNasdaq stock exchangeclaims that one of its cybersecurity indexes,NQCYBR, which tracks the stock performance of cybersecurity firms, has consistentlybeaten theS&P 500index in the aftermath of hacks. Over the last five years, the cybersecurity index outperformed the S&P 500 on average by 34 basis points both one week and one month after data breaches, and by 17 basis points three months after data breaches, the exchange said.Interested investors may take note of an associated exchange-traded fund: theFirst Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF, which goes by the tickerCIBR. Thanks for the bump, hackers.
How JP Morgan and Other Hedge Fund Favorites Performed in Q2 Insider Monkey tracks hedge funds, billionaires, and prominent value investors for a very simple reason: their consensus picks generally outperform the market. We aren’t the only research shop broadcasting this fact using a bullhorn. Here is what strategist Ben Snider said in Goldman Sachs’ periodic hedge fund report: “Despite the strong track record of popular hedge fund stocks, investors often view high ownership as a negative trait when evaluating stock prospects. Clients often ask us to include hedge fund ownership data in stock screens, expressing a preference for buying ‘under-owned’ stocks.” “In fact, during the past decade hedge fund popularity has been a more useful criterion for selecting stocks than valuations…. The signals from hedge fund popularity and valuation have been particularly useful in combination, especially for investors with slightly longer investment horizons. During the past decade, popular stocks have generally outperformed unpopular stocks across both 3- and 12-month investment horizons” Snider concluded. It may sound like I am tooting my own horn, but Insider Monkey’s quarterly newsletter is actually superior to Goldman’s report. That’s because we separated the hedge fund favorites into long and short buckets. Our long bucket of hedge fund favorites returned 34.1% in the first half of 2019, whereas our short bucket of hedge fund favorites gained 21.4% during the same period. Hedge funds’ favorite top 20 stocks, on the other hand, returned 24% so far in 2019. You could have beaten the S&P 500 Index funds by 5.7 percentage points by investing inhedge funds’ top 20 picksin 2019, whereas you could have outperformed the index funds by 15.8 percentage points if you invested in our top hedge fund picks. You cantry out our newsletterfree of charge for 14 days to see hedge funds’ latest best stock picks. The #10 most popular stock among the 743 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey wasJPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM).JP Morgan was also the ninth most popular stock among hedge funds at the end of December (see the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds). We have to warn you against indiscriminately imitating hedge funds' all stock picks. Hedge funds' top 20 stock picks outperformed the S&P 500 Index funds by 5.7 percentage points this year, but hedge funds' top 500 stock picks had the same return as the S&P 500 Index this quarter. Investing in a hedge fund's 35th best idea doesn't give you the same return as investing in a hedge fund's best idea. [caption id="attachment_315178" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Warren Buffett[/caption] Let's take a glance at the fresh hedge fund action encompassing JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 100 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -1% from the fourth quarter of 2018. By comparison, 100 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in JPM a year ago. With hedgies' positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions). According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey, Warren Buffett'sBerkshire Hathawayhas the largest position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), worth close to $6.0247 billion, accounting for 3% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Fisher Asset Management, managed by Ken Fisher, which holds a $529.8 million position; the fund has 0.7% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining professional money managers that hold long positions encompass Edgar Wachenheim'sGreenhaven Associates, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson'sAdage Capital Managementand Richard S. Pzena'sPzena Investment Management. Seeing as JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) has experienced a decline in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there were a few hedge funds who were dropping their full holdings heading into Q3. Interestingly, Robert Pitts'sSteadfast Capital Managementdumped the biggest investment of the "upper crust" of funds monitored by Insider Monkey, comprising an estimated $124.8 million in stock. Richard Chilton's fund,Chilton Investment Company, also dropped its stock, about $81.3 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds heading into Q3. Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) but similarly valued. These stocks are Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT), Nestle SA (OTCMKTS:NSRGY), Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS), and Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC). All of these stocks' market caps resemble JPM's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position WMT,57,4392529,-6 NSRGY,4,1617628,0 RDS,33,1708020,0 BAC,96,29064383,-3 Average,47.5,9195640,-2.25 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 47.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $9196 million. That figure was $10349 million in JPM's case. Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Nestle SA (OTCMKTS:NSRGY) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is more popular among hedge funds. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.4% in Q2 and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by more than 2 percentage points (hedge funds' 3 most favorite stocks returned more than 35% this year). Hedge funds were also right about betting on JPM as the stock returned 11.3% during the same period and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Hedge funds were clearly right about piling into this stock relative to other stocks with similar market capitalizations. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
NFL stars Thomas Morstead, Vernon Davis on how investments prepare players for life after football As the looming possibility of anNFL work stoppageadds another layer of financial risk to the league’saverage player, some athletes are turning to entrepreneurial pursuits to provide income streams once their playing days are over. With the league’s current labor deal set to expire after the 2021 season, the NFL Players Association warned players in May to financially prepare for a work stoppage “of at least a year in length.” While NFL executives and player representatives have time to negotiate a new deal, players were advised to set aside 50 percent of their salaries and bonuses over the next two seasons. Labor disputes are just one obstacle for NFL players, many of whom play on non-guaranteed contracts despite a constant risk of injury in the high-impact sport. Since few NFL players earn enough money during their careers to retire for good, the development of a financial plan away from the field is a necessity, according to Thomas Morstead, the longtime New Orleans Saints punter and a minority owner of Main Squeeze Juice Co., a juice and smoothie bar franchise in the city. “Regardless of the work stoppage potential, guys should be thinking about how they’re going to play [life after football],” Morstead, who also sits on the NFLPA’s executive committee, told FOX Business. “I hate the word retirement, because for the average guy, they’re 25 or 26 years old and it’s like you’re just changing jobs. The number of guys that retire and have the ability to do nothing is very small.” Starting quarterbacks and other top NFL stars can earn tens of millions of dollars per season, but the financial reality is far different for rank-and-file players. The average NFL career lasts about 3.3 seasons. While the league’s average salary is about $2.7 million, according to various reports, fringe players often earn far less. The minimum salary for an undrafted NFL rookie is $495,000. Player compensation and guaranteed contracts are expected to be major issues as labor negotiations progress. While traditional endorsements and appearance fees provide another source of income for players, more complex partnerships, such as investments in established franchises, can lead to a legitimate second career, according Patrick Powell, a sports marketing agent and business development agent whose clients include Washington Redskins tight end Vernon Davis and Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Mohamed Sanu. “A franchise model will trump a traditional endorsement deal 10 times out of 10 as long as the right business team is in place. An endorsement deal provides a temp agency style structure, the player is used for a short term and then discarded,” Powell said. “When they become a business owner they make a shift from employee to boss. Whether they are a Pro Bowler or on the scout team, they create a residual revenue stream that exists as long as they desire to keep it alive.” Why athletes invest in franchises Food, restaurant and lifestyle franchises have emerged as a popular investment target for athletes. Saints quarterback Drew Brees is among the most prominent examples of the trend, with investments in Dunkin’ Donuts, Jimmy John’s and Title Boxing Club. Davis, the Redskins tight end, owns five Jamba Juice locations in California and recently partnered with Sanu to develop six more locations in the Washington, D.C. area. The trend isn’t limited to the NFL. NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal recently invested in nine Papa John’s restaurants and joined the company’s board of directors, while Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green has invested in at least 20 Blink Fitness gyms in Michigan and Illinois. Davis said his partnership with Jamba Juice began in 2006, when he learned about the company from his friends Venus and Serena Williams. A meeting with former Jamba Juice CEO James White led to an endorsement deal. Davis used the proceeds to invest in his first store. “Most guys in the past, even myself and what I would do, a lot of companies would offer you, say, $150,000. Most guys would take that, walk away with it, spend it on whatever, maybe buy something, a car, whatever,” Davis said. “But nowadays we’re seeing a lot of guys take that money and put it back into the company.” Davis later repeated that model with PathWater, a company sells water in recyclable aluminum bottles. He received equity as part of his endorsement deal with the company and later invested more of his own money into the brand. He also owns Timeless, a line of workout supplements. The NFL’s financial challenges Given the relatively short lifespan of the average NFL career, the NFLPA takes various steps to prepare its players for life after football. The process begins even beforeplayers leave school, in the form of its college outreach program, which educates prospects about the NFL scouting process and how difficult it is to earn a roster spot. For players who manage to reach the next level, the NFLPA providescareer-planningservices, coordinates internships at companies such as Under Armour and identifies potential one-off earning opportunities. Morstead decided to serve on the NFLPA’s executive committee in part out of a desire to learn more about the league’s benefits and pass that knowledge on to his teammates. Entering his 11th NFL season, he identified irresponsible spending, an inability to say "no" to family and friends asking for loans and careless dealings with business managers as three of the most common mistakes NFL players make in regard to their finances. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP In terms of the possibility of work stoppage in the coming years, Morstead said most players have learned from the last round of negotiations in 2011, when an impasse between owners and union reps led to a lockout that nearly interrupted the season. “It just happened the last time we didn’t have a CBA. I think that reality makes this a lot easier for guys to prepare,” he said. “That’s helpful for players to get all of their ducks lined up, to know that, hey, this is not just us throwing a red flag up to posture for the league, this is telling guys to get ready, this is a possibility. It just happened and it could happen again.” Related Articles • How Much is Michael Phelps Worth? • Ryan Lochte's Brand Value Sinks Amid Rio Scandal • Here's How You Get a Body Like An Olympian
'Strangers Things' Cast Turns Movie Premiere Upside Down! The "Stranger Things" cast flipped their movie premiere upside down for Season Three by taking over a local high school! Hawkin's original five -- Millie Bobby Brown , Gaten Matarazzo , Caleb McLaughlin , Finn Wolfhard and Noah Schnapp -- invaded the red carpet at Santa Monica High on Friday night showing how much they've grown since the beginning of their Netflix series! Last season's newcomer Sadie Sink proved she's part of the pack as she claimed her space next to the cast, whose careers were launched into super star status almost immediately after Season One dropped on the streaming giant. The parents who hold their tiny tribe down -- Winona Ryder and David Harbour -- showed their friendship goes deep off the screen too. Embracing each other tightly ahead of the premiere, they looked more like a family then co-stars. Winona kept it classic in a black dress, while Chief Hopper stripped out of his police officer garb and into a plaid suit. The kids' older siblings were there too! Natalia Dyer walked the carpet in a multicolored sequined gown. Keeping the focus on the dress, she avoided flashy accessorizes and opted for her hair down. Joe Kerry showed off his unique style with a half tan/ half black suit jacket, metallic pants and colorful printed shirt underneath. Charlie Heaton proved he's keeping up with Kerry's fashion sense, putting a hip twist to a traditional black and white suit. But the belle of the ball was the show's star, Millie Bobby Brown. Walking the carpet in a pink, ballerina-like gown, Eleven kept her hair slick back and showed plenty of leg. With extra material that streamed behind the 15-year-old fashionista, she showed her style has evolved with her age and career. Season Three hits Netflix on July 4th.
Amazon, after big hire, experimenting with sports media strategy: interview By Hilary Russ NEW YORK (Reuters) - When Amazon.com Chief Executive Jeff Bezos was spotted schmoozing in NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's booth during the Super Bowl in February, the media world exploded with anticipation about Amazon's imminent domination of sports media. But two years after first dabbling in live sports streaming, Amazon has yet to settle on a strategy as it continues to experiment and analyze consumer behavior, Marie Donoghue, Vice President of Global Sports Video, told Reuters. "We're literally at day one in sports, so we're learning and experimenting," Donoghue said in New York this week in her first interview after she took over the sports media division of the world's largest online retailer last fall. The arrival of Donoghue, a nearly twenty-year veteran of Walt Disney Co's ESPN cable network and who was responsible for shows including the '30 for 30' series and 'OJ: Made in America,' signaled a new level of seriousness to Amazon's pursuit of live sports. While the real impact of her arrival remains to be seen, that hasn't stopped chatter of a big tech takeover of live sports as Amazon, Facebook Inc <FB.O>, Twitter Inc <TWTR.N> and Alphabet Inc's <GOOGL.O> YouTube's threaten to loosen TV's grip on one of the last remaining reasons to pay for live television. Tech companies and startup digital platforms - like DAZN, which in October agreed to pay boxing champion Canelo Alvarez a minimum of $365 million for five years, the richest contract in sports history - are also seen driving up the cost of media rights when major contracts start coming up for renewal in 2021. Will Amazon lead the pack in pursuing streaming rights for live sports? "We don't talk about specific rights ... as a matter of course, but also because we're just not sure yet," Donoghue said. Since 2017, Amazon has snapped up digital rights to some of England's Premier League soccer matches, U.S. Open Tennis Championships in the UK and three seasons of Thursday Night Football, among others. Story continues Donoghue said the current focus is on how to enable Amazon Prime subscribers to control nearly every component of their viewing experience, including how, when and where they watch. As a streaming service, "we don't have to serve the same content in the same way to everybody," she said. To figure out which sports products are successful and what to offer next, Amazon is analyzing market research and its own viewership data, as well as consumers' use of its X-Ray tool for digging into details about shows. It also co-streams Thursday Night Football on its Twitch video game streaming platform, which has an interactive extension that lets viewers predict game developments, including who they think will win. "We're watching all of that," Donoghue said. "We want to use live sports to drive value for Prime customers." (Reporting by Hilary Russ, Editing by Franklin Paul)
3 Dividend Stocks I'd Never Buy Wall Street has a notoriously short memory, which is good in some ways but often leads to investors repeating the same errors over and over again. When it comes to income investing, making a mistake can mean a painful decline in the dividend income you generate from your portfolio. That's not the type of blunder you want to repeat, which is why I will never buyKinder Morgan(NYSE: KMI),Energy Transfer(NYSE: ET), orPlains All American Pipeline(NYSE: PAA). Here's why these three income stocks will never make it into my portfolio and why I think you should avoid them, too. In 2016, Kinder Morgan cut its dividend by a massive 75%. It was a painful blow for investors who had come to rely on that income. The main reason for the cut was that a high level of leverage coupled with the midstream sector being out of favor had made it hard for management to raise growth capital. It had to make a choice between growth spending and the dividend, and chose growth spending. That was the best choice for Kinder Morgan, but it wasn't a great outcome for income investors. Image source: Getty Images. The decision itself, however, isn't the big problem here. What worries me about this episode is that just a couple of months prior to the dividend cut, Kinder Morgan was telling investors to expect a dividend increase of as much as 10% in 2016. Essentially, the company said one thing and then ended up doing the exact opposite. I have a hard time trusting the management team at this point. Today, Kinder Morgan is back to upping its dividend and income investors areagain excited about the stock. But with essentially the same leadership team in place and the fact that themidstreamcompany's leverage is still relatively high for the industry, I'm not willing to touch the stock. There are too many other options in the space that don't come with trust issues for me to bother. Kinder Morgan made the conscious decision to put its business ahead of investors' interests. I can actually respect that choice broadly speaking, since running a company into bankruptcy court is clearly a horrible outcome for investors. There's an obvious balance that needs to be struck. What I'll never able to forgive is a management team that appears to put itself above investors, which is why I will not buy Energy Transfer. In late 2015, Energy Transfer agreed to buy competitorWilliams Companiesin a $33 billion deal. However, the midstream industry was under pressure at the time, and raising capital to fund the agreement quickly became a sticking point. Energy Transfer realized it had made a bad call andwanted out of the dealto which it had agreed. The big problem was that consummating the deal would have required a large stock sale or a material increase in debt. Both of these moves would have put the distribution at risk. To give credit where credit is due, management clearly realized the problem and tried to solve the issue before it took out the distribution. And, in the end, Energy Transfer was able to scuttle the deal. On the surface that seems like a win, but the method used to kill the Williams acquisition is very troubling. Energy Transfer sold convertible debt that caused technical issues for the deal and, after some time in court fighting over the issue, Williams basically gave up and let Energy Transfer walk away. A big chunk of that convertible debt, however, was sold to Energy Transfer's CEO. If the deal had gone through, it appears that his purchase of that convert would have shielded him from a distribution cut. While that may have simply been an aggressive tactic, the fact that the CEO appeared to be protecting himself from a worst-case scenario at the expense of investors doesn't sit well with me. Investors are againhot on Energy Transfer, but the CEO is still there and I just can't stomach the idea of putting trust in a leadership team that I'm not sure has my best interests at heart. That's especially true when there are so many other choices in the industry that don't have as concerning a past. Last up on my do-not-invest list is Plains All American. Like the two names above, thispartnershipisback in investor favorafter a difficult multiyear spell. To sum it up, Plains had taken on a material amount of leverage to fund its growth plans. When the midstream industry hit a rough patch, that leverage quickly became an issue. That set the stage for the problem that I think should keep investors on the sidelines here. In 2016, Plains All American agreed to acquire the incentive distribution rights of its general partner. The move was made to simplify its capital structure and improve the partnership's credit profile. This would, according to management, give it the ability to better capitalize on growth opportunities in the future. The downside was that the move also included a distribution cut. PAA Financial Debt to EBITDA (TTM)data byYCharts. Plains was open about that cut. And, perhaps, the idea of enduring a little near-term pain for long-term gain would be worth it. However, within a year or so, the partnership had to reduce the distribution again. Essentially, the first attempt at getting things moving in the right direction didn't work out as planned. With difficult industry conditions persisting, management had to go back to the drawing board in an effort to get the company's leverage under control. The double hit to the distribution added up to a roughly 57% cut. Going back for the second reduction, while likely the right call for the partnership, suggests that management may not have as good a handle on the business as investors would like. That's doubly true when you consider that a large number of peers didn't have to lower their distribution even once. In this case, I'm not convinced it's worth the risk that management misjudges the business's prospects again, leaving investors to hold the bag. When you buy a stock, you are giving your hard-earned savings to a company expecting that it will do its best to use that money wisely. Trust is vital. I'm not confident enough in the management teams at Kinder Morgan, Energy Transfer, or Plains All American to give them my savings. While the opportunities here may look compelling today, the way they've managed shareholder capital in the past is troubling. There are just too many other options out there without this type of baggage for most investors to bother with potential trust issues like these. 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 Reuben Gregg Brewerhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
How Bank of America and Other Hedge Fund Favorites Performed in Q2 Insider Monkey tracks hedge funds, billionaires, and prominent value investors for a very simple reason: their consensus picks generally outperform the market. We aren’t the only research shop broadcasting this fact using a bullhorn. Here is what strategist Ben Snider said in Goldman Sachs’ periodic hedge fund report: “Despite the strong track record of popular hedge fund stocks, investors often view high ownership as a negative trait when evaluating stock prospects. Clients often ask us to include hedge fund ownership data in stock screens, expressing a preference for buying ‘under-owned’ stocks.” “In fact, during the past decade hedge fund popularity has been a more useful criterion for selecting stocks than valuations…. The signals from hedge fund popularity and valuation have been particularly useful in combination, especially for investors with slightly longer investment horizons. During the past decade, popular stocks have generally outperformed unpopular stocks across both 3- and 12-month investment horizons” Snider concluded. It may sound like I am tooting my own horn, but Insider Monkey’s quarterly newsletter is actually superior to Goldman’s report. That’s because we separated the hedge fund favorites into long and short buckets. Our long bucket of hedge fund favorites returned 34.1% in the first half of 2019, whereas our short bucket of hedge fund favorites gained 21.4% during the same period. Hedge funds’ favorite top 20 stocks, on the other hand, returned 24% so far in 2019. You could have beaten the S&P 500 Index funds by 5.7 percentage points by investing inhedge funds’ top 20 picksin 2019, whereas you could have outperformed the index funds by 15.8 percentage points if you invested in our top hedge fund picks. You cantry out our newsletterfree of charge for 14 days to see hedge funds’ latest best stock picks. The #1 most popular stock among the 743 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey wasBank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC).Bank of America was also the 11th most popular stock among hedge funds at the end of December (see the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds). [caption id="attachment_315178" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Warren Buffett[/caption] We have to warn you against indiscriminately imitating hedge funds' all stock picks. Hedge funds' top 20 stock picks outperformed the S&P 500 Index funds by 5.7 percentage points this year, but hedge funds' top 500 stock picks had the same return as the S&P 500 Index this quarter. Investing in a hedge fund's 35th best idea doesn't give you the same return as investing in a hedge fund's best idea. We're going to take a look at the recent hedge fund action regarding Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC). At Q1's end, a total of 96 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -3% from the previous quarter. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in BAC over the last 15 quarters. With hedge funds' sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were adding to their stakes considerably (or already accumulated large positions). Among these funds,Berkshire Hathawayheld the most valuable stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC), which was worth $24725.3 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Theleme Partners which amassed $499.8 million worth of shares. Moreover, Pzena Investment Management, First Pacific Advisors LLC, and Darsana Capital Partners were also bullish on Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. Due to the fact that Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) has experienced bearish sentiment from the smart money, logic holds that there lies a certain "tier" of fund managers that slashed their entire stakes heading into Q3. Interestingly, Richard Chilton'sChilton Investment Companysold off the largest investment of all the hedgies followed by Insider Monkey, comprising about $74.4 million in stock. Matthew Knauer and Mina Faltas's fund,Nokota Management, also dropped its stock, about $73.9 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 3 funds heading into Q3. Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) but similarly valued. We will take a look at The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC). This group of stocks' market caps match BAC's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position PG,56,9567973,-4 VZ,52,1472781,-10 MA,94,11561189,-2 INTC,62,4307809,-3 Average,66,6727438,-4.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 66 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $6727 million. That figure was $29064 million in BAC's case. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is the least popular one with only 52 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is more popular among hedge funds. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.4% in Q2 and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by more than 2 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on BAC, though not to the same extent, as the stock returned 5.7% during the same period and outperformed the market as well. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
Romania's president eyes new term, not EU's top job By Radu-Sorin Marinas BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's centrist President Klaus Iohannis said on Saturday he would decline any offer to get the European Union's top job, seeking instead to win a fresh term as the country's president. Iohannis, 60, an ethnic German whose promise to rein in corruption has helped make him Europe's most popular political leader on Facebook, had been named by diplomats as a possible replacement to European Council head Donald Tusk. The country's fourth president since the 1989 fall of communism, he inflicted a shock defeat on then premier Victor Ponta in 2014, on a promise to fight corruption in the EU's most graft-prone member and be a unifying leader. "...There are important people, both in the country and in Europe, who would see me in a leading position in a European institution," Iohannis told a gathering of ethnic German members of the FDGR party in his hometown of Sibiu. "I want to say it here now publicly: I am the president of Romania and I want to remain the president of Romania and not of the European Council, because there is much more to do here and I am willing to remain involved." As Iohannis ranks first with about 43% in opinion polls to win a fresh term, far ahead of any other politician, his departure would have left his main ally, the centrist opposition National Liberal Party scrambling to find a suitable candidate to run in the November presidential ballot. A former high-school physics teacher, Iohannis was praised for his managerial skills in running the Transylvanian town of Sibiu. A descendant of Saxons who settled there in medieval times, he is Romania's first president from an ethnic minority. Iohannis is a staunch critic of the ruling Social Democrat's (PSD) drive to sap the judiciary. Since taking power in late 2016, the PSD has chipped away at the independence of the judiciary, prompting criticism from the EU. Voters punished the PSD in a May 26 European Parliament election, which the party lost to centrist groupings. Romanians also overwhelmingly endorsed a non-binding referendum called by Iohannis to prevent the government from further changing legislation via emergency decree and from granting pardons and amnesty for graft convictions. PSD's Prime Minister Viorica Dancila is expected to cement her leadership at the helm of the ruling party at a congress on Saturday. Her party has yet to nominate its choice for Romania's presidential ballot. (Editing by Stephen Powell)
Daisy Ridley ‘Can’t Imagine’ Playing Rey After ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,’ But Never Say Never Click here to read the full article. J.J. Abrams’ upcoming “ Star Wars : The Rise of Skywalker” has been billed as the definitive end of the Skywalker saga. Disney and Lucasfilm have been touting the tentpole as the conclusion to the main “Star Wars” narrative that first began with George Lucas’ 1977 original, which is why it remains unclear whether or not characters like Daisy Ridley ’s Rey, Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron, and John Boyega’s Finn will pop up again in future “Star Wars” movies. In a new interview with Vulture , Ridley downplays the idea of Rey returning to the big screen after the release of “The Rise of Skywalker.” “I can’t actually imagine it right now,” Ridley said. “The ending to ‘Rise of Skywalker’…’Rise of the Skywalker?’ ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ — sorry, jet lag — it’s very satisfying. It felt like an end. I don’t know what’ll happen in however many years. Related stories Of Course Carrie Fisher Is Cursing at Daisy Ridley in This 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' Shot Exploring 40 Years of 'Star Wars' Tech With 'Galactic Innovations' at the Academy Ridley continued, “There are so many characters in the ‘Star Wars’ world who’ve never been explored. There’s so much for the filmmakers to work on. So right now, I don’t think so. But who could say, really? An opportunity might present itself. I love how the movie hasn’t come out and people are like, ‘What about going forward?’ Right now, it feels like a really nice full stop on the Skywalker series.” Boyega has also gone on record saying he doesn’t envision a future where he plays his “Star Wars” character again. The actor told MTV News during Stars Wars Celebration in April, “Honestly, the bottom of my heart, I don’t think I am [coming back]. I don’t think I am. I really do feel that way. This really is that movie, I think everyone doesn’t believe it, but this is that war that just ends everything.” Story continues Oscar Isaac was adement back in March that “The Rise of Skywalker” is the conclusion of the main “Star Wars” franchise, saying, “It is the end of the entire Skywalker saga. Nine stories. This is the culmination of the entire thing. What J.J. has done, and the entire Lucasfilm team, is incredibly fulfilling. It’s also special for us because you get to learn a lot more things about these characters.” Given that original “Star Wars” actors Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher all returned after decades to reprise their characters in the new trilogy, it’s still possible that far in the future Ridley and company will come back to “Star Wars.” For now, at least, “The Rise of Skywalker” will be the last fans see of Rey for a good while. “ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ” opens in theaters nationwide December 20 from Disney. Launch Gallery: 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' Trailer Breakdown: The 16 Most Revealing Shots Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Just Got a $300 Million Raise The results of the second round of the Federal Reserve's annual Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR) were just released, and the results found that most banks passed. That is -- under a severely adverse economic scenario that consisted of, among other things, a 6-percentage-point rise in the unemployment rate, a 50% drop in stocks, a 25% drop in home values, and recessions in several international economies -- our largest banks would remain adequately capitalized. This is excellent news forBerkshire Hathaway(NYSE: BRK-A)(NYSE: BRK-B), as a large portion of its $205 billion stock portfolio is made up of bank stocks that were subject to the stress tests. Specifically, all of the big banks Berkshire Hathaway owns in its portfolio received no objections to their capital plans from the Fed. This clears the way for dividend increases and share buybacks, and the banks certainly didn't disappoint. Here's how the latest stress test results affected Berkshire's bank stocks and what it means for the company. Image source: The Motley Fool. Of the 18 banks subject to this year's stress tests, seven are in Berkshire's portfolio. Here's a rundown of how much each increased its dividend by and what it means to Berkshire's dividend income stream. [{"Company": "Bank of America(NYSE: BAC)", "Number of Shares": "896,167,600", "Dividend Increase Per Share (Quarterly)": "$0.03", "Increase in Berkshire's Income": "$26.89 million"}, {"Company": "Wells Fargo(NYSE: WFC)", "Number of Shares": "409,803,773", "Dividend Increase Per Share (Quarterly)": "$0.06", "Increase in Berkshire's Income": "$24.59 million"}, {"Company": "Goldman Sachs(NYSE: GS)", "Number of Shares": "18,353,635", "Dividend Increase Per Share (Quarterly)": "$0.40", "Increase in Berkshire's Income": "$7.34 million"}, {"Company": "U.S. Bancorp(NYSE: USB)", "Number of Shares": "129,308,831", "Dividend Increase Per Share (Quarterly)": "$0.05", "Increase in Berkshire's Income": "$6.47 million"}, {"Company": "JPMorgan Chase(NYSE: JPM)", "Number of Shares": "59,514,932", "Dividend Increase Per Share (Quarterly)": "$0.10", "Increase in Berkshire's Income": "$5.95 million"}, {"Company": "PNC Financial(NYSE: PNC)", "Number of Shares": "8,671,054", "Dividend Increase Per Share (Quarterly)": "$0.20", "Increase in Berkshire's Income": "$1.73 million"}, {"Company": "Bank of New York Mellon(NYSE: BK)", "Number of Shares": "80,937,250", "Dividend Increase Per Share (Quarterly)": "$0.03", "Increase in Berkshire's Income": "$2.43 million"}, {"Company": "Total", "Number of Shares": "", "Dividend Increase Per Share (Quarterly)": "", "Increase in Berkshire's Income": "$75.4 million (quarterly), $301.6 million (annually)"}] Data source: Company press releases, Berkshire Hathaway SEC filings (Holdings as of March 31, 2019), and author's own calculations. Numbers may not add perfectly due to rounding. So, Berkshire is going to get more than $300 million in additional dividend income per year because of the positive stress test results. In addition to the dividends, most of the banks involved in the stress tests also announced increases to their stock buyback plans. And several of Berkshire's bank stocks revealed some pretty impressive numbers: • Bank of America authorized $30 billion in buybacks over the 12-month period from July 2019 through June 2020, a $10 billion increase from last year. • JPMorgan Chase authorized a $29.4 billion buyback plan, an increase of $8.7 billion. • Wells Fargo announced up to $23.1 billion in buybacks. This is actually a small decrease from the $24.5 billion authorized last year. • Goldman Sachs increased its buyback authorization to $7 billion this year from $5 billion a year ago. • PNC Financial authorized $4.3 billion in buybacks, more than double the $2 billion it authorized last year. • U.S. Bancorp will buy back as much as $3.0 billion over the coming year, the same as last year's • Bank of New York Mellon is increasing its buyback authorization by 20% to $3.94 billion. Buffett has been adding bank stocks to Berkshire's portfolio at an aggressive pace in recent quarters, which indicates that he sees a lot of value in the industry. Since Buffettlovesbuybacks when a stock is trading for less than its intrinsic value, it's possible that the Oracle of Omaha could be even more excited about his bank stocks' buybacks than their dividend increases. The bottom line is that Berkshire gets a double dose of good news. Its annual dividend income is increasing by about $300 million, which can then be used toward further stock purchases or acquisitions. And these companies that Buffett generally considers to be undervalued are planning to buy back stock at an aggressive pace. In short, it's a good day to be a bank investor. 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 Matthew Frankel, CFPowns shares of Bank of America and Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
2 Incredibly Cheap Energy Stocks Investors have abandoned energymaster limited partnerships(MLPs) in recent years. Several factors have caused the sector to fall out of favor, including oil price volatility,regulatory changes, and higher interest rates. As a result of these issues, most MLPs trade at historically low valuations. In addition to those outside factors, internal issues such as weaker financial profiles have further suppressed the value of certain MLPs. The two hardest hit by all these headwinds areEnergy Transfer(NYSE: ET)andSummit Midstream Partners(NYSE: SMLP), which have the lowest valuations in their respective peer groups. Image source: Getty Images. Energy Transfer is one of the largestmidstreamMLPs in the country. The company currently operates a diversified portfolio of energy infrastructure, including 86,000 miles of pipelines for oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, and refined petroleum products, as well as several processing and storage facilities. It collects steady fees backed primarily by long-term contracts as volumes flow through those assets, enabling it to produce predictable cash flow. The company currently returns about half of that money to investors via a distribution that yields an attractive 8.6%. For 2019, Energy Transfer expects to haul in between $10.6 billion and $10.8 billion ofEBITDA-- up 12.5% from last year at the midpoint -- from its portfolio of energy infrastructure assets. Given Energy Transfer's currententerprise value (EV)of $93 billion, the company trades at anEV-to-EBITDAratio of 8.7 times. That's by far the lowest level in its peer group of large midstream companies. For perspective, the next cheapest competitor trades at nearly 11 times its EV/EBITDA, while its priciest peer sells for almost 14 times that metric. One factor that seems to be weighing on Energy Transfer's valuation is that it has a higher leverage ratio compared with its peers. However, its debt-to-EBITDA metric should decline from its current level of around 4.7 times to its target range of 4.0 to 4.5 as earnings increase. Given that earnings growth should quickly erase the main concern weighing down its valuation, Energy Transfer seems to be trading at asuper-cheap pricethese days. Image source: Getty Images. Summit Midstream is a much smaller MLP mainly focused on gathering and processing oil and gas for producers. Those activities tend to generate relatively predictable cash flow, since the company signs long-term contracts with drillers to support their operations. But these activities are a bit more sensitive to oil prices because drillers tend to slow their pace when crude prices drop, which causes reduced volumes to flow through Summit's systems. Given the current expectations for oil prices, Summit Midstream is on track to produce between $295 million and $315 million of EBITDA this year. At the midpoint, that's about 7% above last year's level, which is close to the average growth rate for peers focused on gathering and processing. With Summit Midstream's current enterprise value below $2.5 billion, it implies that the MLP trades at an EV/EBITDA of less than eight times. That's by far the lowest in its peer group, where the next cheapest competitor trades at about nine times its EV/EBITDA, while the average is slightly above 10 times. Summit Midstream's valuation is at the bottom of the barrel even though it has comparable financial metrics. Its debt-to-EBITDA ratio, for example, is currently at 4.3 times, which is only slightly higher than the peer group average of 4.1 times. Meanwhile, the company expects to generate enough cash to cover its sky-high distribution -- which currently yields an eye-popping 16.7% -- by a comfortable 1.7 times. That coverage level is well above the peer group average of 1.4 times. The one knock against Summit Midstream is that it owes its parent $303.5 million for an acquisition the two completed a few years ago. It's not entirely clear how the company will pay that balance, which is due at the end of next year. The concern is that the MLP could fund the remaining balance by issuing new common units, which would be highly dilutive to existing investors, given howridiculously cheapshares are these days. If the company can find a way to make that payment without diluting investors, then its valuation could skyrocket once it lifts the main weight holding it down. Financial concerns are weighing on the valuations of Energy Transfer and Summit Midstream. Because of that, both could have big-time upside as those worries fade. In the meantime, risk-tolerant investors are getting paid exceptionally well to patiently wait as these companies address the issues holding them down. 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 Matthew DiLallohas 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.
Delta Air Lines' Oil Refinery Just Became Way More Valuable Philadelphia Energy Solutions' refinery suffered a massive explosion and fire in the early morning of June 21. (Fortunately, there were only a handful of minor injuries.) Last week, the company -- which filed for bankruptcy last year and has continued to face financial difficulties -- announced that it will not repair and reopen the South Philadelphia facility. This marks a sudden end for the largest oil refinery in the Northeast. But it's good news forDelta Air Lines(NYSE: DAL), which owns one of the few remaining refineries in the region. (Several others have closed over the past decade.) While other airlines could face higher jet fuel prices due to the loss of refinery capacity, Delta's Monroe Energy subsidiary could see a nice uptick in profits from higher refining margins. Seven years ago, Delta shocked observers by buying a refinery in Trainer, Pennsylvania, that had recently been shuttered byPhillips 66. Delta's total investment was around $250 million: $150 million after government incentives to buy the refinery, plus $100 million for upgrades. Many pundits doubted that an airline could successfully operate a refinery thatstruggled as part of a major refining company. However, Delta's management saw the deal as a cheap, relatively low-risk way to protect itself against swings in refining margins that can drive up the price of jet fuel at times. Delta bought a refinery in 2012 to hedge against volatile refining margins. Image source: Delta Air Lines. The Trainer refinery has had a mixed track record under Delta's ownership. Changes in the structure of the oil market and rising environmental compliance costs have made the refinery less profitable than the airline had projected. (Back in 2012, Delta said the refinery would earn $300 million annually. It nearly hit that figure in 2015, but hasn't come close since.) On the other hand, owning the refinery has insulated Delta from elevated refining margins during periods of disruption, such asafter Hurricane Harveyin late 2017. The refinery posted operating income of $110 million in 2017 and $58 million in 2018, before swinging to a $34 million loss in the first quarter of 2019. East Coast refining margins jumped by several cents following the explosion at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery. While there is plenty of infrastructure to move more refined products to the Northeast by pipeline and ship, the uptick in refining margins in the region is unlikely to disappear completely anytime soon. Furthermore, Philadelphia Energy Solutions' refinery lacked the capability to blend biofuels into its products, forcing it to buy renewable credits instead. Delta's Trainer facility is in the same position. With Philadelphia Energy Solutions shutting down, Delta's Monroe Energy unit will face less competition for buying these renewable credits, which should reduce its costs. The Trainer refinery processes about 185,000 barrels of oil per day. That works out to nearly 3 billion gallons annually. Thus, an increase in refining margins of as little as $0.04 per gallon would boost the refinery's annual operating profit by more than $100 million, a significant sum. Since last fall, Delta has been looking for a strategic partner to buy a stake in the Trainer refinery. Given that it only needs jet fuel for its airline business -- not all of the other products the refinery produces -- finding a partner to deal with the rest of the refinery's output would make sense. So far, Delta hasn't been able to close a deal. The company has even explored selling the refinery entirely,according to Reuters-- although executives have disputed that report. Regardless of whether a sale or a joint venture is the ultimate goal, the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery closure will help Delta. Potential partners (or buyers) that may have been nervous about the Trainer facility's economics may be willing to take another look now, due to the more favorable competitive landscape. Despite the refinery's ups and downs over the years, Delta's bold move to enter the refining business is still on track to pay off in the long run. 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 Adam Levine-Weinbergowns shares of Delta Air Lines. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Delta Air Lines. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
What Is a Direct Public Offering (DPO)? There's a somewhat unfamiliar term floating around the financial markets these days -- direct public offering, or DPO for short. This is very much likethe more established initial public offering (IPO), although there are several critical differences and distinctions between the two. Image source: Spotify. A DPO, simply put, is when a company directly offers its stock to the public by listing it on a stock exchange. In contrast, an IPO is a new stock issue in which one or (usually) a group of investment banks -- known as underwriter(s) -- attempt to sell the shares to a select group of investorsbeforethe stock exchange listing. This is typically done through a "road show" (series of presentations to potentially interested buyers). Following this stage, the new stock lists on the market, and the general public can trade it. In a DPO, this stage of the process is skipped. There are no underwriters, and thus no road show. There are advantages and disadvantages to a DPO. The first advantage, of course, is savings. Since investment banks do basically nothing for free, their IPO underwriting generates fees. That money for the road show has to come from somewhere, and the underwriters need to be sufficiently compensated for their time, effort, and risk. So by eliminating them from the offering, an issuing company can save tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars. (Fees for a typical IPO tend to approach 7% of the total proceeds raised). On the flip side, the better IPO underwriters have strong networks of wealthy people and institutions looking for good investments. A quality IPO road show managed by clever underwriters not only drums up awareness among the moneyed elite, it also makes the company more familiar to the general public (and, thus, hopefully more attractive to investors) and creates more buzz for the issuing company. This helps lift its IPO price, resulting in higher proceeds for the issuer. We have seen this phenomenon seen numerous times. Two recent examples are cyber-security specialistCrowdStrike Holdings(NASDAQ: CRWD)and alt-food producerBeyond Meat(NASDAQ: BYND). After the price range of CrowdStrike Holdings' IPO was set at $28 to $30 per share, the company's stock ultimately ended up changing hands at $34. Beyond Meat's ultimate IPO price was $25 per share, quite some distance north of the originally anticipated $19 to $21 range. Direct public offerings have made the headlines largely because of two high-profile market debuts that took place nearly one year apart. These were corporate messaging app developerSlackand music streaming serviceSpotify Technology(NYSE: SPOT). SinceSpotify's 2018 stock issuewas the one that put DPOs on the map, let's take a glance at it to help figure out why a company might opt for this form of public offering. A good IPO underwriter or set of underwriters can provide publicity and capital -- Beyond Meat now has plenty of name recognition, steps ahead of its rival The Impossible Company, for example. Yet Spotify was not desperate for funds. It was a tech sector darling that was already worth almost $30 billion before it became a stock on the market. On top of that, it had nearly 160 million regular users, so it was hardly obscure. It didn't need capital or publicity; rather, its DPO stock issue functioned as a means for existing Spotify shareholders, many of whom were employees, to sell their stock to the public if they so desired. Ultimately, there's no "better" method between an IPO and a DPO. The appropriate one depends on the situation of the company going public. Better-capitalized and more familiar businesses with lots of insider stockholders might be better off going the DPO route; companies that lack money or familiarity could be more suitable for the traditional IPO route. 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 Eric Volkmanhas 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.
3 Dividend Investing Tips That Could Earn You Thousands Looked at from the highest level, a dividend is simply a return of cash to shareholders. Thedividend yieldlargely encapsulates this aspect of dividends. But there's so much more information for income investors in this stockholder disbursement. Here are three tips to help you truly harness the power of dividends and become a better income investor. The most important feature of dividends is the information they help convey. A painful example here is a dividend cut, which is usually a warning sign that business isn't going well (see below for more on this topic). But at the other end of the spectrum is a company likeProcter & Gamble, which has increased its dividend annually for over six decades. Maintaining a streak like that shows business success, and every year added to the streak is a statement on management's confidence in the future. Image source: Getty Images. Even companies with long annual streaks like this can cut their dividend, however, so this isn't the only factor to look at. But when a company has a long streak of annual dividend increases, management is trying to send a signal to shareholders and potential shareholders. Income investors should pay attention and focus on companies that have a long history of rewarding shareholders with regular dividend hikes. It quickly cuts the list of potential investment candidates down to a manageable level. The best part is that you can get this information free from theDRIP Investing Resource Center. On this website you will find a downloadable spreadsheet listing companies that have increased their dividends for five to nine years, 10 to 24 years, and 25 or more years. If you are interested in dividend stocks, this is the place to start your search. It will home you in on companies that have a clear bias toward rewarding shareholders and, depending on the list you look at, long histories of success. For most investors, and especially for those with a conservative bias, this list should be reviewed before you even consider a stock's yield. Once you're focused on companies with impressive dividend histories, it is time to consider yield. Most look at the absolute value here, but that only tells you half the story. On an absolute level, a 3.7% yield from a financially strong company sounds good if theS&P 500Indexis offering only around 2% or so. But what if that yield is backed byRealty Income(NYSE: O), an iconicreal estate investment trust(REIT)? In this case, the yield is actually near the lowest levels in the REIT's history. Far from an attractive entry point, the yield actually suggests Realty Income looks rather expensive today. That view is confirmed by its lofty ratio of price to adjustedfunds from operations(similar toP/Efor industrials), which is 22. That's rather high for a slow-growing company specifically intended to throw income off to investors. O Dividend Yield (TTM)data byYCharts. Meanwhile,Hormel Foods(NYSE: HRL)offers a yield of around 2%, roughly what the S&P offers. But if you look back at this packaged-food company's yield history, that's toward the high end of its historical range. Suddenly a yield that income investors might overlook because it appears low on an absolute basis starts to look a lot more attractive. Put simply, a historical look at yield levels can help you find companies that are more attractive in valuation. This isn't a fail-safe tool, and it needs to be used with care (an extremely high yield can be a sign that the dividend is at risk). But it provides valuable information that you might miss if all you look for is large yields. It might seem obvious, but the company backing a dividend can't be overlooked. There are two big factors to consider here: financial strength and the business model. Companies with a lot of leverage are far more likely to cut a dividend than a company with very little leverage. For example,ExxonMobil(NYSE: XOM)has over three decades of annual dividend increases behind it. The integrated energy giant also happens to have a long history of being fiscally conservative, highlighted by one of the strongestbalance sheetsin the industry. To put a number on that, long-term debt makes up less than 10% of its capital structure. When the oil market cratered in mid-2014, Exxon was able to add debt to keep funding its capital investments and dividend (long-term debt peaked at a still-modest 15% or so of the capital structure, for reference). Industry peerENI(NYSE: E)has historically made greater use of leverage, and it isn't a coincidence that it ended up cutting its dividend during that steep industry downturn. E Financial Debt to Equity (Quarterly)data byYCharts. In addition to a strong financial foundation, you also need to consider the long-term business model. Look back at Hormel for a second. The company sells food, something we all need. It has a long history of adjusting to shifting consumer tastes as well. Right now, the yield is relatively high because consumers are, once again, shifting gears. Hormel is adjusting its portfolio (selling less-desirable brands and buying ones that resonate more, like Wholly Guacamole). This is a difficult period, but not one that is likely to derail the company. (Hormel also happens to have a very low level of debt, which is another plus.) Now considerGameStop(NYSE: GME), which in recent years was offering a mid- to high-single-digit yield. This brick-and-mortar retailer of video games and game systems, however, is facing a fundamental change in the way consumers buy video games and equipment. More and more shoppers are buying online and, equally important, going direct to the game developers. GameStop, a middleman, is being forced out of the equation, and there's little it can do to stop the trend. It shouldn't be too surprising that GameStop ended upeliminating its dividend in mid-2019. While it may not have needed to cut the dividend, financially speaking, the company's historical business model no longer looks sustainable. The high yield, when couched in the deteriorating business outlook, was really a warning sign here. Looked at together, these three dividend tips can help create the foundation of an investment approach. They are simple in some ways, but hugely powerful for dividend investors when put together. Essentially you want to find companies with long histories of rewarding investors with increasing dividends, that are also yielding more than normal historically, and that have the financial strength and business models to keep paying (and increasing) through thick and thin. If all you look at is the absolute yield, you will miss a massive amount of information. If you use these dividend tips, however, you can not only earn thousands, but perhaps also avoid painful losses. 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 Reuben Gregg Brewerowns shares of ExxonMobil, Hormel Foods, and Procter & Gamble. The Motley Fool owns shares of GameStop. The Motley Fool is short shares of Procter & Gamble and has the following options: short July 2019 $8 calls on GameStop. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Warren Buffett’s Portfolio Lifted by Fintech Stocks. Is Bitcoin the Reason? As Berkshire Hathaway finishes out Q2 2019, itstop 10performing stocks were dominated by fintech companies that are making innovations in digital payments.Warren Buffettmay havebitcoinand crypto to thank. They may be what’s keeping Berkshire buoyant despite the $3 billion Kraft Heinzwritedownin Q1. Thatresulted ina $4.3 billion stock crash. Worse, Berkshire took heavy damage in May losses from the global equities rout on trade-war and recession fears. Berkshire shares will, however, still finish out the first half of 2019 with a profit. They’re riding a wave of investor interest in financial technology innovation. All signs point to a bitcoin ripple effect. Bitcoin hasbeen the best performing asset of the last decade, as pointed out by Morgan Creek Digital Partner Anthony Pompliano. Facebook isn’t the only company making a major splash into the space with the upcoming launch ofLibra coin. Investors fearing equities doldrums ahead are piling their cash into companies that promise big returns on fintech innovations. Read the full story on CCN.com.
3 Top Driverless Car Stocks to Watch It's folly to think of driverless cars as some far-off future technology. They're already here. In Las Vegas, the self-driving car partnership betweenLyftand Aptiv recently hit the 50,000-ride mark.Tesla's Elon Musk, in a boast about his company's driverless system, predicts his company could have 1 million "robotaxis" on the roadnext year. We asked three Motley Fool contributors to weigh in on companies to watch as driverless technology emerges as the next big thing. Read on to see whyAlphabet(NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL),NXP Semiconductors(NASDAQ: NXPI), andWalmart(NYSE: WMT) -- yes, that Walmart -- made their lists. Chris Neiger(Alphabet):A lot of automakers and technology companies are diving headfirst into driverless cars, but none can compare to the head start that Alphabet's self-driving vehicle company, Waymo, has established. Waymo, which was once known as Google's self-driving car project, has already logged more than 10 million self-driving miles on public roads. At the end of 2018, the company launched one of the firstautonomous ridesharing servicesin the U.S., called Waymo One. The service allows users to hail an autonomous ride (with a human driver still behind the wheel monitoring the vehicle) to get around town in the Phoenix area. Why does all of this matter? Because Waymo's years of research and testing give the company a nearly unparalleled lead in the autonomous vehicle space. Sure, other companies are making strides in the self-driving space, but Waymo's lead could allow the company to license its technology to other companies looking to catch up quickly. The driverless car market is expected to beworth $7 trillion by 2050, and with Waymo's early moves, Alphabet is perfectly poised to benefit as it grows. The additional benefit for investors is that Alphabet won't sink or swim based on the driverless car market, which gives investors a great way to add exposure to their portfolios without much risk. Anders Bylund(NXP Semiconductors):This Dutch chipmaker has often been lost in the automotive computing conversation after the failed merger with industry giantQualcomm(NASDAQ: QCOM). ButNXP is still the leading chip provider in this market, sporting annual sales of $4.5 billion and growing market shares in important categories such as digital instrumentation clusters anddriver assistance systems(ADAS). The global market for semiconductors in cars is expected to reach $67.5 billion per year in 2023. If NXP can hold on to a 12.5% share of that annual revenue pie, that works out to an 87% increase in sales for this crucial division over the next four years. I see no reason to believe that NXP would let its market share slip, given the company's rising importance in some of the most interesting sub-markets. So NXP is staring down a huge market opportunity here, fully explaining why Qualcomm was willing to pay $44 billion for the company. NXP's stock trades at just 10.7 times forward earnings or 9.6 times trailing free cash flows, giving further support to the thesis that the shares are undervalued. Simply returning to the formerly promised $44 billion market cap would give shareholders a 37% return from current prices, and that's nothing more than a reasonable interim goal. There should be plenty of value left to unlock even beyond that level as the auto industry moves deeper into self-driving features and meaty sensor packages. Jamal Carnette, CFA(Walmart):At first glance, it may seem nonsensical to include Walmart as a company slated to benefit from autonomous vehicles instead of an automaker or a chip manufacturer. However, to not include Walmart as a winner in the shift to driverless vehicles is missing the forest for the trees: Autonomous vehicles will eventually eliminate the need for human drivers. Outside of shipping companies directly, can you envision a company better poised to benefit from lower transportation and delivery costs? After years of ceding e-commerce, current CEO Doug McMillon was no longer content to lose this critical channel and paid approximately $3.3 billion forAmazon's biggest rival, Jet.com, in a cash-and-stock transaction in 2016. Autonomous vehicles could be the final link to becoming a true competitor with Amazon, lowering costs not only for distribution-center delivery but also for the critical last-mile component. This is the hidden piece that will allow Walmart's nearly 4,800 stores to become single-day (or faster) delivery outposts, putting tremendous pressure on Amazon. Walmart understands this and has been steadily partnering with autonomous vehicle companies, with an eye on grocery delivery, presumably because its numerous store locations give it a natural advantage over Amazon in perishable delivery. Asfellow Fool Leo Sun notes, the company partnered with Alphabet's Waymo to bring customers to grocery stores and entered into a pilot withFord's driverless cars in Miami to deliver groceries. Walmart is in the driver's seat to benefit from a world in which nobody is in a driver's seat. More From The Motley Fool • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.Anders Bylundowns shares of Alphabet (A shares), NXP Semiconductors, and Tesla.Chris Neigerhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned.Jamal Carnette, CFAowns shares of Alphabet (C shares). The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Tesla. The Motley Fool owns shares of Qualcomm. The Motley Fool recommends NXP Semiconductors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Diverted plane makes emergency landing at Newark Airport NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A United flight heading from New York to Houston diverted to Newark Liberty Airport and made an emergency landing. Inflatable slides were used to deplane passengers on the runway Saturday morning. No major injuries were reported. United said Flight 2098 heading from LaGuardia Airport experienced problems upon takeoff just before 8 a.m. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it was "hydraulics problems." The Port Authority said the plane blew a tire on landing. It said there was also other structural damage that forced closure of the runway. Spokeswoman Andrea Hiller said the pilots "reacted quickly to ensure the safety of the aircraft and our customers." The airport grounded arriving and departing flights at about 8:45 a.m. Flights resumed shortly after 9:30 a.m.
Truce in US-China trade war as 2 rivals seek breakthrough OSAKA, Japan (AP) — President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping agreed to a cease-fire Saturday in their nations' yearlong trade war, averting for now an escalation feared by financial markets, businesses and farmers. Trump said U.S. tariffs will remain in place against Chinese imports while negotiations continue. Additional trade penalties he has threatened against billions worth of other Chinese goods will not take effect for the "time being," he said, and the economic powers will restart stalled talks that have already gone 11 rounds. "We're going to work with China where we left off," Trump said after a lengthy meeting with Xi while the leaders attended the Group of 20 summit in Osaka. While Trump said relations with China were "right back on track," doubts persist about the two nations' willingness to compromise on a long-term solution. Among the sticking points: The U.S. contends that Beijing steals technology and coerces foreign companies into handing over trade secrets; China denies it engages in such practices. The apparent truce continues a pattern for Trump and Xi, who have professed their friendship and paused protectionist measures, only to see negotiations later break down. The United States has imposed 25% import taxes on $250 billion in Chinese products and is threatening to target an additional $300 billion, extending the tariffs to virtually everything China ships to America. China has countered with tariffs on $110 billion in American goods, focusing on agricultural products in a direct and painful shot at Trump supporters in the U.S. farm belt. Some progress seemed to be made in a dispute involving the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei, which the Trump administration has branded a national security threat and barred it from buying American technology. Trump said Saturday he would allow U.S. companies to sell their products to Huawei, but he was not yet willing to remove the company from a trade blacklist. Story continues The U.S. has tried to rally other countries to block Huawei from their upcoming 5G systems. The Trump-Xi meeting between the two leaders was the centerpiece of four days of diplomacy in Asia for Trump, whose re-election chances have been put at risk by the trade dispute that has hurt American farmers and battered global markets. Tensions rose after negotiations collapsed last month. Trump said the talks with Xi went "probably even better than expected." Both men struck a cautiously optimistic tone after they posed for photographs. "We've had an excellent relationship," Trump told Xi as the meeting opened, "but we want to do something that will even it up with respect to trade." Xi recounted the era of "pingpong diplomacy" that helped jump-start U.S.-China relations two generations ago. Since then, he said, "one basic fact remains unchanged: China and the United States both benefit from cooperation and lose in confrontation." "Cooperation and dialogue are better than friction and confrontation," he added. The meeting with Xi was one of three that Trump held Saturday with world leaders who display authoritarian tendencies. Trump had his first face-to-face discussion with Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman since U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that the crown prince directed the murder of Washington Post columnist and American resident Jamal Khashoggi last year. Trump, who referred to the Saudi royal as his "friend," has long tried to minimize the prince's role in the murder and has been reluctant to criticize the killing of the Saudi critic at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul last year. Trump views Saudi Arabia as the lynchpin of U.S.' Middle East strategy to counter Iran. At a news conference after the summit, Trump said Khashoggi's killing was "horrible," but that Saudi Arabia had "been a terrific ally." Trump suggested he was satisfied with steps that the kingdom was taking to prosecute some of those involved, while he claimed that "nobody so far has pointed directly a finger" at Saudi Arabia's future king. U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that bin Salman must have at least known of the plot. The summit came a week after Trump pulled back from ordering a military strike on Iran for downing an American unmanned spy plane. Iran now stands on the threshold of breaching uranium enrichment thresholds set in a 2015 nuclear deal from which Trump withdrew. Trump said he would not preview his response should Iran top that limit, but said, "We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon." Trump also met with Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an ostensible NATO ally whom the U.S. sees as drifting dangerously toward Russia's sphere of influence. Trump said the two will "look at different solutions" to Turkey's planned purchase of the Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system. U.S. officials have threatened to halt the sale of U.S.-made F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Turkey if the Russian purchase goes through; Erdogan has called it a done deal. "Turkey has been a friend of ours," Trump said. He blamed the Obama administration for not agreeing to sell U.S.-made Patriot missile batteries to Turkey, calling the situation a "mess" and "not really Erdogan's fault." A day earlier, Trump met with Russia's Vladimir Putin and, with a smirk and a finger point, jokingly told him, "Don't meddle with the election." It was their first meeting since special counsel Robert Mueller concluded that Russia extensively interfered with the 2016 campaign. Pressed whether he pushed the issue more seriously in private, Trump said he had raised it with Putin, adding, "You know he denies it, totally. How many times can you get someone to deny something?" Putin told reporters that "we talked about it," but he did not elaborate. He said he believes it's necessary to "turn the page" in relations with the U.S., which have plunged to the lowest level since the Cold War times. ___ Associated Press writers Patrick Quinn in Bangkok and Paul Wiseman, Darlene Superville and Jill Colvin in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire and Miller at http://twitter.com/@zekejmiller
Trump appeals U.S. judge's border wall funding ruling By Jan Wolfe (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday appealed a U.S. judge's ruling that blocked his administration from using $2.5 billion in funds intended for anti-drug activities to construct a wall along the southern border with Mexico. U.S. Department of Justice lawyers said in a court filing that they were formally appealing Friday's ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "[W]e're immediately appealing it, and we think we'll win the appeal," Trump said during a press conference on Saturday at a summit of leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies in Japan. "There was no reason that that shouldve happened," Trump said. Trump says construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border is needed to keep out illegal immigrants and drugs, but he has so far been unable to get congressional approval to do so. In February, the Trump administration declared a national emergency to reprogram $6.7 billion in funds that Congress had allocated for other purposes to build the wall, which groups and states including California had challenged. On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Haywood Gilliam in Oakland, California said in a pair of court decisions that the Trump administration's proposal to transfer Defense Department funds intended for anti-drug activities was unlawful. One of Gilliam's rulings was in a lawsuit filed by California on behalf of 20 states, while the other was in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union in coordination with the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition. "These rulings critically stop President Trumps illegal money grab to divert $2.5 billion of unauthorized funding for his pet project," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement late on Friday. "All President Trump has succeeded in building is a constitutional crisis, threatening immediate harm to our state." (Reporting by Makini Brice and Jan Wolfe in Washington; Editing by Franklin Paul and Paul Simao)
Report: Yankees' Severino's rehab hits a snag New York Yankees ace Luis Severino, who has been sidelined since spring training, still has not thrown off a mound and recently underwent another MRI, according to a report from MLB.com. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman called it "unfortunate," but said the team still expects Severino to return at some point this season. The 25-year-old right-hander has been on the 60-day injured list with a lat strain that occurred during spring training. Manager Aaron Boone said the injury is about 90 percent healed but that Severino won't throw until it is completely recovered. A two-time All-Star, Severino was 19-8 with a 3.39 ERA and 220 strikeouts in 32 starts last season. The Yankees are in London to play a two-game series against the Boston Red Sox, the first time Major League Baseball has played in Europe. --Field Level Media
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup: Why England may be an even tougher test for USWNT than France PARIS — The biggest game of this Women’s World Cup so far — and for more than a few members of the United States team that knocked out host nation France with a 2-1 win here Friday, the biggest game of their lives — was only a few minutes old. The players were still in their uniforms, still trying to process what had just transpired on the Parc des Princes pitch. It was a moment to celebrate, to be sure. But because this is a World Cup, and because the victory over Les Bleues catapulted the U.S. into Tuesday’s semifinal against England in Lyon, the Americans weren’t allowed to bask in glory for long before being asked to look toward what comes next. And what comes next for the title favorites is another huge test. Tuesday’s contest at the Olympic Stadium might not be able to surpass the France match in terms of pure theater, but make no mistake about it: This one won’t be easy, either. “England’s an awesome team — we know that,” U.S. midfielder Samantha Mewis said moments after the final whistle Friday. “England has a lot of threats. Of course, we’re going to continue to play our game, but there’s definitely a lot of things that we’re going to have to focus on because we know that they’re really well-rounded and dangerous in a lot of areas.” The U.S. knows England well, having met the Lionesses in the group stage of the SheBelieves Cup back in March. That tilt ended 2-2, with a close to full-strength U.S. lineup falling behind in the second half before Tobin Heath equalized inside the final 25 minutes to rescue a point for her team. Through five games at France 2019, England has only looked stronger. Unlike the Americans, who struggled in their first elimination match against Spain, Phil Neville’s side has gotten better in every game. And in striker Ellen White — who has four goals in her last three games and is tied for the tournament lead with Americans Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe and Australian Sam Kerr — it has the sort of in-form striker that a team can ride all the way to a title. Megan Rapinoe (left), Alex Morgan and the USWNT face a steep challenge against England on Tuesday. (Getty) “She is obviously coming into this next game confident,” Morgan said of White, while pointing out that she’s hardly England’s only weapon. “For us, it’s definitely not only looking at her but also the wingers and the speed that they have and looking at the 10 spot and looking at [playmaker Fran] Kirby. “They have a lot of talent. We obviously need to look forward quite quickly.” They also have to look at their own play. These fearless Americans are more than capable of blocking out any potential distraction, like Rapinoe’s spat with President Donald Trump. They’re more than willing to take on any comer; they proved that against France. Yet as strong as Friday’s performance was defensively, and as well as the visitors took advantage of their chances, scoring inside the first 15 minutes for the fifth game running, they were also fortunate not to be punished by sloppy possessions. There is still room for improvement. Story continues “It’s no secret that we have to get better on the ball, playing better with it, better offensively, better in our possession and our passing,” said Rapinoe, who had both U.S. goals on Friday. “I think we can be better,” Mewis said. “France was a really great team and they presented us with a lot of challenges, they had a lot of the ball. I give us credit for grinding it out and getting the win, but I think we know we have more to offer and we’re going to try to build on that for the next game.” England, in the meantime, ran over a good Norwegian team 3-0 and will have an extra day’s rest. “England was super clinical the other night,” Rapinoe said. “We have absolutely our work cut out for us.” Neville’s squad is one on the rise, there’s no question about that. It came within a whisker of reaching the final four years ago in Canada, only do be undone by an own goal in the semis against Japan. Still, the U.S. remains the favorite. It knows what it takes to win a World Cup, and the performance against France only reinforced its status as the favorite. England doesn’t have that sort of experience. Not yet. “We’re just getting warmed up — we’re on a mission,” coach Jill Ellis told her team after it took another step toward the trophy on Friday. “I respect Phil, and I know he’ll have his players ready, as will we. We’ll see how it plays out.” More from Yahoo Sports: Why Alex Morgan was key to USWNT despite not scoring Report: Kevin Durant’s free agent wish list has four teams Rapinoe steals show as USWNT beats co-favorite France Report: Kawhi wants Magic involved in Lakers meeting View comments
Maple Leaf Capital: Recent Bitfinex IEO Ampleforth Token is Not Stable Cryptocurrency investment firm Maple Leaf Capital called ampleforth ( AMPL ), the token recently released in the first Bitfinex’s Initial Exchange Offering , “anything but stable” in a series of tweets published on June 27. While Ampleforth reportedly raised $4.9 million in 11 seconds in a Tokenex earlier in June, Maple Leaf Capital has said that the AMPL token’s mechanics do not grant it stability, and its low volume makes it easily to manipulate. The firm went on to explain that the token in question is not pegged. The firm elaborated: “So even if price is stable, as long as it’s higher than 1.05, your portfolio value increase as [the number of tokens you hold] goes up slowly. [...] I can see this make for a great narrative – a double-kill so to speak for retail – not only can the price pump, but your holding size also increases.” Furthermore, Maple Leaf Capital also claimed that, given the number of tokens in circulation, it will be easy to inflate the price of AMPL artificially to keep it over $1.05. In a different tweet, the firm noted that “only when AMPL scales to say billions of dollars, the wealth it takes to deviate AMPL away from 1 would increase significantly.” The company also suggested that the assumptions behind the token’s stabilization mechanisms are flawed. While the idea was that traders would sell above $1.05 and buy under $0.95, the fact that holding tokens when they are worth more than $1.05 brings gains to investors breaks the required incentives, according to the firm. Maple Leaf Capital forecast the results of this mechanism: “an expansionary cycle could be exponential (P*Q) expansion of one’s portfolio value. Slick story to spread. [...] When price dips below 0.95 and enters contraction, I can totally see a double whammy – you lose value on price, and by the way the amount of tokens you own shrink every day. Who in the right mind will act as “central bank” to stabilize?” Story continues As Cointelegraph reported yesterday, only 66 stablecoins — 30% of total announced tokens — are actually live and operational, according to a recently published study. Also yesterday, news broke that Goldman Sachs is performing “extensive research” on tokenization and the creation of a virtual currency. Related Articles: Steve Forbes Tells Zuckerberg: Use Gold to Back Libra, Call It the ‘Mark’ Swiss Crypto Bank Dukascopy to Introduce Its Own Cryptocurrency Goldman Sachs ‘Looking at Potential’ of Creating Virtual Currency, CEO Reveals SEC-Registered Clearing House Brings Crypto Trading to 5 Million Clients
App which used algorithm to undress women and create fake nudes shut down An app which used a machine learning algorithm to digitally undress images of women wearing clothes to create fake nudes has been taken offline. The $50 (£40) Deepnude app faced heavy criticism and has been accused of objectifying women. DeepNude used artificial intelligence to create the deepfake images showing realistic estimates of how a woman might look if she was naked. The app was not designed to work on men. Deepfake images and clips often appear credible to the average viewer with many raising alarm bells about their possibility to mislead members of the public. The controversial apps developers have now removed the software from the web saying the world is not yet ready. The probability that people will misuse it is too high. We dont want to make money this way, DeepNude said in a message on their Twitter feed. The developers said those who bought the app, which was available for Windows and Linux, will receive a refund. They also asked people who had a copy not to share it. However the app will still work for anyone who possesses it. One campaigner against revenge porn defined as the sharing of private, sexual photos or videos of another person, without their consent and with the purpose of causing embarrassment or distress branded the app terrifying. Now anyone could find themselves a victim of revenge porn, without ever having taken a nude photo. This tech should not be available to the public. Katelyn Bowden, founder of anti-revenge porn campaign group Badass, told tech news site Motherboard . After the outlet published a story on the app, the server for DeepNude crashed, provoking it to announce that it was offline because we didnt expect this traffic. The app later tweeted: Here is the brief history, and the end of DeepNude. We created this project for users entertainment a few months ago. We thought we were selling a few sales every month in a controlled manner. Honestly, the app is not that great, it only works with particular photos. We never thought it would become viral and we would not be able to control the traffic. California is contemplating a bill which would make pornographic deepfake images illegal meaning it would be the only state to ever take legislative action against them.
‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ Could Weave Near Half Billion Web Around The World In First 10 Days Of B.O. – Preview Click here to read the full article. The follow-up to the $2.75 billion-grossing Avengers: Endgame , Sony and Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man: Far From Home , is opening on Tuesday stateside, and rest assured July will be off to a healthy start at the box office. Really, it will be. Before Far From Home even flickers on a screen in the US and Canada on Tuesday, the Jon Watts-directed movie is on its way to making a near estimated $110M in China, Hong Kong, and Japan this weekend. Spider-Man is poised to have a nice hold in the Middle Kingdom into the next weekend, especially with local war epic The Eight Hundred being moved off its July 5 date. Related stories Will Smith Thanks Fans As 'Aladdin' Tops 'Independence Day' To Become Star's Biggest Film Worldwide 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' Takes Off With $111M Overseas; 'Toy Story 4' Nears $500M WW - International Box Office 'Toy Story 4' Holds Down No. 1 With $58M Before 'Spider-Man' Mania, 'Annabelle 3' Jump Scares To 31M+, 'Yesterday' $17M+ - Sunday Final The rest of the international begins rolling out on Monday, when Australia welcomes the webslinger. All other off-shore markets will open through Friday next week, save Italy, which goes July 10. Here in the states, Far From Home will not have any Monday night previews –arguably a first for an MCU title– with Spidey going cold and bold with a Tuesday AM open at midnight Tuesday, Deadline has recently learned. While Avengers: Endgame played throughout the wee hours of the morning following its Thursday night launch, this is arguably the first time for a movie to start a midnight show since The Dark Knight Rises . Many in the industry have already remarked what a great domestic launch date Tuesday is: Not only is it one of the four weekdays, but Wednesday is bound to be a travel day before July 4th Thursday. Even better, Far From Home will have 17 days of play (as well as all the Imax theaters) before Disney ’s The Lion King pounces and decimates more July opening records. Lion King is also one of the reasons why we’re not seeing Far From Home go after July 4 like its previous chapter, Homecoming, did. The Tom Holland-Zendaya-Jake Gyllenhaal film also has a good window overseas. South Korea, which goes Tuesday, has long-favored MCU titles, and could be a swing, as Aladdin has the market on a magic carpet ride, with over $55M through Friday and a grip on No. 1, overtaking new recruit Toy Story 4 last weekend. Story continues Following this weekend’s flood of cash for Far From Home from three territories, the industry is seeing the sequel’s first international weekend (which is Monday-Sunday, given the offshore roll-out pattern) at $160-$170M this coming week. Again, that doesn’t include any figures from China, Japan, and Hong Kong. All-in by July 7, Far From Home could count $335M+ overseas alone, with its global tally in the first 10 days conceivably at $460M+ . Now, in regards to the US/Canada, many in distribution circles continue to be in a state of shell-shock, as tracking has over-delivered on branded IP and under-delivered at the box office; this after Toy Story 4 didn’t yield a Finding Dory or Incredibles 2- like opening, despite posting a franchise high debut of $120.9M. But, seriously, Dark Phoenix, Men in Black: International and Godzilla; King of the Monsters weren’t very well-received movies, failing to rebuild their tired IP’s image. Sony is safely projecting $125M over 6 days for Far From Home at 4,500 venues, down from the $154M they first spotted on tracking four weeks ago. Spider-Man: Homecoming earned $117M in its first 3-day for a domestic final of $334.2M, $880.1M WW two Julys ago. As is typical, rivals and some trackers are still betting Far From Home rises to $140M -plus over six days, and there are plenty of indicators for this. First, the movie is the last chapter of Phase 3 of the MCU, aka “Life After Avengers.” The story literally takes place following Thanos’ global apocalyptic war, and there’s a new megalomaniac, Mysterio. Critics are already going nuts for Far From Home, hugging it with a 91% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Exhibition sources inform us that pre-sales continue to be through the roof. Far From Home also has great social media metrics with a universe north of 860M, per RelishMix, and a second trailer that pumped out a historical record draw for Sony at 135.2M global views in 24 hours (paid and organic), beating the Spidey sequel’s January teaser (130M views), and the first Homecoming trailer (116 million views). Plus, there’s a ton of Independence Day 6-day box office history, which proves that openings in the $150M-$170M range are quite possible . One Thursday tracking report showed Far From Home with a first choice higher than that of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad, and Spider-Man: Homecoming. But again, due to tracking, some remain cautious: “You can’t tell a $100M-plus opening from a $200M-plus one” gripes one studio boss about the current handicaps in box office prognostication for $100M-plus movies. While July 4 is known to be a down day at the box office, with many occupied with holiday festivities, should it rain in certain lucrative markets, then it’s a great day at the box office. When comparing Far From Home to Homecoming abroad, that film was on a regular rollout in 60% of offshore during its opening weekend. However, what we know is that in adjusted dollars, Homecoming made $148M in like-for-like markets across the same number of days that Far From Home is opening (again, not including the Asian markets going this weekend). Homecoming ’s final box office was led offshore by China, Korea, the UK, Mexico and Japan, with $546M in unadjusted figures, repping 62% of the pic’s $880M worldwide final. Amazing Spider-Man 2 had a similar grouping of China, the UK, Korea, Japan and Mexico in front. While the all-audience aspect of Far From Home is its strong suit in family-friendly hubs like Brazil and Mexico, Toy Story 4 can’t be discounted after blasting past projections in Latin America. Big event animated movies tend to win over families first, but the good news is that TS4 will be in its third frame in Latin America by the time Spidey swings, so that bodes well for people looking for a fresh alternative. If Far From Home plays beyond Avengers fans, then Europe could over-perform. France did well last time around with a $19M finish on Homecoming . France has been in the throes of a phenomenal heatwave, which means movie-going is a nice alternative to beat the heat, as many multiplexes have upgraded their air-conditioning systems in recent years. That’s a vast improvement on 2003, when the last devastating Euro heatwave hit. While the temperatures should be slightly less punishing by Wednesday when Far From Home opens, the film will play into France’s annual reduced-price ticket scheme, La Fête du Cinéma. A note about Italy, which comes into Far From Home later in July. The Italian summer is notoriously difficult to program, but the studios are making a concerted effort this year to turn that around with tentpoles dated in July. This is still a potentially risky proposition, but will be an interesting one to see played out. In addition stateside, on July 3, A24 opens up director Ari Aster’s second feature Midsommar and, boy, does it look bananas (in a great way from the trailer). Folks and critics starving for something original, well, here it is. Pic follows a teenage guy (Jack Reynor) who holds back from breaking up his girlfriend (Florence Pugh) due to a personal tragedy in her life. This emotional build-up occurs as both head to a crazy nine-day Sweden festival with their friends. The fest only happens every 90 years, a Swedish-puritan type celebration of love and glee — with some horrific results. Pic is already 89% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes off 71 reviews. Projections are between $8M-$10M for the pic’s first 5-days, but this one will be an interesting one to watch. Aster’s Hereditary opened to $13.5M and finaled at $44M stateside. Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .
AP PHOTOS: Museum toasts history of California wine OAKVILLE, Calif. (AP) At a spacious Victorian in the heart of California's Napa Valley, light glows from the windows as guests inside study old tools and taste new wines. 1881 Napa, a wine history museum and tasting salon, opened this month in Oakville, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of San Francisco. It offers self-guided tours on Napa Valley's history and early pioneers, along with a collection of rare winemaking tools such as scalders, filters, spigots and soil injectors. A giant reproduction of an 1895 map of Napa County adorns the ceiling. The Boisset Collection, run by French-born wine mogul Jean-Charles Boisset, bought the 145-year-old redesigned house earlier this year. It also purchased the adjacent Oakville Grocery, reportedly California's oldest continuously operating grocery store. 1881 Napa looks out at the Mayacamas Mountains and the famous To Kalon Vineyard across the highway at the Robert Mondavi Winery. The upstairs museum is open to the public, and admission is free. The ground floor holds a tasting room, where guests can examine soil samples and read about vineyards in different parts of the Napa Valley. Tastings contrast wines from cooler and warmer areas and those from hillsides vs. the valley floor. One option, called "Embark on a Journey Throughout the Valley," features 12 cabernet sauvignons. "An extraordinary amount has been accomplished in this enclave in a short amount of time," Boisset said. "We want to create a destination that celebrates Napa's long history and its pioneering founders while exploring Napa's incredibly diverse terroir in one destination." ___ Follow AP Images on Twitter: http://apne.ws/CIFADGp More AP photo galleries: http://apne.ws/WZn4cJ4 View comments
American caravan arrives in Canadian "birthplace of insulin" for cheaper medicine By Tyler Choi TORONTO, June 29 (Reuters) - A self-declared "caravan" of Americans bussed across the Canada-U.S. border on Saturday, seeking affordable prices for insulin and raising awareness of "the insulin price crisis" in the United States. The group called Caravan to Canada started the journey from Minneapolis, Minnesota on Friday, and stopped at London, Ontario on Saturday, to purchase life-saving type 1 diabetes medication at a pharmacy. The caravan numbers at approximately 20 people, according to Nicole Smith-Holt, a member of the group. Smith-Holt said her 26-year-old son died in June 2017 because he was forced to ration insulin due to the high cost. This is Smith-Holt's second time on the caravan. Caravan to Canada trekked the border in May for the same reasons, which Holt-Smith said was smaller than the group this week. She said Americans have gone to countries like Mexico and Canada for more affordable medications in the past and continue to do so. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported in May that Canadian pharmacists have seen a "quiet resurgence" in Americans coming to Canada for looking for cheaper pharmaceuticals. Insulin prices in the United States nearly doubled to an average annual cost of $5,705 in 2016 from $2,864 in 2012, according to a study in January. Quinn Nystrom, a leader of T1International's Minnesota chapter, said on May via Twitter that the price of insulin in the United States per vial was $320, while in Canada the same medication under a different name was $30. T1International, a non-profit that advocates for increased access to type 1 diabetes medication, has described the situation in U.S. as an insulin crisis. "We know that many people couldn't make this trip because they cannot afford the costs associated with traveling to another country to buy insulin there," said Elizabeth Pfiester, the executive director of T1International in a press release. An itinerary states the caravan will stop at the Banting House in London, Ontario later in the day. The Banting House is where Canadian physician and scientist Frederick Banting, who discovered insulin, lived from 1920 to 1921, and is called the "birthplace of insulin", according to the Banting House website. Smith-Holt said she hopes for long-term solutions in the United States like price caps, anti-gouging laws, patent reform and transparency from pharmaceutical companies. (Reporting by Tyler Choi, Editing by Franklin Paul)
20 Big Turnoffs You Need to Fix If You Want to Sell Your Home When you decide it's time to sell your home, what you do or don't do to get the place ready for the market will determine whether potential buyers come flocking or go fleeing. Face it: Your house may have some icky issues. And if you don't address them, you'll have fewer showings and get fewer offers. Here are the 20 biggest buyer turnoffs and how to avoid them. You’ve driven by the front of your house so many times that you barely take notice. And unfortunately, once you decide to sell, most of your focus will be on the interior, not the exterior. Huge mistake, according toCindi Hagley, broker/division manager with The Hagley Group in Pleasanton, California. "I've had buyers in my car, when we drive up to a house, who don’t even want to go in because of how crappy it looks. It could be a dead yard, debris in the yard or a crappy door," she says. Solution:Improve your curb appeal. Mow like you mean it, and buff up that door! Calculatewhat it would take to pay off your current mortgage loan. To cast the broadest possible net for buyers, it's smart to strike wall displays, posters and other visuals that could offend. That might mean anything from a nude sculpture to a banner celebrating your favorite NFL team. A Hillary Clinton bobblehead is as much of a danger as a signed, showcased copy of "The Art of the Deal." "Any décor that may be controversial or sensitive to others, such as political memorabilia, military or religious icons, tend to turn people off," says Julie Dana, TheHome Stylistin East Aurora, New York. Hagley agrees: "If you have one culture that does not embrace another culture, it can be a deal-killer." Solution:Keep it neutral and upbeat or delete. As a homeowner, you've lived with a number of household flaws and mechanical nuisances so long that you no longer notice them. Unfortunately, prospective buyers will. "One of the biggest things that turns off buyers is any maintenance that needs to be done," says Dana, who's also the co-author ofThe Complete Idiot’s Guide toStaging Your Home to Sell. "If right away, in the first few seconds of seeing the house, those potential buyers are starting a chore list, the sale is gone," she says. "It could be anything from cracks in the wall to a loose doorknob." Solution:Fix them. Now. Depending on your locale, wall-to-wall carpeting can vary from being a mere annoyance to a deal breaker. "It's a small turnoff if the carpet is in good condition, especially here in California where buyers who walk in are going to put their own touches on it anyway," says Hagley. But house shoppers will be curious about what they can't see. "I would be more concerned with what’s under that wall-to-wall carpeting," she says. "Is it hardwood that just needs to be refinished or something else?" Solution:Roll the dice but be prepared to compromise. As visual as the house-hunting experience tends to be, there’s another overriding sensation that can literally stop a walk-through at the front door. "Urine smell from a pet is probably the single largest turnoff there is!" Hagley gasps. "In fact, I will not list a home that has a pervasive odor of any kind, because it’s senseless and it makes the Realtor look asinine," she says. Solution:You’ve been warned. Once hot, popcorn acoustic ceilings now are not. Mostly because they’re a major hassle to repair. "If it's an entry-level home and you’ve got an excited buyer, that's not going to be a big deal," Hagley says. "But," she adds, "if you're dealing with a $1 million-plus home, that is a huge deal. In California, you would write into the contract to eliminate that." Solution:Prepare to bargain, or not. After all, it didn’t stop you from buying, right? Want more MoneyWise?Sign up for our weekly newsletter. Whoever observed that beauty is in the eye of the beholder didn’t have to convince Terry Cannon, brokerforOregon Exclusive Buyers Realty in Salem, Oregon. "We had one showing that had black tile throughout the whole bathroom, the bedroom was all dark, and it had a spider web painted on the ceiling," he chuckles. "Why would they do that?" Know upfront that the wallpaper you love and that Candy Crush-themed children's bedroom will not help sell your home. "Especially female buyers — they'll just turn around and walk right out," says Hagley. "A good Realtor is going to go in and neutralize the home if there's something like that." Solution:Gray tones are nice. "The absolute worst" is how Hagley describes sellers who insist on hovering. "And not only are they there for the walkthroughs and the initial showings of the home, but if they insist on being there for inspections, that's not good," she says. "That is going to be a pain in the butt to sell, period." In Cannon's view, renters are just as bad, if not worse. "There are some homes that you just can't get into because the renters don’t want to show the home," he says. "Even though they know we're coming, they leave it such a mess that it's just a disaster inside." Solution:Vacate for all showings, take your pets with you, and instruct your renters to do likewise. House-hunting online at Realtor.com, Redfin, Trulia, Zillow and related sites will quickly school you in the not-so-subtle art of real estate photography. "You can find an angle in any kitchen that makes it look like a million-dollar home. I don't see anything wrong with that," says Hagley. "However, you also have to be careful; you don’t want to misrepresent." True story: The online curb shot of the home my wife and I bought two years ago showed nearly a half-acre of vibrant green grass, which, upon arrival for our walkthrough, was an equally-impressive stretch of Florida sand. Only later did I notice the disclaimer beneath that online shot: "Lawn courtesy of Photoshop." We purchased the home nonetheless, and today the lawn is grass-green. Solution:Don't set your listing up for failure by misrepresenting it in photos. Even worse than photos that try too hard are bad pictures that don't put your home in the best possible light. Realtors say they've seen listings showing a dumpster parked in front of the house, or the hardwood floors obscured by piles of laundry. Allegedly, one home was put on the market with a photo of the family dog "fertilizing" the front lawn. The only bigger deal breaker than poor images is to list your home with no pictures at all. Buyers will assume the house has serious issues and will click right on by. Solution:Once your home is officially up for sale, check the pics on the major real estate sites. If you don't like what you see, ask your agent to take new photos. Clutter can become a major obstacle to living in, much less selling, a home. As Hagley points out, a cluttered house instills far deeper fears in many homebuyers than where to pile the laundry. "If your home looks like a mess, are you taking care of it for maintenance? What do your gutters and roof look like? What might you be hiding with clutter?" she wonders. Those aren't questions you want to inadvertently pose to potential buyers. Solution:Thoroughly clean the manse before showing. The outside of your home also can look too cluttered. Having too many cars in the driveway makes a bad impression on prospective buyers, especially if the vehicles are old and beat up, says Justin Potier, Long Beach, California, area vice president forCarrington Real Esate Services. "They distract from the curb appeal of the home," Potier said, in an email. "Additionally, they may discourage potential buyers from viewing and/or accessing additional areas of the property." The less crowded the place looks, both inside and out, the more buyers will be able to imagine how the property will look with their stuff around, Potier says. Solution:When your home is being shown, go for a drive — and park your other cars down the block. Homebuyers need look no further than the flooring beneath their feet to get a quick read on the workmanship (or lack thereof) in a listing. Poorly installed ceramic tile, hardwood flooring badly butted up to door jambs or base molding, and misaligned or warped laminate will send up a huge caution flag for buyers. They may feel they're being tricked into buying a fixer-upper. Solution:Take a close look around your home at ground level, and give some attention to whatever looks or feelsoffdown there. Statistically, tricked-out kitchens drive home sales. But when potential buyers notice that shortcuts have been taken, it's just human nature to wonder what shortcomings might be hiding under the sink. "I tell people not to be distracted by the bling," says Justin Pierce, president ofSnow Goose Homesin Woodbridge, Virgina. “I’ve seen houses where the countertops aren’t even level," he says. "And sometimes, even good work will look off, because maybe it’s an older home and the finish carpenter is trying to compensate for that." Solution:If you're going to redo the kitchen before you sell, don't go halfway. When buyers on a home showing detect electrical abnormalities — a light switch activates nothing, or a grounded outlet shuts down without cause — their immediate instinct is to question the safety of the entire electrical system. That's a buyer turnoff all too familiar to Reuben Saltzman, a second-generation home inspector withStructure Techin Minneapolis. "I remember inspecting a house where they had wired the garage on the same circuit as all their lighting in the kitchen," Saltzman says. Activating the garage door opener overloaded the circuits and knocked out the lights. Solution:Leave the electrical work to the pros. If you tried to DIY, ask a professional to take a look. Buyers don't like a seller who won't budge. When an offer seems too lowball for you, don't just dismiss it out of hand. The buyer may be willing to negotiate and so should you, says Alison Clay-Duboff, an agent with South Bay Real Estate in Manhattan Beach, California. "If the offer is rudely rejected, the buyers may not want to work with the seller or their agent in the future at all and may not revisit an offer even after the home has been sitting on the market," Clay-Duboff writes on herblog. Solution:Be flexible, and don't let your feathers be ruffled by any offer. The buyer may seriously want the house. Use our calculatorto find out how much home you can afford next time you're ready to buy. If you don't have much of a patio and haven't done much with your yard, you can lose major points with buyers. Today, many people think of outdoor areas as an extension of the living room. "Homebuyers want to utilize exterior space as livable areas for entertaining or just relaxing," says Potier, of Carrington Real Esate Services. He says having areas outside to socialize, entertain or congregate is like having more square footage. Plus, it increases the utility of the lot. Solution:If your yard is a yawn, a couple of pieces of outdoor furniture and a little bit of lighting might make a big difference. If your home has safety features such as grab bars and power lifts, by all means make sure they work properly and are built and installed to code. “You are responsible for maintaining the safety of a home — that’s what codes are for, saysTyler Karu, a Portland, Maine-based designer. "It’s got to be safe, because you’re liable for at least a year for the safety of the people living in the home after you finish it." Solution:Always make sure safety features are sound, even if no codes apply. No matter how amazing you think your home is, if it's pricey compared to the other houses in the neighborhood, buyers won't bite. Bill Gassett, owner of Maximum Real Estate Exposure in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, considers overpricing the No. 1 reason why a home won't sell. "Trying to price your home too high — because you paid a certain amount for it, or because it means so much to you — is a sure way to stall the successful sale of your property," Gassett says, in hisblog. Solution:If your real estate agent is telling you that your desired price is unrealistic, listen! And depending on the market, you may consider listing at a low price in hopes buyers will get excited and wage a bidding war. All the remodeling you do on the interior or all the you work you do to enhance the exterior's curb appeal may not matter if yourneighborhoodis a no-go for homebuyers. Gassett says it's a problem that confronted many would-be sellers after the housing market collapse. "The real estate issues that plagued the nation a few years ago left some neighborhoods a shell of what they once were and did severe damage to surrounding home values," he writes. Solution:If your area has seen better days, you may need to cut your price substantially — or to try to rent your place out until your market comes back. Subscribe now to our free weekly newsletter.Don’t miss out!
Bitcoin has spiked more than 200% since the beginning of the year, but crypto related apps have seen little growth Bitcoin has been on a tear since the beginning of the year, but its impressive 220% rise has not helped apps tied to the market, according to aBloomberg Newsreport. Data from App Annie shows that downloads in cryptocurrency-related apps has flattened from 2018 to 2019, despite bitcoin's price surge from $4,000 at the beginning of the year to over $10,000. According to the app analytics provider, downloads of the more than 6,500 apps related to cryptocurrency only picked up a few million from 65.8 million during the first half of 2018 compared to 67 million during the first half of 2019. Still, the number of crypto apps has increase 35% from 2018. The lack of interest in crypto apps further illustrates the difference between the 2019 bull market in crypto-assets relative to the one at the end of 2017. As pointed out by The Block Director of Research Larry Cermak, there has been virtually zero spike in Google searches for the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, and Bitfinex.
Cryptocurrency miners are using subsidized energy in Iran, and it’s weighing on the national grid Iranian cryptocurrency miners are taking advantage of subsidized energy in the country, and it is putting pressure on its power grids,Bloomberg News reports. As per Iranian state media, a spokesperson for Tadvin Electricity Company faulted cryptocurrency miners for a 7% increase in energy consumption in the country. “The production of each Bitcoin uses the equivalent of the annual consumption of 24 properties in Tehran, or one property’s consumption of electricity for 24 years,” Mostafa Rajabi Mashhad said. As such, Iran's Power Ministry could implement a tariff on miners, according to Bloomberg. Cryptocurrency use has increased generally in the country as a way to circumvent sanctions put on the country by the US government.
US-China trade war timeline: How did the spat begin? After more than a year of retaliatory tariffs and tentative truces,President Trumpand Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on Friday night to resumetradetalks, easing prolonged tensions. The trade spat between the world’s two largest economies first began in March 2018, when Trump imposed tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, targeting 1,300 items. Trump, whose 2016 presidential campaign hinged on leveling out the trade disparities between the U.S. and some of its allies, said at the time he was imposing the import duty because of intellectual property theft by China. At the time, the trade deficit was about $370 billion, which Trump alleged resulted in the loss of 2 million American jobs. "We have a tremendous intellectual property theft situation going on, which likewise [costs us] hundreds of billions of dollars, and that’s on a yearly basis," Trump said at the time. Less than two weeks later, China responded in kind, slapping tariffs on 128 American products ranging from aluminum, airplanes and cars to pork and soybeans. The trade spat escalated from there, with each country outdoing the other, gradually increasing the amount of goods affected by tariffs -- rattling markets and spurring fears about a potential economic slowdown all the while, with no end in sight. In May, after close to two months of tariffs, Chinese officials agreed to “substantially reduce” the U.S. trade deficit with China, and Washington officials said they’d put the trade war on hold; however, the ceasefire was short-lived: The Trump administration said, almost one week later, that it would continue imposing tariffs on Chinese goods with “industrially significant technology” to prevent them from acquiring U.S. technology. Trade talks eventually resumed -- in December, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said that Trump was close to establishing a trade balance -- but eventually crumbled again. As recently as May, a near-deal fell apart when Washington officials accused China of reneging on some of its promises), the trade war created fears about slowing global growth amid all of the economic uncertainties. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP But ahead of the G20 summit, Trump hinted at the possibility of warmer relations with Xi and Beijing, spurring hope among investors for the chance of a deal. Related Articles • Fmr. Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz Predictions for Trump vs. Media • Trump May Have Dropped Another Clinton Bombshell • Carson: Trump Could Destroy Obama's Legacy
Dollar Index Rebounds after Fed Member Comments Spook Short-Sellers The U.S. Dollar posted a two-sided trade against a basket of currencies last week before finishing marginally higher. Nonetheless, it was enough to produce a potentially bullish technical closing price reversal bottom. The price action suggests short-sellers lost confidence in their attempt to drive the index beyond the three-month low hit early in the week. This loss of confidence was fueled by uncertainty, and the uncertainty was created by comments from Federal Reserve officials and worries over the outcome of the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan on Saturday. Last week,September U.S. Dollar Indexfutures settled at 95.725, up 0.007 or +0.01%. The breakdown of the components of the index shows the Euro lost 0.01% against the U.S. Dollar. The British Pound lost 0.39%. The Japanese Yen lost 0.58% versus the greenback. The Swiss Franc was unchanged. The biggest winner was the Canadian Dollar. It gained 0.98% against the U.S. Dollar. The key event that most attribute to the sharp reversal in the U.S. Dollar earlier in the week were comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard on Tuesday, which dampened hopes by some investors that Fed policymakers would deliver a half-point interest rate cut in July. Powell held close to his comments from the previous week after the Fed’s June interest rate decision and release of its monetary policy statement, saying that while there is greater uncertainty about trade and worries about the global economy, policymakers don’t know how long this may last or how serious the drag might be. Traders read this to mean that Powell was not endorsing the 50 basis point rate cut that the markets had been pricing in. “The question my colleagues and I are grappling with is whether these uncertainties will continue to weigh on the outlook and thus call for additional policy accommodation,” Powell said in brief remarks ahead of a moderated discussion at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Bullard, who was the lone dissenter from the Fed decision to hold rates steady at its June meeting, reiterated that he though a quarter-point rate cut would be a wise “insurance” move. However, he also didn’t endorse a half-point rate cut. “I think 50 basis points would be overdone,” Bullard said on Bloomberg Television. The Euro fell from a multi-month high on Powell and Bullard’s comments, but then fell into a range. Keeping a lid on the single-currency was the drop in the chances of a 50 basis point cut by the Fed in July, but underpinning the Euro was the widely expected 25 basis point cut. Low volatility in the equity markets and an easing of tensions between the United States and Iran, encouraged investors to flee the safe-haven Japanese Yen and Swiss Franc. A tightening of the spread between U.S. Government bond yields and Japanese Government bond yields also made the dollar a more attractive asset than the Yen. The Canadian Dollar was helped by firming crude oil prices, but more importantly by the divergence in monetary policy between the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada. Traders said strong Canadian economic indicators played down the probability of an interest rate cut by the BoC. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index (NQ) Futures Technical Analysis – Strengthens Over 7830.25, Weakens Under 7818.75 • AUD/USD Price Forecast – Aussie forms bearish candle • Part II – Are Real Estate Etf’s The Next Big Trade? • E-mini S&P 500 Index (ES) Futures Technical Analysis – July 1, 2019 Forecast • GBP/USD Price Forecast – British pound continues to grind • Equities Surge, Trade Truce In Focus, Tech Leads Market Higher
school yearbooks recalled over teacher's hitler quote The Whitesville Central School District in N.Y. will reissue yearbooks after a teacher said Hitler was his favorite person in history. (Photo: Getty Images) A New York school district will hand out improved versions of the yearbook because a teacher was quoted naming Adolf Hitler as his favorite person in history. On a yearbook page with a blurb called, Meet the new guy on the block, Jeff Acor, a new history teacher at Whitesville Central School praised the German dictator responsible for the Holocaust that executed six million Jewish people in WW2. According to WIVB , when asked to name his favorite person in history, Acor said, Adolf Hitler, who did many great things for Germany, and their youth, before the infamous Holocaust. Adolph was ousted and faced many hardships early in life, which a lot of people can relate to. Adolf is arguably the greatest public speaker in the history of the world. Adolf made many great strides to make Germany a world super power. Jeff Acor, a history teacher at Whitesville Central School, is quoted as praising Adolf Hitler in the school yearbook. (Screenshot: WIVB) Laurie Sanders, the superintendent of the Whitesville Central School District , told WIVB that Acors message was lost. I dont believe he was joking. He was really looking it at through the lens of history and not, he wasnt applauding anything he did, she said. Its questions that were asked of him and written down and he never got to see the entire writing. There were other errors too, Sanders explained. When we read it, we felt that anything that promoted, or maybe perceived to imply hate, regardless of the intent, does not belong in the yearbook or at our school. In a school-wide letter, Sanders wrote that Acors statement was incomplete and mistakenly taken out of context. The yearbook committee will publish a more accurate and complete quote form the teacher. Sanders told the Olean Times Herald that after a district investigation, no action has been taken. The Whitesville Central School District in N.Y. is recalling yearbooks after a teacher praised Hitler in a published Q&A. (Screenshot: WIVB) Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Student sneaks Hitler quote into yearbook and the school community is furious Students outraged after yearbook pages ripped out due to 'inappropriate' comments referencing Hitler, drug use High school student claims his freedom of speech was violated after MAGA hat censored in yearbook Follow us on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
At G20, Canada raises concern about Mexico gas pipeline row By Dave Graham MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Canada expressed its concern about a gas pipeline dispute that has raised diplomatic tensions with Mexico during the Group of 20 nations summit in Japan, but the matter could be resolved soon, Mexican Finance Minister Carlos Urzua said on Saturday. Mexican state power utility CFE said this week it would negotiate a “fairer” resolution to contractual disputes over several pipelines being built by companies including Mexico's IEnova and Canada’s TC Energy Corp. Urzua said he met with Canada's Finance Minister Bill Morneau during the summit and was "optimistic" there would be an agreement soon. "He expressed his concern about this matter of TransCanada," Urzua said, using a previous name for TC Energy Corp. IEnova, a unit of U.S.-based Sempra Energy, says the CFE is seeking arbitration over a contract it signed in partnership with TC Energy to build a $2.5 billion pipeline from Texas to the Mexican Gulf coast port of Tuxpan. "We hope this problem is resolved very soon ... That it doesn't even reach the level of international arbitration, and that simply an agreement is reached between the sides. We are very optimistic about that," Urzua said. The row has revived concerns that Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's government could put in jeopardy contracts signed under previous administrations, the last six of which the leftist president has characterized as part of a corrupt "neo-liberal" era. He has been highly critical of the government of his predecessor Enrique Pena Nieto, who sought to lift economic growth by opening up the energy sector to private capital, an approach that Lopez Obrador has so far roundly rejected. (Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Paul Simao)
Prepare for Rally Finland With These Flying Toyotas Photo credit: TheTeevoman - YouTube From Road & Track Rally Finland, the ninth round of the 2019 World Rally Championship, is coming up at the beginning of August. It'll be the championship's first race after the season's summer break following an extremely dust-filled Rally Sardinia. Why not prepare by watching these Toyota hatchbacks fly through the air? Toyota factory drivers Ott Tänak and Jari-Matti Latvala were filmed recently as they undertook some high-speed gravel testing through the Finnish forest in their Yaris WRCs. Finland is known for its fast, tree-lined stages, and there's no shortage of them here. Did I mention there were jumps? There are lots of jumps. The cars seem to get airborne every other second, meaning lots of work for their long-travel suspension. Rally Finland 2019 kicks off August 1st. We'll certainly be watching. ('You Might Also Like',) 16 of the Most Interesting Engine Swaps We've Ever Seen See 70 Years of the Greatest Ferraris Ever Built These Are the 14 Best New Cars for Less Than $45,000 View comments
Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner Wear Matching Red Outfits to Their Rehearsal Dinner in France Last Night Photo credit: Jeff Kravitz - Getty Images From Cosmopolitan Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner threw a pre-wedding party in France last night, which included famous guests like Priyanka Chopra and Ashley Graham. The guests all wore white, while Joe and Sophie wore bright red to the party. Thanks to Dr. Phil , we know that Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner's wedding is this weekend, which is obviously VERY exciting. The couple has spent the last week hanging out in Paris and Instagramming photos of themselves kissing , as one does. Last night they hosted a pre-wedding party at Hotel de la Mirande in Avignon, Provence, and it looks like they instructed their guests to wear white, which only made Joe and Sophie stand out even further when they rolled up in matching bright red outfits. (And I don't have a good Red Wedding joke off the top of my head, so please feel free to insert your own here.) Sophie wore a simple floor length gown with silver heels and her hair down, while Joe wore a satin cropped-pant suit and dark crimson dress shoes. Here's a pic: Photo credit: Best Image - BACKGRID Nick Jonas' wife Priyanka Chopra was obviously in attendance, and she wore a gorg sleeveless white dress: Photo credit: Arnold Jerocki - Getty Images Danielle and Kevin Jonas were also there, and Danielle wore an one-shoulder dress with ruffles: Photo credit: Arnold Jerocki - Getty Images And model Ashley Graham (who started in DNCE's "Toothbrush" music video) and her husband arrived wearing all white: Photo credit: Arnold Jerocki - Getty Images Ugh, looks like a GREAT party! And FYI, it looks like Joe and Sophie are getting married today-Kevin was spotted carrying around a garment bag from Kleinfeld (which is a wedding boutique for those of you who don't watch Say Yes to the Dress ) this morning. Obviously, Joe and Sophie are already husband and wife, as they got married last month in a Las Vegas wedding chapel , but this ceremony is going to be a more formal wedding. Hopefully the pics from this one will be just as good, though! ('You Might Also Like',) 16 Unexpected Fashion Rules That the Royal Family Follows The 8 Best Clarifying Shampoos for Getting Rid of Product Buildup Here's How to Flawlessly Conceal Your Acne
Gas taxes to rise in these states in July Whilegasprices in the U.S. have generally been declining throughout recent weeks,driversin some states will feel a little bit of extra pain starting Monday, when a number of states raise their gas taxes. The national average for fuel prices as of Friday was $2.70 per gallon, down from $2.82 one month ago and $2.85 at this time last year, according toAAA. Here’s a look at some states where taxes are rising beginning next month: California The gas tax in California will rise 5.6 cents per gallon, to 47.3 cents per gallon from 41.7 cents. As of Friday, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in California was $3.74. The increase is part of legislation that was passed in April 2017. There was an attempt to repeal the hike last year, but it failed. Ohio The gas tax in Ohio is set to increase by 10.5 cents as of Monday. The hike was approved in April. The average price of gasoline in Ohio is $2.67 per gallon. Illinois The fuel tax in Illinois is set to double, increasing to 38 cents from 19 cents per gallon. As of Friday, the average gas price in Illinois was $2.89 per gallon. South Carolina A much more modest gas tax increase will affect drivers in South Carolina, a two-cent per gallon hike. The average price of gasoline in South Carolina is about $2.35 per gallon. Tennessee In Tennessee, a modest 1 cent per gallon increase will take effect soon. As of 2017, the state’s gas tax was 21.4 cents per gallon. The budget plan will, overall, increase that tax by 6 cents per gallon. As of Friday, the price of gasoline was $2.40 per gallon. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP Related Articles • Here's How You Get a Body Like An Olympian • The Controversial Way Wealthy Americans Are Lowering Estate Taxes • Emmitt Smith Disappointed at NFL For Banning Cowboys Cop Tribute
Maple Leafs re-sign Martin Marincin to one-year, league-minimum contract Defenceman Martin Marincin will be back for yet another season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images) Martin Marincin will be back with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 2019-20 campaign after signing a one-year, $700,000 contract, the team confirmed on Saturday. . @SportChek Player Alert: The @MapleLeafs have signed goaltender Michael Hutchinson and defenceman Martin Marincin to one-year contracts. Details >> https://t.co/7znjsLbRH5 #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/ADOY5xFTsP — Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) June 29, 2019 The 27-year-old Slovakian is coming off a 2018-19 campaign where he split time between the Maple Leafs, the AHL’s Marlies and NHL press boxes throughout the league. He finished the season with a goal and four helpers in 24 NHL regular season contests to go along with a goal and three assists in eight AHL regular season games. His newest deal is the fourth short-term, standard contract that he’s signed with the team. He’s coming off a one-year, $800,000 deal. A second-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 2010, Marincin’s professional hockey career has been an interesting journey thus far. Too talented to play in the AHL, he’s bounced in and out of NHL lineups for the last half-decade. With the exception of the 2015-16 season where he played 65 games for the Leafs, he’s struggled to lock up a consistent spot at the sport’s pinnacle. Looking at his team’s situation entering the upcoming campaign, he might find himself in a similar spot unless things fall for him the right way. Marincin is the seventh blue-liner under contract with Toronto for 2019-20. And while Nikita Zaitsev would love a fresh start in another market and unrestricted free agent Igor Ozhiganov won’t return, Ron Hainsey and Jake Gardiner remain unsigned. Story continues While it’s unlikely Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas will be able to sign Gardiner if Mitch Marner puts pen to paper with the team, Marincin may find himself on the wrong side of the numbers once again. More NHL coverage on Yahoo Sports
Texas woman banned from Walmart reportedly for eating half a cake and refusing to pay First Pringles, now cake. More than six months after a Texas woman was banned from a Walmart by Wichita Falls police fordrinking wine from a Pringles can, a second woman was reportedly banned for eating cake. According to Wichita Falls Police Department spokesman Jeff Hughes, officers received a report June 25 of a woman who had entered the Walmart, ate half of a cake and refused to pay for the other half. Hughes said the woman was banned from the store by police for the theft, theWichita Falls Times Record Newsreported. Back in January, the story of the Pringles wine-guzzling suspect went viral. Taco travesty:When Taco Bell runs out of tacos, who do you call? One person reportedly called the police Not happening:Sorry, ranch dressing-flavored Pop-Tarts won't become a thing, Kellogg says In that case, which happened at another Wichita Falls Walmart, police received a call about a woman drinking wine from the Pringles can while riding on an electric shopping cart in the parking lot. Walmart employees had requested officers ban the woman who reportedly made the parking lot ride for several hours starting around 6:30 a.m. When officers arrived, they found the woman in a nearby restaurant and notified her that she had been barred from the Walmart location. The story garnered national attention, with late night host Stephen Colbert mentioning the incident while drinking from a can of the chips and "The Late Show's" Twitter accounttweetingabout it. "Wine in a Pringles can lady, here’s to you!," thetweetsaid. Even Pringles got in on the action and posted a photo illustration of two Pringles cans with wine stems clinking on itsFacebook pagewith the comment: "Toasting has never been so tasty." Southern Living made a pairing guideof what Pringles flavors went best with types of wine. An Etsy artist made a Pringles lookalike wine tumbler soon after the story went viral,MyRecipes.com reported. In early June, a Houston-area Walmart had cake-related news when it sold agraduation cake made out of Styrofoam. Contributing: Christopher Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News Follow Kelly Tyko on Twitter:@KellyTyko This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Texas woman banned from Walmart reportedly for eating half a cake and refusing to pay
Bitcoin Hover Over $11,800 as Top Cryptos See Gains Saturday, June 29 — most of the top 20cryptocurrenciesare reporting moderate to significant gains on the day by press time, as bitcoin (BTC) hovers over under the $11,800 mark again. Market visualization courtesy ofCoin360 Bitcoin is currently up about .14% on the day, trading around$11,830at press time, according toCoin360. Looking at its weekly chart, the coin is up over 13%. Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source:Coin360 Ether (ETH) is holding onto its position as the largest altcoin by market cap, which currently stands at $32.5 billion. The second-largest altcoin, Ripple’sXRP, has a market cap of $17.6 billion at press time. Coin360 data shows that ETH has seen its value increase by about .6% over the last 24 hours. At press time, ETH is trading around $306. On the week, the coin has also gained over 3.2% of value. Ether 7-day price chart. Source:Coin360 XRP is up by over 2% over the last 24 hours and is currently trading at around$0.421. On the week, the coin is down nearly 6%. XRP 7-day price chart. Source:Coin360 Among the top 20 cryptocurrencies, the coin reporting the most notable gains is chainlink (LINK), which is up over 69% in the 24 hours to press time. As Cointelegraphreportedearlier this week, majorcryptocurrency exchangeCoinbasePro has added support for Chainlink. Also, earlier this monthnews brokethat theGoogleCloud team has integrated Chainlink’s oracle middleware with its BigQuery enterprise cloud data warehouse, allowing for an on-chain and cloud-based interaction with Ethereumdecentralized applicationsandsmart contracts. At press time, thetotal market capitalizationof all cryptocurrencies is $338.7 billion, over 2.8% higher than the value it reported a week ago. Recently that veteran trader and author Peter Brandtpredictedthat bitcoin will continue to grow butaltcoinswill not feel the benefits. • Bitcoin Falls Under $10,800 as US Stock Market Sees Minor Uptrend • ETH Hits 10-Month High as Crypto Markets See Solid Green • Bitcoin Breaks $9,300 as US Stock Market Sees Minor Uptrend • Bitcoin Holds $9,100 Support While Top 20 Coins Trade Sideways
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Red Sox Yankee Game Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attended a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees in Europe. (Photo: Getty Images) Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex are getting in touch with her American roots with a trip to the first-ever regular season Major League Baseball game played in Europe. And what a game! Archie’s mom (mum?) and dad are getting a taste of the biggest rivalry in baseball – the New York Yankees are taking on the Boston Red Sox in a two-game series this weekend. For the summer Saturday event, the glowing duchess wore a belted knee-length black dress, reportedly by Stella McCartney , with a flirty full skirt and matching slingback flats. The prince was dressed casually in an Invictus polo shirt, black pants, and sneakers. Both teams gave the royal couple team onesies with their little one’s first name on the back. Yankee’s clubhouse reporter Meredith Marakovits shared a video of the two saying hello in the Yankee locker room. “That is incredible, thank you,” gushed Markle when handed the gift. There’s video too! How cool is this! #royals #yankees #redsox #princehaery #meghamarkle pic.twitter.com/csihthSR81 — Meredith Marakovits (@M_Marakovits) June 29, 2019 The beaming couple also posed with both teams, with a smiling duchess holding up the new onesies. View this post on Instagram A post shared by HRH The Duchess Of Sussex (@megmarkles) on Jun 29, 2019 at 9:30am PDT View this post on Instagram A post shared by HRH The Duchess Of Sussex (@firstduchessofsussex) on Jun 29, 2019 at 9:51am PDT The London Baseball Series is being held in partnership with the Invictus Games Foundation, of which the Prince and Duchess are patrons. Harry founded the games, which are an international sporting event for wounded, injure, and sick service personnel. The first games took place in London back in 2014 and the couple made their public debut at the 2017 games in Toronto , Canada when Markle was still starring in Suits. Story continues View this post on Instagram A post shared by HRH The Duchess Of Sussex (@firstduchessofsussex) on Jun 29, 2019 at 10:18am PDT What a difference two years makes! The couple have now been married over a year, and are parents to a newborn son. This is the Duchess’ first appearance since Trooping the Colour on June 8th, and her second since taking maternity leave. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Royal baby Archie’s birth certificate revealed Meghan Markle and Prince Harry want Archie to have a ‘normal life’ Meghan Markle sparks ‘push present’ rumors by flashing new ring Follow us on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
IMF Says Central Bank-Backed Crypto ‘Could Become Reality’ In its latest report entitled “Five Facts on Fintech,” the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that based on its research, countries generally foresee the emergence of crypto assets backed by central banks. The study, which surveyed central banks, finance ministries, and other government agencies in 189 countries, explicitly stated that central bank-backed crypto assets are likely to emerge due to lowering costs and increasing efficiency. The IMF cited “countering competition from cryptocurrencies” as one of five main reasons behind the potential emergence of central bank-backed crypto assets, indicating that bitcoin and other major crypto assets are seeing an increase in adoption as an alternative to existing assets. The IMF’s reportread: “The survey reveals wide-ranging views of countries on central bank digital currencies. About 20 percent of respondents said they are exploring the possibility of issuing such currencies. But even then, work is in early stages; only four pilots were reported. The main reasons cited in favor of issuing digital currencies are lowering costs, increasing efficiency of monetary policy implementation, countering competition from cryptocurrencies, ensuring contestability of the payment market, and offering a risk-free payment instrument to the public.” In its 2018 report entitled “Global Financial Stability Report,” the IMF said that crypto assets have “features that may improve market efficiency” but could also pose risks to global financial stability if it evolves into a major asset class without safeguards. Read the full story on CCN.com.
U.S.-China Agree to Restart Trade Negotiations; Trump Suspends New Tariffs In a move that should have a major impact on the financial markets on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on Saturday at their meeting at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, to proceed with trade negotiations. For nearly two months, a series of escalations to the on-going trade spat between the United States and China had held the financial markets hostage, nearly forcing a change in U.S. monetary policy, while threatening to drive the global economy into recession. After meeting for about 80 minutes, the two leaders emerged with the news that trade negotiations were back on. Furthermore, it looks like Trump offered a few concessions to get the deal-making process moving forward. Chinese state-run press agency Xinhua described the meeting result as the presidents agreeing “to restart trade consultations between their countries on the basis of equality and mutual respect.” Trump said afterwards that the meeting had gone as well as it could have, and that negotiations with China would continue. “We are right back on track,” the president said. Trump suggested he will be reversing his administration’s decision to ban American companies from selling products to the tech giant. However, Trump emphasized the issue of Huawei will be resolved only at the conclusion of the negotiations. “We mentioned Huawei. I said we’ll have to save that until the very end,” Trump said during a post-summit news conference. “One of the things I will allow, however, is – a lot of people are surprised we send and we sell to Huawei a tremendous amount of product that goes into a lot of the various things that they make – and I said that that’s OK, that we will keep selling that product.” Trump also indicated that China would be buying large quantities of U.S. agricultural products following his meeting with Xi. “We’re holding on tariffs, and they’re going to buy farm product,” he said. In my opinion, the news of the resumption of trade talks between the U.S. and China has lifted the uncertainty that had been hanging over the stock market. This should cause an early spike higher in the markets. Whether investors can hold on to the gains will likely be determined by the direction of U.S. Treasury yields. If Treasury yields jump then Treasury Notes and Bonds could drop sharply. The news may cause investors to reduce the chances of a Fed rate cut at the end of July. Remember, the Fed is not being forced to lower rates, but may do so as an insurance policy against future weakness. Powell said last week that while there is greater uncertainty about trade and worries about the global economy, officials don’t know how long this may last or how serious the drag might be. Powell also said Fed officials are mindful that monetary policy “should not overreact to any individual data point or short-term swing in sentiment.” Essentially, the Fed doesn’t want to get caught cutting rates in July then raising them later in the year or early 2020 if there is a quick end to the trade dispute, and a fast recovery on the U.S. economy. This would send a message of weakness to the investing community. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Silver Price Forecast – Silver markets find support • Forex Daily Recap – USD/CNY pair was Forming a Cup-and-Handle Pattern • USD/JPY Price Forecast – US dollar gaps after G 20 against yen • Corn Falls for the Fourth Session, Coffee Up to Fresh 2019 Highs • G20 News Drive Big Moves In The Markets • E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index (NQ) Futures Technical Analysis – Strengthens Over 7830.25, Weakens Under 7818.75
Owner: Fan-related costs factor into Bills' stadium decision VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula says he won't ask fans to break the bank when it comes to deciding whether to renovate the team's current stadium in the suburbs or build a new one downtown. "Whatever we're going to do stadium-wise is going to be in the best interest of our fans," Pegula told The Associated Press during a wide-ranging interview before the start of the NHL draft in Vancouver. "We have the interest of our fans at heart, and what we do will be heavily weighted — whatever the plan is — toward the benefit of our fans." The Bills have hired a private firm to conduct a feasibility study on determining the team's future home. The study is due to be completed sometime this summer and lead to a decision on whether the Bills will continue playing at New Era Field in suburban Orchard Park, New York, or relocate. Both options are deemed expensive and have raised concerns over how much public money might be required to fund the project, and how much a new stadium could boost ticket prices in one of the NFL's smallest markets. A New York state-funded study in 2014 projected the next round of renovations would cost $540 million, including for structural improvements and rebuilding the stadium's third deck. A new facility would cost almost double that, depending on location and whether it features a roof and based on how much infrastructure upgrades — expanded roads, access ramps, public transportation — might be necessary. New Era Field opened in 1973. Pegula also owns the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, and the feasibility study is also assessing renovations to that team's home, KeyBank Center, which opened in 1996. "As far as professional sports teams go, Buffalo's the biggest little city in the country," said Pegula, who co-owns the Bills with his wife, Kim. "And our fans need their due as far as whatever we do with venues for them to attend our games." The study began late last year and sought input from fans. Questions regarding the Bills' stadium were renewed earlier this month when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated the league's preference in a new facility. Goodell acknowledged the differences in costs and market size in saying that the price of a new facility in Dallas might not necessarily work in Buffalo. However, he stressed that a new stadium is required for the Bills to remain financially stable and be competitive. Some inferred Goodell's comments as a veiled threat that the NFL would consider relocating the franchise without a new stadium. Story continues The Pegulas dismissed that notion, saying they are in constant contact with Goodell and working with him. "Roger knows where we stand. We weren't at all upset or thought that he was trying to say anything differently," Kim Pegula said. "It's a big, big nut to crack," she added, referring to the potential costs of either option. "It's going to take some patience on everyone's part." ___ More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL View comments
US Women Continue To Be Ratings Gold In March Toward The World Cup Click here to read the full article. The US Women continued to be victorious on the pitch and in the ratings this week, as the team’s dramatic win over France proved to be a strong draw for Fox viewers. The US edged France 2-1 on Friday in a quarterfinal match between top contenders for the Cup. The US team’s Megan Rapinoe led the way, scoring two goals for the second consecutive match. The US women now advance to Tuesday’s semi-final against England. Related stories USA-Chile Women's World Cup Match Racks Up Another Ratings Win For Fox Sports USA-Thailand Women's World Cup Match Scores Ratings Gold For Fox Sports Women's World Cup Soccer Ratings Are Up, With Defending Champ US Women On Deck Rapinoe scored on a fifth minute free kick and a short score in the 65th minute. France’s Wendie Renard scored in the 81st, but the Americans held on to reach the World Cup semifinals for the eighth time. The 2019 Quarterfinal scored a 4.9/14 demo, making it the best-metered market rating for a soccer match on English language television since last year’s World Cup Final. It was also the best-metered market rating ever for a Women’s World Cup Quarterfinal. It was also +17% better than what FOX averaged for its US Quarterfinal match in 2015 that did a 4.2/8 which aired in primetime (Friday, 7:15-9:30p) vs. China; and +88% better than 2011’s 2.6/7 for USA’s Quarterfinal match-up with Brazil on ESPN (Sunday, 11a-2:30p) Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .
Trump dismisses Carter's attacks on his legitimacy WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump on Saturday dismissed Jimmy Carter's swipe at the legitimacy of his election and said the charge was nothing more than a "Democrat talking point," while offering his own digs at the 94-year-old former commander in chief. Trump said he was surprised by Carter's comments alleging that Russian interference in the 2016 election was responsible for putting Trump in the White House. The Republican punched back, though with a somewhat muted response, at least for him. "Look, he was a nice man. He was a terrible president. He's a Democrat. And it's a typical talking point. He's loyal to the Democrats. And I guess you should be," Trump told reporters at a news conference in Japan, adding that, "as everybody now understands, I won not because of Russia, not because of anybody but myself." Carter made his comments during a discussion on human rights at a resort in Leesburg, Virginia on Friday. Carter had said there was "no doubt that the Russians did interfere" in 2016. The 39th president alleged that that interference, "though not yet quantified, if fully investigated would show that Trump didn't actually win the election in 2016. He lost the election and he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf." U.S. intelligence agencies asserted in a 2017 report that Russia had worked to help Trump during the election and to undermine the candidacy of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. But the intelligence agencies did not assess whether that interference had affected the election or contributed to Trump's victory. No evidence has emerged that votes were changed improperly. Trump insisted during the news conference marking the end of a Group of 20 summit in Osaka that he had won because he'd worked harder and smarter than Clinton. He claimed that he'd "felt badly" for Carter because of the way he'd "been trashed within his own party." "He's been badly trashed," said Trump. "He's like the forgotten president. And I understand why they say that. He was not a good president."
Amazon is having a sale on Bose SoundTouch 300 sound bars for a limited time Bose SoundTouch 300 Sound bar. (Photo: Bose) Its time to upgrade your TV-viewing experience because Amazon is having a sale on the Bose SoundTouch 300 sound bar . The sleek Alexa-enabled system is just $499 (was $699) and we have a feeling it wont last much longer. It's like sitting in a movie theatre, raved one 5-star reviewer , who says they listen to music on it and got the sound bar to replace a large cumbersome space hog system of receiver, speakers and subwoofer. The wireless Bose SoundTouch 300 sound bar features a slim, glass top design that fits in with any home decor but of course, the technology really blows shoppers away. Its low, 4-inch profile delivers big sound and the Quiet Port technology eliminates distortion, allowing the bass to come though without the need for a subwoofer. Bose already has a reputation for excellent sound, but this sound bar definitely take things to a higher level, explained one enthusiastic reviewer . Theres a LOT of new driver technology being used in this unit! The surround effect is amazing and the overall frequency response is beyond the size of the unit. Bose SoundTouch 300 Soundbar. (Photo: Amazon) Reviewers also praise the easy setup and the ability to control the sound bar and stream music from their phone. The unit is very easy to set-up and operate. I love that it has a HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) and 4K pass-through for easy hook-up to 4K televisions. Theres also Optical Out if needed, added the same reviewer. Also, theres a calibration device (ADAPTiQ) that can be worn and will calibrate the unit to work flawlessly with your rooms dimensions and acoustical properties. Bottom line, said the audiophile: Please do yourself a favor and give this unit a listen if youre in the market for a fantastic sound bar! The price may seem high, but the build and technology is worth every penny. Shop it: Bose SoundTouch 300 Soundbar, $499 (was $699) at amazon.com The editors at Yahoo Lifestyle are committed to finding you the best products at the best prices. At times, we may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Story continues Read More from Yahoo Lifestyle: Deal alert: The popular Bose Wave Music System is on sale for an unbelievable price but hurry! Walmart is having an epic sale on Samsung 4K TVs, including QLED models Intrigued by dryer balls? The 6 best-selling brands soften laundry without harmful chemicals Follow us on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoos newsletter.
3 Simple Retirement Questions Most People Can't Answer Retirement is complicated, and there are dozens of factors to consider before you start this new journey in life. Some of the more exciting topics to think about include how you're going to spend all your free time in retirement and all the new vacation spots you're going to experience. But before you can think about relaxing, you need to consider how you're going to pay for all these retirement luxuries. If you don't account for the financial side, it won't be nearly as enjoyable as you'd hoped when you end up pinching pennies just to make ends meet. To ensure your later years are as enjoyable as possible, here are three questions you should ask yourself before you retire. Image source: Getty Images. More than 80% of people don't know what they should be saving for retirement, a survey from Merrill Lynch and Age Wave found. It's not an easy question to answer, but knowing how much money you need to last the rest of your life is the foundation of a happy retirement. Retirement can cost more than you think, too, making it even more important to have a good grasp on what you should be saving. A third of today's 65-year-olds can expect to live until at least age 90, according to the Social Security Administration, so if you retire at 65, you could live another 25 years or more. Spending even a modest $30,000 per year will amount to around $750,000 over that time period, and that's not accounting for inflation. Because retirement spending can be unpredictable, it can be tempting to throw your plans out the window, save what you can, and hope for the best. However,calculating your retirement costsas precisely as you can and getting a rough idea of what you should save will at least get you in the ballpark. You may still get hit with unexpected costs. But the more prepared you are, the better you'll be able to recover and still enjoy retirement. A full 73% of Americans either don't know what they're paying in fees or mistakenly believe they aren't paying any 401(k) fees at all, according to a survey from TD Ameritrade. All retirement accounts charge fees (the people who manage these accounts expect to get paid somehow). The average 401(k) charges around 1% of total assets managed, according to a report from the Center for American Progress. That may not sound like much, but that same report also noted that a worker earning a median salary of around $30,000 at age 25 can expect to spend roughly $138,000 in fees alone over a lifetime, assuming they're paying annual fees of 1%. But if that worker were paying slightly higher fees of 1.30% per year, the lifetime fees would jump to around $166,000. So paying more than you need to in fees can cost tens of thousands of dollars in savings over a lifetime. Byunderstanding how much you're paying, you can determine whether to stick with your current retirement account or switch to one with lower fees. You can find out what you're paying by asking your plan administrator or checking your account statements -- which should offer information about the fees you pay and what percentage of your funds are going toward them. Theexpense ratiois the most important figure to look for, and if it's much higher than the 1% average, you may want to consider switching to a plan with lower fees. The one caveat is if your 401(k) offersmatching contributionsfrom your employer. If so, it's a good idea to contribute enough to earn the full match, even if your 401(k) charges high fees. Once you've earned as much free money as you can, then park the rest of your cash in an account with lower fees. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of Americans say they don't fully understand how Medicare works, according to a survey from the Nationwide Retirement Institute, and 53% mistakenly believe coverage is free. With Original Medicare, Part A typically is free as long as you've worked and paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years. Part B, though, comes with a monthly premium of around $135, and if you want Part D coverage for prescription drugs, that's another charge. Even with Medicare coverage, you're still responsible for all deductibles, co-insurance, and co-payments. Furthermore, Original Medicare typicallydoesn't cover routine care(including most dental and vision care), so you'll either need to pay those costs out of pocket or enroll in aMedicare Advantage plan-- which will likely be more expensive, but will offer wider coverage. Healthcare isn't free in retirement, regardless of what type of plan you have. So the more you understand about how much Medicare will cover and how much will come out of your own pocket, the more prepared you'll be for these costs. Asking yourself the tough questions about retirement isn't as fun as planning which beach you'll visit first on vacation. But if you don't ask, you may not be able to afford the life of leisure you planned. A little extra legwork now to ensure you have all your financial issues covered will pay off in a much more comfortable retirement. More From The Motley Fool • Everything You Need to Know About Retirement • Don't Retire Early Until You Do This • The $16,728 Social Security Bonus You Can’t Afford to Miss The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Jamie Dimon attacks populism of AOC and Bernie Sanders: ‘Just because it resonates, doesn’t make it right’ JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon has received scathing criticism in recent months from progressive firebrands Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). In a new interview, he fired back, acknowledging the current appeal of their economic populism but dismissing it as misguided. “Just because it resonates, doesn’t make it right,” Dimon says, when asked about criticism put forward by Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders, and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). The comments came just before Warren on Fridaysent a letterto Dimon raising concerns about the reinstatement of the company’s forced arbitration policy for credit card holders, which disallows customers from holding the bank accountable in court for potential wrongdoing. At a hearing on Capitol Hill in April, Ocasio-Cortez sat alongside lawmakers whotargetedthe tens of millions in compensation received by top bank executives, including Dimon, who received $31 million in compensation last year. The ratio between CEO pay and entry-level wages at JPMorgan Chase stands at 381:1, ranking itsecond highest among the large banks, after Citigroup. But juxtaposition of CEO and entry-level pay is “comparing apples and oranges,” Dimon tells Yahoo Finance Editor-in-chief Andy Serwer, calling the calculation “a complete waste of time.” “People don't think clearly about stuff like that,” he adds. “We treat our people well, we educate our people, we give them a huge opportunity — and that's what we should do.” Theminimum starting wageat JPMorgan Chase is $16.50 per hour, though it can start at $18 for workers in high-cost regions. Meanwhile, Bank of Americaannouncedin April that its hourly pay will rise to $17 in May and increase to $20 by 2021. Dimon pointed to the benefits package the company offers entry-level employees, recounting how the company improved its health-care coverage when he found out some employees couldn’t afford the deductibles. “The second we found out for our lower paid folks making under $60,000 a year, we cut the deductible to the extent that if they do the wellness programs it's effectively zero,” he says. Dimon also pointed to the competitive pressure that compels him to pay enough to hire and retain effective workers. “To act like somehow I can steal from them and do a good job at my company is a little bit crazy,” he says. Dimon made the comments to Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer in a conversation that aired on Yahoo Finance in an episode of “Influencers with Andy Serwer,” a weekly interview series with leaders in business, politics, and entertainment. According to Dimon, populist critics misrepresent the actions of wealthy people and big banks. Still, he acknowledged these critics tap into genuine discontent held by people struggling to gain access to services like quality education and health care. “We should acknowledge the problems in society that are causing the anger,” he says. “But those problems are we can't build infrastructure,” he adds. “Those problems are the inner-city schools are not graduating our kids. Our litigation system is capricious. Health care is huge — we should get all health care to the 40 million people who don't have it.” Leading progressives Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders have attacked Dimon in recent months. In March, Dimon criticized the potential negative economic consequences of Green New Deal legislation proposed by Ocasio-Cortez. The next day, the freshman New York Congresswoman responded, pointing to Dimon’s participation in a$13 billion settlementover allegations that JPMorgan Chase fraudulently misrepresented the mortgages it was selling to investors ahead of the 2008 recession. She also criticized the bank’sfinancing of fossil fuel pipelines. “So maybe they aren’t the best authority on prioritizing economic wellbeing of everyday people & the planet,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. Earlier this month, Dimon condemned socialism,sayingit “means that the government owns and controls companies” for “political purposes, for jobs and votes.” Sandersobjectedto the comments, saying he “didn't hear Jamie Dimon criticizing socialism when Wall Street begged for the largest federal bailout in American history — some $700 billion from the Treasury and even more from the Fed.” In the interview with Serwer, Dimon said he and JPMorgan Chase grasp the issues facing low-level employees and have sought to improve their lives. “We understand,” he says. “We have a heart.” Andy Serwer is editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter:@serwer. Read more: Jamie Dimon: Donald Trump should 'walk away' if he can't get a good deal with China Jamie Dimon: Donald Trump deserves ‘some’ credit for the strong economy Charlie Munger: Trump is not primarily responsible for US economic success
Mexico seeks closer China business ties during testing time on trade By Dave Graham MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico wants to deepen economic ties with China by increasing its exports and attracting more investment from the Asian country, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Saturday ahead of a visit to Beijing. Ebrard was speaking to reporters via a video link from the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, where he said that talks with other government officials had demonstrated there was growing interest in boosting trade and investment with Mexico. This was "very clear" in the case of China, where Ebrard said he would be giving priority to expanding business ties during his visit there at the start of next week. "What we're interested in," he said, "is increasing Mexico's presence in China, Mexico's capacity to export to China. And China's investments in Mexico." Ebrard was representing Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at the summit, who in a letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he could not attend because there were "urgent" matters requiring his attention in Mexico. Ebrard is due to speak to media on Tuesday in China, which exports much more to Mexico than vice versa. Last year, according to Mexican economy ministry data, Mexico imported $83.5 billion worth of goods from China, while its exports to China were worth $7.4 billion. Mexico sends around 80% of its exports to the United States, and is eager to sell more to other countries to reduce its economic dependence on its neighbor. That dependence has become an increasing liability since U.S. President Donald Trump last month vowed to slap tariffs on all Mexican exports to the United States if Mexico did not do more to stem a surge in migrants heading to the United States. During the summit, Ebrard said, Trump had told him "(the United States) had good signs that things were going well" in Mexico's bid to cut the flow of mostly Central Americans seeking to cross the U.S. border. Ebrard also noted India was interested in doing more business with Mexico, and that he would visit New Delhi "soon". Despite that, concern in business circles about the Lopez Obrador administration's ability to attract investment grew last week when Mexican state power utility CFE said it wanted to get "fairer" terms for contracts signed under the last government. That drew criticism from Canada, whose government voiced its concerns at the G20 about the CFE's desire to revisit a major pipeline contract involving a Canadian firm, Mexican Finance Minister Carlos Urzua said. (Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)
Discovering Insuretech: Blockchain Disruption of the Insurance Sector The business of insurance is enormously complex: The process of evaluating and managing a variety of risks that individuals and organizations face every day inevitably involves coordination of the multiple parties’ efforts and reconciliation of extensive records. Both aspects make the insurance sector an appealing ground for blockchain-based optimization — and indeed, distributed ledger technology is a prominent feature of a rising tide of technological innovations, collectively known as insuretech, that seek to bring new efficiencies into the industry. As Cointelegraph previouslyreported, research firm MarketsandMarkets in 2018 projected that the value of blockchain components in the insurance market will see a compound annual growth rate of 84.9%, reaching $1.4 billion by the end of 2023. A 2019 insuretech-specificreportbyKPMGnoted that blockchain was not a “buzzword” or “future innovation” for the insurance space but that it is already operational in flight delay and lost baggage claims systems and is expected to improve other risk domains such as shipping and, somewhat more remotely, health care. A 2018World Insuretech Reportput together by a consulting firm Capgemini andfintechindustry association Efma named blockchain one of the technologies set to disrupt the insurance business, alongside artificial intelligence (AI), drones, wearables and robotic process automation. The document cited enhanced information exchange, increased trust and efficiency of smart contracts as major improvements that the technology offers. Hartford’sInsuretech Trends reportobserved that insurance companies already utilize blockchain technology to “streamline processes, provide transparency, and enhance security,” as well as for data management and protection, reducing administrative costs and boosting consumer trust and loyalty. All in all, there seems to be a host of actual and potential improvements associated with blockchain implementation in the insurance industry. Here is a more detailed look at some of the major areas of optimization. Verifying the authenticity of claims is a huge part of an insurance company’s workflow. Legacy systems that rely on standalone databases and paper records are slow and expensive: Manual approval of a claim may drag for days and even weeks, and the process still leaves room for error or abuse. Making these procedures fully automated — through a combination of a tamper-proof ledger and self-executing smart contracts — could dramatically lower insurers’ operational costs, resulting in lower premiums for their customers. One example of such optimization,reportedby Cointelegraph in late May 2019, is a pilot blockchain-based platform that the United States insurance powerhouse State Farm is jointly testing with the United Services Automobile Association (USAA), a military-affiliated financial services group. The solution is designed to speed up the auto claims subrogation — the last stage of a claim’s processing when the insurer retrieves the costs it had paid to its wronged customer from the at-fault party’s insurer. Another successful optimizationcaseis openIDL, anIBMblockchain-based network maintained by the American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS). Because insurance companies are subject to tight regulatory oversight, the paperwork related to compliance eats up a good share of companies’ resources. OpenIDL helps automate regulatory reporting, making things easier for both insurers and authorities. Insurancefraud, facilitated by the lack of interoperability between the industry participants’ databases and general complexity of paperwork that accompanies claim settlement, is very common in developed countries. In the U.S. alone, estimates of aggregate losses from this type of offence is estimated at anywhere between$40 billionand$80 billionevery year. While it is insurance companies that sustain direct losses, the burden ultimately gets equally shared between all the households that use their services, in the form of increased premiums. According to the analysts from CB Insights, the fundamental improvement that blockchain technology could bring to the area of combating fraudliesin the potential consolidation of insurers’ databases. When all claims are stored on a distributed ledger, wrongdoers are left with a very slim chance to, for example, file multiple claims on a single insured event with different companies. A unified transparent database of claims would also enable interested parties to track claimants’ suspicious behavior and identify patterns that might suggest abuse. While the vision of a universal distributed database accessible to everyone in the industry remains a somewhat distant one, standalone blockchain verification systems are already getting rolling. One example is the global insurance broker Marsh, which isreportedlypoised to unveil itsHyperledger-based proof of insurance platform. Recently, fintech startup BlockClaim hasprocured500,000 British pounds ($627,000) of venture capital toward its blockchain/AI solution designed to automate the processing of insurance claims. The firm reports faster settlements, reduced claim costs and successful implementation of AI-based features for fraud detection. One particular domain in which the arrival of operational blockchain solutions will change the game entirely is health care insurance. Right now, efficiently managing and coordinating patient data between doctors and medical institutions while preserving patients’ confidentiality is a major stumbling block for the sector. According to a CB Insightsreport, sparsity of data often leads to claim denials, costing medical care providers some $262 billion each year. Related:How Blockchain Improves Daily Health Care Routine, Explained One of blockchain’s great promises is its potential to enable actors to exchange data securely while precisely customizing who is allowed access to which information. Once such a comprehensive distributed medical database is up and running, patients will be empowered to decide which parts of their medical history to share with a certain doctor or clinic. In turn, medical professionals and administrators will see a major efficiency boost from having instant access to their customers’ blockchain-verified health records. Although creating a universal ledger of medical records is an enormous task that will require industry-wide cooperation, there are viable transitionary solutions capable of optimizing industry record-keeping in the short run. One of them is MedRec, an MIT Media Labproject. The Ethereum-based system is designed to store not the records themselves but hosts smart contract-enabled permissions that nodes on the network — i.e., patients or medical institutions — can configure to authorize other participants’ access to the database. Health records also play a significant part in determining the premiums that holders of life insurance policies have to pay. Once all patients have their medical histories moved onto a secure medical database running on a blockchain, it will become possible for life insurers to calculate premiums and issue policies automatically. According to Ignite Outsourcing, finding a beneficiary upon the insured’s death is sometimesproblematicdue to both family dynamics and flaws in record-keeping. The practical effect is that, currently, $7.4 billion of unclaimed life insurance money is sitting in carriers’ bank accounts. With smart contracts triggered automatically in the event of a policyholder’s death, this may become much less of an issue — given that the order of potential beneficiaries is spelled out clearly in the policy. The authors of the report also note a little-known fact that nothing prevents the owners of life insurance policies from selling them to third parties. Whereas such deals are quite uncommon now, they could become more convenient when policies run on a blockchain. A startup called fidentiaX, branding itself as a marketplace for tradable insurance policies, seeks to expand this niche by offering a platform for buying and selling tokenized insurance contracts. Title insurance is a$15 billion marketthat is projected to keep growing steadily over the next few years. This type of contract is different from most “traditional” insurance areas in that it protects not from future losses but against claims on something that had allegedly happened in the past — for example, a previous owner’s tax lien. A title policy will come into play if a challenge arises to the legality of the new owner’s or lender’s property right. Insuring title rights requires the ability to verify that these rights are well-substantiated by the appropriate records. In this sense, the disruption that blockchain will bring to the title insurance business is just another facet of a more general disruption of the entire title record-keeping process. Storing titles on an immutable ledger will minimize the risks associated with loss or forgery of records, allowing legitimate property owners to easily prove the validity of their claims. Several months ago, two major players in the U.S. market, First American Financial and Old Republic Title Insurance,joined forcesto create a blockchain-based network of title insurance underwriters designed to enable industry participants to exchange previous insurance records. Insurers also need their risks hedged. If a major disaster occurs, a company may get flooded with claims that will drain its reserves too quickly and threaten its solvency. To guard against dire scenarios like this one, insurers purchase coverage from reinsurers or participate in consortium-style intra-industry agreements. Currently, underwriting reinsurance and negotiating policy conditions is an inefficient and lengthy process. Insurance firms typically rely on several reinsurers at once, creating the need for multiparty data exchange — fertile soil for blockchain to step in and streamline the complex web of interactions. In October 2016, five major European insurers teamed up to form the Blockchain Insurance Industry Initiative, or B3i. They have since been joined by an additional dozen of big industry players representing Europe, Asia and North America. The global consortium has since beenat workdeveloping and testing a shared smart contract system that provides reinsurance for natural disaster insurance. The system, whose working prototype was rolled out in 2017, is capable of automatically processing data from the affected parties and determining the size of payouts. The arrival of the fully operational system is expected in 2019. Peer-to-peer(P2P) insurance is a model that predates blockchain, although it is remarkably consonant with the ideology of decentralization that permeates the crypto space. The idea is that, instead of relying on a central insurer and an underwriter, a group of individuals pool their resources together to create a safety net for whoever from their ranks incurs a loss as a result of an unforeseen event. Participating in such an arrangement, usually comprised of the people whom one knows personally, is generally more affordable than purchasing a corporate-sourced policy — and arguably offers a more pleasant experience. However, for all the transparency and convenience of such friend pools, they can only scale up to a certain point before the need for professional, centralized management arises. Here enters blockchain to save the day. The whole P2P transactional structure of these “horizontal” risk pools closely resembles a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). As PwC analystshave it, DAOs are known for their “capacity to manage complex rules among a significant number of stakeholders,” which is a perfect recipe for projecting the peer-to-peer insurance model to a new level of efficiency and scalability. With all the potential efficiencies blockchain is set to bring to the table, many of the most impressive insurance-related use cases are still aspirational. The bulk of the technology’s disruptive promise resides in the domain of coordination enhancement. In order to fully capitalize on this potential, the industry will have to rally behind the idea of aligning standards of information exchange, shared data pools and broad cooperation. Initiatives like B3i will have to encompass the majority of industry stakeholders, which is a gargantuan task, given the sector’s size and inertia. Regulation also remains a potential impediment for blockchain’s explosive expansion. Insurance companies are subject to heightened regulatory scrutiny and so is distributed ledger technology. Bringing both together will require cutting through a lot of red tape, as well as the creation of new rules to guide the symbiosis. • A Partner at Binance Labs Expresses Optimism Over Facebook’s Entry Into Crypto With Libra • Golem Launches New Entity Based on Its 2016 Crowdfunding • Oxfam Trials Aid Distribution With DAI, Future Use 'Highly Likely' • Germany: CDU and CSU Union to Integrate Blockchain Into Public Services
Robert Downey Jr is really pushing for 'Avengers: Endgame' to beat 'Avatar’s' box office record Robert Downey Jr is working hard to get Avengers: Endgame past Avatar Robert Downey Jr is really working overtime to try and encourage Marvel fans to push Avengers: Endgame past Avatar so that it can become the highest grossing film of all time. Downey, who has played Iron Man throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has taken to Twitter over the last three days to share several hand-drawn images of the blockbuster, while also telling people to go and check out the film again and again and again. Get a new re-release on life and make #ENDGAME #1.... c’mon, there’s “new stuff” and everything... pic.twitter.com/92Vx74OnVh — Robert Downey Jr (@RobertDowneyJr) June 26, 2019 Wanna make history? The #GAME has yet to #END ! Avengers rerelease... #AvengersEndgame #TeamStark special thanx @ogpepper on IG pic.twitter.com/GmSsVgN9Us — Robert Downey Jr (@RobertDowneyJr) June 27, 2019 suit up, show up, records gonna blow up !!! #EndGameRerelease today... pic.twitter.com/2VrulGAfgr — Robert Downey Jr (@RobertDowneyJr) June 28, 2019 At $2.753 billion, Avengers: Endgame’s haul is very, very close to beating Avatar’s $2.788 billion, but box office experts are still dubious whether this re-release will actually help it to finally become the highest grossing film of all time. Story continues Read More: 'Avengers: Endgame': 7-year-old who played Tony Stark's daughter is being 'bullied' Kevin Feige confirmed last week that a re-release of Avengers: Endgame was being rushed into cinemas, while it was later confirmed that its new runtime had been extended from 181 minutes to 188 minutes. “Not an extended cut,” Feige told Screenrant. “But there will be a version going into theaters with a bit of a marketing push with a few new things at the end of the movie. “If you stay and watch the movie, after the credits, there’ll be a deleted scene, a little tribute, and a few surprises. Which will be next weekend.” HOLLYWOOD, CA - APRIL 23: Stan Lee attends the premiere of Disney and Marvel's 'Avengers: Infinity War' on April 23, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic) The most touching addition to Avengers: Endgame is a tribute to Stan Lee, who created several of the characters in the film, but sadly passed at the age of 95 in November. Read More: Iron Man’s death scene in ‘Avengers: Endgame’ was improvised In voiceover for the tribute, Lee declares, “Not only did I not think I would be doing a cameo in such a big movie, I hadn’t dreamt there’d be such a big movie. In those days, I was writing those books, I was hoping they’d sell so I wouldn’t lose my job and that I could keep paying the rent.” As you can probably tell, Avengers: Endgame is still in cinemas.
3 Stocks That More Than Doubled in the First Half We're now halfway through 2019, and the markets are rolling. The S&P 500 is up a hearty 17%, but some stocks have fared even better through the first six months of the year. Roku(NASDAQ: ROKU),Snap(NYSE: SNAP), andShopify(NYSE: SHOP)have all more than doubled in 2019. The year-to-date gains are impressive, so let's break down the reasons why investors are rallying behind these three stocks. Image source: Shopify. We're streaming video more than ever, and Roku is more than happy to be a crafty toll collector behind the scenes. There are now 29 million active users on its platform either through the online-tethered gadgetry that put Roku on the map or the growing number of smart TVs rolling out with Roku's proprietary operating system. Roku users streamed a whopping 8.9 billion hours in itslatest quarter, helping Roku boost its average revenue per user by 27%. Roku users may treat the platform as a passive yet sticky pastime, but it's collecting money behind the scenes, both from the services that users subscribe to through its platform as well as from the growing number of ads it's able to crank out. Roku shares have nearly tripled this year. It's highly unlikely to nearly triple again through the second half of the year, but as long as growth continues at a torrid pace -- and the platform revenue that has overtaken hardware sales to be the primary driver here soared 79% in the first quarter -- it's hard to deny the bullish momentum. Snapchat had a rough 2018, and the same can be said about its parent company Snap, Inc. A poorly received Android app update and a gradually sliding active user base scared investors away last year, but it's been a different story in 2019. Snapchat's decline in active users has bottomed out, and it's now connecting a growing audience of 190 million people. Snap is rebuilding its app, and it's making the platform itself more engaging through new filters, content, andmobile gamingdiversions. Revenue rose 39% inits latest quarter, accelerating for the first time in more than a year. Social platforms rarely recover after they start to fall out of favor, but Snap is on the right path to be the exception to the rule. More than 800,000 merchants rely on Shopify to get their storefronts online, The fast-growing hub for online retailers initially earned a living charging digital rent for its intuitive and reliable platform, but now it's cashing in on other revenue streams that are possible once you have earned the trust of your business-hungry customers. Shopify is often seen as a cyberspace oasis for budding entrepreneurs, but Shopify Plus -- its platform for larger merchants -- isgrowing even fasterthese days. Revenue rose 50% in itslatest quarterly report, with adjusted earnings more than doubling. Roku and Snap tumbled sharply in 2018, bouncing back in 2019 off depressed levels. Shopify's strong first half of 2019 is impressive because the stock also beat the market last year with a 37% surge in 2018. Each company carved a different path to get to where it is today, but all three are clearly among the market's biggest winners so far in 2019. More From The Motley Fool • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,728 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • 20 of the Top Stocks to Buy (Including the Two Every Investor Should Own) • What Is an ETF? • 5 Recession-Proof Stocks • How to Beat the Market Rick Munarrizowns shares of Roku. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Roku and Shopify. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Dave Bautista Rejects Starring in ‘Fast and Furious’ Movies: ‘I’d Rather Do Good Films’ Click here to read the full article. Dave Bautista isn’t one to mince words on social media, and that was certainly true when it came to sharing his thoughts on the “ Fast and Furious ” franchise. A fan recently pitched the “Guardians of the Galaxy” actor an idea about playing the villain in a potential “Fast and Furious” spinoff starring Dwayne Johnson and John Cena, who was recently added as a new cast member to “Fast and Furious 9.” Bautista wasn’t having it. Bautista sarcastically responded to the idea by writing, “Thank you for your consideration,” adding two “throw-up” emojis. If it wasn’t already clear, Bautista threw down shade by using the hashtag: “I’d rather do good films.” Related stories Dave Bautista Shuts Down Homophobic Bishop Calling for Gay Pride Month Boycott Dave Bautista Supports James Gunn's 'Suicide Squad' and Even Wants a Role: 'Where Do I Sign Up!' The “Fast and Furious” franchise was back in the news this week as production on the ninth film kicked off, with franchise mainstay Vin Diesel sharing several set videos from the start of filming. The “Fast and Furious” franchise is also releasing its first spinoff movie, “Hobbs and Shaw,” later this summer. The spinoff centers around the title characters played by Johnson and Jason Statham and opens in theaters nationwide from Universal on August 2. Bautista has the summer action comedy “Stuber” opening July 12. The actor will reprise his Marvel Cinematic role as Drax the Destroyer in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” which will find writer-director James Gunn returning to the director’s chair after originally being fired by Disney for controversial jokes he made on Twitter years ago. Bautista openly criticized Disney after the studio severed ties with Gunn, writing on social media he was “not ok” with the decision and that it would be “nauseating” to work with Disney after the Gunn debacle. Gunn was ultimately reinstated as director. Story continues In addition to “Stuber,” Bautista also has the family comedy “My Spy” from STX Entertainment arriving later this summer on August 23. The actor will also be reuniting with his “Blade Runner 2020” director Denis Villeneuve for the highly-anticipated “Dune” remake, which Warner Bros. has already announced will open November 20, 2020. Bautista is taking on the role of Glossu Rabban in the movie. 🤢…..thank you for your consideration…🤮 #idratherdogoodfilms https://t.co/7VT0wFG6bY — Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) June 29, 2019 Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .
Dutch beat Italy 2-0 to make 1st Women's World Cup semifinal VALENCIENNES, France (AP) — The Oranje procession will roll into a Women's World Cup semifinal for the first time. The parade of fans, covered head to toe in orange, the brass band — and, of course, the free kick specialists on the field. In the sweltering afternoon heat of northeast France, the Netherlands relied on a pair of headers off free kicks by Sherida Spitse to beat Italy 2-0 in a quarterfinal game Saturday. Vivianne Miedema scored off Spitse's delivery from the left side in the 70th minute to claim her 61st goal in 80 appearances for the Netherlands. "In the end, people expect me to score goals," Miedema said. "That header, I had a good feeling." So did Stefanie van der Gragt 10 minutes later, powering in a towering header when Spitse swung in a free kick from the right. "I had the strength to get the ball in the right place," Spitse said. "Our football, we could also play a little bit more and could score goals but it's nice to score from set pieces as well." Six of the last eight goals have come from set pieces at this World Cup, only the second time the Dutch women have appeared in the tournament. Four years ago, they only made it to the round of 16 but laid the foundations to win the European Championship in 2017. "I didn't expect to be in the semifinals of this World Cup," Miedema said. "We've been complaining that we're not playing the best football but in the end we're in the semis. We've done amazing and we can be really proud." The Netherlands will play Sweden in the semifinals Wednesday in Lyon, a day after England plays the United States in the same stadium. Expect an influx of thousands of Dutch fans to central France, just as they have painted towns orange across a tournament that has struggled to attract crowds. "It's unbelievable, they really help us," Netherlands coach Sarina Wiegman said. "It's very special and it's not something you get used to." The Dutch are getting used to a lot of new things in recent years. With a place among the top three European teams at this World Cup now secured, the Dutch have claimed a spot in the Olympics for the first time. They will be going to the 2020 Tokyo Games with Sweden and England, which organizes the British team. The women's team is flying the flag for Dutch soccer in international competitions, with the men failing to even qualify for the 2016 European Championship or 2018 World Cup. "I'm not really surprised with how far we've come, but I'm very proud of the team," Wiegman said. "We have had some moments where we were lucky but there's such a great team spirit and there's such a great belief that we can perform well. The word proud is more suitable than surprised." Story continues Italy was surprised by how far it got after missing out on the last four Women's World Cups. The team made the quarterfinals at the inaugural edition in 1991 and was knocked out in the group stage in 1999. "The women's game has been discovered and appreciated back home, so it's a big deal," Italy coach Milena Bertolini said. "I believe the girls have a greater confidence and awareness of what great players they are. "They need to be proud of themselves. The way they played and approached matches and their passion, they've shown people back home that football can be a sport where you have enjoyment, helping one another, unity and all these values. I think that's why the public have fallen in love with this team." Now Bertolini wants clubs in Italy, where all but one member of the squad plays, to turn their players into full-time professionals to help them compete better on the international stage. "Our girls are amateurs and we came up against a fully professional side today," Bertolini said. "It makes you a bit miffed." Miedema plays for newly crowned English champion Arsenal and was voted women's player of the year in England in April. The other scorer, Van der Gragt, plays for Spanish champion Barcelona. "That is why my players have done something extraordinary," Bertolini said through a translator. "Thanks to the team spirit they have been able to reduce the gap. The clubs and the ruling classes now need to do something to give them the same conditions as their foreign counterparts." ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/apf-Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports View comments
Daily Ethereum Transactions Exceed One Million, a First Since May 2018 Daily transactions registered on the Ethereum (ETH) network exceeded one million yesterday, June 28, for the first time since May 2018, according to datareportedby leading Ethereum block explorer Etherscan. Per Etherscan data, on June 28 there were 1,004,170 transactions confirmed on the Ethereumblockchain. Before yesterday, the last time the Ethereum chain registered over one million daily transactions was in May 2018. Nonetheless, the current level is still notably lower than the 1,349,890 daily transactions peak registered on January 4 last year. The on-chain transaction value of Ethereumhita monthly transaction high in December 2018. That month saw 115 million transactions confirmed on-chain, an all-time high excluding activity following a hard fork caused by theDAO hackin 2016. As crypto analytics firmDiarreportedat the time, Ethereum volumes on decentralized applications (DApps) registered a new high in April with 776,000 ETH transacted. At the end of April, industry newsletter Diar alsonotedthat on-chain transactions on the bitcoin (BTC) network hit fresh highs not seen since 2017 during the month. Veteran trader and author Peter Brandtpredictedin a new market forecast that Bitcoin (BTC) will continue to grow, butaltcoinslike Ethereum will not feel the benefits. • Research: Only 30% of Known Stablecoins Are Live and Operational • Bitcoin Falls Under $10,800 as US Stock Market Sees Minor Uptrend • Coinbase Pro Announces Support for Chainlink Token • Synthetix Reverses Oracle Error-Caused Misplaced sETH in Exchange for a Bug Bounty
Crypto Will Become Much Harder to Hack After Binance Shares Data Eight crypto exchanges have been hacked year-to-date with major exchanges in the likes of South Korea’s Bithumb reporting high-profile security breaches. \| Source: Shutterstock; Edited by CCN Eight crypto exchanges have been hacked year-to-date with major exchanges in the likes of South Korea’s Bithumb reporting high-profile security breaches. In the upcoming months, despite the emergence of highly sophisticated technologies and tools employed by hackers, it may become significantly more difficult to hack into crypto exchanges. Why hacking crypto will become harder Any platform or server that is connected to the internet is vulnerable to a security breach. For that reason, major exchanges keep the overwhelming majority of user funds in cold wallets as opposed to hot wallets, which remain offline and are safeguarded from hackers. Major exchanges tend to put relatively small amounts of user funds in a hot wallet to process withdrawals and back up the amount held in the hot wallet with an emergency fund in the unlikely event of a security breach. Although the practice of creating an emergency fund has decreased the risk of a security breach in the day-to-day operations of exchanges, investors have expressed concerns over frequent security breaches in the crypto market. Beginning this week, smaller exchanges will be able to use big-data from Binance which would allow exchanges to detect and block certain transactions that are suspected to be connected to a security breach. Read the full story on CCN.com .
Of course Tom Holland has an adorable nickname for Robert Downey Jr Robert Downey Jr and Tom Holland at the "Spiderman: Homecoming" New York photo call at the Whitby Hotel on June 25, 2017 in New York City. Tom Holland has opened up about working on his first Marvel movie without Robert Downey Jr, admitting that his absence actually made the production of Spider-Man: Far From Home rather emotional. “It was really emotional. I’ve only ever made a Spider-Man movie with Robert and he’s a great friend of mine, and you know, I was FaceTiming him last night and he wished me the best of luck, and you know we’ll miss him, but he’ll never be forgotten.” Read More: New 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' trailer introduces 'the multiverse' but it's probably misdirection Holland made these comments at the premiere for Spider-Man: Far From Home, which then provoked one of the hosts to ask the rather intimate question of, “Does he have a special name in your phone?” Far from being ashamed, though, Holland admitted that does have a special nickname for the Iron Man star, proudly declaring, “He’s The Godfather in my phone. He’s like RDJ the Godfather, that’s what I have him as.” You can check out the full exchange below. Spider-Man himself, @TomHolland1996 , talks about Spidey's next adventure and reveals @RobertDowneyJr 's nickname in his phone LIVE from the red carpet premiere of #SpiderManFarFromHome , presented by @audi ! pic.twitter.com/bHkGl6SrlU — Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) June 27, 2019 Tom Holland as Spider-Man in Infinity War Holland has been very open about just how much Downey has impacted his career on and off screen, recently telling Uproxx , “It’s a lovely dynamic and the dynamic [with Robert Downey Jr.] is also the same off screen. I mean, we’ve become really close. We’ve become great friends and I ask him for advice and vice versa sometimes.” Story continues Read More: Robert Downey Jr is really pushing for 'Avengers: Endgame' to beat 'Avatar’s' box office record “And it’s just become a really lovely relationship for me to have in the industry. Because, you know, as a young actor coming up in this world it can be very scary and it can be daunting. You can get bullied around. And it’s nice to have someone who’s got my back and who will give me some sound advice.” We’ll get to see Holland try and fill the void vacated by Downey Jr when Spider-Man: Far From Home is released on July 2.
HGTV's Anthony Carrino reveals his top 5 tips for a seamless cookout Fire up the grill, everyone, because summer is upon us! With theFourth of Julyunder a week away,we're busy finalizing our red, white and blue outfits, holiday decor and, of course, our holiday menu. But, there's something much more stressful about outdoor cookouts. Maybe it's the mosquitos, maybe it's the humidity, or maybe it's just our anxiety about the number of people showing up on our deck -- but it doesn't have to be that way. In preparation for the summer holiday, and the weeks of outdoor barbecues to come after, we caught up with Anthony Carrino, star of HGTV's show "Kitchen Cousins," to talk about his top tips for throwing a seamless cookout: 1. Start with the heart of the party:the grill. Once you have the right equipment, everything else can fall into place. Luckily,Lowe’sis offering 30 percent off select grills from June 27 until July 10, so you can score the centerpiece of your cookout at a reasonable price. 2. Have the necessary tools to get the job done. I love thisWeber Stainless Steel Tool Set, which comes with the main tools every griller needs: a spatula, tongs and fork. 3. Something few people tend to remember when hosting: make your entertaining space just that – a place to enjoy the full experience of a cookout! After you’ve crossed off your basics, have some fun with it by adding things likeoutdoor furniture, warming drawers, andeven wine storage(so you won’t have to go back inside unless you forget the corkscrew). 4. Prep early. Get all your burger patties made and get all your chopping done, so you can just focus on your guests and the grill. 5. Make sure the beer is cold…ice cold. Related: Check out these yummy summer recipes
Biden's Support Slipped 10 Points After Debates, Poll Shows The first Democratic primary debates appear to have cost Vice President Joe Biden some of his supporters at least for now, one poll suggests. Polling by Morning Consult and FiveThirtyEight before and after the two debates on Wednesday and Thursday suggests that support for Biden dropped by about 10 points among likely Democratic voters, when asked who they would choose if the election were held tomorrow. Biden had previously enjoyed a healthy lead over the other Democrats. The polling prior to debates, which was conducted between June 19 and 26, suggested that Biden was supported by about 41.5% of voters. At that point, the polling showed Sen. Elizabeth Warren had the support of 12.6% of voters and Bernie Sanders had 14.4% of support. Biden appears to have slipped in the polls after each debate, his support falling to 35.4% after the first debate and to 31.5% after the second round. Post-debate analyses suggest that Sen. Kamala Harris strong debate performance coupled with her willingness directly attack Biden, including his civil rights record posed a challenge for the former Vice President. In one of the most heated moments of the debate, Harris drew attention to Bidens previous opposition to busing as a tool to promote school integration. The poll also showed Harris gaining a significant number of supporters. While she had the support of just 7.9% of likely voters before the debate, she had 16.6% of the the support afterwards. Other candidates appeared to experience smaller gains and losses, according to the poll. Sen. Bernie Sanders support rose from 14.4% to 17.3% after the second debate; Sen. Elizabeth Warrens support grew from 12.6% to 14.4%.
Barclays offends social media with gay pride logo Barclays changed its logo to support Gay Pride Month and set off angry customers. (Photo: Twitter/Barclays U.K. Help) Barclays has a rainbow logo in support of Gay Pride — and some customers are threatening to change banks over it. The temporary logo on the bank’s mobile app signifies June Pride month and currently appears on the Twitter pages of Barclays’ U.S. , Barclays U.K. , and Barclays U.K. Help . Barclays was included on a list of companies that “consistently demonstrated exemplary practice to support lesbian, gay, bi and trans staff,” according to Stonewall , an LGBTQ advocacy group in the U.K. But so many people disliked the colorful insignia and said they would take their business elsewhere. “Not impressed....I’m not a member of the LGBT movement and wouldn’t want people to think I am,” wrote an app reviewer. And another reviewer commented that the logo was “unacceptable!” So @Barclays recently updated their mobile app logo to support #pride —here's some of the reviews left on the app after this change happened pic.twitter.com/fMUoq1ajer — aleksandar (@baffledbatista) June 27, 2019 @Barclays please explain to me why my app is laced in rainbow colours without my consent? I don’t recognise pride day so fix it — AFG Fineboy DJ (@kunleg_) June 27, 2019 @BarclaysUKHelp as a Christian I find it offensive you have imposed the pride flag on my phone. I have been a barclays bankcustomer since I was 14 and mortgage customer,15 years in total. I will have to look into changing banks now. You — matt (@gillorasp) June 29, 2019 Are there to provide a service not force political, social, ethical, moral views on your customers, please remember this in the future. — matt (@gillorasp) June 29, 2019 Can someone tell me why my @Barclays app has changed to a pride flag colours? How do I change it back — Kenzie (@kenzie_melling_) June 27, 2019 ⁦ @Barclays ⁩ Just called your customer services as I noticed my app icon had mysteriously changed colour. Was told this is because Barclays are choosing to supporting LGBT activities this week, which is great. How about extending that choice to your customers? pic.twitter.com/VhN5zoOUXr — Andrew Robinson (@arobinson0) June 27, 2019 Why you forcing your view on someone else. It's only YOUR VIEW — raya (@raya_perez) June 29, 2019 @Barclays Hey Barclays, why've you changed the colour of your logo in my phone app to the gay pride colours - without my consent? You're forcing me to advertise support for something I do not. Can you imagine my feelings if you'd made it a white supremacist flag and I'm black? — Mike Booton (@mbooton) June 27, 2019 Barclays then took another controversial step by tweeting apologies to upset customers. Story continues We’ve changed our logo to celebrate all of the Pride events that we’re supporting. We believe people should be free to be who they are and love who they love. While homophobia, biphobia and transphobia still exists in the UK, we’ll continue to actively support Pride. Jay — Barclays UK Help (@BarclaysUKHelp) June 28, 2019 I can completely appreciate that Sam. We’re sorry if this has caused you any upset, we’ll take your feedback on board. Jason — Barclays UK Help (@BarclaysUKHelp) June 27, 2019 Hi John, we’ve temporarily changed our logo to celebrate LGBT+ Pride. Its only practical to have one app tile at a the time and it will change back to our usual colours soon. Corrina — Barclays UK Help (@BarclaysUKHelp) June 29, 2019 Why are you apologizing to bigots? — 🏳️‍🌈⚡Gloria - The Trans Giant⚡🏳️‍🌈 (@TheTransGiant) June 28, 2019 Really? You’re sorry? Don’t add the rainbow if you are not up for defending it. — Luke 🦑 (@goopery) June 28, 2019 But of course, the bank’s new look brightened some people’s day. Barclays support gay pride!!! ❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/VvHnGqcRqM — Emily Badger (@EmilyBadger10) June 26, 2019 Seeing some of the comments been made against Barclays Bank in their celebration of pride month is honestly shocking. The amount of homophobia present in this day and age is actually disgusting. — amy foster (@Amyfosterxxxx) June 29, 2019 @Barclays nailing it. That's the sort of company you want to work for kids. #Pride pic.twitter.com/1hbO3FwBtq — Laura Martin (@lamcasserole) June 25, 2019 Switching my bank account to @Barclays thank you for supporting gay pride 🏳️‍🌈 #Pride2019 #Barclays — Reaching Out For Potential (@reach4potential) June 29, 2019 A Barclays representative tells Yahoo Lifestyle, “We’ve temporarily changed our logo to celebrate LGBT+ Pride. It’s one of the many ways we stand in solidarity with our colleagues and customers on the journey for true LGBT+ equality.” Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Victoria’s Secret faces backlash for tweeting in support of LGBTQ community: ‘What hypocrisy' Axe Body Spray praised for shutting down homophobic commenter: 'Gay rights are human rights' 'Some penguins are gay. Get over it': London Zoo honors gay penguin couple for Pride month Follow us on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
US business groups praise Trump for trade cease-fire with China American business groups applaudedPresident Trumpon Saturday after he and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to restarttradenegotiations at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, easing tensions between the world’s two largest economies. “Business Roundtable is encouraged that President Trump and President Xi agreed to resume trade negotiations and suspend any further tariff escalation,” the organization said in a statement on Saturday. Business Roundtable members lead companies with more than 15 million employees and $7.5 trillion. The president declared that relations between the two nations were “right back on track” after the meeting. He also lifted restrictions on U.S. companies, allowing suppliers to sell components to Chinese telecom firm Huawei. “We continue to support the Administration’s efforts to address long-standing unfair trade practices and urge both parties to conclude an agreement that addresses structural issues in China and removes tariffs,” the statement said. “The CEO member of Business Roundtable will continue to assist in achieving a successful outcome.” The world leaders, on Friday night, said they would restart trade talks after relations soured at the beginning of May, when a near-deal crumbled after Washington officials accused China of reneging on some of its promises. The U.S. already imposes a tariff on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods; however, Trump said he would consider lowering the tax rate to 10 percent from the proposed 25 percent during “phase two.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also praised Trump for the dovish pivot on trade. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP “We hope each side is now prepared to go the last mile to achieve a high-standard, comprehensive, enforceable agreement,” a statement from the agency said. “China must commit to addressing longstanding unfair trade practices and industrial policies that prevent a level-playing field for U.S. companies.” Related Articles • Fmr. Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz Predictions for Trump vs. Media • Trump May Have Dropped Another Clinton Bombshell • Carson: Trump Could Destroy Obama's Legacy
Proxy adviser Glass Lewis recommends EQT shareholders vote for company's nominees By Ishita Palli and Bhargav Acharya (Reuters) - Proxy adviser Glass Lewis & Co has recommended that investors in natural gas producer EQT Corp vote in favor of the company's board nominees, putting it at odds with another proxy advisory firm which recommended voting in favor of a competing slate of directors proposed by Toby and Derek Rice. "We see no significant outstanding concerns regarding leadership or governance at EQT and we do not believe further board refreshment or oversight is warranted at this juncture," Glass Lewis said in a note dated June 28. The recommendation by Glass Lewis to vote in favor of all 12 of the company's nominees comes after proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services on Friday advised EQT investors to vote in favor of all the nominees of shareholders Toby and Derek Rice. The Rice brothers were part of the founding team at Rice Energy, which was bought by EQT in November 2017. They say EQT management is responsible for the company's underperformance since the deal, and have pushed for an overhaul of its board. EQT welcomed Glass Lewis' recommendation and said it reaffirmed that the company has the right board, management team and strategy to create significant long-term shareholder value. "EQT believes shareholders should question the merit of a 3% shareholder seeking to be CEO and replace management and a majority of the board," the company said in a statement. Glass Lewis also said management should be given a reasonable amount of time by the shareholders to achieve targets before seeking further changes. ISS in its report had recommended that EQT shareholders should support all seven nominees put forward by the Rice brothers and five existing members of the board, sending the company's shares higher. The Rice brothers also have the support of EQT's fourth and sixth largest shareholders, DE Shaw Group and Kensico Capital Management Corp. EQT disagreed with ISS's recommendations and said the Rice nominees were less qualified, less experienced and conflicted. "We are grateful to those large shareholders who have publicly announced their support for all Rice team nominees," the Rice team said, adding it believed the Friday's stock market reaction to the ISS announcement spoke for itself. (Reporting by Ishita Palli and Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Rigby and Jonathan Oatis)
Can We See Significant Insider Ownership On The Briscoe Group Limited (NZSE:BGP) 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 Briscoe Group Limited (NZSE:BGP), 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. I quite like to see at least a little bit of insider ownership. As Charlie Munger said 'Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.' With a market capitalization of NZ$748m, Briscoe Group is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it's seems that institutional investors have not yet purchased much of the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about BGP. Check out our latest analysis for Briscoe Group Small companies that are not very actively traded often lack institutional investors, but it's less common to see large companies without them. There could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don't attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in the company. 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. Briscoe Group's earnings and revenue track record (below) may not be compelling to institutional investors -- or they simply might not have looked at the business closely. Briscoe Group is not owned by hedge funds. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too. While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it. Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group. Our information suggests that insiders own more than half of Briscoe Group Limited. This gives them effective control of the company. So they have a NZ$607m stake in this NZ$748m business. It is good to see this level of investment. You cancheck here to see if those insiders have been buying recently. With a 15% ownership, the general public have some degree of sway over BGP. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies. I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. I always like to check for ahistory of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart ofhistoric revenue and earnings in thisdetailed graph. If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss thisfreereport on analyst forecasts. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
4 Simple Tricks for Boosting Your Credit Score Is yourcredit scorelower than you'd like it to be? If so, you probably already know that a low credit score can be a big financial burden to carry. Your low score may make you seem like an undesirable customer to companies you want to do business with and it can make it much more expensive for you to borrow money -- if you can get approved for a loan at all. The good news is that you aren't stuck with a substandard credit score forever. There are simple steps you can take today to boost your score and end up with one that opens doors for you instead of imposing financial hurdles. Here are four of those steps you should consider taking. Image source: Getty Images. While you probably have the best intentions when it comes to paying credit cards on time, sometimes, life gets in the way and you forget to send in that check by the deadline or log on to make the payment. Unfortunately, even a single missed credit card payment could cause your score to drop bymore than 100 points. To make sure your credit score never takes a big hit because you don't submit your payment on schedule, set up your cards to automatically draft at least the minimum payment from your bank account. While you should pay off your balance in full each month if you can, paying at least the minimum automatically ensures you're never accidentally late. Your payment history is one of the key factors that determines your score. So if every debt is paid on time automatically, you'll develop the type of positive payment history that will earn you top marks. Having more credit available to you also helps increase your credit score. After all, the second most important factor that determines your score -- after payment history -- iscredit utilization ratio. To calculate your credit utilization ratio, divide your outstanding debt balance by the credit you currently have available. The more credit available, the lower your utilization ratio will be when doing this calculation, even if you end up carrying a credit card balance. You'll have a much better utilization ratio if you owe $1,000 on a card with a $10,000 limit compared to one where you owe $1,000 with a $2,000 limit. The good thing about asking for credit line increases is that many lenders will adjust your credit line upward without a hard inquiry. Hard inquiries are posted on your report after you've requested new credit and they remain on your report for two years. If you get too many, your credit score will take a hit. Confirm with your credit issuer that you don't agree to undergo a hard credit check to have your credit line raised; otherwise, the inquiry could hurt you even as the higher credit line helps you. Keeping your credit balances low also helps you maintain the low credit utilization ratio that earns you the highest credit score. There's no reason to carry a balance on your card to build credit, and lenders prefer you use less than 30% of your available credit. Keeping your balance low is also helpful to avoid costly interest expenses, which can hurt you financially in other ways besides just reducing your credit score. It's important to know that creditors report your outstanding balance at different times during the billing cycle. So even if you pay off your credit card balance in full, you may appear to have a high balance depending on when the card issuer reports to the credit reporting agencies. If you find your card is showing you owe a few thousand dollars, even though you always pay off the balance, find out when the card issuer reports to the credit reporting agencies and pay off your balance before that date. Everyone makes mistakes. And if your credit score isn't perfect, this may be because you've made them in the past in connection with your credit accounts. Perhaps you missed a payment on your credit cards or even defaulted on a debt in the past. If so, the record of your mistakes could stay on your credit report for many years, dragging your credit score down. One way to deal with these past problems: Ask creditors to forgive them. You can write a letter or email to a creditor that you've generally been a good customer with and ask them to remove a record of a late payment from your credit history. They may say yes. You could even try negotiating with a lender you defaulted on and ask if they'll remove the record of the default if you pay your outstanding balance in full. While there's no guarantee a creditor will work with you to help raise your credit score, it takes little effort to ask. You may be pleasantly surprised if you end up seeing negative information removed and your score going up as a result. Now you know how you can raise your credit score. Hopefully, by trying out some of these tips, your score will go up steadily over time. Before you know it, you'll be in the upper echelon of borrowers given the very best deals and approved for credit with any lender of your choosing. 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.
Bella Thorne Says She's 'Very Happy' with Boyfriend After Tana Mongeau's Engagement to Jake Paul Bella Thorne may have gotten upset about her ex-girlfriend Tana Mongeau’s engagement, but that doesn’t mean she’s not feeling good about her own relationship. Almost a week after Mongeau, 21, announced that she had gotten engaged to fellow YouTuber Jake Paul while celebrating her birthday, the Famous in Love actress, 21, posted a series of cuddly photos with boyfriend Benjamin Mascolo . The images were taken while the pair, who are currently in a long-distance relationship, enjoyed the sun together on a boat during a trip to Sicily, Italy. Sitting on the Italian singer’s lap, Thorne flashes the camera a big smile in one photo, while in another she gives her boyfriend a kiss on the lips. “I’m very happy w you,” Thorne captioned the photos , adding a blue heart emoji. Whatever lingering feelings might exist between Thorne and Mongeau, the YouTuber appears to support her ex’s new relationship as Mongeau “liked” Thorne’s image. Thorne was first spotted alongside Mascolo, 25, in April — just days after she announced her split from boyfriend Mod Sun . View this post on Instagram I’m very happy w you 💙 A post shared by BELLA (@bellathorne) on Jun 29, 2019 at 10:10am PDT RELATED: From PDA to Crying Over Engagement: A Timeline of Bella Thorne and Ex Tana Mongeau’s Relationship Thorne’s post also came less than 24 hours after Paul, 22, uploaded a YouTube video documenting his proposal to Mongeau. Titled, “ WE ACTUALLY GOT ENGAGED ,” the 14-minute long video follows Paul as he planned the big proposal, leading up to the moment when he got down on one knee. “What do I say, like I do or whatever? Yeah, I do. I’ll marry you,” Mongeau remarks in the video, before playfully chastising Paul for putting her diamond ring on the “wrong finger.” (L-R) Tana Mongeau and Jake Paul \| Jake Paul/Youtube The title of the video was also likely a comment on the continuing speculation about whether the pair are really engaged or if they’re playing a prank on their followers. Seemingly adding to the questions fans have about their relationship, on Friday, Mongeau posted a photo from the pair’s proposal, captioning it : “when ur real life engagement raises ur instagram engagement > 😍 HI FIANCÉE.” Story continues RELATED: Bella Thorne and Italian Boyfriend Benjamin Mascolo Make Their Instagram Debut with Sexy Snap Just hours after Mongeau announced news of her engagement earlier this week, Thorne shared a slideshow of photos, which show her crying on her Finsta account, which is an alternative Instagram account that is often more honest. “When ur ex gets engaged 😭” Thorne captioned the post, to which Mongeau commented, “OMG.” Bella Thorne \| Bella Thorne Instagram Earlier on Monday, the actress also shared an Instagram photo of herself and Mongeau sharing an intimate embrace in honor of the social media star’s 21st birthday. “Through thick and thin 😭🤧 I love you Tana happy bday you beautiful beautiful special girl,” Thorne captioned the heartfelt post. RELATED: YouTubers Tana Mongeau and Jake Paul Say They Got Engaged at Her 21st Birthday Party View this post on Instagram Through thick and thin😭🤧 I love you tana happy bday you beautiful beautiful special girl A post shared by BELLA (@bellathorne) on Jun 24, 2019 at 11:34am PDT In February, Thorne shared that she and Mongeau had split after a little over a year of dating. “Tana and I aren’t together anymore, pls stop asking. We love U guys,” Thorne wrote on social media. Mongeau went on to reassure fans that there is no bad blood between the former couple. “There’s no negativity at all,” Mongeau tweeted, adding in a separate message, “I love her forever don’t get that twisted.”
Microsoft starts public tests for 'Halo: Reach' on PC Halo: Reachis now playableon PC... for a handful of very early adopters. Microsoft and 343 Industries haveshareda slew ofMaster Chief Collectionupdate news, including word that it has started a public test ofReachon Windows PCs that lasts through July 1st. Don't get your hopes up for joining in this round, though. There are less than 1,000 Halo Insiders involved, and they're playing just one campaign mission. The developers plan to invite more people "over time," though, so you can consider this the start of a much larger test experience. As it is, there's good news for players when the finishedMaster Chief Collectionupdate arrives. While it Forge won't be available on launch for PC, the team is planning a "one-time" transfer of legacy Forge maps and game types from players' file shares to incorporate them inMCC. If you had a favoriteHalo 3,Halo 4orHalo: Reachcustom map, you might get to play it in a modernized form. There's no specific date yet, and there doesn't appear to be a "workable solution" to bring films and screenshots toMCC, but it beats losing all your old content to the mists of time. The devs also clarified plans for anMCC-wide progression system. Unlike some season-driven games, you won't lose the chance to unlock gear from one season once the new season starts. You can even use points earned in one game toward customization in another. Also,Reachmay include ways to unlock content that required promos the first time, such as pre-orders and account links. Although there's no guarantee you'll see everything you ever had, you probably won't be limited to the base version of each game.
Australia beat New Zealand at Lord's in Cricket World Cup with Mitchell Starc superb again Australia's Mitchell Starc celebrates taking the wicket of New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson - Action Images via Reuters For most of the last four years, ever since winning the 2015 World Cup, Australia have been abject in one-day international cricket. Their team selection and strategy has been disjointed. Players have been plucked, and then discarded, haphazardly. The way they have rested players ceaselessly - Mitchell Starc played only three ODIs in 18 months before this tournament - has betrayed how bilateral ODIs have been an afterthought. But, for Australia, the World Cup changes everything. They have won four of the five previous editions, lording it over the competition as if they were a regimes favoured football team in the old Communist bloc. This year, as the World Cup loomed into view and then arrived, Australias ODI side has metamorphosed from abject to imperious. Going back to March, they have now won 15 of their last 16 ODIs. That now includes seven wins out of eight in this World Cup. At times - as Australia were reduced to 92-5, and then as Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor put on a 50-run partnership to take New Zealand to 97-2 in pursuit of 244 - the notion that New Zealand could reprise their victory in the group stages of the last tournament did not seem outlandish. In the end, they were overpowered, falling apart after Williamsons dismissal to lose by 86 runs. Besides Williamson, Trent Boult - who took a last over hat-trick - and the hostility of Lockie Ferguson, the gap between the sides was made to look like a chasm. More than anything, that owed to Starc, a man who makes taking match-winning five wicket hauls look as routine as moving the lawn. After going wicketless in his three-over opening burst, Starc returned from licking ice pops and signing autographs on the boundary edge to take 5-15 in his last 6.4 overs. In 2015, Starc shared the top wicket-taker in the competition award with Trent Boult, whose last over hat-trick to limit Australia was a reminder of his sustained class. But Starc now has 24 wickets in the tournament, seven clear of the next best. With 169 wickets at 20.60 apiece, at a rate of over two per game, Starcs credentials as an all-time great of the ODI game are beyond doubt. The clash between Kane Williamson against Starc was about as good as this tournament gets: a player who has made two peerless centuries against the tournaments leading wicket-taker. As such, it always had the air of being match-defining. When Starc was thrown the ball for his second spell, New Zealand needed 152 from 25 overs with eight wickets in hand, and were slightly ascendant. Williamson promptly steered consecutive twos, placing the ball immaculately and running sharply, before Starc angled a fractionally slower cross-seam delivery across Williamson. Williamson misjudged his dab to third man, a staple of so many of his classic ODI innings, and walked off for 40. Story continues At 97-3 in pursuit of 244, this ought not to have been a terminal blow for New Zealand. But such has been Williamsons overwhelming influence so far this tournament that it immediately felt like one. With his customary mixture of full, swinging deliveries, yorkers and bouncers, Starc crushed New Zealand. The Black Caps are normally renowned as perhaps the savviest and most game-aware side around: a team with limitations, but the sagacity to conceal these. Only, it did not seem that way as Ross Taylor attempted to heave Pat Cummins across the line and Colin de Grandhomme picked out long off from his very first ball, against Steve Smiths part-time leg spin. Usman Khawaja of Australia hits out during the ICC Cricket World Cup Group Match between New Zealand and Australia at Lord's Credit: Philip Brown/Popperfoto via Getty Images With Starc in such a mood New Zealand, of course, needed to plunder runs from elsewhere. Only, after Starc had blown open their middle order, they may have been better served by abandoning the notion of victory. For New Zealands gravest threat of being eliminated from the tournament is if their run rate veers south , opening a path for Pakistan or - more likely - Bangladesh to sneak above them on run rate. Such a comprehensive defeat here keeps that possibility alive; restricting Australia to, say, a 35-run victory would have gone a long way to closing it off. Such a comprehensive Australian victory was not what was promised by the opening skirmishes of this contest. New Zealands first-change bowler Lockie Ferguson, who is rapidly gaining the aura that purveyors of extreme pace do, dismissed David Warner with a brutish bouncer from his first ball. When Steve Smith picked out Martin Guptil at short square leg - just 17 metres from the bat - in Fergusons next over, and Guptil took perhaps the catch of the tournament to date, intercepting a full-blooded pull at full stretch, Australia were 46-3. Their top order had failed them for the first time this tournament. But contrasting innings from Usman Khawaja - who hit just two boundaries in his first 106 balls - and the fluent Alex Carey lifted Australia to 243-9 despite Boults hat-trick. By the days end Australia, once again, were toasting the brilliance of their own left-armer. View comments
Here’s What Vista Group International Limited’s (NZSE:VGL) Return On Capital Can Tell Us Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we are going to look at Vista Group International Limited (NZSE:VGL) to see whether it might be an attractive investment prospect. Specifically, we're going to calculate its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), in the hopes of getting some insight into the business. First up, we'll look at what ROCE is and how we calculate it. Next, we'll compare it to others in its industry. Last but not least, we'll look at what impact its current liabilities have on its ROCE. ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Generally speaking a higher ROCE is better. In brief, it is a useful tool, but it is not without drawbacks. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussinhas suggestedthat a high ROCE can indicate that 'one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar'. Analysts use this formula to calculate return on capital employed: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) Or for Vista Group International: 0.14 = NZ$24m ÷ (NZ$221m - NZ$44m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.) Therefore,Vista Group International has an ROCE of 14%. Check out our latest analysis for Vista Group International One way to assess ROCE is to compare similar companies. We can see Vista Group International's ROCE is around the 15% average reported by the Software industry. Regardless of where Vista Group International sits next to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms appears satisfactory, and this company could be worth a closer look. You can see in the image below how Vista Group International's ROCE compares to its industry. Click to see more on past growth. When considering ROCE, bear in mind that it reflects the past and does not necessarily predict the future. Companies in cyclical industries can be difficult to understand using ROCE, as returns typically look high during boom times, and low during busts. ROCE is, after all, simply a snap shot of a single year. What happens in the future is pretty important for investors, so we have prepared afreereport on analyst forecasts for Vista Group International. Current liabilities include invoices, such as supplier payments, short-term debt, or a tax bill, that need to be paid within 12 months. Due to the way ROCE is calculated, a high level of current liabilities makes a company look as though it has less capital employed, and thus can (sometimes unfairly) boost the ROCE. To counter this, investors can check if a company has high current liabilities relative to total assets. Vista Group International has total liabilities of NZ$44m and total assets of NZ$221m. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 20% of its total assets. Current liabilities are minimal, limiting the impact on ROCE. This is good to see, and with a sound ROCE, Vista Group International could be worth a closer look. There might be better investments than Vista Group International out there,but you will have to work hard to find them. These promising businesses withrapidly growing earningsmight be right up your alley. I will like Vista Group International better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out thisfreelist of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying. 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.
Judge bars Trump from using $2.5B to build border wall OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) A federal judge on Friday prohibited President Donald Trump from tapping $2.5 billion in military funding to build high-priority segments of his prized border wall in California, Arizona and New Mexico. Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. in Oakland acted in two lawsuits filed by California and by activists who contended that the money transfer was unlawful and that building the wall would pose environmental threats. "All President Trump has succeeded in building is a constitutional crisis, threatening immediate harm to our state," said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who led a 20-state coalition of attorneys general in one lawsuit. The American Civil Liberties Union, which sued on behalf of Sierra Club and Southern Border Communities Coalition, praised the decision. "This decision upholds the basic principle that the president has no power to spend taxpayer money without Congress' approval," said ACLU staff attorney Dror Ladin. "We will continue to defend this core principle of our democracy." Speaking Saturday at a press conference marking the end of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Trump called the decision "a disgrace." "So we're immediately appealing it and we think we'll win the appeal," he went on to say. "There was no reason that that should have happened. And a lot of wall is being built." The decisions are in line with Gilliam's ruling last month that blocked work from beginning on two of the highest-priority projects one spanning 46 miles (74 kilometers) in New Mexico and another covering 5 miles (8 kilometers) in Yuma, Arizona. But the fight is far from over. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to take up the same issue of using military money next week. At issue is President Donald Trump's February declaration of a national emergency so that he could divert $6.7 billion from military and other sources to begin construction of the wall, which could have begun as early as Monday. Trump declared the emergency after losing a fight with the Democratic-led House that led to a 35-day government shutdown. The president identified $3.6 billion from military construction funds, $2.5 billion from Defense Department counterdrug activities and $600 million from the Treasury Department's asset forfeiture fund.
3 Hot Cannabis Stocks to Watch in July Marijuana stocks generally performed well in the first half of 2019, with some of them downright smoking hot, though there were naturally some losers, too. As the calendar flips to July and the second half of the year gets under way, these three cannabis stocks are worth closely watching: top Canadian cannabis growerCanopy Growth(NYSE: CGC), real estate investment trustInnovative Industrial Properties(NYSE: IIPR), and ancillary cannabis playerEnWave(NASDAQOTH: NWVCF)(TSXV: ENW). Why this trio? All three are going into the second half of 2019 with strong momentum and, more importantly, they're among the cannabis stocks that currently seem most promising as long-term investments. Hemp farm. Image source: Getty Images. [{"Company": "Canopy Growth", "Country": "Canada", "Market Cap": "$13.9 billion", "Profitable (TTM)?": "No", "Dividend": "N/A", "YTD 2019 / 2-Year Performance": "50% / 564%"}, {"Company": "Innovative Industrial Properties", "Country": "U.S.", "Market Cap": "$1.2 billion", "Profitable (TTM)?": "Yes", "Dividend": "2%", "YTD 2019 / 2-Year Performance": "171% / 621%"}, {"Company": "EnWave", "Country": "Canada", "Market Cap": "$198 million", "Profitable (TTM)?": "No", "Dividend": "N/A", "YTD 2019 / 2-Year Performance": "87% (OTC in U.S.) and 82% (TSX) / 127%(TSX)"}, {"Company": "S&P 500", "Country": "--", "Market Cap": "--", "Profitable (TTM)?": "--", "Dividend": "1.9%", "YTD 2019 / 2-Year Performance": "18.5% / 26.5%"}] Data sources: Yahoo! Finance and YCharts. TTM = trailing 12 months. YTD = year to date. OTC = over the counter. TSX = Canada's TSX Venture Exchange. Two years is the longest whole-year comparison period possible. *EnWave has traded OTC for less than two years. Data as of June 28, 2019. Canopy Growth has the distinction of having the largest marijuana stock by market cap. It's a top cannabis grower, with a production capacity widely considered to be second behind fellow Canadian growerAurora Cannabis. The company sells medical and recreational marijuana in Canada, which legalized cannabis for recreational use in October, and also markets medical marijuana internationally. Earlier this year, Canopy threw its hat into the U.S. hemp market, which opened on Jan. 1 when the U.S. Farm Bill went into effect. The company, which is constructing a production facility in New York state, expects to have hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) products available to U.S. consumers by late this year or early in 2020. (CBD is a nonpsychoactive chemical that's been linked with various medicinal benefits.) Moreover, Canopy and its partnerConstellation Brands(NYSE: STZ)are developing cannabis-infused beverages, which they hope to bring to market in Canada late this year, pending regulatory approval. In its recently reportedfiscal fourth quarter, the company's revenue rocketed 313% year over year to $94.1 Canadian, driven by Canada's new adult-use market. Its net loss widened by nearly a factor of 6 to CA$323.4 million, because of its aggressive investments to scale up and expand its business. The company remains flush with cash. It had CA$4.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period, thanks to its partnership with Constellation Brands. Last fall, Canopy received $4 billion when the alcoholic-beverage giant raised its stake in it to 38%. Image source: Getty Images. A marijuana company that's not only profitable but also pays a dividend sounds like an oxymoron, but Innovative Industrial Properties is the real deal. The San Diego-based company, which has been publicly traded since December 2016, is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in properties used for growing and processing cannabis. While Innovative Industrial is relatively new and small, it's growing like a weed. As of May 7, it owned 19 properties that were 100% leased to state-licensed medical-use cannabis operators in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania, with a weighted-average remaining lease term of about 15.2 years. The company uses triple-net leases (whereby tenants pay property taxes, insurance, and certain maintenance expenses) with built-in rent increases. InQ1 2019, Innovative Industrial Properties' revenue surged 146%, earnings per share soared 267%, and adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share jumped 135% year over year. AFFO is a key profitability measure for REITs, as it drives dividend changes. EnWave is an ancillary cannabis player (meaning it doesn't touch the stuff), which manufacturers, licenses, and installs equipment for dehydrating organic materials, including marijuana and hemp. This business accounted for just 23% of its total revenue in its recently reported fiscal second quarter, so the company is far from a pure play on cannabis. Its primary business is producing all-natural dried cheese snacks using its proprietary radiant energy vacuum (REV) dehydration technology. EnWave seems little-known among U.S. investors, which is probably because it's a small, foreign-based company and its stock trades over the counter (OTC) in the United States. But it's sure to become more discovered, thanks to the wave of royalty-bearing license and sales agreements it's been inking with major Canadian cannabis growers, including Aurora andTilray. Growers are adopting REV tech largely because it's reportedly faster than other dehydration or drying technologies. In fiscal Q2, EnWave's revenue soared 110% year over year, and its earnings per share came in at breakeven for the third quarter in a row. So the company seems on the verge of profitability. A caution: EnWave is a thinly traded stock, particularly in the U.S., which means it has the potential to be quite volatile. More From The Motley Fool • Beginner's Guide to Investing in Marijuana Stocks • Marijuana Stocks Are Overhyped: 10 Better Buys for You Now • Your 2019 Guide to Investing in Marijuana Stocks Beth McKennaowns shares of Canopy Growth. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends EnWave. The Motley Fool recommends Constellation Brands and Innovative Industrial Properties. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
3 Growth Stocks to Buy and Hold for the Next 50 Years Investors used to hold stocks for years. However, with trading commissions plunging thanks to technology, it's now much easier and cheaper to buy and sell shares. That has caused the average holding period to fall dramatically, with some stocks changing hands in less than a second. While Wall Street investors are continually turning over their portfolios, we at the Motley Fool prefer to take the Warren Buffett approach to investing. So when the Oracle of Omaha says that his "favorite holding period is forever," we want to have a similar mindset. As such, we asked our contributors to channel their inner Buffett and pick stocks they'd confidently hold for the next 50 years. They chose alcohol makerDiageo(NYSE: DEO), biotech giantVertex Pharmaceuticals(NASDAQ: VRTX), and clean energy-focused utilityNextEra Energy(NYSE: NEE). Here's why. Image source: Getty Images. Rich Duprey(Diageo):In the world of alcoholic beverages, Diageo might not be a name you recognize, though you've undoubtedly heard of at least some of the brands in its portfolio: Johnnie Walker scotch whiskey, Crown Royal Canadian whiskey, Ciroc vodka, Captain Morgan's rum, Guinness beer. What may also strike some is that those brands all carry premium pricing, and that's not a mistake but by design. Having recently sold off a portfolio of cheaper spirits, Diageo is positioning itself as the top purveyor of premium alcoholic products. And it's right on trend, because consumers are showing a determined willingness to pay up for spirits, wine, and beer, and the success of the plan is exhibiting itself in its stock price, which is up 21% year to date. Although consumer preferences change over time -- something we see with the craft beer industry, which had been growing at double-digit rates for decades but now is only clinging to growth due to the rise of hard cider, tea, and seltzer -- Diageo's portfolio consists of brands that have stood the test of time even as trends come and go. They also command the top position or two in different markets, giving it geographic diversity as well. And because it covers the full breadth of beverages, it is able to take advantage of changing preferences. As vodka rose then faded, whiskey, rye, and bourbon stepped forward. And wine has consistently grown over time. The distiller trades at 22 times projected earnings and is positioned tocapitalize on the trendthat shows high-end spirits accounting for 62% of dollar sales and ultra-premium spirits emerging as the fastest-growing segment in the space. Whiskey sales may not dominate for 50 years, but it's a good bet Diageo will still be around to serve the beverage future drinkers are looking for. George Budwell(Vertex Pharmaceuticals):Cystic fibrosis giant Vertex Pharmaceuticals has been nothing short of a golden goose for its early investors. Since its IPO, the company's shares have appreciated by an astonishing 3,900%. Even so, this large-cap biotech still has a lot more room to run, making it a great stock to buy and hold for the duration. Why is Vertex an outstanding long-term investing vehicle? Vertex currently sports a virtual monopoly in the high-value cystic fibrosis market with its three FDA-approved drugs: Kalydeco, Orkambi, and Symdeko. And the biotech is poised to extend its advantage over any would-be competitors with a forthcoming triplet therapy that's forecast to haul in a jaw-dropping $5 billion in annual sales by 2024, according to EvaluatePharma. While Vertex's shares are anything but cheap at almost 30 times next year's projected sales, this top orphan-drug maker has a formidable competitive moat in its core area of expertise that arguably makes it worth the price of admission. Vertex, though, is also in the midst of expanding beyond the realm of cystic fibrosis through a gene-editing partnership withCrispr Therapeutics(NASDAQ: CRSP). Vertex and Crispr, for instance, took the lead in the emerging field of CRISPR-based gene therapies earlier this year by launching human trials for patients with the rare blood disorders known as sickle cell anemia and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia. Although this cutting-edge science experiment might not pan out, it does show that Vertex has its sights set on being a leader in terms of developing game-changing new therapies for hard-to-treat diseases. Vertex, in turn, appears well positioned to maintain its position as one of the world's preeminent biotechs for a long time to come. Image source: Getty Images. Matt DiLallo(NextEra Energy):NextEra Energy has been an extraordinary growth stock in recent years. The utility hasincreasedits adjusted earnings per share at an 8.5% compound annual growth rate since 2005, which is almost triple the average of its peers. That high-powered earnings growth has enabled NextEra Energy's stock to outperform not only all its peers but 86% of companies in theS&P 500over that time frame. The main factor propelling the company's above-average earnings growth is its investments in renewable energy, which have turned it into the largest wind and solar power producer in the world. The company has no plans to quit while it's ahead. NextEra currently expects to invest a stunning $50 billion to $55 billion in expanding its operations through 2022, the majority of which it will invest in new renewable generating capacity. This investment level should support a 6% to 8% compound annual growth rate in adjusted earnings over that time frame. That above-average growth rate, when combined with the company's high-yielding dividend, should give NextEra Energy's stock the power to continue outperforming the market. NextEra should be able to continue growing its business at a healthy pace for many decades, given its focus on renewables. The U.S. renewable market opportunity alone could be worth as much as $4.7 trillion if the country completely transitions away from fossil fuels, according to an estimate by energy research firm Wood Mackenzie. That massive investment potential makes NextEra Energy a great growth stock to hold for the next several decades. 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 George Budwellhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned.Matthew DiLalloowns shares of NextEra Energy and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.Rich Dupreyhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of CRISPR Therapeutics. The Motley Fool recommends Diageo, NextEra Energy, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
3 Top Stocks You Can Buy on Sale A big challenge that investors face is determining whether a once-successful company's struggles are just short-term problems or part of a sustained weakening of the business. In either case, the stock is likely to drop as investors assume the worst. Call it the "sell now, ask questions later" approach. But those concerns often prove overblown, especially when it comes to companies that have a strong track record for outperforming and navigating through prior bouts of sluggishness. With that rebound potential in mind, let's take a look at a few stocks that have fallen on hard times but have a good shot at resuming their past glories. Image source: Getty Images. Robotic vacuum specialistiRobot(NASDAQ: IRBT)had been up by as much as 60% in 2019 but is now trailing the broader market with just a single-digit increase. Investors were enthusiastic about the company following its February earnings report, which showed strong sales growth, firm pricing trends, and surging profits. iRobot bumped its way into the$1 billion annual sales clubin impressive fashion, with revenue passing management's outlook despite a flood of new competition last year. Investor confidence took a sharp turn in the other direction a few months later, after the company announced aweak start in fiscal 2019. Sales growth slowed to single digits compared to 24% over the past year, and profitability dipped. It's true that iRobot faces some challenges over the next few quarters, including rising tariff costs and the margin-pinching impact of more of its sales base shifting toward newer Roomba models that are less efficient to manufacture. There's always a risk that its latest lineup fails to stand out during the key holiday shopping season, too. But CEO Colin Angle and his team still see 2019 playing out roughlyaccording to their plan, with sales rising at a double-digit rate in the context of contained cost growth. Investors who agree with that vision should take a closer look at iRobot given today's discount prices. Activision Blizzard(NASDAQ: ATVI)has had a tough run lately, with shares down by almost 40% in the past year. Yet there are good reasons to believe the video game publisher will be back before long. Sure, the company is struggling today. Sales and earnings are declining for the first time in years. Its gaming franchises collectively are attracting fewer players thanks to the combination of stumbles in brands likeDestinyand the pressure from free-to-play battle royale titles likeFortniteandEA'sApex Legends. Activision has been through similar struggles in the past, though, and each time, the gaming giant has emerged with a stronger portfolio and record user engagement. Investors can see faint hints of that process at play today through success in core brands likeWorld of Warcraft, in addition to new entries like the breakout hit,Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Aflood of fresh contentbetween now and the holiday season, meanwhile, might set the stage for a return to growth as early as 2020. Until recently, cruise ship giantCarnival(NYSE: CCL)seemed on a steady course toward easily achieving management's long-term goal of double-digit annual earnings growth and rising sales. Its vessels have been running at capacity for years, and rising prices combined with increased onboard spending to supercharge profit growth each year since 2013. Fiscal 2019 won't be a repeat of that success, though. In fact, CEO Arnold Donald and his team recentlylowered their outlookfor the second straight quarter as Carnival now expects earnings to tick up by just 5% compared to 12% in 2018. The demand struggles aren't widespread, though, with challenges limited to parts of Europe and sailings set for Cuba from the United States. Carnival's flexibility in moving its vessels should result in roughly flat sales this year despite those disruptions. Looking further out, the cruise specialist is aggressively placing bets on bigger, more efficient ship launches. The wider economics in the industry, including demographics and a shift toward more spending on experiences, should support healthy long-term growth. Like Activision and iRobot, Carnival appears to be going through a temporary lull that's translating into sale prices for investors. More From The Motley Fool • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,728 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • 20 of the Top Stocks to Buy (Including the Two Every Investor Should Own) • What Is an ETF? • 5 Recession-Proof Stocks • How to Beat the Market Demitrios Kalogeropoulosowns shares of Activision Blizzard and Carnival. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Activision Blizzard and iRobot. The Motley Fool recommends Carnival and Electronic Arts. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Experts think Trump policy on China counterproductive - draft letter By Michael Martina and Jonathan Landay BEIJING/WASHINGTON, June 29 (Reuters) - Scores of Asia specialists, including former U.S. diplomats and military officers, want President Donald Trump to rethink policies that "treat China as an enemy," warning the approach could hurt U.S. interests and the global economy, according to a draft open letter reviewed by Reuters on Saturday. The draft letter comes as tensions rise between the world's two largest economies over a raft of issues. They include a trade war in which the sides have slapped tariffs on billions of dollars on each others' imports, U.S. charges of massive Chinese espionage, and a Chinese military modernization program that threatens the U.S. edge in the Western Pacific. The United States and China, meeting on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan, agreed to restart talks on ending the trade battle. "Although we are very deeply troubled by Beijing's recent behavior, we also believe that many U.S. actions are contributing to the downward spiral in relations," said the draft of the open letter to Trump and Congress signed by some 80 experts. "U.S. efforts to treat China as an enemy and decouple it from the global economy will damage America's international role and reputation and undermine the economic interests of all nations," it said. "The U.S. fear that Beijing will replace the U.S. as the global leader is exaggerated." Trump's 2018 U.S. National Security Strategy calls China a strategic competitor that seeks to replace the United States as the pre-eminent global power. It was not clear when a final version of the letter would be released. A cover note accompanying the draft said more signatures were being solicited, and the final version would be submitted to a major newspaper. The draft of the open letter lists "Seven Propositions" that the signatories said represented their collective views "on China, the problems of the U.S. approach to China, and the basic elements of a more effective U.S. policy." The Chinese government's increase in domestic repression and control over private companies, "its failure to live up to its trade commitments, greater efforts to control foreign opinion and more aggressive foreign policy" are "serious challenges for the rest of the world," the draft said. The current U.S. response, however, is counterproductive because by treating China as an existential national security threat, it weakens the influence of moderates in Beijing who know that "a cooperative approach with the West serves China's interests," the draft said. The United States also could isolate itself because allies would be unwilling to treat China as "an economic and political enemy," it said. The experts called for a new policy under which the United States cooperated with allies to deter Chinese military aggression through "defensive-oriented" postures. The United States also should work with allies and partners "to create a more open and prosperous world in which China is offered the opportunity to participate," the draft said. Signatories included Susan Thornton, a former top diplomat for East Asian affairs, and J. Stapleton Roy, a former U.S. ambassador to Beijing. (Reporting by Jonathan Landay; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
How Mastercard and Other Hedge Fund Favorites Performed in Q2 Insider Monkey tracks hedge funds, billionaires, and prominent value investors for a very simple reason: their consensus picks generally outperform the market. We aren’t the only research shop broadcasting this fact using a bullhorn. Here is what strategist Ben Snider said in Goldman Sachs’ periodic hedge fund report: “Despite the strong track record of popular hedge fund stocks, investors often view high ownership as a negative trait when evaluating stock prospects. Clients often ask us to include hedge fund ownership data in stock screens, expressing a preference for buying ‘under-owned’ stocks.” “In fact, during the past decade hedge fund popularity has been a more useful criterion for selecting stocks than valuations…. The signals from hedge fund popularity and valuation have been particularly useful in combination, especially for investors with slightly longer investment horizons. During the past decade, popular stocks have generally outperformed unpopular stocks across both 3- and 12-month investment horizons” Snider concluded. It may sound like I am tooting my own horn, but Insider Monkey’s quarterly newsletter is actually superior to Goldman’s report. That’s because we separated the hedge fund favorites into long and short buckets. Our long bucket of hedge fund favorites returned 34.1% in the first half of 2019, whereas our short bucket of hedge fund favorites gained 21.4% during the same period. Hedge funds’ favorite top 20 stocks, on the other hand, returned 24% so far in 2019. You could have beaten the S&P 500 Index funds by 5.7 percentage points by investing inhedge funds’ top 20 picksin 2019, whereas you could have outperformed the index funds by 15.8 percentage points if you invested in our top hedge fund picks. You cantry out our newsletterfree of charge for 14 days to see hedge funds’ latest best stock picks. The #14 most popular stock among the 743 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey wasMastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA).Mastercard was also the 13th most popular stock among hedge funds at the end of December (see the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds). We have to warn you against indiscriminately imitating hedge funds' all stock picks. Hedge funds' top 20 stock picks outperformed the S&P 500 Index funds by 5.7 percentage points this year, but hedge funds' top 500 stock picks had the same return as the S&P 500 Index this quarter. Investing in a hedge fund's 35th best idea doesn't give you the same return as investing in a hedge fund's best idea. [caption id="attachment_315178" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Warren Buffett[/caption] Let's check out the new hedge fund action regarding Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 94 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of -2% from the fourth quarter of 2018. By comparison, 84 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in MA a year ago. With hedgies' sentiment swirling, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions). More specifically,Gardner Russo & Gardnerwas the largest shareholder of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), with a stake worth $1751 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Gardner Russo & Gardner was Akre Capital Management, which amassed a stake valued at $1254.5 million. Berkshire Hathaway, Arrowstreet Capital, and Lone Pine Capital were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios. Because Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) has faced a decline in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there were a few fund managers who sold off their entire stakes by the end of the third quarter. At the top of the heap, Richard Chilton'sChilton Investment Companysold off the largest investment of the "upper crust" of funds monitored by Insider Monkey, valued at close to $107.1 million in stock. James Crichton's fund,Hitchwood Capital Management, also cut its stock, about $33 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds by the end of the third quarter. Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH), and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE). All of these stocks' market caps are similar to MA's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position INTC,62,4307809,-3 CSCO,45,3154180,-10 UNH,72,6223666,-10 PFE,53,5290465,-6 Average,58,4744030,-7.25 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 58 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $4744 million. That figure was $11561 million in MA's case. UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is the least popular one with only 45 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is more popular among hedge funds. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.4% in Q2 and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by more than 2 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on MA as the stock returned 12.5% during the same period and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Mastercard shares also gained more than 40% year-to-date. Hedge funds were clearly right about piling into this stock relative to other stocks with similar market capitalizations. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
Estimating The Intrinsic Value Of Skellerup Holdings Limited (NZSE:SKL) Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! How far off is Skellerup Holdings Limited (NZSE:SKL) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to today's value. I will be using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward. We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of theSimply Wall St analysis model. See our latest analysis for Skellerup Holdings We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value: [{"": "Levered FCF (NZ$, Millions)", "2019": "NZ$32.00", "2020": "NZ$32.00", "2021": "NZ$35.00", "2022": "NZ$37.44", "2023": "NZ$39.54", "2024": "NZ$41.37", "2025": "NZ$43.01", "2026": "NZ$44.50", "2027": "NZ$45.90", "2028": "NZ$47.24"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2019": "Analyst x1", "2020": "Analyst x1", "2021": "Analyst x1", "2022": "Est @ 6.98%", "2023": "Est @ 5.6%", "2024": "Est @ 4.63%", "2025": "Est @ 3.95%", "2026": "Est @ 3.48%", "2027": "Est @ 3.15%", "2028": "Est @ 2.91%"}, {"": "Present Value (NZ$, Millions) Discounted @ 8.89%", "2019": "NZ$29.39", "2020": "NZ$26.99", "2021": "NZ$27.11", "2022": "NZ$26.64", "2023": "NZ$25.83", "2024": "NZ$24.82", "2025": "NZ$23.70", "2026": "NZ$22.52", "2027": "NZ$21.33", "2028": "NZ$20.16"}] Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= NZ$248.49m "Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 10-year government bond rate of 2.4%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.9%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = NZ$47m × (1 + 2.4%) ÷ (8.9% – 2.4%) = NZ$742m Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= NZ$NZ$742m ÷ ( 1 + 8.9%)10= NZ$316.69m The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is NZ$565.18m. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding.This results in an intrinsic value estimate of NZ$2.9. Compared to the current share price of NZ$2.38, the company appears about fair value at a 18% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind. The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Skellerup Holdings as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.9%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.094. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business. Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn’t be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Skellerup Holdings, I've put together three pertinent factors you should further research: 1. Financial Health: Does SKL have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk. 2. Future Earnings: How does SKL's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with ourfree analyst growth expectation chart. 3. Other High Quality Alternatives: Are there other high quality stocks you could be holding instead of SKL? Exploreour interactive list of high quality stocksto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the NZSE every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks justsearch here. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Thawing US-China Trade War Tensions Not ‘Hurting Bitcoin’ President Donald Trumpstunned the world Saturday with the announcement of a ceasefire in the U.S. China trade war. After a high stakes face-to-face meeting withChinese President Xi Jinping, Trumptold reportersthat he would be holding off on the threat of more tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese imports. Though thebitcoin pricehas risen dramatically with global macro uncertainty looming heavy over the geopolitical backdrop, the price slipped approximately 3% on Saturday to just below $12,000. Fundstrat Co-Founder Thomas Lee tweeted that “bitcoin seems to be OK with developments” and that the “easing of tensions with US and China and even the surprise of easing restrictions onHuaweidoes not seem to be hurting bitcoin.” The bitcoin price continued to chart along a textbook 38% Fibonacci retracement following the trade war update Saturday. The retracement made up around $1,100 of Wednesday and Thursday’s $3115 pullback from bitcoin’secstatic June accumulation. So far on Saturday, bitcoin is holding steady at that key support level, with $12,000 per bitcoin looking like it may shape up to be a psychological level of resistance. In addition to holding off on more tariffs, Donald Trump made a surprising announcement aboutHuaweiin Osaka. The president said the U.S. will be lifting the embargo on U.S. suppliers to sell their parts to Chinese consumer electronics giant Huawei Technologies. Read the full story on CCN.com.
Weekly Tech Stock News: Key Apple Exec Leaves, Slack Stock Gets a Buy Rating, and More This week's biggest stories included news on BlackBerry (NYSE: BB) , Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) , and Slack (NYSE: WORK) . BlackBerry reported earnings, featuring more momentum in its software and services segment. Apple lost one of its most important executives. Slack stock saw a boost, as an analyst initiated coverage of the stock with an outperform rating. Here's a closer look at these stories. Apple executives Tim Cook and Jony Ive looking at the iPhone XR. Apple executives Tim Cook and Jony Ive. Image source: Apple. BlackBerry On Wednesday, BlackBerry announced 23% year-over-year non- GAAP (adjusted) revenue growth for its first quarter of fiscal 2020. Though $51 million of the company's $267 million in adjusted revenue from the quarter came from BlackBerry's recent acquisition of endpoint security specialist Cylance, BlackBerry still demonstrated some meaningful growth in its core software and services segment when excluding the impact of this acquisition. Adjusted to exclude Cylance, BlackBerry's non-GAAP software and services revenue rose 8% year over year. One important takeaway from the results that some investors may have missed was the outstanding performance of Cylance itself. Cylance's revenue surged 31% year over year during the quarter. "This was driven by an approximate 30% year-over-year increase in the number of new active subscription customers," said BlackBerry CEO John Chen during the company's fiscal first-quarter earnings call. "This new customer growth in the quarter was broad-based across various industries led by Professional Services sector, manufacturing as well as government." Apple The most high-profile news in tech this week came when Apple made the surprise announcement that its lead design chief Jony Ive is leaving the company . His departure follows nearly 30 years of extraordinary contributions to Apple, including design work on various Macs, the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and more. To help fill Ive's void, Apple COO Jeff Williams, who helped lead the development of Apple Watch since its inception, will be spending more time working with the design team, Apple said in a press release. In addition, Evans Hankey and Alan Dye will serve as design team leaders, reporting directly to Williams. Story continues Apple will still receive services from Ive through a new independent design company in which Apple will be one of its main clients. Slack Shares of enterprise messaging service Slack (NYSE: WORK) jumped 6% on Wednesday after Baird analyst William Power initiated coverage of the stock with an outperform rating and a $44 12-month price target. The price target represents 17% upside from where shares were trading at the end of the week. Backing up his optimism for the stock, Power cited (via Barron's ) the company's lead over its enterprise messaging peers. "We believe [Slack's] disruptive competitive position and long-term margin and free cash flow opportunity stand out relative to the group and also believe our current estimates could prove conservative," wrote Power in a note this week. Highlighting Slack's momentum, its revenue surged 67% year over year in its most recent quarter. 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 Daniel Sparks has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has the following options: short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple and long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool recommends BlackBerry. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
How PayPal Holdings Inc and Other Hedge Fund Favorites Performed in Q2 Insider Monkey tracks hedge funds, billionaires, and prominent value investors for a very simple reason: their consensus picks generally outperform the market. We aren’t the only research shop broadcasting this fact using a bullhorn. Here is what strategist Ben Snider said in Goldman Sachs’ periodic hedge fund report: “Despite the strong track record of popular hedge fund stocks, investors often view high ownership as a negative trait when evaluating stock prospects. Clients often ask us to include hedge fund ownership data in stock screens, expressing a preference for buying ‘under-owned’ stocks.” “In fact, during the past decade hedge fund popularity has been a more useful criterion for selecting stocks than valuations…. The signals from hedge fund popularity and valuation have been particularly useful in combination, especially for investors with slightly longer investment horizons. During the past decade, popular stocks have generally outperformed unpopular stocks across both 3- and 12-month investment horizons” Snider concluded. It may sound like I am tooting my own horn, but Insider Monkey’s quarterly newsletter is actually superior to Goldman’s report. That’s because we separated the hedge fund favorites into long and short buckets. Our long bucket of hedge fund favorites returned 34.1% in the first half of 2019, whereas our short bucket of hedge fund favorites gained 21.4% during the same period. Hedge funds’ favorite top 20 stocks, on the other hand, returned 24% so far in 2019. You could have beaten the S&P 500 Index funds by 5.7 percentage points by investing inhedge funds’ top 20 picksin 2019, whereas you could have outperformed the index funds by 15.8 percentage points if you invested in our top hedge fund picks. You cantry out our newsletterfree of charge for 14 days to see hedge funds’ latest best stock picks. The #16 most popular stock among the 743 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey wasPaypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL).PayPal was also the 9th most popular stock among hedge funds at the end of December (see the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds). We have to warn you against indiscriminately imitating hedge funds' all stock picks. Hedge funds' top 20 stock picks outperformed the S&P 500 Index funds by 5.7 percentage points this year, but hedge funds' top 500 stock picks had the same return as the S&P 500 Index this quarter. Investing in a hedge fund's 35th best idea doesn't give you the same return as investing in a hedge fund's best idea. [caption id="attachment_315167" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Dan Loeb of Third Point[/caption] We're going to view the latest hedge fund action regarding Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 93 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -10% from the previous quarter. By comparison, 84 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in PYPL a year ago. So, let's check out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. Among these funds,Third Pointheld the most valuable stake in Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL), which was worth $363.4 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Coatue Management which amassed $339 million worth of shares. Moreover, Citadel Investment Group, Whale Rock Capital Management, and D E Shaw were also bullish on Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. Judging by the fact that Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) has witnessed falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it's easy to see that there exists a select few hedgies who were dropping their full holdings last quarter. At the top of the heap, Stephen Mandel'sLone Pine Capitaldropped the largest investment of the 700 funds monitored by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $484.6 million in call options. Steve Cohen's fund,Point72 Asset Management, also cut its call options, about $174 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 10 funds last quarter. Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) but similarly valued. These stocks are DowDuPont Inc. (NYSE:DWDP), PetroChina Company Limited (NYSE:PTR), 3M Company (NYSE:MMM), and AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV). This group of stocks' market values are similar to PYPL's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position DWDP,61,1910098,-6 PTR,12,124953,-2 MMM,43,441353,7 ABBV,47,3858080,1 Average,40.75,1583621,0 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 40.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1584 million. That figure was $3610 million in PYPL's case. DowDuPont Inc. (NYSE:DWDP) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand PetroChina Company Limited (NYSE:PTR) is the least popular one with only 12 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) is more popular among hedge funds. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.4% in Q2 and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by more than 2 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on PYPL as the stock returned 10.2% during the same period and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. PayPal also returned more than 36% year-to-date. Hedge funds were clearly right about piling into this stock relative to other stocks with similar market capitalizations. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Ion Geophysical Corp (IO) A market surge in the first quarter, spurred by easing global macroeconomic concerns and Powell's pivot ended up having a positive impact on the markets and many hedge funds as a result. The stocks of smaller companies which were especially hard hit during the fourth quarter slightly outperformed the market during the first quarter. Unfortunately, Trump is unpredictable and volatility returned in the second quarter and smaller-cap stocks went back to selling off. We finished compiling the latest 13F filings to get an idea about what hedge funds are thinking about the overall market as well as individual stocks. In this article we will study the hedge fund sentiment to see how those concerns affected their ownership of Ion Geophysical Corp (NYSE:IO) during the quarter. Ion Geophysical Corp (NYSE:IO)was in 10 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. IO investors should pay attention to an increase in activity from the world's largest hedge funds of late. There were 7 hedge funds in our database with IO positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that IO isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. In the eyes of most shareholders, hedge funds are seen as unimportant, old investment vehicles of yesteryear. While there are more than 8000 funds trading at present, Our experts look at the crème de la crème of this group, about 750 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group of people oversee the majority of the hedge fund industry's total capital, and by paying attention to their top picks, Insider Monkey has formulated a number of investment strategies that have historically outrun Mr. Market. Insider Monkey's flagship hedge fund strategy surpassed the S&P 500 index by around 5 percentage points a year since its inception in May 2014 through June 18th. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 28.2% since February 2017 (through June 18th) even though the market was up nearly 30% during the same period. We just shared a list of 5 short targets in ourlatest quarterly updateand they are already down an average of 8.2% in a month whereas our long picks outperformed the market by 2.5 percentage points in this volatile 5 week period (our long picks also beat the market by 15 percentage points so far this year). [caption id="attachment_735677" align="aligncenter" width="473"] Sander Gerber of Hudson Bay Capital[/caption] We're going to take a gander at the recent hedge fund action surrounding Ion Geophysical Corp (NYSE:IO). At the end of the first quarter, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 43% from one quarter earlier. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in IO over the last 15 quarters. With the smart money's positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were adding to their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions). Among these funds,Gates Capital Managementheld the most valuable stake in Ion Geophysical Corp (NYSE:IO), which was worth $14.8 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Renaissance Technologies which amassed $10.2 million worth of shares. Moreover, Royce & Associates, Two Sigma Advisors, and Hudson Bay Capital Management were also bullish on Ion Geophysical Corp (NYSE:IO), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. Consequently, key money managers were leading the bulls' herd.Hudson Bay Capital Management, managed by Sander Gerber, created the most outsized call position in Ion Geophysical Corp (NYSE:IO). Hudson Bay Capital Management had $0.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. David Harding'sWinton Capital Managementalso initiated a $0.3 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new IO investors: Mike Vranos'sEllington, D. E. Shaw'sD E Shaw, and Gavin Saitowitz and Cisco J. del Valle'sSpringbok Capital. Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Ion Geophysical Corp (NYSE:IO) but similarly valued. These stocks are Coastal Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CCB), Codorus Valley Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVLY), Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB), and Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD). This group of stocks' market values are closest to IO's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position CCB,2,19164,0 CVLY,6,19051,1 UNB,1,773,0 CLFD,3,9389,0 Average,3,12094,0.25 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 3 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $12 million. That figure was $28 million in IO's case. Codorus Valley Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVLY) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) is the least popular one with only 1 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Ion Geophysical Corp (NYSE:IO) is more popular among hedge funds. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately IO wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on IO were disappointed as the stock returned -47.6% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Is Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (OSG) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds? The government requires hedge funds and wealthy investors that crossed the $100 million equity holdings threshold are required to file a report that shows their positions at the end of every quarter. Even though it isn't the intention, these filings level the playing field for ordinary investors. The latest round of 13F filings disclosed the funds' positions on March 31. We at Insider Monkey have made an extensive database of nearly 750 of those elite funds and famous investors' filings. In this article, we analyze how these elite funds and prominent investors traded Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (NYSE:OSG) based on those filings. Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (NYSE:OSG)has experienced a decrease in hedge fund interest recently.OSGwas in 10 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with OSG holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that OSG isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. So, why do we pay attention to hedge fund sentiment before making any investment decisions? Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Even if you aren't comfortable with shorting stocks, you should at least avoid initiating long positions in our short portfolio. [caption id="attachment_746830" align="aligncenter" width="473"] Matthew Hulsizer of PEAK6 Capital[/caption] We're going to take a glance at the fresh hedge fund action surrounding Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (NYSE:OSG). At Q1's end, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -33% from one quarter earlier. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in OSG over the last 15 quarters. With the smart money's positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions). The largest stake in Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (NYSE:OSG) was held byCyrus Capital Partners, which reported holding $20.4 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by AQR Capital Management with a $7.6 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Strategic Value Partners, Renaissance Technologies, and D E Shaw. Since Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (NYSE:OSG) has experienced a decline in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there were a few money managers who sold off their full holdings by the end of the third quarter. Interestingly, Andrew Feldstein and Stephen Siderow'sBlue Mountain Capitaldumped the biggest investment of all the hedgies monitored by Insider Monkey, worth close to $13.1 million in stock. Bruce Kovner's fund,Caxton Associates LP, also cut its stock, about $3.9 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 5 funds by the end of the third quarter. Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (NYSE:OSG) but similarly valued. These stocks are LF Capital Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:LFAC), Adamas Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ADMS), Nuvectra Corporation (NASDAQ:NVTR), and Millendo Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLND). This group of stocks' market values match OSG's market value. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position LFAC,10,33730,0 ADMS,11,60975,-1 NVTR,12,25571,-4 MLND,9,48888,2 Average,10.5,42291,-0.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 10.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $42 million. That figure was $43 million in OSG's case. Nuvectra Corporation (NASDAQ:NVTR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Millendo Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLND) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (NYSE:OSG) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately OSG wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); OSG investors were disappointed as the stock returned -27.9% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Hedge Funds Have Never Been This Bullish On Elevate Credit, Inc. (ELVT) Before putting in our own effort and resources into finding a good investment, we can quickly utilize hedge fund expertise to give us a quick glimpse of whether that stock could make for a good addition to our portfolios. The odds are not exactly stacked in investors' favor when it comes to beating the market, as evidenced by the fact that less than 49% of the stocks in the S&P 500 did so during the second quarter. The stats were even worse in recent years when most of the advances in the market were due to large gains by FAANG stocks. However, one bright side for individual investors was the strong performance of hedge funds' top consensus picks. This year hedge funds' top 20 stock picks outperformed the S&P 500 Index by 6.6 percentage points through May 30th. Thus, we can see that the tireless research and efforts of hedge funds to identify winning stocks can work to our advantage when we know how to use the data. While not all of their picks will be winners, our odds are much better following their best stock picks than trying to go it alone. Elevate Credit, Inc. (NYSE:ELVT)investors should pay attention to an increase in hedge fund sentiment recently.ELVTwas in 10 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. There were 7 hedge funds in our database with ELVT positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that ELVT isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. In the eyes of most market participants, hedge funds are perceived as underperforming, old financial tools of yesteryear. While there are more than 8000 funds trading today, Our experts look at the crème de la crème of this group, approximately 750 funds. These money managers command the majority of the smart money's total asset base, and by keeping an eye on their highest performing picks, Insider Monkey has found many investment strategies that have historically defeated Mr. Market. Insider Monkey's flagship hedge fund strategy defeated the S&P 500 index by around 5 percentage points per year since its inception in May 2014 through June 18th. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 28.2% since February 2017 (through June 18th) even though the market was up nearly 30% during the same period. We just shared a list of 5 short targets in ourlatest quarterly updateand they are already down an average of 8.2% in a month whereas our long picks outperformed the market by 2.5 percentage points in this volatile 5 week period (our long picks also beat the market by 15 percentage points so far this year). We're going to check out the key hedge fund action encompassing Elevate Credit, Inc. (NYSE:ELVT). Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 43% from one quarter earlier. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in ELVT over the last 15 quarters. With the smart money's positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably (or already accumulated large positions). Among these funds,Prescott Group Capital Managementheld the most valuable stake in Elevate Credit, Inc. (NYSE:ELVT), which was worth $7.6 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Nantahala Capital Management which amassed $6.8 million worth of shares. Moreover, Renaissance Technologies, Hawk Ridge Management, and 683 Capital Partners were also bullish on Elevate Credit, Inc. (NYSE:ELVT), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. Now, some big names have jumped into Elevate Credit, Inc. (NYSE:ELVT) headfirst.Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, initiated the most outsized position in Elevate Credit, Inc. (NYSE:ELVT). Millennium Management had $0.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John Overdeck and David Siegel'sTwo Sigma Advisorsalso initiated a $0.1 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new ELVT investors: Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell'sArrowstreet Capitaland Michael Gelband'sExodusPoint Capital. Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Elevate Credit, Inc. (NYSE:ELVT) but similarly valued. These stocks are Northeast Bank (NASDAQ:NBN), Pingtan Marine Enterprise Ltd. (NASDAQ:PME), Flotek Industries Inc (NYSE:FTK), and EverQuote, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVER). All of these stocks' market caps are closest to ELVT's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position NBN,5,24875,0 PME,1,33,0 FTK,10,26533,1 EVER,10,10994,3 Average,6.5,15609,1 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 6.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $16 million. That figure was $22 million in ELVT's case. Flotek Industries Inc (NYSE:FTK) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Pingtan Marine Enterprise Ltd. (NASDAQ:PME) is the least popular one with only 1 bullish hedge fund positions. Elevate Credit, Inc. (NYSE:ELVT) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately ELVT wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on ELVT were disappointed as the stock returned 3.5% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Can You Imagine How Meridian Energy's (NZSE:MEL) Shareholders Feel About The 85% Share Price Increase? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! By buying an index fund, you can roughly match the market return with ease. But if you pick the right individual stocks, you could make more than that. For example,Meridian Energy Limited(NZSE:MEL) shareholders have seen the share price rise 85% over three years, well in excess of the market return (30%, not including dividends). However, more recent returns haven't been as impressive as that, with the stock returning just 64% in the last year, including dividends. View our latest analysis for Meridian Energy To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price. Meridian Energy was able to grow its EPS at 1.4% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. In comparison, the 23% per year gain in the share price outpaces the EPS growth. This suggests that, as the business progressed over the last few years, it gained the confidence of market participants. It's not unusual to see the market 're-rate' a stock, after a few years of growth. This optimism is also reflected in the fairly generous P/E ratio of 50.74. The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). We know that Meridian Energy has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? You could check out thisfreereport showing analyst revenue forecasts. As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. We note that for Meridian Energy the TSR over the last 3 years was 121%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted thetotalshareholder return. It's nice to see that Meridian Energy shareholders have gained 64% (in total) over the last year. That includes the value of the dividend. That gain actually surpasses the 30% TSR it generated (per year) over three years. Given the track record of solid returns over varying time frames, it might be worth putting Meridian Energy on your watchlist. Keeping this in mind, a solid next step might be to take a look at Meridian Energy's dividend track record. Thisfreeinteractive graphis a great place to start. We will like Meridian Energy better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out thisfreelist of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on NZ exchanges. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Hedge Funds Have Never Been This Bullish On EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (EYPT) Is EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYPT) a good equity to bet on right now? We like to check what the smart money thinks first before doing extensive research. Although there have been several high profile failed hedge fund picks, the consensus picks among hedge fund investors have historically outperformed the market after adjusting for known risk attributes. It's not surprising given that hedge funds have access to better information and more resources to predict the winners in the stock market. EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYPT)shareholders have witnessed an increase in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months.EYPTwas in 10 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. There were 6 hedge funds in our database with EYPT positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that EYPT isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. [caption id="attachment_758454" align="aligncenter" width="450"] James Dondero of Highland Capital Management[/caption] Let's check out the new hedge fund action encompassing EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYPT). At Q1's end, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 67% from the previous quarter. By comparison, 0 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in EYPT a year ago. With hedgies' positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions). The largest stake in EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYPT) was held byMillennium Management, which reported holding $1.7 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Highland Capital Management with a $1 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Renaissance Technologies, Granite Point Capital, and Moore Global Investments. With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key money managers were leading the bulls' herd.Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, created the biggest position in EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYPT). Millennium Management had $1.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Warren Lammert'sGranite Point Capitalalso initiated a $0.6 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new EYPT positions are Louis Bacon'sMoore Global Investmentsand James E. Flynn'sDeerfield Management. Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYPT). These stocks are AgroFresh Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:AGFS), Information Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:III), Nabriva Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:NBRV), and Ocular Therapeutix Inc (NASDAQ:OCUL). This group of stocks' market caps resemble EYPT's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position AGFS,5,960,-2 III,6,26451,-1 NBRV,12,39862,0 OCUL,4,17332,0 Average,6.75,21151,-0.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 6.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $21 million. That figure was $6 million in EYPT's case. Nabriva Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:NBRV) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Ocular Therapeutix Inc (NASDAQ:OCUL) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYPT) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately EYPT wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on EYPT were disappointed as the stock returned -1.1% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Geospace Technologies Corp (GEOS) Hedge funds and large money managers usually invest with a focus on the long-term horizon and, therefore, short-lived dips or bumps on the charts, usually don't make them change their opinion towards a company. This time it may be different. During the fourth quarter of 2018 we observed increased volatility and small-cap stocks underperformed the market. Things completely reversed during the first quarter. Hedge fund investor letters indicated that they are cutting their overall exposure, closing out some position and doubling down on others. Let’s take a look at the hedge fund sentiment towards Geospace Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:GEOS) to find out whether it was one of their high conviction long-term ideas. IsGeospace Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:GEOS)a bargain? Money managers are reducing their bets on the stock. The number of long hedge fund positions retreated by 1 recently. Our calculations also showed that GEOS isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. In the financial world there are a large number of tools investors have at their disposal to grade stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount. Insider Monkey's flagship best performing hedge funds strategy returned 25.8% year to date (through May 30th) and outperformed the market even though it draws its stock picks among small-cap stocks. This strategy also outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since its inception (see the details here). That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. Let's go over the key hedge fund action surrounding Geospace Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:GEOS). At Q1's end, a total of 10 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -9% from one quarter earlier. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in GEOS over the last 15 quarters. So, let's check out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. According to Insider Monkey's hedge fund database,Rutabaga Capital Management, managed by Peter Schliemann, holds the number one position in Geospace Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:GEOS). Rutabaga Capital Management has a $5.6 million position in the stock, comprising 1.5% of its 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager isMillennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, which holds a $2.2 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Jim Simons'sRenaissance Technologies, D. E. Shaw'sD E Shawand Michael Gelband'sExodusPoint Capital. Because Geospace Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:GEOS) has witnessed declining sentiment from hedge fund managers, we can see that there was a specific group of fund managers that elected to cut their full holdings heading into Q3. It's worth mentioning that Ken Griffin'sCitadel Investment Groupcut the biggest stake of the "upper crust" of funds monitored by Insider Monkey, valued at an estimated $0.1 million in stock. Gregory Fraser, Rudolph Kluiber, and Timothy Krochuk's fund,GRT Capital Partners, also said goodbye to its stock, about $0.1 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds heading into Q3. Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Geospace Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:GEOS). These stocks are Orrstown Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORRF), First Business Financial Services Inc (NASDAQ:FBIZ), C&F Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CFFI), and Aratana Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:PETX). All of these stocks' market caps match GEOS's market cap. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position ORRF,4,8075,-1 FBIZ,2,4869,0 CFFI,2,7828,0 PETX,11,41252,-1 Average,4.75,15506,-0.5 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 4.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $16 million. That figure was $12 million in GEOS's case. Aratana Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:PETX) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand First Business Financial Services Inc (NASDAQ:FBIZ) is the least popular one with only 2 bullish hedge fund positions. Geospace Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:GEOS) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on GEOS, though not to the same extent, as the stock returned 4% during the same time frame and outperformed the market as well. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. Related Content • How to Best Use Insider Monkey To Increase Your Returns • Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Dividend Stock Picks • 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Omega Healthcare Investors Inc (OHI) You probably know from experience that there is not as much information on small-cap companies as there is on large companies. Of course, this makes it really hard and difficult for individual investors to make proper and accurate analysis of certain small-cap companies. However, well-known and successful hedge fund managers like Jeff Ubben, George Soros and Seth Klarman hold the necessary resources and abilities to conduct an extensive stock analysis on small-cap stocks, which enable them to make millions of dollars by identifying potential winners within the small-cap galaxy of stocks. This represents the main reason why Insider Monkey takes notice of the hedge fund activity in these overlooked stocks. IsOmega Healthcare Investors Inc (NYSE:OHI)a splendid investment today? Money managers are taking an optimistic view. The number of bullish hedge fund bets rose by 2 recently. Our calculations also showed that OHI isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.OHIwas in 13 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 11 hedge funds in our database with OHI positions at the end of the previous quarter. Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Let's take a peek at the latest hedge fund action regarding Omega Healthcare Investors Inc (NYSE:OHI). At Q1's end, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 18% from the previous quarter. On the other hand, there were a total of 10 hedge funds with a bullish position in OHI a year ago. So, let's find out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves. More specifically,Zimmer Partnerswas the largest shareholder of Omega Healthcare Investors Inc (NYSE:OHI), with a stake worth $111.4 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Zimmer Partners was Renaissance Technologies, which amassed a stake valued at $70.9 million. Two Sigma Advisors, Balyasny Asset Management, and Citadel Investment Group were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios. As one would reasonably expect, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves.Zimmer Partners, managed by Stuart J. Zimmer, assembled the largest position in Omega Healthcare Investors Inc (NYSE:OHI). Zimmer Partners had $111.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Paul Marshall and Ian Wace'sMarshall Wace LLPalso made a $3.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is Matthew Hulsizer'sPEAK6 Capital Management. Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Omega Healthcare Investors Inc (NYSE:OHI) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Oaktree Capital Group LLC (NYSE:OAK), ANGI Homeservices Inc. (NASDAQ:ANGI), Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ), and Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE:RHI). This group of stocks' market valuations resemble OHI's market valuation. [table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position OAK,15,201018,8 ANGI,22,402901,0 IVZ,24,172793,0 RHI,25,642582,-1 Average,21.5,354824,1.75 [/table] View table hereif you experience formatting issues. As you can see these stocks had an average of 21.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $355 million. That figure was $242 million in OHI's case. Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE:RHI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Oaktree Capital Group LLC (NYSE:OAK) is the least popular one with only 15 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Omega Healthcare Investors Inc (NYSE:OHI) is even less popular than OAK. Hedge funds dodged a bullet by taking a bearish stance towards OHI. Our calculations showed that the top 20 most popular hedge fund stocks returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately OHI wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was very bearish); OHI investors were disappointed as the stock returned 0.8% during the same time frame and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in the second quarter. Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey. 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