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US STOCKS-Wall Street slips as trade optimism fades (For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.) * USTR threatens $4 bln in additional tariffs on EU goods * Gilead rises on plans for new drug filing * Energy falls the most among S&P sectors * Indexes down: Dow 0.16%, S&P 0.04%, Nasdaq 0.08% (Updates to open) By Shreyashi Sanyal and Amy Caren Daniel July 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged lower on Tuesday, a day after a record-setting rally, as optimism sparked by the U.S.-China trade truce waned after Washington threatened tariffs on $4 billion of additional EU goods. Just as trade tensions with China seemed to be easing, the U.S. government ratcheted up pressure on Europe by threatening to slap tariffs amid a long-running dispute over aircraft subsidies. "While the threat of additional tariffs on EU imports is still an overhang for investors, the market is more likely taking a breather until new macro-economic data comes out," Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities said. The energy sector slipped 1.18% and was the biggest drag on markets as crude prices fell on demand worries. Oil majors Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp declined about 1% each. The S&P 500 index hit a record high on Monday after Washington and Beijing agreed over the weekend to resume trade talks after negotiations broke down in May. The breakdown triggered the worst monthly performance this year, but markets have since recouped most of the losses on hopes that the Federal Reserve would be more accommodative to counter a slowing global economy. Market participants still expect the Fed to cut interest rates at its July 30-31 policy meeting, despite the latest developments in trade talks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 42.03 points, or 0.16%, to 26,675.4, and the S&P 500 lost 1.08 points, or 0.04%, to 2,963.25. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 6.16 points, or 0.08%, to 8,085.00. Investors will be watching out for the monthly jobs report on Friday, which is expected to show that the private sector added 160,000 jobs in June, after a sharp slowdown in jobs growth in May. The report will follow a batch of discouraging manufacturing data in the past 24 hours from around the world that has rekindled growth fears. Among stocks, Automatic Data Processing slipped 4.2%, the most among S&P 500 companies, after market sources said brokerage Jefferies is re-offering 8 million of the company's shares at a discount. Coty Inc dropped for the second straight day, down 2.4% as multiple brokerages cut price targets on the cosmetics maker's shares. Gilead Sciences Inc rose 1.30% after the drugmaker said it will submit a new drug application for its arthritis drug to the U.S. FDA this year. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.08-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.35-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded 21 new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 32 new highs and 17 new lows. (Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal & Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
Before You Buy Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE:CVA), Consider Its Volatility Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! If you own shares in Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE:CVA) then it's worth thinking about how it contributes to the volatility of your portfolio, overall. In finance, Beta is a measure of volatility. Volatility is considered to be a measure of risk in modern finance theory. Investors may think of volatility as falling into two main categories. The first type is company specific volatility. Investors use diversification across uncorrelated stocks to reduce this kind of price volatility across the portfolio. The second type is the broader market volatility, which you cannot diversify away, since it arises from macroeconomic factors which directly affects all the stocks on the market. Some stocks see their prices move in concert with the market. Others tend towards stronger, gentler or unrelated price movements. Some investors use beta as a measure of how much a certain stock is impacted by market risk (volatility). While we should keep in mind that Warren Buffett has cautioned that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk', beta is still a useful factor to consider. To make good use of it you must first know that the beta of the overall market is one. Any stock with a beta of greater than one is considered more volatile than the market, while those with a beta below one are either less volatile or poorly correlated with the market. Check out our latest analysis for Covanta Holding Given that it has a beta of 1.36, we can surmise that the Covanta Holding share price has been fairly sensitive to market volatility (over the last 5 years). Based on this history, investors should be aware that Covanta Holding are likely to rise strongly in times of greed, but sell off in times of fear. Beta is worth considering, but it's also important to consider whether Covanta Holding is growing earnings and revenue. You can take a look for yourself, below. Covanta Holding is a fairly large company. It has a market capitalisation of US$2.3b, which means it is probably on the radar of most investors. It takes a lot of money to influence the share price of large companies like this one. That makes it interesting to note that its share price has a history of sensitivity to market volatility. There might be some aspect of the business that means profits are leveraged to the economic cycle. Since Covanta Holding tends to moves up when the market is going up, and down when it's going down, potential investors may wish to reflect on the overall market, when considering the stock. This article aims to educate investors about beta values, but it's well worth looking at important company-specific fundamentals such as Covanta Holding’s financial health and performance track record. I highly recommend you dive deeper by considering the following: 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for CVA’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor CVA’s outlook. 2. Past Track Record: Has CVA been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look atthe free visual representations of CVA's historicalsfor more clarity. 3. Other Interesting Stocks: It's worth checking to see how CVA measures up against other companies on valuation. You could start with thisfree list of prospective options. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
What to wear to a July 4th party Asthe official start of summerdraws closer, that can only mean one thing -- July 4th is just around the corner! This fourth of July, whether you are heading to a party to watch fireworks, grilling in your backyard orroad trippingto the beach, show your spirit by wearing red, white and blue! While it's easy to just toss on anAmerican flag shirt(they are classic!), why not rock some pieces that you'll actually want to wear again and again? Fromwhite dressestored bagsandnavy denim, shop over 30 of our favorite red, white and blue clothing and accessory finds that you are sure to reach for all summer long.
Could The Go-Ahead Group plc (LON:GOG) Have The Makings Of Another Dividend Aristocrat? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Is The Go-Ahead Group plc (LON:GOG) a good dividend stock? How can we tell? Dividend paying companies with growing earnings can be highly rewarding in the long term. Unfortunately, it's common for investors to be enticed in by the seemingly attractive yield, and lose money when the company has to cut its dividend payments. With Go-Ahead Group yielding 5.1% and having paid a dividend for over 10 years, many investors likely find the company quite interesting. We'd guess that plenty of investors have purchased it for the income. Some simple research can reduce the risk of buying Go-Ahead Group for its dividend - read on to learn more. Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Go-Ahead Group! Dividends are usually paid out of company earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. As a result, we should always investigate whether a company can afford its dividend, measured as a percentage of a company's net income after tax. Looking at the data, we can see that 67% of Go-Ahead Group's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. A payout ratio above 50% generally implies a business is reaching maturity, although it is still possible to reinvest in the business or increase the dividend over time. Another important check we do is to see if the free cash flow generated is sufficient to pay the dividend. Go-Ahead Group's cash payout ratio in the last year was 47%, which suggests dividends were well covered by cash generated by the business. It's positive to see that Go-Ahead Group'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. We update our data on Go-Ahead Group every 24 hours, so you can always getour latest analysis of its financial health, here. Before buying a stock for its income, we want to see if the dividends have been stable in the past, and if the company has a track record of maintaining its dividend. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of Go-Ahead Group's dividend payments. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was UK£0.81 in 2009, compared to UK£1.02 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 2.3% a year over that time. Modest growth in the dividend is good to see, but we think this is offset by historical cuts to the payments. It is hard to live on a dividend income if the company's earnings are not consistent. Examining whether the dividend is affordable and stable is important. However, it's also important to assess if earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Over the long term, dividends need to grow at or above the rate of inflation, in order to maintain the recipient's purchasing power. Go-Ahead Group has grown its earnings per share at 7.2% per annum over the past five years. The rate at which earnings have grown is quite decent, and by paying out more than half of its earnings as dividends, the company is striking a reasonable balance between reinvestment and returns to shareholders. To summarise, shareholders should always check that Go-Ahead Group's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. Go-Ahead Group's payout ratios are within a normal range for the average corporation, and we like that its cashflow was stronger than reported profits. Second, earnings growth has been ordinary, and its history of dividend payments is chequered - having cut its dividend at least once in the past. While we're not hugely bearish on it, overall we think there are potentially better dividend stocks than Go-Ahead Group out there. Earnings growth generally bodes well for the future value of company dividend payments. See if the 7 Go-Ahead Group analysts we track are forecasting continued growth with ourfreereport on analyst estimates for the company. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try ourcurated list of dividend stocks with a yield 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.
Bernie Sanders raises $18 million in second quarter for 2020 bid, trails Buttigieg By John Whitesides WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. presidential contender Bernie Sanders raised $18 million in the second quarter for his White House run, his campaign said on Tuesday, putting his total behind 2020 Democratic rival Pete Buttigieg for the period. Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, also transferred $6 million from other campaign accounts to fund his presidential bid, campaign manager Faiz Shakir told reporters on a conference call. Sanders and Buttigieg are the first among some two dozen candidates vying for the Democratic nomination to report fundraising numbers for April through June. Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, raised $24.8 million from nearly 300,000 donors in the second quarter this year, his campaign said on Monday. The Federal Election Commission's quarterly deadline for reporting fundraising totals was midnight on Sunday. Campaigns must submit their financial reports by July 15. Sanders, making his second bid for the White House after a losing 2016 run, led the Democratic field in fundraising in the first quarter by bringing in more than $18 million. But he has been slipping slightly in polls in the last month and his rivals have stepped up their fundraising in the crowded race for the right to challenge Republican President Donald Trump in 2020. Shakir rejected any predictions of doom, however, saying Sanders had his second-best fundraising day after the Democratic debates last week, bringing in nearly $2 million in one day. Sanders has rejected holding big-money fundraising events like some of his rivals. Shakir said the grassroots, small-dollar nature of his fundraising showed the breadth of his support. The average donation was $18, and 99% of the donations were under $100, Shakir said. The campaign ended the quarter with about $30 million in cash on hand, he added. Shakir contrasted that approach with rivals like former Vice President Joe Biden, who has courted high-dollar donors. Story continues "When you go into these high-dollar meetings, their support comes at a cost," Shakir said. Trump's re-election campaign announced on Tuesday it had raised $54 million in the second quarter, after raking in more than $30 million in the first quarter. (Reporting by John Whitesides; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
Twinkies’ New Creamsicle Flavor Will Instantly Transport You to the Boardwalk Photo credit: Instagram @fueledbymunchies From Best Products UPDATED: July 2, 2019 at 10:36 a.m. They’re here! Hostess’ Orange Creme Pop Twinkies are on shelves to bring you a creamsicle flavor in a tasty cake. The limited-edition flavor consists of a golden sponge cake with orange creme filling. Each box includes 10 individually-wrapped cakes, making them perfect to throw in your bag for a Twinkies emergency. Instagram users have spotted the new treat at Walmart (for $2.97) and Hy-Vee , so hopefully you don’t have trouble finding them near you. Don’t waste time getting your hands on this tasty summer snack! View this post on Instagram Orange Creme Pop Twinkies are here for a limited time! @hostess_snacks Being a big fan of Orange Creme flavor and not being such a big fan of Twinkies, I wasn't sure what to expect. Could Hostess pull it off? Will this combo work? YES and YES. This is the same spongy golden cake but this time Hostess stuffed the Twinkies with an Orange Creme Filling which is good...no its really good. Not that I'm well versed in past Twinkie flavors but these are my favorite. So if you're a fan of Twinkies and Orange Creme and you see these at your local grocery store, do yourself a favor and pick 'em up. 👉🏻SWIPE FOR CREME👈🏻 . .. ... #orangecreme #twinkies #cake #cupcake #orange #snack #dessertporn #delicious #candy #sweetooth #healthychoices #foodstagram #munchies #eat #food #foodie #instasnack #instagood #yummy #nomnom #snacks #foodstagram #foods #iifym #summertime #limited #summer #dessert #junkfood #healthylifestyle A post shared by Fueled By Munchies (@fueledbymunchies) on Jul 1, 2019 at 4:18pm PDT ORIGINAL POST: May 23, 2019 at 10:12 a.m. Between Dairy Queen’s Dreamsicle Dipped Cone and Twizzlers’ Orange Cream Pop candy, this summer has already earned its creamsicle-themed title. The orange-and-vanilla-flavored cream bar will soon come in Twinkies version, so yes, now summer can start. The Twinkies Orange Crème Pop from Hostess were first revealed by Instagram account @threesnackateers. According to the packaging, the golden sponge cake has an orange crème filling. Story continues At this point, this is the only photo we have of the limited-edition flavor. However, Instacart has the treat listed on its website, sans picture, describing the same Twinkies. So that has us believing it’ll be here sooner rather than later. View this post on Instagram 🔥COMING SOON! Orange Creme Pop Twinkies. These are limited edition so be on the lookout in early July. ⠀ Are you excited for these? Leave a comment below! 👇⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ #sweettreats #sweettooth #sugarrush #desserttime⠀ #foodhunting #foodhunter #foodiefinds #foodhunt⠀ #eatingfortheinsta #tryitordiet #feastagram #devourpower #foodielife #hungryformore #dailyfood #tastethisnext #foodgawker #eatfamous #chicagofoodie #threesnackateers #twinkie #twinkies #junkfood #heresmyfood #snacking #snackideas #snacktime #snackfood #snackattack #fortheloveoffood @hostess_snacks A post shared by ThreeSnackateers.com (@threesnackateers) on May 22, 2019 at 2:05pm PDT “COMING SOON!” the caption says. “Orange Crème Pop Twinkies. These are limited edition so be on the lookout in early July.” People are already getting excited for the flavor. “This just may be the first Twinkie I will ever try,” one commenter said. If the orange crème looks familiar, you might be thinking of Hostess’ Halloween-themed Twinkies with Orange S’Cream Filling . However, those were a golden sponge cake with orange-flavored creamy filling. So we’re expecting these new ones to have more of a crème flavor than just orange. We’ll keep you updated on the Twinkies Orange Crème Pop snack, because — trust us — we’re just us curious as you are. Read More: There’s a New Twinkies Pudding Kit That’s a Perfect Dessert You Can Get Twinkies Coffee in Stores, and 3 More Hostess Flavors Hostess Has a Strawberry Twinkies Flavor, and the Inside Is So Pretty Follow BestProducts.com on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , and Pinterest ! ('You Might Also Like',) 44 GIFT IDEAS THAT’LL TOTALLY IMPRESS YOUR WIFE These Tasty Canned Wines Mean You'll Never Need a Corkscrew Again If You're Lacking Closet Space, It's Time to Get a Storage Bed
EMERGING MARKETS-Mexican peso up as Trump rules out tariffs; broader Latam FX weakens July 2 (Reuters) - Most Latin American currencies dipped on Tuesday as optimism around U.S.-China trade talks faded, while the Mexican peso gained on reports U.S. President Donald Trump had held off imposing tariffs on Mexico. The peso jumped about 0.4% to 19.07 per dollar after media reports https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-01/trump-says-mexico-tariffs-off-the-table-after-immigration-help said Trump praised Mexico's efforts to curb Central American migrants crossing into the United States and added that tariffs on the Latin American country's imports were off the table. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday thanked Trump for holding off on tariffs. CI Banco analysts pinned the peso's appreciation on Trump's comments and expect the currency to trade between 19.02 and 19.15 to the dollar during the session. The Brazilian real fell about 0.6% following a global surge in risk assets on Monday after the United States and China agreed to get back to negotiating their long-drawn trade dispute, which has roiled for financial markets. The tone, however, changed on Tuesday as Trump said any deal would need to be somewhat tilted in favor of the United States, arguing that China has long had a trade advantage. In Brazil, investors are awaiting lawmaker Samuel Moreira's presentation of proposed changes to the government's pension reform bill in a congressional committee later in the day. "We're optimistic on approval by the committee this week, though less certain about a plenary vote this month," Citi analysts wrote in a note. The Colombian, the Chilean and the Argentine pesos all dipped slightly. Brazil's main Bovespa stock index fell half a percent, dragged down by banking shares. The MSCI index of Latin American stocks was down more than 1 percent. Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1401 GMT Stock indexes daily % Latest change MSCI Emerging Markets 1062.90 -0.11 MSCI LatAm 2829.88 -1.29 Brazil Bovespa 100786.38 -0.55 Mexico IPC 43482.68 0.1 Chile IPSA - - Argentina MerVal - - Colombia IGBC 12605.08 -0.01 Currencies daily % change Latest Brazil real 3.8673 -0.64 Mexico peso 19.0760 0.21 Chile peso 680.6 -0.15 Colombia peso 3206.53 -0.16 Peru sol - - Argentina peso 42.5900 -0.52 (interbank) (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Susan Mathew in Bengaluru)
Does Safehold's (NYSE:SAFE) Share Price Gain of 59% Match Its Business Performance? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! These days it's easy to simply buy an index fund, and your returns should (roughly) match the market. But you can significantly boost your returns by picking above-average stocks. For example, theSafehold Inc.(NYSE:SAFE) share price is up 59% in the last year, clearly besting than the market return of around 6.0% (not including dividends). If it can keep that out-performance up over the long term, investors will do very well! Safehold hasn't been listed for long, so it's still not clear if it is a long term winner. Check out our latest analysis for Safehold To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement. Safehold boasted truly magnificent EPS growth in the last year. We don't think the exact number is a good guide to the sustainable growth rate, but we do think this sort of increase is impressive. So we'd expect to see the share price higher. Strong growth like this can be evidence of a fundamental inflection point in the business, making it a good time to investigate the stock more closely. You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values). 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. Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination ofhistoric growth trends, available here.. As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, Safehold's TSR for the last year was 63%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted thetotalshareholder return. It's nice to see that Safehold shareholders have gained 63% over the last year, including dividends. And the share price momentum remains respectable, with a gain of 36% in the last three months. Demand for the stock from multiple parties is pushing the price higher; it could be that word is getting out about its virtues as a business. 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.
Russia’s largest bank to abandon national blockchain project, but remains open to alternatives like Quorum Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, is leaving a blockchain project backed by Russia’s central bank, citing slow development and lack of efficiency,CoinDesk writes. The Russian central bank helped launch Masterchain in 2017, onboarding five of Russia's largest banks. The deployment of Masterchain's mortgage pilot was originally scheduled for this month, following trials. But Sberbank’s head of blockchain lab, Oleg Abdrashitov, said the bank had decided to leave the project because it is proving “inefficient, insecure and slow.” For instance, it reportedly takes three minutes to upload a 30-kilobyte zip file containing one mortgage bond onto Masterchain, using an architecture similar to Ethereum's but in a permissioned setting. Abdrashitov also said the project has become too centralised since it “fully depends on the FinTech Association’s central server, that controls mining and consensus.” Due to a small number of nodes, he also sees potential security issues. “Proof-of-work systems are good for thousands of participants, but if there are only five, it’s easy for one of them to rewrite the ledger,” Abdrashitov said. Still, Sberbank is not giving up on blockchain technology altogether. It is now lookingto work on other enterprise platforms like Hyperledger Fabric or Quorum.
The Seacoast Banking of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Share Price Has Gained 136%, So Why Not Pay It Some Attention? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! The most you can lose on any stock (assuming you don't use leverage) is 100% of your money. But on the bright side, if you buy shares in a high quality company at the right price, you can gain well over 100%. Long termSeacoast Banking Corporation of Florida(NASDAQ:SBCF) shareholders would be well aware of this, since the stock is up 136% in five years. It's also up 10% in about a month. But this could be related to good market conditions -- stocks in its market are up 7.5% in the last month. See our latest analysis for Seacoast Banking of Florida While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Seacoast Banking of Florida's earnings per share are down 8.8% per year, despite strong share price performance over five years. Essentially, it doesn't seem likely that investors are focused on EPS. Because earnings per share don't seem to match up with the share price, we'll take a look at other metrics instead. On the other hand, Seacoast Banking of Florida's revenue is growing nicely, at a compound rate of 22% over the last five years. In that case, the company may be sacrificing current earnings per share to drive growth. The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail). It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. You can see what analysts are predicting for Seacoast Banking of Florida in thisinteractivegraph of future profit estimates. Seacoast Banking of Florida shareholders are down 20% for the year, but the market itself is up 8.4%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 19% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. Most investors take the time to check the data on insider transactions. You canclick here to see if insiders have been buying or selling. If you are like me, then you willnotwant to miss thisfreelist of growing companies that insiders are buying. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Shop Kate Middleton's Ray-Ban Sunglasses at Nordstrom Right Now Photo credit: Getty Images From Prevention Kate Middleton was spotted at Wimbledon today watching British tennis player Harriet Dart play against Christina McHale. The Duchess of Cambridge attends Wimbledon annually and is a patron of the All England Tennis and Croquet Club. Kate rocked a white shirt dress by Suzannah and wore a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses, which you can get at Nordstrom. Kate Middleton has been a longtime tennis fan, and she doesn't miss a chance to attend Wimbledon every year. In fact, the Duchess of Cambridge is a patron of the All England Tennis and Croquet Club. Today, Kate stepped out to watch Harriet Dart and Christina McHale play, and she we couldn't help but admire her game day outfit. Kate wore a white shirt dress by Suzannah with a waist-cinching black bow belt and accessorized it with an Alexander McQueen basket box bag and a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarer II 55mm Sunglasses . (If you prefer tortoise shell, shop those here .) Ray-Ban is known for creating stylish and sophisticated sunglasses, and their iconic Wayfarer style has been a bestseller for years. Photo credit: Karwai Tang - Getty Images These lightweight frames have a subtle cat-eye shape and smart crystal lenses that offer 100 percent UV protection. If you don't wear sunglasses, now is a good time to start. They actually help prevent sun damage on your eyes and reduce the risk of skin cancer around the eyes. When shopping for sunglasses, it's best to look for lenses with 100 percent UV protection because they guard against both UVA and UVB rays. UVA rays have longer wavelengths and pass through glasses, and UVB rays are the worst for your skin, so wearing sunglasses and sunscreen are the best defense against them. These Ray-Ban sunglasses check all the boxes and have a wide enough frame to shield your under-eye and brow area from the sun. The pair at Nordstrom is available in a Striped Havana design, but if you prefer a black pair like the Duchess, you can go for this slightly different pair from Ray-Ban . It has thinner, metal arms and features a keyhole bridge to help contour your face. Bonus: They also offer 100 percent UV protection. Story continues Serena Williams faces Italian tennis player Giulia Gatto-Monticone later today, so we can only hope to see her bestie and Kate's sister-in-law, Meghan Markle, make an appearance. We loved seeing the Duchess duo watch the semi-final games last year. Game, set, match! Photo credit: Charlotte Wilson/Offside - Getty Images Stay updated on the latest science-backed health, fitness, and nutrition news by signing up for the Prevention.com newsletter here . For added fun, follow us on Instagram . ('You Might Also Like',) The Best Yoga Mats, According to Top Yoga Instructors The Shockingly Simple Diet Change This Woman Made to Drop 54 Pounds Losing Stubborn Belly Fat Really Comes Down to These Two Lifestyle Changes
Top Ranked Income Stocks to Buy for July 2nd Here are three stocks with buy rank and strong income characteristics for investors to consider today, July 2nd: BHP Group(BBL): This explorer and developer of oil and gas propertieshas witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 5.8% over the last 60 days. Best Buy Co., Inc. Price and Consensus Best Buy Co., Inc. price-consensus-chart \| Best Buy Co., Inc. Quote This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company has a dividend yield of 4.28%, compared with the industry average of 0.00%. Its five-year average dividend yield is 5.19%. Best Buy Co., Inc. Dividend Yield (TTM) Best Buy Co., Inc. dividend-yield-ttm \| Best Buy Co., Inc. Quote Atlantica Yield plc(AY): This owner of renewable energy, natural gas power, electric transmission lines and water assets has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 6.1% over the last 60 days. Atlantica Yield PLC Price and Consensus Atlantica Yield PLC price-consensus-chart \| Atlantica Yield PLC Quote This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company has a dividend yield of 6.91%, compared with the industry average of 2.89%. Its five-year average dividend yield is 5.36%. Atlantica Yield PLC Dividend Yield (TTM) Atlantica Yield PLC dividend-yield-ttm \| Atlantica Yield PLC Quote Best Buy Co., Inc.(BBY): This retailer of technology products, services, and solutions has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 1.4% over the last 60 days. Best Buy Co., Inc. Price and Consensus Best Buy Co., Inc. price-consensus-chart \| Best Buy Co., Inc. Quote This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company has a dividend yield of 2.76%, compared with the industry average of 0.00%. Its five-year average dividend yield is 2.61%. Best Buy Co., Inc. Dividend Yield (TTM) Best Buy Co., Inc. dividend-yield-ttm \| Best Buy Co., Inc. Quote See thefull list of top ranked stocks here. Find more top income stocks withsome of our great premium screens. This Could Be the Fastest Way to Grow Wealth in 2019 Research indicates one sector is poised to deliver a crop of the best-performing stocks you'll find anywhere in the market. Breaking news in this space frequently creates quick double- and triple-digit profit opportunities. These companies are changing the world – and owning their stocks could transform your portfolio in 2019 and beyond. Recent trades from this sector have generated +98%, +119% and +164% gains in as little as 1 month. Click here to see these breakthrough stocks now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportBest Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) : Free Stock Analysis ReportBHP Billiton PLC (BBL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAtlantica Yield PLC (AY) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
3 Reasons to Buy Disney Stock Now Disney(NYSE:DIS) is performing like a well-oiled machine in 2019.Avengers: Endgamescored one of the highest box office takes of all time and Disney’s films contributed to a third of Hollywood’s entire haul this year. With a few more blockbusters set to release, Disney could have a record year on the silver screen. But it’s not just movies that could impact the price of Disney stock. Source:Baron Valium via Flickr Disney’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming options will put the squeeze on its competitors as Disney+ launches with a “who’s who” of established franchises. Also, with full control over Hulu, Disney has a competitive edge in the streaming space. Then there’s their entire Parks & Resorts division, which DIS is beefing up across the board. Let’s take a look at the three best reasons to invest in Disney stock today: InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips The direct-to-consumer streaming market is about to consolidate big-time. Consumers looking to un-tether themselves from traditional cable have plenty of options, from services such asNetflix(NASDAQ:NFLX) andAmazon(NASDAQ:AMZN) Prime Video to platforms likeRoku(NASDAQ:ROKU). Disney finally unveiled its streaming service, Disney+, which will launch in November 2019. Disney+ is the media giant’s tourniquet to staunch the bleeding of its Media Networks division, which has trended lower due to cord-cutting. • 7 F-Rated Stocks to Sell for Summer InvestorPlacecontributor Luke Lango sees the priority shift to DTC having ahuge impact on Disney stock: “It basically says that Disney can become a huge DTC player without entirely sacrificing its traditional media business. Consequently, as the DTC pivot accelerates for the rest of 2019, investors will turn their attention from cord-cutting losses, to DTC sub adds — and that sentiment shift will push DIS stock higher.” In the current streaming landscape, competition hasn’t been much of a factor. Netflix, Prime Video, and Hulu can all coexist as consumers load up on subscriptions to watch original content. While that isn’t going away, the stakes are becoming higher. Consider that Netflix has already begun offloading Disney-owned franchises, such as its original lineup of Marvel shows. As Disney — and other rivals likeComcast(NASDAQ:CMCSA) — hit the gas on their own full-blown streaming services, more of that content will be offloaded from Netflix and other services to live in individual ecosystems. That’s not a massive concern for Netflix, until you throw in the added bonus of price increases. Consumers love choice but they will become more price conscious and selective when the cost of owning multiple streaming services exceeds the cable bill they seek to cut. Despite introducing a new platform to entice cord-cutters now, Disney is no stranger to streaming media. The House of Mouse already runs Disney Life in the U.K., has ESPN+ for its sports content and owns the lion’s share of Hulu. With majority ownership, we’re going to see a one-two punch from Disney+ and Hulu in terms of original programming. And Disney has established brands out the wazoo. Hulu already has a massive installed base, too, so it’s not starting from scratch. With so much content across several platforms, there’s no shortage of ways Disney can create synergies, including a Disney+ bundle. We can’t forget about Disney’s amusement parks, which bring in more than 40% of the company’s revenues. Last year, Disney began pouring cash into its parks and resorts to give its six theme park resorts a major facelift. In fact, the company spent more money building out its current attractions than it was spending on Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm together. Recently, Disney launched Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland, and will launch Galaxy’s Edge at Disney World later this summer. Expect this and Disney’s other expansions to supercharge Disney’s already-booming parks business. In an article from February 2019,InvestorPlacewriter Bret Kenwell spells outthe bull thesis for DIS: “But a strong economy translates to more than just park sales. It means more little kids dressing up as Avengers and Elsa fromFrozenfor Halloween. It means more toy sales — which also benefits Disney’s partnerHasbro(NASDAQ:HAS) — around the holidays and more outings to the theater. No matter how you slice it, a strong economy is good for Disney.” So far in 2019, DIS stock is up nearly 32%. Despite these gains, DIS trades at a relatively muted 15.8x earnings. I wouldn’t hesitate to scoop shares of Disney here, and I definitely would not freeze at the notion of buying DIS stock at a discount if and when it pulls back. This is a stock you’ll want to buy and hold for the long-term. John Kilhefner is the Managing Editor of InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, Kilhefner did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. • 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid • 7 F-Rated Stocks to Sell for Summer • 7 Stocks to Buy for the Same Price as Beyond Meat • 7 Penny Marijuana Stocks That Are NOT Cheap Stocks The post3 Reasons to Buy Disney Stock Nowappeared first onInvestorPlace.
Should You Be Worried About Insider Transactions At Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW)? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares inCalavo Growers, Inc.(NASDAQ:CVGW). It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market. Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.' Check out our latest analysis for Calavo Growers The Chairman, Lecil Cole, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$10m worth of shares at a price of US$105 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$95.81. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign. We note that in the last year insiders divested 263k shares for a total of US$26m. Insiders in Calavo Growers didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction! If you are like me, then you willnotwant to miss thisfreelist of growing companies that insiders are buying. Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Calavo Growers. In total, insiders dumped US$11m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain. I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Calavo Growers insiders own 6.7% of the company, currently worth about US$113m based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders. Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at thisFREEreport showing analyst forecasts for Calavo Growers. But note:Calavo Growers may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Sterling dips on Carney's bleak forecast for UK and global economy Bank of England governor Mark Carney. Photo: Press Association The pound dipped below $1.26 to a two-week low against the dollar after the Bank of England struck a gloomy tone on the future of the global economy. BoE governor Mark Carney warned on Tuesday US-China trade tensions could “shipwreck the global economy” if every proposed tariff were implemented. The tarriffs, he said, could hammer business confidence as Brexit has in the UK. The pound dipped sharply as the governor also suggested “damaging” global trade tensions could be here to stay in his speech at around 3pm local time. Carney told the Local Government Association conference in Bournemouth trade tensions could be “far more pervasive, persistent, and damaging than previously expected,” adding that the “rationales for action are broadening.” READ MORE: Hammond says no-deal Brexit would cost Treasury a £90bn ‘hit’ “The longer current tensions persist, the greater the risk that protectionism becomes the norm. Once raised, tariffs are usually slow to be lowered,” he said. He said in a worst-case scenario, US-China tariffs and lower business confidence in both countries could wipe as much as 1% off UK growth. Carney said the weak global economy was starting to hit UK growth just as recent economic data suggested the damage to business from Brexit uncertainty was “intensifying.” Sterling was down almost 0.4% against the dollar after a day of grim figures on the health of the UK economy. Hope that US-China trade tensions will ease is also growing among investors. Carney said a no-deal Brexit was a “growing possibility” but “not a certainty,” reiterating his view that the Bank had to acknowledge both Tory leadership candidates’ stated preference for a smoother Brexit. The downbeat comments come as: Figures from a key index on the UK construction industry suggest it suffered its worst month since the financial crisis in June. Britain’s property market is still “subdued,” with prices inching up just 0.1% between May and June, according to the Nationwide house price index. Small firms are struggling to invest, hire, and increase productivity while the future of Brexit remains in limbo, with seven in 10 holding back investment, a survey by the Federation of Small Business shows. Chancellor Philip Hammond warned Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt a no-deal Brexit could blow open a huge hole in public finances, with official figures predicting a £90bn “hit” to the Treasury.
Do Investors Have Good Reason To Be Wary Of Chicago Rivet & Machine Co.'s (NYSEMKT:CVR) 4.3% Dividend Yield? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Is Chicago Rivet & Machine Co. (NYSEMKT:CVR) a good dividend stock? How can we tell? Dividend paying companies with growing earnings can be highly rewarding in the long term. Yet sometimes, investors buy a popular dividend stock because of its yield, and then lose money if the company's dividend doesn't live up to expectations. With Chicago Rivet & Machine yielding 4.3% and having paid a dividend for over 10 years, many investors likely find the company quite interesting. It would not be a surprise to discover that many investors buy it for the dividends. When buying stocks for their dividends, you should always run through the checks below, to see if the dividend looks sustainable. Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Chicago Rivet & Machine! Companies (usually) pay dividends out of their earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, the dividend might have to be cut. As a result, we should always investigate whether a company can afford its dividend, measured as a percentage of a company's net income after tax. Looking at the data, we can see that 52% of Chicago Rivet & Machine's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. This is a healthy payout ratio, and while it does limit the amount of earnings that can be reinvested in the business, there is also some room to lift the payout ratio over time. Another important check we do is to see if the free cash flow generated is sufficient to pay the dividend. Last year, Chicago Rivet & Machine paid a dividend while reporting negative free cash flow. While there may be an explanation, we think this behaviour is generally not sustainable. Remember, you can always get a snapshot of Chicago Rivet & Machine's latest financial position,by checking our visualisation of its financial health. Before buying a stock for its income, we want to see if the dividends have been stable in the past, and if the company has a track record of maintaining its dividend. Chicago Rivet & Machine 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 the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was US$0.72 in 2009, compared to US$1.18 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 5.1% a year over that time. A reasonable rate of dividend growth is good to see, but we're wary that the dividend history is not as solid as we'd like, having been cut at least once. Examining whether the dividend is affordable and stable is important. However, it's also important to assess if earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Over the long term, dividends need to grow at or above the rate of inflation, in order to maintain the recipient's purchasing power. In the last five years, Chicago Rivet & Machine's earnings per share have shrunk at approximately 8.6% per annum. If earnings continue to decline, the dividend may come under pressure. Every investor should make an assessment of whether the company is taking steps to stabilise the situation. Dividend investors should always want to know if a) a company's dividends are affordable, b) if there is a track record of consistent payments, and c) if the dividend is capable of growing. First, the company has a payout ratio that was within an average range for most dividend stocks, but it paid out virtually all of its generated cash flow. Earnings per share are down, and Chicago Rivet & Machine's dividend has been cut at least once in the past, which is disappointing. In this analysis, Chicago Rivet & Machine doesn't shape up too well as a dividend stock. We'd find it hard to look past the flaws, and would not be inclined to think of it as a reliable dividend-payer. Now, if you want to look closer, it would be worth checking out ourfreeresearch on Chicago Rivet & Machinemanagement tenure, salary, and performance. We have also put together alist of global stocks with a market capitalisation above $1bn and yielding more 3%. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
FOREX-Dollar eases as U.S.-China trade optimism wanes, economic headwinds rise * U.S. threatens to slap more tariffs on EU goods * JP Morgan gauge of manufacturing falls to lowest in 7 years * RBA cuts rates, turns neutral; Aussie dollar up * Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh (Updates prices, adds new comment, FX table, changes byline, dateline; previous LONDON) By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK, July 2 (Reuters) - The dollar slipped from two-week highs on Tuesday, as optimism about easing trade tensions between the United States and China faded, even as U.S. President Donald Trump turned his attention to the European Union with threats of additional tariffs. The Australian dollar, meanwhile, led all gainers on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates, as expected, but signalled a more balanced outlook. Washington threatened to slap tariffs on $4 billion of additional EU goods, ramping up the pressure on Europe in a long-running dispute over aircraft subsidies. "Dollar gains stemming from trade developments are likely to come in fits and starts given that the outlook for a meaningful agreement remains elusive," said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions in Washington. Risky assets overall struggled to gain momentum after Monday's relief rally, with weak manufacturing surveys pointing to global economic headwinds. JPMorgan's gauge of global manufacturing fell to its weakest in almost seven years, showing contraction for the second month in a row, while Morgan Stanleyâ€™s surveys showed world manufacturing shrinking for the first time since 2016. Against a basket of its rivals, the dollar was 0.1% lower at 96.70 and not far from a three-month low of 95.84 hit last week, as traders priced in aggressive interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve of at least three times by the end of the year. The global investor spotlight will move to data on U.S. non-farm payrolls on Friday, which economists expect to have risen by 160,000 in June, compared with a 75,000 increase in May. EURO BOUNCES The euro got a brief boost after a media report said the European Central Bank was in no rush to cut interest rates at a July policy meeting. The single currency was last slightly up at $1.1289. Though central bank officials are divided on the timing of the next policy move, market gauges of interest rates have increased the odds of an ECB cut later this month, thanks to a global drop in bond yields. With volatility subdued - for example, an index measuring broad currency moves is near a record low - and central banks in easing mode, markets are ultra sensitive to any slight tweak in policy settings. The Australian dollar was the sole spot of strength in the currency market, rising 0.4% to US$0.6995 after the RBA lowered interest rates by 25 basis points to a record low of 1.00%, matching economists' expectations. It said it would lower rates again "if needed," a phrase some analysts took to mean that an additional rate cut was less likely than previously thought. ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 10:11AM (1411 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1291 $1.1285 +0.05% -1.55% +1.1319 +1.1276 Dollar/Yen JPY= 108.2400 108.4300 -0.18% -1.83% +108.4700 +108.1200 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 122.22 122.37 -0.12% -3.17% +122.5200 +122.1600 Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9881 0.9874 +0.07% +0.68% +0.9888 +0.9865 Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2606 1.2638 -0.25% -1.18% +1.2652 +1.2606 Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3120 1.3134 -0.11% -3.79% +1.3138 +1.3108 Australian/Doll AUD= 0.6990 0.6965 +0.36% -0.84% +0.7000 +0.6958 ar Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.1158 1.1144 +0.13% -0.85% +1.1172 +1.1131 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8953 0.8926 +0.30% -0.35% +0.8966 +0.8921 NZ NZD= 0.6665 0.6669 -0.06% -0.77% +0.6680 +0.6657 Dollar/Dollar Dollar/Norway NOK= 8.5698 8.5799 -0.12% -0.80% +8.5894 +8.5453 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.6766 9.6825 -0.06% -2.32% +9.6918 +9.6660 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.3339 9.3598 -0.23% +4.13% +9.3642 +9.3247 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.5387 10.5625 -0.23% +2.68% +10.5745 +10.5348 (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Additional reporting by Saikat Chatterjee in London; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
Why Shares of Greenbrier Derailed on Tuesday What happened Shares of the Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX) fell more than 11% on Tuesday morning after the railcar manufacturer reported quarterly results that missed expectations and lowered its outlook for the current quarter. So what Before markets opened on Tuesday, Greenbrier reported fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.89 per share on revenue of $856.15 million, falling short of the consensus expectation for $0.95 per share in earnings on revenue of $862 million. The company, in a statement, blamed the miss on issues with its international divisions, saying Greenbrier's Brazil operations "are being right-sized for the current demand environment" ahead of an expected pickup in orders starting in 2020. Europe has also been slower than expected. Rail tanker cars lined up on the track. Image source: Getty Images. Management has a lot on its plate right now as it begins planning for its proposed $400 million acquisition of rival American Railcar Industries . The transaction, which would combine the second- and third-largest North American railcar producers, would give the combination better economies of scale and a more diversified product portfolio and geographic footprint. The benefits of the deal will take time to materialize. Greenbrier warned it expects fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of between $1.30 and $1.50 per share on revenue of $1 billion, short of current expectations for $1.89 per share in earnings on revenue of $1.1 billion. Now what This was not a great quarter, but the reaction seems overdone. Greenbrier recorded orders for 6,500 units in the quarter, one of the better quarters for orders in recent memories. And gross margin in the quarter, at 12.4%, was up from 8.2% from the quarter prior. Greenbrier ended the quarter with a backlog of 26,100 units valued at $2.7 billion. Management is expecting a turnaround in both Europe and Brazil heading into 2020, which should help boost earnings if it materializes and bridge the gap before North American efficiencies from the American Railcar Industries deal kick in. Story continues Shares of Greenbrier have now lost 48% over the past 12 months. The company appears to be on the right track, but it's going to take more than another quarter to reach its destination. More From The Motley Fool 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today Lou Whiteman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
S&P 500 Hits New High to Start 2H: Top-Ranked ETFs to Buy Further, the hopes of easy money policies by the Federal Reserve as well as waves of mergers & acquisitions will continue to drive the stocks higher.While there are several options to play on the bullish trends, we present five top-ranked ETFs that outperformed the market in the first half and will continue to do so given their solid Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF XSDThis fund targets semiconductor segment of the broad technology sector. It tracks the S&P Semiconductor Select Industry Index, holding 35 stocks in its portfolio. It is widely spread across a number of securities with each holding less than 3.5% share. The fund has AUM of $291.2 million and charges 35 bps in fees per year. It trades in average daily volume of 116,000 shares and has gained 34.6% so far this year. XSD carries a Zacks ETF Rank #2 with a High risk outlook.Invesco DWA Technology Momentum ETF PTFThis fund follows the Dorsey Wright Technology Technical Leaders Index and provides exposure to technology companies that are showing relative strength (momentum). Holding 39 stocks in the basket, the product is widely diversified across components with each accounting for less than 7.5% of the assets. It has AUM of $211.6 million and charges 60 bps in annual fees. It trades in average daily volume of 23,000 shares and has risen 39.7% in the same time frame. PTF has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 with a High risk outlook (read: 5 Sector ETFs That Beat the Market in the First Half).Invesco DWA Industrials Momentum ETF PRNThis fund provides exposure to 40 companies by tracking the Dorsey Wright Industrials Technical Leaders Index. It is well balanced across each security with none accounting for more than 4.6% share in the basket. In terms of industrial exposure, aerospace and defense, IT services, machinery and building products make up the top four. The fund has amassed $126.3 million in its asset base and charges 60 bps in annual fees. It trades in average daily volume of 4,000 shares and has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 with a Medium risk outlook. PRN is up 31.9% so far this year.Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund XLYThis is the largest and the most popular product in the consumer discretionary space with AUM of $13.8 billion and average daily volume of around 4.8 million shares. It tracks the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector Index and holds 63 securities with higher concentration on the top firm – Amazon AMZN – at 23.1%. Other firms make up for a nice mix with each holding no more than 10.3% of the assets. From a sector look, Internet & direct marketing retail takes the top spot with 28.9% of the assets, followed by specialty retail (25.4%), and hotels restaurants & leisure (21.3%). The fund charges 13 bps in fees per year and has gained 22.3% so far this year. It has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 with a Medium risk outlook.Vanguard Growth ETF VUGThis ETF provides exposure to the growth corner of the large cap segment by tracking the CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index. It holds 301 stocks in its basket with none accounting for more than 7.8% share. Technology and consumer services are the top two sectors with 33.8% and 20.2% share, respectively. The fund has AUM of $40.8 billion and average daily volume of nearly 858,000 shares. It charges 4 bps in fees per year and has returned about 23.5% so far this year. VUG has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 with a Medium risk outlook (read: All Eyes on the G-20 Summit: ETFs to Gain).Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox?Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >> Click to get this free reportAmazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportVanguard Growth ETF (VUG): ETF Research ReportsConsumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY): ETF Research ReportsSPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD): ETF Research ReportsInvesco DWA Industrials Momentum ETF (PRN): ETF Research ReportsInvesco DWA Technology Momentum ETF (PTF): ETF Research ReportsTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCHN) Is An Attractive Dividend Stock - Here's Why Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Dividend paying stocks like Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCHN) tend to be popular with investors, and for good reason - some research suggests a significant amount of all stock market returns come from reinvested dividends. Yet sometimes, investors buy a stock for its dividend and lose money because the share price falls by more than they earned in dividend payments. A 2.8% yield is nothing to get excited about, but investors probably think the long payment history suggests Schnitzer Steel Industries has some staying power. The company also bought back stock during the year, equivalent to approximately 3.8% of the company's market capitalisation at the time. There are a few simple ways to reduce the risks of buying Schnitzer Steel Industries for its dividend, and we'll go through these below. Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Schnitzer Steel Industries! Companies (usually) pay dividends out of their earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, the dividend might have to be cut. So we need to form a view on if a company's dividend is sustainable, relative to its net profit after tax. In the last year, Schnitzer Steel Industries paid out 20% of its profit as dividends. We'd say its dividends are thoroughly covered by earnings. Another important check we do is to see if the free cash flow generated is sufficient to pay the dividend. Of the free cash flow it generated last year, Schnitzer Steel Industries paid out 27% as dividends, suggesting the dividend is affordable. It's positive to see that Schnitzer Steel Industries'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. We update our data on Schnitzer Steel Industries every 24 hours, so you can always getour latest analysis of its financial health, here. Before buying a stock for its income, we want to see if the dividends have been stable in the past, and if the company has a track record of maintaining its dividend. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of Schnitzer Steel Industries's dividend payments. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was US$0.068 in 2009, compared to US$0.75 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 27% 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 Schnitzer Steel Industries has done it, which we really like. Examining whether the dividend is affordable and stable is important. However, it's also important to assess if earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Over the long term, dividends need to grow at or above the rate of inflation, in order to maintain the recipient's purchasing power. It's good to see Schnitzer Steel Industries has been growing its earnings per share at 69% a year over the past 5 years. Earnings per share have grown rapidly, and the company is retaining a majority of its earnings. We think this is ideal from an investment perspective, if the company is able to reinvest these earnings effectively. Dividend investors should always want to know if a) a company's dividends are affordable, b) if there is a track record of consistent payments, and c) if the dividend is capable of growing. Firstly, we like that Schnitzer Steel Industries has low and conservative payout ratios. That said, we were glad to see it growing earnings and paying a fairly consistent dividend. All these things considered, we think this organisation has a lot going for it from a dividend perspective. Companies that are growing earnings tend to be the best dividend stocks over the long term. See what the 3 analysts we track are forecasting for Schnitzer Steel Industriesfor freewith publicanalyst 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.
Is Intel Stock About to Get Burned by Microsoft? For the past five years, if you wanted to buyMicrosoft’s(NASDAQ:MSFT) Surface, you indirectly dealt withIntel(NASDAQ:INTC). That’s because the latter supplied chips for the former’s hybrid-tablet product. However, this relationship might change. If you own Intel stock, it’s a reason for concern. Here’s why. Source: Shutterstock At the moment, it’s only a rumor. However, if the rumor is accurate, Microsoft is negotiating with bothAdvanced Micro Devices(NASDAQ:AMD) andQualcomm(NASDAQ:QCOM). A potential deal would involve these two companies integrating their processors in at least two of Microsoft’s Surface Pro products. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips • 7 F-Rated Stocks to Sell for Summer According toPetri.com’s Microsoft expert Brad Sams, the Seattle-based company is dissatisfied with Intel’s recent products. That dissatisfaction apparently led management to consider diversifying away from Intel to other chipmakers such as AMD and Qualcomm. Sams stated in a recent report. With Skylake, Microsoft got burned by the immaturity between Windows and the chips which resulted in faulty hardware and a serious black eye to the brand’s high-quality reputation. TechRadarcontributor Matt Hansonremindedhis readers recently that Microsoft is using AMD chips for its new Xbox Scarlett console. Additionally, Qualcomm is working with Microsoft on Windows devices powered by Snapdragon processors. Intel’s loss could be AMD and Qualcomm’s gain. If this negative momentum picks up, it could hurt INTC stock badly. That said, it’s unlikely under any diversification scenario that Microsoft would completely abandon its relationship with Intel. So, it begs the question: is this rumor indeed a problem or a case of making a mountain out of a molehill? AMD continues to make strides under CEO Lisa Su’s excellent leadership and vision. As Istatedat the end of May, since Su has been at the helm of the company (October 2014), AMD stock was up 669%. That’s more than 10 times theSPDR S&P 500 ETF(NYSEARCA:SPY) over the same period. Without question, she’s a difference maker. So, the fact that AMD is making inroads with Microsoft suggests CEO Satya Nadella and the management team view AMD as a legitimate alternative to Intel. That’s not good news for Intel stock. As for Qualcomm, it continues to develophigh-performanceSnapdragon system-on-chip (SoC) processors for Windows-based laptops. Although early results haven’t been great, the fact a second company is breathing down Intel’s neck causes significant concerns. The one thing I’ve learned in my years covering stocks is that the good news isn’t nearly as good as the longs believe. Conversely, the bad news isn’t nearly as bad as the shorts think. Usually, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Thus, it’s not a reason to panic on INTC stock. The fact that Microsoft is working with other companies represents a subtle, but necessary message. Essentially, it’s a way of saying that MSFT expects better products from a company as formidable as Intel. If Intel opens to this constructive criticism, it will get to work, creating products that Microsoft’s Surface customers will appreciate. The other thing to remember is that Surface is a tiny piece of Microsoft’s business. True, Surface products saw revenues increase by 21% in the third quarter (25% excluding currency) to$1.33 billion. However, that only accounted for 4.3% of Microsoft’s $30.6 billion in quarterly revenue. The Surface likely will never be a big part of Microsoft’s business. That role belongs to its cloud business and the various related businesses involving artificial intelligence and machine learning. In other words, the optics for Intel stock are worse than the financial implications. In early June, Irecommendedthat for investors willing to hold Intel stock for the next five years, buying in the mid-$40s wasn’t a bad idea given its prospects. However, for those with a shorter timeframe, I suggested waiting. If INTC fell into the $30 range, it would provide a measure of safety. However, since that article, the Intel stock price has jumped almost 10%, putting the $30s temporarily out of reach. Would I still buy INTC stock for a five-year hold given the Surface rumors? I think I would. At the time of this writing Will Ashworth did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. • 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid • 7 F-Rated Stocks to Sell for Summer • 7 Stocks to Buy for the Same Price as Beyond Meat • 7 Penny Marijuana Stocks That Are NOT Cheap Stocks The postIs Intel Stock About to Get Burned by Microsoft?appeared first onInvestorPlace.
Need To Know: Maxar Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MAXR) Insiders Have Been Buying Shares Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares inMaxar Technologies Inc.(NYSE:MAXR). It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information. Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Columbia Universitystudyfound that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'. See our latest analysis for Maxar Technologies Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by President Daniel Jablonsky for US$103k worth of shares, at about US$5.15 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$7.92. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price. In the last twelve months insiders paid US$337k for 66015 shares purchased. Maxar Technologies may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction! There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at thisfreelist of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them). Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Our data suggests Maxar Technologies insiders own 0.8% of the company, worth about US$4.0m. I generally like to see higher levels of ownership. The fact that there have been no Maxar Technologies insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think Maxar Technologies insiders are doubting the company. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check thisfreereport showing analyst forecasts for its future. Of courseMaxar Technologies may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see thisfreecollection of high quality companies. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
What Does Maintel Holdings Plc’s (LON:MAI) 10% ROCE Say About The Business? Want to participate in a short research study ? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we are going to look at Maintel Holdings Plc ( LON:MAI ) 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. Finally, we'll look at how its current liabilities affect its ROCE. What is Return On Capital Employed (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. All else being equal, a better business will have a higher ROCE. Overall, it is a valuable metric that has its flaws. Author Edwin Whiting says to be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since 'No two businesses are exactly alike.' So, How Do We Calculate ROCE? 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 Maintel Holdings: 0.10 = UK£5.2m ÷ (UK£114m - UK£63m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.) Therefore, Maintel Holdings has an ROCE of 10%. Check out our latest analysis for Maintel Holdings Is Maintel Holdings's ROCE Good? When making comparisons between similar businesses, investors may find ROCE useful. Using our data, Maintel Holdings's ROCE appears to be around the 11% average of the Commercial Services industry. Regardless of where Maintel Holdings sits next to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms appears satisfactory, and this company could be worth a closer look. We can see that , Maintel Holdings currently has an ROCE of 10%, less than the 44% it reported 3 years ago. Therefore we wonder if the company is facing new headwinds. You can click on the image below to see (in greater detail) how Maintel Holdings's past growth compares to other companies. Story continues AIM:MAI Past Revenue and Net Income, July 2nd 2019 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 a free report on analyst forecasts for Maintel Holdings . Do Maintel Holdings's Current Liabilities Skew Its ROCE? Current liabilities include invoices, such as supplier payments, short-term debt, or a tax bill, that need to be paid within 12 months. The ROCE equation subtracts current liabilities from capital employed, so a company with a lot of current liabilities appears to have less capital employed, and a higher ROCE than otherwise. To counter this, investors can check if a company has high current liabilities relative to total assets. Maintel Holdings has total assets of UK£114m and current liabilities of UK£63m. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 55% of its total assets. Maintel Holdings has a relatively high level of current liabilities, boosting its ROCE meaningfully. Our Take On Maintel Holdings's ROCE While its ROCE looks decent, it wouldn't look so good if it reduced current liabilities. Maintel Holdings looks strong on this analysis, but there are plenty of other companies that could be a good opportunity . Here is a free list of companies growing earnings rapidly. If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are 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 at editorial-team@simplywallst.com . This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Broker Efficiency Starts With The Back Office As more signs in the truck freight market point to decreasing demand and excess capacity, brokers are looking for better ways to increase the efficiency of their back-office operations to remain competitive and grow their business. Most brokers require at least one or two employees dedicated to cutting checks, stuffing and sending out envelopes, verifying and approving paperwork, and making sure bank reconciliation matches within their accounting system. If a carrier calls to say its payment is incorrect, they must deal with that resolution process as well. "Imagine having an employee making $15 an hour, and their entire job is to get these invoices processed," Kate Juliao, vice president of operations for TriumphPay, told FreightWaves. "Not only do you have the accounts payable person working on one load, but you may also have the dispatcher and the person responsible for carrier recruitment involved in onboarding the carrier for that load. What's the net profit that a broker makes after using all those individuals to get that load paid? That's why knowing your cost-per-invoice is crucial to producing as many back-office efficiencies as possible." TriumphPay's carrier-payment processing technology's ability to generate cost efficiencies has allowed Cincinnati, Ohio-based truck brokerage Logikor to see a significant reduction in mailing costs. "We tended to be still somewhat check-heavy, whereas TriumphPay's entire ecosystem is built around payments and is very flexible," said Logikor Chief Financial Officer Paul Silk. "Instead of us having to cut 50 checks a day, now there is one pre-authorized debit from TriumphPay. So from a bank reconciliation perspective, it has brought real efficiency to our back office." Silk added that because Logikor feeds load information into TriumphPay's portal, the factoring companies and carriers he uses that log-in to TriumphPay can see that information and conduct rate validations, thereby avoiding having to call Logikor's team. "And that's fantastic, because we're starting to see fewer payment inquiries and fewer load validations where factors are looking for rate inquiries." With less demand on in-house resources – particularly on accounts payable – Salt Lake City, Utah-based brokerage ShipEx Logistics was able to avoid hiring a replacement for an accounts payable employee, and could instead allocate resources to where they would generate revenue. "The back-office efficiencies that TriumphPay brings has allowed us to put a lot more of our efforts into areas that need our immediate attention, or in areas we haven't been able to focus on as much because of the demand on accounts payable that we had before," ShipEx Logistics' director of operations, Jonathan Homer, told FreightWaves. "We can have employees focus instead on collections or work through claims – things that allow us to get money into our system." TriumphPay brings the benefits of being an operating subsidiary of a publicly traded financial institution,Triumph Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:TBK) and a transportation-focused solution with over 70,000 carriers on the platform. Brokers receive the convenience of keeping the transportation management systems (TMS) and accounting systems they currently use. TriumphPay is already fully integrated with several platforms, including MercuryGate, McLeod, Aljex, TMW, Revenova, Oracle, QuickBooks and GreatPlains, with more to follow. It has a development team on staff that can also build custom integrations to support proprietary TMS solutions. Juliao explained that the TriumphPay team takes over once a specific invoice has been approved for payment by the broker's TMS or accounting system. TriumphPay allows carriers to see precisely which approved payments will be coming to them. Before the carrier payment goes out, they can review the amount and the load information that's documented with the specific load and with that particular broker. "That gives carriers an advance preview of what's going to be paid out to them, and the ability to change, if they prefer, from a standard payment term to a QuickPay term," she said. "It takes over much of the manual work that the broker's accounts payable teams are having to deal with." Juliao said that at TriumphPay, technology is considered a way to provide efficiency so that employees can do their jobs better. "We're not going to wake up tomorrow and robots are going to be doing carrier payments. We're providing a way to make employees' jobs more effective." The brokers' carrier partners are noticing that change as well. "Some of these carriers can be quite demanding as far as getting information right away, so it was amazing to see how quickly they bought into the process," Homer said. "Being a carrier is a tough business in itself, and if we can make it easier for them to manage their finances and their operation, that improves them as a carrier and improves the industry, and that's a win for everybody." Image Sourced From Pixabay See more from Benzinga • Commentary: Will Facebook's New Cryptocurrency Be A Good Or Bad Thing? • Greenbrier Misses Expectations And Guidance Much Worse • Geolocation Startup Hoopo Announces Partnership With Polymer Logistics © 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
FBI says nothing dangerous after Facebook sarin scare MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — The FBI says a package that initially tested positive for sarin at a mail facility near Facebook's headquarters in California did not contain any dangerous substance. The FBI says in a statement Tuesday the agency and its law enforcement partners "thoroughly tested the items in question and determined them to be non-hazardous." Authorities put the site under quarantine Monday. Four buildings were evacuated. The suspicious package was delivered around 11 a.m. to one of the company's mail rooms. Workers who handled the package did not report any ill effects. There were no reports of injuries, Menlo Park Fire Marshal Jon Johnston said. Incoming mail undergoing routine processing by machine tested positive for sarin, he said.
An Intrinsic Calculation For Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) Suggests It's 44% Undervalued Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. This is done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple! We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of theSimply Wall St analysis model. View our latest analysis for Graphic Packaging Holding We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars: [{"": "Levered FCF ($, Millions)", "2020": "$521.7m", "2021": "$542.0m", "2022": "$560.9m", "2023": "$579.3m", "2024": "$597.3m", "2025": "$615.1m", "2026": "$633.1m", "2027": "$651.2m", "2028": "$669.5m", "2029": "$688.2m"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2020": "Analyst x4", "2021": "Analyst x1", "2022": "Est @ 3.5%", "2023": "Est @ 3.27%", "2024": "Est @ 3.11%", "2025": "Est @ 2.99%", "2026": "Est @ 2.91%", "2027": "Est @ 2.86%", "2028": "Est @ 2.82%", "2029": "Est @ 2.79%"}, {"": "Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 9.98%", "2020": "$474.3", "2021": "$448.1", "2022": "$421.7", "2023": "$395.9", "2024": "$371.2", "2025": "$347.6", "2026": "$325.3", "2027": "$304.2", "2028": "$284.4", "2029": "$265.8"}] ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= $3.6b The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 10-year government bond rate (2.7%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 10%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$688m × (1 + 2.7%) ÷ (10% – 2.7%) = US$9.8b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= $US$9.8b ÷ ( 1 + 10%)10= $3.77b The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is $7.40b. 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 $25.08. Compared to the current share price of $14.07, the company appears quite undervalued at a 44% 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. 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. 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 Graphic Packaging Holding as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 10%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.217. 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. Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it shouldn’t be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. What is the reason for the share price to differ from the intrinsic value? For Graphic Packaging Holding, I've put together three pertinent aspects you should look at: 1. Financial Health: Does GPK 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 GPK'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 GPK? 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 NYSE 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.
Why Maxar Technologies Stock Popped 16.5% Maxar Technologies(NYSE: MAXR)shareholders have had a miserable 2019, beginning with a January 7 sell-off on news that one ofMaxar's satellites went defunctand ending with a stock down some 66% from its early January price by late March. But there's good news, too! Before it was too late,NASA stepped into throw Maxar a lifeline in the form of a big contract to play a leading role in its Artemis moon project. And now Europe is lending a second helping hand -- in the form of a potential buyout. Maxar stock is up 16.5% as of 10:45 a.m. EDT in response. Image source: Getty Images. So what exactly is Europe doing to "help" Maxar? AsReutersreports today, Italian aerospace company Leonardo SpA and France's Thales SA are "considering" teaming up to buy Maxar's MDA space systems division -- for a price potentially reaching $1 billion or more. Admittedly, as rumors go, this one may be too good to be true. After all, Maxar'sentiremarket cap today is barely half that reported purchase price -- just $540 million. The chances of Leonardo and Thales being willing to pay twice what the market thinks Maxar is worth for only half the business (space systems accounts for roughly half Maxar's revenues, according toS&P Global Market Intelligence, and far less than half the company's profits) seem slim. Still, Leonardo's CEO confirms that the companies are in fact interested in buying MDA atsomeprice. Regardless of how accurate the price rumors are, investors are happy enough just to see that someone in the know thinks there'ssomevalue left to be had in Maxar. That alone seems to be enough to lift Maxar's stock price today -- and if the rumors prove to be anywhere close to accurate, Maxar's stock price could go up even more. More From The Motley Fool • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,728 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • 20 of the Top Stocks to Buy (Including the Two Every Investor Should Own) • What Is an ETF? • 5 Recession-Proof Stocks • How to Beat the Market Rich Smithhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Maxar Technologies Ltd. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Why O'Reilly Automotive, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ORLY) High P/E Ratio Isn't Necessarily A Bad Thing Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! This article is written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). To keep it practical, we'll show how O'Reilly Automotive, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ORLY) P/E ratio could help you assess the value on offer.O'Reilly Automotive has a P/E ratio of 22.38, based on the last twelve months. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 4.5%. Check out our latest analysis for O'Reilly Automotive Theformula for P/Eis: Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS) Or for O'Reilly Automotive: P/E of 22.38 = $374.34 ÷ $16.73 (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.) A higher P/E ratio means that investors are payinga higher pricefor each $1 of company earnings. That isn't a good or a bad thing on its own, but a high P/E means that buyers have a higher opinion of the business's prospects, relative to stocks with a lower P/E. Probably the most important factor in determining what P/E a company trades on is the earnings growth. When earnings grow, the 'E' increases, over time. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. So while a stock may look expensive based on past earnings, it could be cheap based on future earnings. Most would be impressed by O'Reilly Automotive earnings growth of 23% in the last year. And earnings per share have improved by 21% annually, over the last five years. This could arguably justify a relatively high P/E ratio. One good way to get a quick read on what market participants expect of a company is to look at its P/E ratio. You can see in the image below that the average P/E (15.1) for companies in the specialty retail industry is lower than O'Reilly Automotive's P/E. Its relatively high P/E ratio indicates that O'Reilly Automotive shareholders think it will perform better than other companies in its industry classification. The market is optimistic about the future, but that doesn't guarantee future growth. So investors should delve deeper. I like to checkif company insiders have been buying or selling. One drawback of using a P/E ratio is that it considers market capitalization, but not the balance sheet. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future) by investing in growth. That means taking on debt (or spending its cash). Spending on growth might be good or bad a few years later, but the point is that the P/E ratio does not account for the option (or lack thereof). O'Reilly Automotive's net debt is 12% of its market cap. It would probably deserve a higher P/E ratio if it was net cash, since it would have more options for growth. O'Reilly Automotive's P/E is 22.4 which is above average (18.2) in the US market. Its debt levels do not imperil its balance sheet and it is growing EPS strongly. So on this analysis it seems reasonable that its P/E ratio is above average. When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. If the reality for a company is better than it expects, you can make money by buying and holding for the long term. So thisfreevisual report on analyst forecastscould hold the key to an excellent investment decision. Of course,you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates.So take a peek at thisfreelist of companies with modest (or no) debt, trading on a P/E below 20. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
What's Your Retirement Housing Strategy? Getty Images One of the most important aspects of retirement planning is making housing plans. The reality is that you need a place to live in retirement and there are a lot of different options. Furthermore, even if you decide to just keep the status quo and age in place, there are a lot of factors to consider. The home is often a retiree's largest asset, with the median wealth in homes for a 65-year-old couple at $192,552, according to the U.S. Census data. This represents about two-thirds of the median retiree's assets. Furthermore, the home comes with a cost, which is often the largest expense for retirees at nearly $20,000 a year. So let's look at 10 different retirement housing options, ranging from aging in place all the way through nursing home care at the end of life. Written by Jamie Hopkins , Esq., LLM, MBA, CFP®, RICP®. He serves as Director of Retirement Research at Carson Wealth and is a finance professor of practice at Creighton University's Heider College of Business. His most recent book, "Rewirement: Rewiring The Way You Think About Retirement ," details the behavioral finance issues that hold people back from a more financially secure retirement. Aging in Place Getty Images What is it: Roughly 83% of retiree homeowners want to stay in their current home for as long as possible. Pro: The homeowner gets to keep consistency in their life. They know their house, understand the costs associated with it, have an emotional attachment to it, and know the surrounding area. In many cases this can be the most enjoyable and stress-free way to live in retirement. Con: Often retirees have outgrown their current homes. Perhaps they raised a few kids and have a lot of extra maintenance, rooms and costs associated with keeping up the house. While it might work early in retirement, it could become a burden as they age. The current home also might not be friendly for aging in place. The home could have too many stairs, not a lot of senior amenities, and be far away from senior services like health care. Story continues See also: Ways to Make Your Home More Age-Friendly Home Sharing Getty Images What is it: For some homeowners, the desire to age in place is there, but the finances just don't make sense, especially if the person is single. So one option is to take on a roommate. Home sharing is mostly engaged in by women in retirement, with over 4 million senior women sharing a home with at least two other women. There are home-sharing services that help pair up homeowners with potential roommates, both from a financial and compatibility standpoint. Pro: Home sharing can be a great way for a homeowner to age in place, add companionship to their life, and improve their finances. The homeowner is able to charge rent and likely split utilities, which can add much-needed cash flow. Additionally, it allows the homeowner to have someone else live with them who is in a similar stage of life. Con: Not everyone wants to share their home with a stranger or another person. Furthermore, the decision to bring someone into your home carries a bunch of risks. For one, you might not get along. Additionally, there can be a lot of headaches from renting a room if the renter is unable to meet their payments. It can be hard to evict a person, especially a senior. See also: Why Live Alone in Retirement? Form a Pod Instead Relocating/Downsizing Getty Images What is it: When you are working, living close to work is important for many people. However, once you retire, that need is gone. All of a sudden, location desires change. Additionally, the house you were living in might no longer fit your needs, so relocating to a better fit can make sense. Pro: Relocating can help free up home equity and reduce expenses if the homeowner downsizes. It is also possible to move to an area with a lower cost of living or to a state that has lower taxes. Additionally, a benefit of relocating in retirement can be to move closer to family or to improve one's quality of life by moving to warmer weather or closer to recreational activities. Con: Relocating means getting used to a new area and home. Moving always has costs associated with it also, whether it is hiring movers, closing costs or just travel costs. Lastly, if the decision to relocate eventually does not work, it is very hard to undo. See also: Is Downsizing in Retirement Right for You? Renting Getty Images What is it: If you are already renting this would be the status quo. However, for homeowners, one option is to sell the home and rent. In some cases you can engage in a sale-leaseback agreement and sell your current home and continue to rent it back. In other cases, you can sell and move to a new rental location. Pro: By selling and renting, you can free up home equity for other needs and possibly reduce your expenses. Renting also provides more flexibility in that you can move more freely than if you owned. Additionally, renting can take some of the home upkeep and maintenance off the table. This can be very valuable to seniors as they age. While it might have been enjoyable to mow the lawn and take care of the property at an earlier age, as one ages it can become difficult and expensive to hire out, so renting can be a way of controlling the costs of living. Con: One of the biggest downsides of renting is just that most homeowners don't want to do it. A survey of retirement age homeowners found that only 5% wanted to sell their home and rent. For many Americans owning their home is part of the American dream, so renting just doesn't fit their vision of a successful retirement, even if it is the best financial outcome for them. Village Concept Getty Images What is it: The Beacon Community near Boston is often credited as being the first official " village model ," but communities taking care of seniors together have been around forever. The village model is about allowing seniors to age in place in their homes but with the support they need. In many cases, the village model is set up similar to a homeowners association where dues are paid into the "village" or "community," which in turns provides services like transportation, events and some basic care. Pro: The village model can help reduce costs as seniors share services and costs with others needing similar assistance. By allowing seniors to age in place for longer, they can avoid having to move into more expensive senior housing like assisted living facilities before they need to. Con: While there are a few hundred village models in the country, that is not a lot of options. For many seniors there is no village model option in their area. Additionally, services are limited, so the retiree might still need to move as their needs for services grows. Furthermore, there is a cost associated with the village model, so that could impact cash flow. Age-Restricted (Active Adult) Communities Getty Images What is it: Generally in the United States you cannot discriminate based on age, gender or race when it comes to housing options because of the Fair Housing Act of 1968. However, The Housing For Older Persons Act of 1995 allows for communities to restrict housing options to older individuals as long as certain parameters are followed. Essentially, there are two forms of age-restricted housing options. The first requires that at least 80% of the occupied units have at least one person who is 55 or older living in the home. The other type is a bit more restrictive as it requires all residents to be at least age 62, including both spouses. Pro: One of the biggest benefits is companionship. Seniors decide to live near and around those going through a similar part of their life and retirement. The communities often provide a variety of services, clubhouses and recreational activities. Con: There can be additional costs associated with living in such communities, so it is not always the cheapest housing option. Furthermore, with a 62-and-over community, adult children cannot move in if they don't meet the age requirement. Additionally, for spouses with large age gaps, they can be prohibitive also. Continuing Care Retirement Communities Getty Images What is it: Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) offer a continuum of care throughout retirement, often starting with independent living. Most of these communities require the senior to move in when they are in good health and can live independently. Over time, the senior can stay in the same community but receive different levels of care and senior housing, ranging from assisted living to long-term care to end-of-life care. Pro: CCRCs allow a senior to age in place in the same community but receive services and long-term care as their needs change. This is also a way to control and, in some cases, prepay your long-term care costs. The communities also often provide food, transportation and recreational activities. Con: The biggest concern with CCRCs is whether the entity will be able to fulfill its promises over time. CCRCs are typically for-profit businesses that can run out of money and go out of business. Additionally, many require down payments in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. So, if the entity goes bankrupt, seniors could lose these down payments. Assisted Living Getty Images What is it: Assisted living offers a combination of housing and care services. Typically when someone moves into an assisted living facility they need help with some activities of daily living and are in the early stages of needing long-term care services. However, the person can still live mostly independently. Pro: For many, assisted living facilities offer the care required to maintain a standard of living desired by the senior. They could need some help with bathing, dressing, mobility or cooking. Con: Cost. According to 2018 numbers in Genworth's Cost of Care Study, the average assisted living cost is roughly $48,000 a year. Furthermore, Genworth predicts that this cost will balloon to roughly $86,000 a year by 2038. Additionally, it can be hard to choose the right facility. Plan ahead to determine how you will pay for assisted living and the type of facility and care that you want. See also: The Ins and Outs of Buying Long-Term Care Insurance Nursing Home Getty Images What is it: Nursing homes provide housing and full-time care for individuals needing significant levels of long-term assistance. Nursing home care is less about making a housing decision and more about receiving the level of care you need. Pro: Care can be significant and help the person live a better lifestyle than they would if they tried to manage alone at home. Additionally, nursing homes can provide skilled care services that might be difficult for family members to provide or expensive to hire out for at home. Con: Nursing home quality ranges significantly, and so does cost. Furthermore, most people do not look forward to or choose to move into a nursing home, but instead, it is typically driven out of necessity. According to Genworth, a private room in 2018 cost over $100,000 a year on average. Plans for how to fund your care should start well before retirement. Charity Getty Images What is it: Charity housing can mean a few different things. First, there are charities and religious organizations that provide free or reduced-cost housing options for low-income seniors. Another form of charitable housing can come from family members. Many will take in relatives to help them out. Pro: Charity is going to be in many cases the cheapest form of retiree housing. When it comes to family members taking in a senior, it can also be a great way to spend time with family. Con: Most people do not want to rely on family members or charities for their housing or other needs. The desire for most people is to live independently. However, living with family and using charitable housing is a viable option for millions. EDITOR'S PICKS The Costs of Caregiving Go Far Beyond the Obvious Does It Makes Sense to Buy Hybrid Long-Term Care Insurance? Thinking of Paying for Long-Term Care from Your IRA? Think Again. Copyright 2019 The Kiplinger Washington Editors
Innovator Celebrates Successful Completion of Initial Outcome Period for Inaugural Launch of Defined Outcome Buffer ETFs • The only ETFs with built-in downside buffers on the S&P 500, MSCI EAFE and MSCI Emerging Markets Indexes • Delivered performance in line with the S&P 500 over the outcome period, with half the volatility, and lower drawdowns CHICAGO, IL / ACCESSWIRE / July 2, 2019 /Innovator Capital Management, LLC(Innovator) announced today the successful completion of the first outcome period for the July Series of Innovator S&P 500 Buffer ETFs. The ETFs provide defined outcomes over one-year periods, are rebalanced annually, and can be held indefinitely. The July Series of S&P 500 Buffer ETFs was reset on June 28th, 2019, based on the current level for the S&P Price Return Index, with new upside caps and reset buffers against market losses for the next one year outcome period. "We are very pleased with the performance of the first three S&P 500 Buffer ETFs during their initial Outcome Period," said Bruce Bond, CEO of Innovator Capital Management. "Our inaugural series of Defined Outcome ETFs did exactly what we expected them to do-ending the outcome period in line with the return of S&P 500 Price Return Index, with about half the volatility, and with significantly lower drawdowns along the way." The ETFs are among the fastest-growing in the marketplace, with more than $962 million in AUM as of July 1, 2019. Defined Outcome Period Performance Analysis As a result of the ETFs' downside buffers, and upside caps, the ETFs experienced significantly less volatility and drawdowns than the S&P 500 Price Index, while matching the Index return, before management fees. [{"": "Return", "Innovator S&P 500 Power Buffer ETF - July (PJUL)": "2.38%", "S&P 500 Index": "1.53%", "Innovator S&P 500 Ultra Buffer ETF - July (UJUL)": "2.42%", "Innovator S&P 500 Buffer ETF - July (BJUL)": "1.06%"}, {"": "Volatility", "Innovator S&P 500 Power Buffer ETF - July (PJUL)": "8.50%", "S&P 500 Index": "16.50%", "Innovator S&P 500 Ultra Buffer ETF - July (UJUL)": "8.50%", "Innovator S&P 500 Buffer ETF - July (BJUL)": "10.80%"}, {"": "Return/Risk", "Innovator S&P 500 Power Buffer ETF - July (PJUL)": "0.28", "S&P 500 Index": "0.09", "Innovator S&P 500 Ultra Buffer ETF - July (UJUL)": "0.29", "Innovator S&P 500 Buffer ETF - July (BJUL)": "0.10"}, {"": "Max Drawdown", "Innovator S&P 500 Power Buffer ETF - July (PJUL)": "-9.70%", "S&P 500 Index": "-19.80%", "Innovator S&P 500 Ultra Buffer ETF - July (UJUL)": "-8.60%", "Innovator S&P 500 Buffer ETF - July (BJUL)": "-13.50%"}, {"": "Beta", "Innovator S&P 500 Power Buffer ETF - July (PJUL)": "0.50", "S&P 500 Index": "1.00", "Innovator S&P 500 Ultra Buffer ETF - July (UJUL)": "0.48", "Innovator S&P 500 Buffer ETF - July (BJUL)": "0.63"}] Data as of 6/28/19. The inception date for PJUL and UJUL is 8/8/18. The inception date for BJUL is 8/29/18. Performance quoted represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate, so you may have a gain or loss when shares are sold. Current performance may be higher or lower than that quoted. Returns less than one year are cumulative. One cannot invest directly in an index.The most recent month end performance can be found atwww.innovatoretfs.com. New Outcome Period Upside Caps (as of 7/1/19) Innovator Defined Outcome ETFs do not mature. They simply rebalance into a new outcome period (07/01/2019 - 06/30/2020), purchasing a new set of one-year options with new upside caps and reset downside buffers. The new outcome period caps are listed in the table below. New Return profiles for theJuly Series of Innovator S&P 500 Buffer ETFs [{"Ticker": "BJUL", "Name": "Innovator S&P 500Buffer ETF", "Buffer Level": "9.00%", "Cap": "14.00% (gross)13.21% (net of management fee)", "Outcome Period": "12 months7/1/19 - 6/30/20"}, {"Ticker": "PJUL", "Name": "Innovator S&P 500Power Buffer ETF", "Buffer Level": "15.00%", "Cap": "8.88% (gross)8.09% (net of management fee)", "Outcome Period": "12 months7/1/19 - 6/30/20"}, {"Ticker": "UJUL", "Name": "Innovator S&P 500Ultra Buffer ETF", "Buffer Level": "30.00%(-5% to -35%)", "Cap": "8.45% (gross)7.66% (net of management fee)", "Outcome Period": "12 months7/1/19 - 6/30/20"}] The Caps above are shown gross and net of the S&P 500 Buffer ETFs' 0.79% management fee. "Cap" refers to the maximum potential return, before fees and expenses and any shareholder transaction fees and any extraordinary expenses, if held over the full Outcome Period. "Buffer" refers to the amount of downside protection the fund seeks to provide, before fees and expenses, over the full Outcome Period. Outcome Periodis the intended length of time over which the defined outcomes are sought. Upon fund launch, the Caps can be found on a daily basis viawww.innovatoretfs.com. Shareholder Experience of July Buffer ETFs Each Target Outcome ETF delivers a defined set of parameters throughout the day, as the ETF's NAV changes, providing financial professionals and investors information that allows them to make an informed decision about the investment opportunity in front of them. The illustrations below show the shareholder experience over the full outcome period, as well as for those who purchased shares of the ETF in the interim period. InnovatorS&P 500 Power Buffer ETF - July (PJUL) vs S&P 500 Price Index chartduring initial Outcome Period Innovator S&P 500 Ultra Buffer ETF - July (UJUL) vs S&P 500 Price Index chart during initial Outcome Period Innovator S&P 500 Buffer ETF - July (BJUL)vs S&P 500 Price Index chart during initial Outcome Period Before the introduction of Innovator S&P 500 Defined Outcome Buffer ETFs, investing with downside buffers was only available through bank structured notes or certain insurance products. We believe the success of the first outcome period of these ETFs help further substantiate the unique value proposition Defined Outcome Buffer ETFs represent to investors by providing both upside participation in the market with measurable built-in buffers to mitigate downside risk. Upcoming Webinars Continuing educational efforts around Defined Outcome ETF investing, Innovator will be hosting its next webinar, titled, Implementing the Only ETFs with Built-In Buffers, on July 9, 2019 at 2pm ET. Additional information including event registration is available using the following link:http://www.innovatoretfs.com/webinars. [] [{"": "ETF NAV", "1 Year": "-", "3 Year": "-", "5 Year": "-", "Inception": "0.80%"}, {"": "ETF Closing Price", "1 Year": "-", "3 Year": "-", "5 Year": "-", "Inception": "0.99%"}, {"": "S&P 500 Price Return Index", "1 Year": "-", "3 Year": "-", "5 Year": "-", "Inception": "-0.84%"}, ["Innovator S&P 500 Ultra Buffer ETF(UJUL)July SeriesETF Performance & Index History (%)", ""]] [{"": "", "1 Year": "-", "3 Year": "-", "5 Year": "-", "Inception": "-0.32%"}, {"": "", "1 Year": "-", "3 Year": "-", "5 Year": "-", "Inception": "-0.30%"}, {"": "", "1 Year": "-", "3 Year": "-", "5 Year": "-", "Inception": "-0.84%"}, ["Innovator S&P 500 Buffer ETF (BJUL)July SeriesETF Performance & Index History (%)", ""]] [{"": "", "1 Year": "-", "3 Year": "-", "5 Year": "-", "Inception": "-0.47%"}, {"": "", "1 Year": "-", "3 Year": "-", "5 Year": "-", "Inception": "-0.40%"}, {"": "", "1 Year": "-", "3 Year": "-", "5 Year": "-", "Inception": "-2.18%"}] Data as of 3/31/2019. Performance quoted represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate, so you may have a gain or loss when shares are sold. Current performance may be higher or lower than that quoted. Returns less than one year are cumulative. One cannot invest directly in an index. The Funds have characteristics unlike many other traditional investment products and may not be suitable for all investors. For more information regarding whether an investment in the Fund is right for you, please see "Investor Suitability" in the prospectus. The Innovator Defined Outcome Suite of ETFs S&P 500 Buffer ETFs: Innovator S&P 500 Buffer ETFs (Cboe:BJUN,BAPR,BJUL,BOCT,BJAN):Designed to track the return of the S&P 500 (up to a predetermined Cap) while buffering investors against the first 9% of losses over the Outcome Period, before fees and expenses. Innovator S&P 500 Power Buffer ETFs(Cboe:PJUN,PAPR,PJUL,POCT,PJAN):Designed to track the return of the S&P 500 (up to a predetermined Cap) while buffering investors against the first 15% of losses over the Outcome Period, before fees and expenses. Innovator S&P 500 Ultra Buffer ETFs (Cboe:UJUN,UAPR,UJUL,UOCT,UJAN):Designed to track the return of the S&P 500 (up to a predetermined Cap) while buffering investors against a decline of 30% of losses over the Outcome Period, from -5% to -35%, before fees and expenses. Investors are exposed to loss between 0% and 5% and over 35% over the Outcome Period, before fees and expenses. MSCI Emerging Markets: InnovatorMSCI Emerging Markets Power Buffer ETF (NYSE:EJUL):Designed to track the price returns of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (up to a predetermined Cap) while buffering investors against the first 15% of losses over the Outcome Period, before fees and expenses. MSCI EAFE: Innovator MSCI EAFE Power Buffer ETF (NYSE:IJUL):Designed to track the price returns of the MSCI EAFE Index (up to a predetermined Cap) while buffering investors against the first 15% of losses over the Outcome Period, before fees and expenses. About Innovator Defined Outcome ETFs Each Innovator Defined Outcome ETFsmseeks to provide a defined exposure to a broad market index (such as the S&P 500, MSCI EAFE or MSCI EM) where the downside buffer level, upside growth potential to a Cap, and Outcome Period are all known, prior to investing. Innovator recently began expanding its suite of S&P 500 Buffer ETFs into a monthly series to provide investors more opportunities to purchase shares as close to the beginning of their respective Outcome Periods as possible. Investors can purchase shares of a previously listed Defined Outcome Buffer ETF throughout the entire Outcome Period, obtaining a current set of defined outcome parameters, which are disclosed daily through a web tool available at:http://innovatoretfs.com/define/. Innovator is focused on delivering defined outcome based solutions inside the benefit-rich ETF wrapper, retaining many of the features that have contributed to the success of structured products1(e.g., downside buffer levels, upside participation, defined outcome parameters), but with the added benefits of transparency, liquidity and lower costs afforded by the ETF structure. Interim Period Shareholders Unlike structured notes, which offer limited liquidity, Innovator Defined Outcome ETFs trade throughout the day on an exchange, like a stock. As a result, investors purchasing shares of a Fund after its launch date may achieve a different payoff profile than those who entered the Fund on day one. Innovator recognizes this as a benefit of the Funds and provides a web-based tool that allows investors to know, in real-time throughout the trading day, their potential defined outcome return profile before they invest, based on the current ETF price and the Outcome Period remaining. Innovator's web tool can be accessed athttp://www.innovatoretfs.com/define. ETF Construction Each Fund will hold a portfolio of custom exchange-traded FLEX Options that have varying strike prices (the price at which the option purchaser may buy or sell the security, at the expiration date), and the same expiration date (approximately one year). The layering of these FLEX Options with varying strike prices provides the mechanism for producing a Fund's desired outcome (i.e. Cap or buffer). Each Fund intends to roll options components annually, on the last business day of the month associated with each Fund. The ETFs are subadvised by Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC (Milliman FRM), a global leader in financial risk management. Milliman FRM was also instrumental in the design of the Cboe S&P 500 Target Outcome Indexes, which the Innovator Defined Outcome S&P 500 Buffer ETFs are benchmarked against. Although each Fund seeks to achieve the defined outcomes stated in its investment objective, there is no guarantee that it will do so. The returns that the Funds seek to provide do not include the costs associated with purchasing shares of the Fund and certain expenses incurred by the Fund. About Innovator Capital Management, LLC Innovator Capital Management, LLC is an SEC registered investment advisor (RIA) based in Wheaton, IL. Formed in 2014, the firm is currently headed by ETF visionaries Bruce Bond and John Southard, founders of one of the largest ETF providers in the world. Innovation is our hallmark and acts as a guide to our company principles. Innovator is committed to helping investors better control their financial outcomes by providing investment opportunities they never considered or thought possible. For additional information, visitwww.innovatoretfs.com. About Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC (Milliman FRM) is a global leader in financial risk management to the retirement industry, providing investment advisory, hedging, and consulting services on over $147.6 billion in global assets as of March 31, 2019. For more information about Milliman FRM, visitwww.Milliman.com/FRM. MediaContact Bill Conboy+1 (303) 415-2290bill@bccapitalpartners.com 1Structured notes and structured annuities are financial instruments designed and created to afford investors exposure to an underlying asset through a derivative contract. It is important to note that these ETFs are not structured notes or structured annuities. Investing involves risks.The Funds face numerous market trading risks, including active markets risk, authorized participation concentration risk, buffered loss risk, Cap change risk, capped upside return risk, correlation risk, FLEX Option counterparty risk, cyber security risk, fluctuation of net asset value risk, investment objective risk, limitations of intraday indicative value risk, liquidity risk, management risk, market maker risk, market risk, non-diversification risk, operation risk, options risk, Outcome Period risk, tax risk, trading issues risk, upside participation risk and valuation risk. Unlike mutual funds, the Funds may trade at a premium or discount to their net asset value. ETFs are bought and sold at market price and not individually redeemed from the Fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. The outcomes that a Fund seeks to provide may only be realized if you are holding shares on the first day of the Outcome Period and continue to hold them on the last day of the Outcome Period, approximately one year. If you purchase shares after the Outcome Period has begun or sell shares prior to the Outcome Period's conclusion, you may experience very different investment returns from those that a Fund seeks to provide. These Funds are designed to provide point-to-point exposure to the price return of the S&P 500, MSCI Emerging Markets and MSCI EAFE indexes via a basket of FLEX Options. As a result, the ETFs are not expected to move directly in line with the indexes during the interim period. FLEX Options Risk.The Fund will utilize FLEX Options issued and guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC). FLEX options, are non-standard options that allow both the writer and purchaser to negotiate various terms. Terms that are negotiable include the exercise style, strike price, expiration date, as well as other feature. The Fund bears the risk that the OCC will be unable or unwilling to perform its obligations under the FLEX Options contracts. In the unlikely event that the OCC becomes insolvent or is otherwise unable to meet its settlement obligations, the Fund could suffer significant losses. Additionally, FLEX Options may be less liquid than certain other securities such as standardized options. In less liquid market for the FLEX Options, the Fund may have difficulty closing out certain FLEX Options positions at desired times and prices. The values of FLEX Options do not increase or decrease at the same rate as the reference asset and may vary due to factors other than the price of reference asset. Fund shareholders are subject to an upside return cap (the "Cap") that represents the maximum percentage return an investor can achieve from an investment in the funds' for the Outcome Period, before fees and expenses. If the Outcome Period has begun and the Fund has increased in value to a level near to the Cap, an investor purchasing at that price has little or no ability to achieve gains but remains vulnerable to downside risks. Additionally, the Cap may rise or fall from one Outcome Period to the next. The Cap, and the Fund's position relative to it, should be considered before investing in the Fund. The Funds' website, www.innovatoretfs.com, provides important Fund information as well information relating to the potential outcomes of an investment in a Fund on a daily basis. The Funds only seek to provide shareholders that hold shares for the entire Outcome Period with their respective buffer level againstS&P 500,MSCI Emerging Markets and MSCI EAFEPrice Index losses during the Outcome Period. You will bear allS&P 500 Price Indexlosses exceeding 9%, 15%, and 30%, respectively, and bear allMSCI Emerging Markets and MSCI EAFEPrice Index losses exceeding 15% respectively. Depending upon market conditions at the time of purchase, a shareholder that purchases shares after the Outcome Period has begun may also lose their entire investment. For instance, if the Outcome Period has begun and the Fund has decreased in value beyond the pre-determined 9% buffer, an investor purchasing shares at that price may not benefit from the buffer. Similarly, if the Outcome Period has begun and the Fund has increased in value, an investor purchasing shares at that price may not benefit from the buffer until the Fund's value has decreased to its value at the commencement of the Outcome Period. The ETFs referred to herein is not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by MSCI Inc. or based upon the MSCI EAFE and MSCI Emerging Markets Indexes. MSCI Inc. bears no liability with respect to the ETFs. MSCI, MSCI EAFE, and MSCI Emerging Markets are trademarks or service marks of MSCI Inc. or its affiliates ("Marks") and are used hereto subject to license from MSCI. All goodwill and use of Marks inures to the benefit of MSCI and its affiliates. No other use of the Marks is permitted without a license from MSCI. Cboe Global Markets, Inc., and its affiliates do not recommend or make any representation as to possible Benefits from any securities, futures or investments, or third-party products or services. Cboe Global Markets, Inc., is not affiliated with S&P DJI, Milliman, or Innovator Capital Management. Investors should undertake their own due diligence regarding their securities, futures and investment practices. Cboe Global Markets, Inc., and its affiliates make no warranty, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, any warranties as of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, completeness or timeliness, or as to the results to be obtained by recipients of the products. Each Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses should be considered before investing. The prospectus contains this and other important information, and may be obtained at www.innovatoretfs.com or 800.208.5212. Read it carefully before investing. Innovator ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC. Copyright © 2019 Innovator Capital Management, LLC. 800.208.5212 SOURCE:Innovator View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/550589/Innovator-Celebrates-Successful-Completion-of-Initial-Outcome-Period-for-Inaugural-Launch-of-Defined-Outcome-Buffer-ETFs
Trump news: Congress files tax return lawsuit as president rages against Robert Mueller and insists military leaders 'thrilled' to take part in 4th of July tank display Donald Trump has hit out at Robert Mueller on Twitter and insisted the US military is thrilled to be taking part in his Salute to America celebration for the Fourth of July as the House Ways and Means Committee launches a lawsuit to acquire his tax returns. In an exclusive interview with Tucker Carlson of Fox News broadcast on Monday night, the president criticised homelessness in American cities, spoke of his optimism that his trade war with China would ultimately be won and benefit farmers and accused the social media giants of possibly illegally blocking him from gaining new followers before expressing his desire to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan , which he called, the Harvard of terrorists. A delegation of Democratic congressmen and women have meanwhile visited a number of migrant detention centres at the US-Mexico border in Texas , speaking out against the squalid conditions they found there and the behaviour of some Border Patrol agents overseeing the facilities. Images released Tuesday by US government inspectors who visited facilities in South Texas where migrant adults and children who crossed the nearby border with Mexico are processed and detained showed overcrowding and seemingly unsanitary conditions. As public outrage grows over the conditions in which thousands of people some no more than a few months old are being held by the US government, the report offered new cause for alarm. It quotes one senior government manager as calling the situation a ticking time bomb. Specifically, when detainees observed us, they banged on the cell windows, shouted, pressed notes to the window with their time in custody, and gestured to evidence of their time in custody, the report says. BuzzFeed first reported on a draft version of the report, which blurs most faces in the photos. An autopsy report also released Tuesday confirmed that a 2-year-old child who died in April had multiple intestinal and infectious respiratory diseases, including the flu. Wilmer Josué Ramírez Vásquez is one of five children to die after being detained by border agents since late last year. Two of the other four also had the flu. Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
Bright Near-Term Outlook for Advertising and Marketing Industry The Zacks Advertising And Marketing industry comprises companies that offer a range of services, including advertising, branding, content marketing, digital/direct marketing, digital transformation, financial/corporate business-to-business advertising, graphic arts/digital imaging, healthcare marketing and communications, and in-store design services. Here are the industry’s three major themes: • The industry is mature and revenues and cash flows remain stable through the economic cycle. This enables industry players to pay out stable dividends. • Manufacturing and non-manufacturing activities continue to grow, driven by strength in the U.S. economy. This should keep demand for advertising and marketing services in good shape. • Ad agencies are facing digital disruption. Automated algorithms of Alphabet’s Google and Facebook are designed to allocate budgets for clients efficiently and are more cost efficient than traditional agencies. Thus, agencies already providing or shifting to digital marketing stand to gain as they are better positioned to address changing customer needs and face new competitors. According to eMarketer, digital ad spending in the United States and worldwide will grow 19% and 17.6%, respectively in 2019. Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Bright Prospects The Zacks Advertising and Marketing industry, which is housed within the broader Zacks Business Services sector, currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #63. This rank places it in the top 25% of more than 250 Zacks industries. The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates solid near-term growth prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. The industry’s consensus earnings estimate for the current year has increased 4.3% since November 2018. Before we present a few stocks that you may want to consider for your portfolio, let’s take a look at the industry’s recent stock market performance and current valuation. Industry Underperforms Sector and S&P 500 Over the past year, the Zacks Advertising And Marketing industry has underperformed the Zacks S&P 500 composite and the broader sector. While the industry gained 10.7%, the broader sector and the Zacks S&P 500 composite have increased 27.8% and 16.1%, respectively. Industry’s Current Valuation On the basis of forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, which is commonly used for valuing advertising and marketing stocks, the industry is currently trading at 11.74 compared with the S&P 500’s 16.98 and the sector’s 23.76. Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 18.5X, as low as 10.39X and at the median of 15.25X, as the charts below show. Bottom Line The industry is poised to be in good shape in the near to mid-term. A strong economy leading to robust manufacturing and non-manufacturing activities should keep the demand environment healthy. While none of the stocks in our advertising and marketing universe currently hold a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG) and National CineMedia, Inc. (NCMI) carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Shares ofInterpublichave gained 9.3% year to date. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2019 earnings remained unchanged in the past 60 days. NationalCineMedia’s stock has gained 1% in the said time frame and the consensus estimate for its 2019 earnings increased 4.8% in the past 60 days. Further, we believe investors should retain Omnicom Group Inc.(OMC) and InnerWorkings, Inc. (INWK) in their portfolio as these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Omnicom’s stock has risen 12% in the year-to-date period. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2019 earnings remained unchanged in the past 60 days. Shares ofInnerWorkingshave gained 1.9% in the same time period. The consensus estimate for 2019 earnings has increased 4.5% in the past 60 days. This Could Be the Fastest Way to Grow Wealth in 2019 Research indicates one sector is poised to deliver a crop of the best-performing stocks you'll find anywhere in the market. Breaking news in this space frequently creates quick double- and triple-digit profit opportunities.These companies are changing the world – and owning their stocks could transform your portfolio in 2019 and beyond. Recent trades from this sector have generated +98%, +119% and +164% gains in as little as 1 month.Click here to see these breakthrough stocks now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportOmnicom Group Inc. (OMC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportNational CineMedia, Inc. (NCMI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportInterpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (IPG) : Free Stock Analysis ReportInnerWorkings, Inc. (INWK) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Uber's 3.9 million drivers are a major risk to the company's bottom line Judging by Uber’s stock (UBER) still trading below its $45 initial public offering price, investors haven’t forgotten about one major risk to the ride-hailing giant’s very existence. That is what happens to Uber’s bottom line and cash flow statement should some 3.9 million drivers be forced by state governments to be classified as full-time employees as opposed to independent contractors. If they are considered to be employees, it could materially raise Uber’s costs as it pays out a variety of benefits inherent to being a staffer. Uber made such a risk quite clear in its prospectus, which was dropped ahead of its headline-grabbing IPO in May. Tusk Ventures CEO Bradley Tusk, Uber’s first public policy advisor hired by founder Travis Kalanick in 2015, says the company hasn’t made a mistake by not classifying its drivers as employees. “I think that is an issue where both sides are taking an extreme position and the reality is somewhere in between,” Tusk said on Yahoo Finance’sThe First Trade. “If you are, say a New York City Uber driver and you are working 70 hours a week you are clearly a full-time employee and to think otherwise is ridiculous. If you are a college student or senior citizen driving 12 hours a week, you are clearly not a full-time employee.” “I think the issue will shake out state by state,” Tusk added. “So, like everything it comes down to local politics.” So far, that state-by-state approach to assessing gig economy workers Tusk mentions has unfolded. New York City passed minimum wage laws for drivers late last year. Similar efforts by lawmakers are underway in parts of California. Meanwhile, the National Labor Relations Board ruled in May Uber drivers are independent contractors. Wall Street has continued to warn investors over the regulatory risks associated with Uber and Lyft. “Transportation services are comparatively new and laws are still forming. Regulations could affect Uber by prohibiting operations; imposing minimum rates; limiting the number of drivers, bikes, and scooters on the road; and/or reclassifying drivers as employees,” wrote Raymond James analyst Justin Patterson in a note to clients. Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-host of ‘The First Trade’ at Yahoo Finance. Follow Brian Sozzi him on Twitter@BrianSozzi Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance • Why Shake Shack CEO is testing a 4-day workweek • Trump's trade war with China may shock investors this summer • 2 black swans could come out of nowhere and kill stocks this summer • Why scrapping Trump's corporate tax cuts could crush businesses Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,SmartNews,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit.
Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency needs deep thought and detail: UK regulator By Tom Wilson LONDON (Reuters) - Facebook's fledging cryptocurrency will raise questions for both society and government that need close examination, a senior official at Britain's financial watchdog said on Tuesday, in another sign that the planned project will face deep scrutiny. Facebook Inc <FB.O> unveiled its Libra digital coin last month, raising immediate concerns over its potential impact on privacy from lawmakers and regulators around the world. Libra's "size and scale will pose questions for society and government more generally about what is acceptable and desirable in this space," Christopher Woolard, executive director of strategy and competition at the Financial Conduct Authority. "Historically, this may have been a sector that has lived by the mantra of 'move fast and break things,' but the issues raised here require deep thought and detail," Woolard told a conference at the University of Cambridge, according to remarks posted on the FCA's website. Facebook will likely face unprecedented regulatory scrutiny over Libra, planned for launch by the end of June 2020. The coin would mark the social media giant's entry into one of the least-regulated areas of finance. The response of domestic and international financial regulators and monetary authorities to the Libra project will have a crucial impact on its prospects. Though some, including the FCA, have said they have met Facebook to discuss the project, there are still many questions over exactly how it will operate. Libra faced mounting attention last week as European central bankers and regulators demanded greater detail on the project. Crucial decisions on such projects lie with lawmakers, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), an umbrella group for central banks, has warned. Politicians need to quickly coordinate regulatory responses to new risks as Facebook and other tech firms move into finance, the BIS said last month. Story continues In general, the FCA looks at any so-called cryptoasset - a catch-all term that includes bitcoin and other digital tokens - on a case-by-case basis, Woolard said. It asks questions on whether it would benefit competitive markets and consumers, or cause harm by raising complexity and others risks, he added. "It is crucial that we also think about the reality – the technical details, the technology; and the legal position." (Reporting by Tom Wilson, Editing by William Maclean)
Do You Really Need a Detailed Budget? Is it important to live on a budget? Find out here when you do -- and don’t -- need to make a detailed budget. Person looking at a receipt and typing into a calculator. Image source: Getty Images. Living on a budget can make it easier for you to ensure your money goes where it needs to. But for some people, trying to live on a budget doesn’t work. You may find it too constraining to stick to a detailed budget that allocates every dollar. Or find it hard to keep track of how closely you’re adhering to your budget. If budgeting doesn’t work for you, or if you find the idea of living on a budget appalling and don’t even want to make an attempt, there’s good news: Not everyone needs a detailed budget. There are alternatives that may work better for you. Alternatives to a detailed budget A detailed budget is one that assigns each dollar a job. For example, you could budget $100 a month for eating out, $400 for groceries, and $200 for transportation costs. Then add other expenses, such as saving or entertainment. If this type of budgeting doesn’t work for you, you could opt for a broader budget, like a 50-30-20 budget. With a 50-30-20 budget, 50% of your income goes to needs, 30% to discretionary expenses including entertainment and dining out, and 20% goes to saving. Monitoring this budget is easier -- add up your fixed expenses and make sure they fall under 50%, then budget 20% for saving. You can spend everything that’s left over. If even this is too much budgeting for you, you can automate your essential payments and your savings and live on what’s left. Transfer money to savings and retirement accounts automatically on payday. Set up autopay for all of your essential expenses. Whatever's left can be used how you want. With this method, all of the money you need for savings and bills is transferred before you can spend it. You know everything left over in your checking account is yours to do what you want with. No budgeting required. Will these approaches work for you? Living without a detailed budget works if you know you can afford to fulfill all your obligations, save money, and have enough money left over to cover any other spending you need to do. If you set up automatic withdrawals for savings and bill payment and have $0 left over to cover everything else you need for the month, this approach won’t work. Likewise, a 50-30-20 budget works only if you can stick within these broad spending categories without tracking your spending or allocating cash to specific purposes. If you can’t afford all your bills, you consistently end up in credit card debt, or find you don’t have any money to save because you’re spending everything, you’ll need to make a detailed budget and track your spending to figure out what’s going wrong. And to make sure you’re able to use your money wisely. Story continues Make a spending plan that suits your needs Ultimately, the key to money management is finding something that works for you. If allocating every dollar you spend isn’t effective, one of these alternatives to a detailed budget may allow you to manage your cash better and save more . The key is to create a plan so you save enough and don’t spend too much -- and as long as you can stick to whatever plan you create, you’re good to go. The Motley Fool owns and recommends MasterCard and Visa, and recommends American Express. We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule. If we wouldn’t recommend an offer to a close family member, we wouldn’t recommend it on The Ascent either. Our number one goal is helping people find the best offers to improve their finances. That is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team. View comments
'Spider-Man: Far From Home' star Jake Gyllenhaal on loving his Mysterio costume and his costar Tom Holland It's only a tiny spoiler to say that even Mysterio himself doesn't love the gold-plated, caped costume he sports in Marvel's new sequel, Spider-Man: Far From Home . As for Jake Gyllenhaal , the actor behind the flying supes who befriends Peter Parker ( Tom Holland ) in the early goings of the story, he actually kind of dug it. "I didn't know how much I was gonna love it," Gyllenhaal told Yahoo Entertainment during a recent stop into our Los Angeles studios. "I fell deeply in love with that suit. The other day we put it back on for some press stuff we were doing and, oh, the sweet feeling of tight spandex." The 38-year-old actor must have not gotten the memo that as an actor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you're supposed to complain about what they make you wear, not extol it. He will admit it was cumbersome, though: "It is [heavy]. The chest plate itself attaches to these metal prongs that I have to put on, and the cape attaches to that. And then inevitably there are these electric drills that they have to drill into the chest plate. And it's a full wool cape, like proper Game of Thrones times four, with light battery packs. And a number of people, when they're walking behind you, do [step on it]. It's like wearing a ball gown. You're all the sudden choked by [it]." Another thing Gyllenhaal loved about his Spidey experience: Spidey himself, Tom Holland. " I just love him, he's a good dude," said the actor, who almost played Peter Parker himself 15 years ago when Tobey Maguire was injured prior to filming 2004's Spider-Man II. "There's an appropriate amount of adoration on both sides. He has a tremendous amount of experience in this world, and with the character, he's so fantastic in it. I have such respect for him as Spider-Man and all the work he does. And also a real respect for his work ethic. "In the opposite way he's seen work I've done and has really admired it, and has the appropriate amount of deference for the narcissistic ego of an actor, being me. And so that made a nice balance." Story continues That's not to say the self-deprecating Gyllenhaal didn't enjoy taking the piss out of the 23-year-old Brit. "I constantly do things to antagonize him. It's great fun. Just physically, like scaring him. Just frightening him," he laughed. Spider-Man: Far From Home is now in theaters. Watch Jake Gyllenhaal talk about almost playing Spider-Man: Read more on Yahoo Entertainment: The It List: Celebrate the Fourth of July holiday with 'Stranger Things' Season 3, 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' and the best in pop culture the week of July 1, 2019 Jake Gyllenhaal argues Sean Paul 'makes every song better,' delighting the internet ‘Spider-Man’s’ Zach Barack Opens Up About Being Marvel Studios’ First Openly Transgender Actor Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle's newsletter.
G20 nations support regulatory overhaul for digital assets The leaders of all G20 nations are in support of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) proposition to overhaul global regulations in relation to cryptocurrencies. The G20 summit took place in Osaka, Japan last week. The international forum was comprised of 19 nations including the likes of the United Kingdom, the United States, China, India, and representatives from the European Union. Days after the summit, G20 leaders issued a joint declaration in which they pledged support for the FATF’s recommendations regarding the regulation of crypto assets . The declaration states that “while crypto-assets do not pose a threat to global financial stability”, the G20 leaders are “closely monitoring developments and remain vigilant to existing and emerging risks”. It continued: “We welcome ongoing work by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and other standard setting bodies and ask them to advise on additional multilateral responses as needed. Shinhan, 2nd biggest bank in South Korea, is tightening its policies on crypto exchanges. Special teams will be created to monitor accounts. This indicates G20 member countries are moving towards regulation, following the recommendation of FATF. https://t.co/6K0aZbYQ1Z — Joseph Young (@iamjosephyoung) July 1, 2019 “We reaffirm our commitment to applying the recently amended FATF Standards to virtual assets and related providers for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism. We welcome the adoption of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Interpretive Note and Guidance. “We also welcome the FSB’s work on the possible implications of decentralised financial technologies and how regulators can engage other stakeholders. We also continue to step up efforts to enhance cyber resilience.” Story continues Aside from the potential risks of money laundering and financing of terrorism, US regulator the SEC and the UK’s FCA have both written guidelines in relation to the volatility of cryptocurrencies in an attempt to safeguard investors. The SEC in particular has clamped down on a number of crypto companies over the past year, with Airfox and Paragon being forced to refund ICO investors and re-register as securities. For more news, guides, and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . The post G20 nations support regulatory overhaul for digital assets appeared first on Coin Rivet .
Fastjet CEO Quits as Problems Mount Money-losing African Airline Fastjet is on the hunt for a new CEO after incumbent Nico Bezuidenhout quit to rejoin his old company. The departure comes less than a week after the carrier announced a full-year loss of $65 million,having delayed the publication of its resultsbecause of an ongoing “audit process.” Bezuidenhout isgoing back to head up Mangoat the end of September, the low-cost subsidiary of South African Airways that heleft to join Fastjet in June 2016. The current deputy CEO Mark Hurst will take over from Bezuidenhout on an interim basis while the company searches for a permanent successor. Hurst is CEO of Fastjet’s majority shareholder Solenta Aviation. “On behalf of the board and myself, I would like to thank Nico for his efforts, dedication, and time invested over the last three years in favor of Fastjet and its shareholders. The Fastjet of today is a fundamentally different business compared to three years ago, and we wish Nico well in his future endeavors,” said Rashid Wally, chairman of Fastjet, said on Tuesday. Sincelaunching to plenty of fanfare back in 2012, Fastjet has tried a number of different formulas to make the airline profitable. It replaced larger aircraft with smaller ones and cut bases and destinations, but the business remains stubbornly loss-making. In December Fastjetgrounded its Tanzanian flightsand currently operates routes inSouth Africa, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. The carrier’s problems are a mixture of self-inflicted blunders and a tough external market. Moving from a fleet of Airbus A319 aircraft to smaller Embraer ERJ145s made sense, but it might have come too late in the day. “Sub-Saharan Africa remains a challenging market for airlines,” said John Grant, partner at consultancy Midas Aviation. Fares and taxes are high, and the plannedSingle African Air Transport Marketisstill in its early stages. “The lack of open skies also means it’s difficult to deliver the connectivity needed, and the lack of liberalization in terms of visas means it can be challenging for Africans who can afford to travel to do so freely between countries,” Grant said. “To flourish, African aviation needs vastly improved regional connectivity, with the right sized aircraft to do that. Whilst Fastjet seemed to be taking steps towards that aim under Bezuidenhout’s guidance, the future for the carrier remains uncertain.” The $65 million loss this year — an increase of 165 percent on the 2018 figure — is unlikely to be the end of the company’s bad news judging by the stark warnings in the most recent set of accounts. Fastjet’s directors believe it “will have sufficient resources to meet its operational needs over the relevant period, being at least untilJune 2020″ but warned that “the headroom of available cash resources is minimal and the projections are very sensitive to any assumptions not being met.” These assumptions include load factors averaging 74 percent for the second half of 2019 — they were only 72 percent in 2018 — and that “key exchange rates remain as at current levels.” In 2018 alone Fastjet recorded $8.5 million in Zimbabwe foreign exchange losses on financial assets, illustrating the difficulty in operating in that market. Worryingly, given theincreasein the price of jet fuel, the company has no hedges in place, which means that if it keeps creeping up, Fastjet could be in serious trouble. Subscribe to Skift newsletterscovering the business of travel, restaurants, and wellness.
Smooth Rock Signs LOI to Purchase the Palmetto Project Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 2, 2019) -Smooth Rock Ventures Corp. (TSXV: SOCK) ("Smooth Rock" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has signed an Letter of Intent ("LOI") to complete a definitive Purchase Agreement to acquire a 100% undivided interest in 80 unpatented mining claims totalling 1600 acres in the Palmetto Project, Nevada. The Palmetto Project is located in Esmeralda County, Nevada, within the southern portion of the Walker Lane gold trend. The Palmetto Gold Project was previously explored by ML Gold Corp. The property has an historic resource estimation completed by WSP Canada Inc. ("WSP") for ML Gold Corp. in 2017 (Palmetto Resource Estimation and Technical Report, April 26, 2018). The mineral resource estimation was completed using NI 43-101 standards of practice and classified as an inferred resource is summarized in the table below. [{"Classification": "Inferred (Pit)0.14 g/t AuEq cut-off", "Tonnes (000's)": "10,134", "Aug/t": "0.95", "Agg/t": "7.29", "AuEqg/t": "1.05", "Auoz.": "310,360", "Agoz.": "2,374,120", "AuEqoz.": "341,720"}, {"Classification": "Inferred (U/G)2.0 g/t AuEq cut-off", "Tonnes (000's)": "98", "Aug/t": "3.60", "Agg/t": "10.80", "AuEqg/t": "3.74", "Auoz.": "11,305", "Agoz.": "33,910", "AuEqoz.": "11,755"}, {"Classification": "Total Inferred", "Tonnes (000's)": "", "Aug/t": "", "Agg/t": "", "AuEqg/t": "", "Auoz.": "321,665", "Agoz.": "2,408,030", "AuEqoz.": "353,475"}] The open pit estimation was calculated using a pit shell generated by applying certain economic constraints (ML Gold Corp. News Release Oct 2, 2017). No exploration activities have been completed on the project since the completion of this mineral resource estimate, and Smooth Rock Ventures Corp. considers this historical estimate to be reliable and relevant. To upgrade the historical mineral resource estimate to a current mineral resource estimate, the model and estimation will have to be reviewed and repeated by a qualified person and Smooth Rock is not treating this historic estimate as current mineral resources. Smooth Rock can purchase an undivided one hundred percent (100%) undivided interest in the Palmetto Property for a total purchase price of $500,000.00 USD as follows: (a) $50,000.00 USD (paid) upon signing of the Letter of Intent for a 30-day option to purchase a 100% (one hundred percent) of the Property, the $50,000 USD option payment will be credited towards the Purchase Price and (b) Upon satisfactory completion of due diligence, within 30 days of the date of the LOI, and/or within five (5) business days of TSX Venture Exchange approval, Smooth Rock shall pay $200,000.00 USD. and (c) On or before one (1) year from the date of the signing of the LOI a final payment of $250,000.00 USD. Upon full payment of the above purchase price, the Company will have acquired the Palmetto Project free and clear of any outstanding royalties. The Company expects to complete its respective due diligence and execute a definitive Purchase Agreement within the next 30 days. The Company also announces that phase I of the exploration program on the Garfield Flats Project with Walker River Resources Corp. (see news release 06-07-19) is underway. Phase I of the Garfield Flats exploration program will consist of reconnaissance prospecting, geological mapping, surface trenching, relocating historical workings and 282 kilometers (175 miles) of ground based geophysical surveying. This Phase I program will provide accurate modern data to assist in the planning of the phase II drill program. Phase I is expected to last for six to eight weeks, with phase II expected to begin following the compilation of the phase I results, later in 2019. The Garfield Flats Project is within the Walker Lane shear zone, a 60-mile-wide structural corridor extending in a southeast direction from Reno, Nevada, located 18 miles southeast of Hawthorne, NV along U.S. Highway 95. The project has excellent year-round access and infrastructure within Mineral County, one of the most pro-mining counties in the pro-mining states and highest-grade gold districts of Nevada. The scientific and technical content and interpretations contained in this news release have been reviewed, verified and approved by Caitlin Jeffs, PGeo, of Fladgate Exploration Consulting Corp, a consultant of the Company, and an independent Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Jeffrey Cocks" Jeffrey CocksPresident & CEO FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Smooth Rock Ventures Corp. (TEL)- (888) 909-5548, (FAX)-(888) 909-1033Email:info@smoothrockventures.comWebsite:www.smoothrockventures.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visithttps://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/46023
Brexit Party MEPs turn their backs on EU anthem STRASBOURG (Reuters) - Members of Britain's Brexit Party turned their backs on the EU anthem on Tuesday as it was played live at the opening of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, in a move that other lawmakers branded disgraceful and pathetic. The party launched by prominent Brexiteer Nigel Farage in April won 29 seats in the assembly the following month, more than any other party in Britain, as it rode a wave of public anger over Prime Minister Theresa May's failure to deliver the country's departure from the bloc on schedule. Seated in the back rows of the assembly, its parliamentarians turned their backs as musicians played the "Ode to Joy" from Ludwig Van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The symphony was commissioned by the Philharmonic Society of London and first performed in Britain in 1825. Illustrating the extent of the divide in British public opinion over Brexit, MEPs from the UK's Liberal Democrat party attended the session, the first since the May election, wearing yellow t-shirts marked with the words "Stop Brexit." The Liberal Democrats won 16 seats after campaigning for Britain to remain in the bloc. "Let's make sure we leave this bureaucratic nightmare as soon as possible!" the Brexit Party tweeted on its official account. "Just had to endure the EU's attempt at a supranational anthem. You will be pleased to know that we turned our backs for the duration. The EU is not a state. It should not have an anthem," tweeted Brexit MEP Ben Habib. Other lawmakers criticized the gesture as disrespectful. "Nigel Farage and his band of Brexit company MEPs think they're being clever by standing with their backs to the chair at the opening session of the European Parliament. Looks pathetic and not impressed anyone," tweeted Richard Corbett, an MEP for Labour. Ska Keller, a German politician and member of the European Greens called their behavior disgraceful. "They've been standing ...to represent citizens inside ...the European Parliament, and then the first thing they do is totally disrespect the basics of the European Union, its values and the house in which they wanted to represent citizens." (Reporting by Reuters Television; writing by Alexandra Hudson; editing by John Stonestreet; Writing by Alexandra Hudson)
Should You Be Adding SiteOne Landscape Supply (NYSE:SITE) To Your Watchlist Today? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! It's only natural that many investors, especially those who are new to the game, prefer to buy shares in 'sexy' stocks with a good story, even if those businesses lose money. Unfortunately, high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. In contrast to all that, I prefer to spend time on companies likeSiteOne Landscape Supply(NYSE:SITE), which has not only revenues, but also profits. Now, I'm not saying that the stock is necessarily undervalued today; but I can't shake an appreciation for the profitability of the business itself. In comparison, loss making companies act like a sponge for capital - but unlike such a sponge they do not always produce something when squeezed. See our latest analysis for SiteOne Landscape Supply In the last three years SiteOne Landscape Supply's earnings per share took off like a rocket; fast, and from a low base. So the actual rate of growth doesn't tell us much. As a result, I'll zoom in on growth over the last year, instead. Like a wedge-tailed eagle on the wind, SiteOne Landscape Supply's EPS soared from US$1.21 to US$1.64, in just one year. That's a impressive gain of 36%. One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. While we note SiteOne Landscape Supply's EBIT margins were flat over the last year, revenue grew by a solid 14% to US$2.2b. That's a real positive. You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. For finer detail, click on the image. The trick, as an investor, is to find companies that aregoing toperform well in the future, not just in the past. To that end, right now and today, you can checkour visualization of consensus analyst forecasts for future SiteOne Landscape Supply EPS100% free. I like company leaders to have some skin in the game, so to speak, because it increases alignment of incentives between the people running the business, and its true owners. So it is good to see that SiteOne Landscape Supply insiders have a significant amount of capital invested in the stock. Indeed, they hold US$32m worth of its stock. That shows significant buy-in, and may indicate conviction in the business strategy. Even though that's only about 1.1% of the company, it's enough money to indicate alignment between the leaders of the business and ordinary shareholders. It means a lot to see insiders invested in the business, but I find myself wondering if remuneration policies are shareholder friendly. Well, based on the CEO pay, I'd say they are indeed. For companies with market capitalizations between US$2.0b and US$6.4b, like SiteOne Landscape Supply, the median CEO pay is around US$5.2m. The SiteOne Landscape Supply CEO received US$3.5m in compensation for the year ending December 2018. That seems pretty reasonable, especially given its below the median for similar sized companies. CEO compensation is hardly the most important aspect of a company to consider, but when its reasonable that does give me a little more confidence that leadership are looking out for shareholder interests. It can also be a sign of good governance, more generally. Given my belief that share price follows earnings per share you can easily imagine how I feel about SiteOne Landscape Supply's strong EPS growth. If you need more convincing beyond that EPS growth rate, don't forget about the reasonable remuneration and the high insider ownership. Each to their own, but I think all this makes SiteOne Landscape Supply look rather interesting indeed. If you think SiteOne Landscape Supply might suit your style as an investor, you could go straight to its annual report, or you could first checkour discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation for the company. You can invest in any company you want. But if you prefer to focus on stocks that have demonstrated insider buying, here isa list of companies with insider buying in the last three months. Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Should We Be Delighted With Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:SFM) ROE Of 27%? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! While some investors are already well versed in financial metrics (hat tip), this article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE) and why it is important. To keep the lesson grounded in practicality, we'll use ROE to better understand Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM). Sprouts Farmers Market has a ROE of 27%, based on the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this, is that for each $1 of shareholders' equity it has, the company made $0.27 in profit. Check out our latest analysis for Sprouts Farmers Market Theformula for return on equityis: Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders' Equity Or for Sprouts Farmers Market: 27% = US$148m ÷ US$557m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.) It's easy to understand the 'net profit' part of that equation, but 'shareholders' equity' requires further explanation. It is the capital paid in by shareholders, plus any retained earnings. Shareholders' equity can be calculated by subtracting the total liabilities of the company from the total assets of the company. Return on Equity measures a company's profitability against the profit it has kept for the business (plus any capital injections). The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that the higher the ROE, the more profitable the company is. So, as a general rule,a high ROE is a good thing. Clearly, then, one can use ROE to compare different companies. One simple way to determine if a company has a good return on equity is to compare it to the average for its industry. The limitation of this approach is that some companies are quite different from others, even within the same industry classification. As you can see in the graphic below, Sprouts Farmers Market has a higher ROE than the average (12%) in the Consumer Retailing industry. That's clearly a positive. We think a high ROE, alone, is usually enough to justify further research into a company. One data point to check is ifinsiders have bought shares recently. Companies usually need to invest money to grow their profits. The cash for investment can come from prior year profits (retained earnings), issuing new shares, or borrowing. In the first and second cases, the ROE will reflect this use of cash for investment in the business. In the latter case, the use of debt will improve the returns, but will not change the equity. That will make the ROE look better than if no debt was used. Sprouts Farmers Market has a debt to equity ratio of 0.93, which is far from excessive. When I see a high ROE, fuelled by only modest debt, I suspect the business is high quality. Careful use of debt to boost returns is often very good for shareholders. However, it could reduce the company's ability to take advantage of future opportunities. Return on equity is one way we can compare the business quality of different companies. Companies that can achieve high returns on equity without too much debt are generally of good quality. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt. Having said that, while ROE is a useful indicator of business quality, you'll have to look at a whole range of factors to determine the right price to buy a stock. The rate at which profits are likely to grow, relative to the expectations of profit growth reflected in the current price, must be considered, too. So you might want to check this FREEvisualization of analyst forecasts for the company. But note:Sprouts Farmers Market may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Irish regulator opens third privacy probe into Apple DUBLIN, July 2 (Reuters) - Apple's main regulator in the European Union, Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC), has opened a third privacy investigation into the iPhone maker over the last few weeks, a spokesman for the DPC said on Tuesday. The probe is examining whether Apple has complied with the relevant provisions of the EU's new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy law in relation to an access request from a customer. It follows investigations opened last year regarding how Apple processes personal data for targeted advertising on its platform and whether its privacy policy on the processing of that data is sufficiently transparent. The Irish DPC has 20 investigations open into multinational technology companies whose European headquarters in Ireland puts them under its watch, with Facebook under the most scrutiny with eight individual probes, plus two into its WhatsApp subsidiary and one into Facebook-owned Instagram. Like Apple, Twitter is also under three different investigations with one each for Google's, Microsoft owned LinkedIn and U.S. digital advertising company Quantcast. Under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), regulators have the power to impose fines for violations of up to 4% of a company's global revenue or 20 million euros ($22 million), whichever is higher. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by David Evans)
Surveillance Video Shows James Franco With Amber Heard One Day After Blowout Fight With Johnny Depp Johnny Depp is sending a subpoena to James Franco after surveillance video from the apartment Depp used to share with ex-wife Amber Heard allegedly shows Franco meeting up with Heard just 24 hours after the blowout fight that ended the couple's marriage. The video, obtained by The Blast, was taken in the elevator of the downtown Los Angeles apartment once shared by Depp and Heard. The time stamp on the video shows it was taken on May 22, 2016, close to 11:00 PM. The Surveillance Video Heard is seen in the video riding the elevator down to the area where guests would enter the building via the parking area. She exits the elevator and then, a few seconds later, Heard and Franco appear and re-enter the elevator together. Interestingly, the two stars seem to know there is a camera in the elevator (and its location) as they don't allow for their faces to been seen clearly during the ride. At one point, Heard is seen moving backward towards Franco, keeping her face away from the camera, and moves in close as she appears to be speaking with him while he keeps his head down. Franco and Heard exit the elevator together on the penthouse floor, where the Depp's apartment with Heard was located. Depp's legal team wants to question Franco to see if he and Heard discussed the blowout fight or if Franco saw whether or not Heard had injuries to her face from the previous night. In the video, Franco is seen wearing a hat and shirt he was seen wearing during the same time period in 2016. The hat is from The Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles and it, along with his shirt, is seen in photographs taken at a book signing in the same area. Depp's legal team is calling James Franco a "witness" and plan to grill him under penalty of perjury about what Heard might have said about the incident. Depp's attorney, Adam Waldman tells The Blast, "We are interested in James Franco and Elon Musk as fact witnesses because we have evidence they are men who saw Amber Heard's face in the days and nights between when she claimed Mr. Depp smashed her in the face on May 21 and when she went to court with painted on 'bruises' to obtain a Temporary Restraining Order on May 27." Story continues As The Blast first reported, Telsa and Space X founder Elon Musk was also seen entering the building in the weeks following Heard's restraining order filing in Los Angeles. We are told Depp will issue a civil subpoena to Franco to sit for a deposition in the $50 million defamation lawsuit that Depp filed against Heard. As far as why Franco and Heard would be together the night after the alleged violent incident with her husband, Heard's legal team claims Franco lived in the building at the time or prior to the incident. So it makes sense he would be riding up that specific elevator. Heard's lawyer, Eric George, tells The Blast, "This bogus story is just another lame attempt by Johnny Depp and his team to spread deliberately misleading information through the media so that he can continue to attack and abuse his ex-wife." George continues, Amber Heard and James Franco once lived in the same apartment complex and were simply taking an elevator at the same time. Period." He ends with a parting shot, "It's pathetic." Depp's lawyer disagrees, telling The Blast, "Surveillance footage and sworn witnesses place Mr. Musk and Mr. Franco separately sneaking into Johnny Depps penthouse in the nights after Amber Heards May 21 face beating claims. Ms. Heards team has now admitted Mr. Franco is the man cuddling with a nightgown-clad, perfect-faced Ms. Heard and hiding from the elevator surveillance camera at 11:00 PM on May 22, the day after her face beating hoax. Lies beget lies. Ms. Heards absurd pre-textual excuse for Mr. Francos presence in the elevator to Mr. Depps penthouse floor is that it was a chance encounter because James Franco 'lived in the building.'" He continues, "That is a lie. Mr. Franco didn't and doesn't live in the building. Nor does he live in the hallway of Mr. Depps private penthouse floor to which elevator 3 goes." As The Blast previously reported, the judge in the defamation case set a trial date for next year . The judge estimates the trial will last 12 days. In a restraining order she filed following the incident, Heard claims on the night of May 21, 2016, Depp threw a phone that hit the actress in the face. Amber's Harrowing Deposition In her response to the defamation suit Depp filed, Heard claimed that Depp began to abuse drugs and alcohol about a year into their relationship. She claims he frequently went in and out of "alcohol dependency medical care" and claims the drug use made him "a totally different person" that she dubbed "the Monster." Heard claims that the first time Depp hit her was in late 2012 or early 2013, saying she laughed at something he had said and he responded by slapping her across the face multiple times. Earlier this year, Depp filed a defamation lawsuit after Heard went public again about the allegations. In the suit, Depp said, "I have denied Ms. Heards allegations vehemently since she first made them in May 2016...when she walked into court to obtain a temporary restraining order with painted-on bruises that witnesses and surveillance footage show she did not possess each day of the preceding week. I will continue to deny them for the rest of my life. I never abused Ms. Heard or any other woman." Depp says he decided to file the lawsuit "not only to clear my name and restore my reputation, but to attempt to bring clarity to the women and men whose lives have been harmed by abuse and who have been repeatedly lied to by Ms. Heard purporting to be their spokesperson." It's unclear if Franco will answer any of the questions or fight the subpoena. The Blast reached out to James Franco and his representatives, so far no comment.
This Is What Congressional Democrats Witnessed at Border Patrol Stations in Texas Photo credit: LUKE MONTAVON - Getty Images From ELLE On Monday, Democratic members of Congress, including members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the House Judiciary Committee, traveled to visit two Border Patrol stations in El Paso and Clint, Texas. The delegation was there to investigate reports that detained immigrants at these facilities were living in squalid conditions. And that's exactly what they found. A number of the congressmen and congresswomen tweeted about what they saw, even though, as Rep. Joe Kennedy tweeted , the delegation said officers tried to restrict what they saw and attempted to block photos and videos. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that at the El Paso Border Patrol station, officers "were keeping women in cells w/ no water & had told them to drink out of the toilets." (When she was later asked on Twitter if she was referring to toilets that have sinks attached, she confirmed that's what was available to the women but said that when Rep. Ayanna Pressley tried to use the attached sink, no water came out.) This was in fact the type of toilet we saw in the cell. Except there was just one, and the sink portion was not functioning - @AyannaPressley smartly tried to open the faucet, and nothing came out. So the women were told they could drink out of the bowl. https://t.co/rcu9Rt6B2x - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 1, 2019 Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that when she "forced" herself into a cell and was able to speak with some of the women being held there, one described the officers' treatment as "psychological warfare" and that the women were woken up at odd hours for no reason and called slurs. One woman gave Ocasio-Cortez a small packet labeled "shampoo" but told the congresswoman that's what she was given to wash her entire body: Story continues CBP made us check our phones. But one woman slipped me this packet to take with me. It says “shampoo,” but she told me that this is all they give women to wash their entire body. Nothing else. Some women’s hair was falling out. Others had gone 15 days without taking a shower. pic.twitter.com/OsaKS0YD9a - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 1, 2019 Ocasio-Cortez also said the women told the group that Customs and Border Protection had "cleaned up" for the visit and that some women who had gone more than two weeks without a shower were permitted to start bathing after the visit was announced. She wrote, "What’s haunting is that the women I met with today told me in no uncertain terms that they would experience retribution for telling us what they shared." What’s haunting is that the women I met with today told me in no uncertain terms that they would experience retribution for telling us what they shared. They all began sobbing - out of fear of being punished, out of sickness, out of desperation, lack of sleep, trauma, despair. - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 1, 2019 Rep. Joaquin Castro, the head of the Hispanic Caucus, was able to take a video of some of the women in CBP custody at the El Paso station. You can see them sitting on the floor, huddled together in blue sleeping bags: This moment captures what it’s like for women in CBP custody to share a cramped cell-some held for 50 days-for them to be denied showers for up to 15 days and life-saving medication. For some, it also means being separated from their children. This is El Paso Border Station #1. pic.twitter.com/OmCAlGxDt8 - Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) July 1, 2019 Rep. Rashida Tlaib tweeted that she spoke with a father who slept on a concrete floor in a tent for four days with his wife, eight-year-old daughter, and 14-year-old son. He said they were denied showers and substantial food. A father teared up telling me that his wife, 8 yr old daughter & 14 yr old son have been sleeping on concrete floors in a tent for 4 days. They haven't been able to shower, no real food (chips & juice boxes) & so scared of being separated. #CloseTheCamps - Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) July 1, 2019 Just left the first CBP facility. The conditions are far worse than we ever could have imagined. 15 women in their 50s- 60s sleeping in a small concrete cell, no running water. Weeks without showers. All of them separated from their families. This is a human rights crisis. - Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (@RepDean) July 1, 2019 In a video, Rep. Judy Chu confirmed many of Ocasio-Cortez's statements, saying what she saw was "appalling" and "disgusting." She also said that she met a woman with epilepsy who is not able to get the medication she needs: "If you want water, just drink from a toilet." That's what border patrol told one thirsty woman we met on today's #DemsAtTheBorder trip. These are the same CBP personnel who threatened to throw burritos at members of Congress. Changes must be made. #DontLookAway pic.twitter.com/dW34DRduDA - Judy Chu (@RepJudyChu) July 1, 2019 On the day of the trip, ProPublica published an investigation into a secret Facebook group of current and former border patrol agents. (The group itself has about 9,500 members.) The investigation details that in the group, agents joked about migrants dying, posted sexist, doctored images of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez performing oral sex, and joked about throwing burritos at Latina members of Congress who were coming to visit the detention centers. Speaking at a press conference later on Monday-over the sounds of nearby hecklers- Rep. Pressley said, "This is about the preservation of our humanity. And this is about seeing every single person there as a member of your own family. I am tired of the health and the safety, the humanity and the full freedoms of black and brown children being negotiated and compromised and moderated. We need a system that works, that is humane, and that is compassionate, and that keeps families together." Rep. Ayanna Pressley: "I learned a long time ago that when change happens it's either because people see the light or they feel the fire. "We're lifting up these stories in the hopes that you will see the light. And if you don't, we will bring the fire." https://t.co/nlBLDXa7Cs pic.twitter.com/98XCO5embR - ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) July 1, 2019 ('You Might Also Like',) 10 Pairs of White Sneakers That Go With Everything 50 Surprising Things You Never Knew About 'Sex and the City' 20 Serums to Solve All Your Skincare Problems
Does Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX) Have A Good P/E Ratio? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! This article is for investors who would like to improve their understanding of price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll apply a basic P/E ratio analysis to Skechers U.S.A., Inc.'s (NYSE:SKX), to help you decide if the stock is worth further research.What is Skechers U.S.A's P/E ratio?Well, based on the last twelve months it is 17.09. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 5.9%. See our latest analysis for Skechers U.S.A Theformula for P/Eis: Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS) Or for Skechers U.S.A: P/E of 17.09 = $32.19 ÷ $1.88 (Based on the year to March 2019.) A higher P/E ratio means that investors are payinga higher pricefor each $1 of company earnings. All else being equal, it's better to pay a low price -- but as Warren Buffett said, 'It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.' Probably the most important factor in determining what P/E a company trades on is the earnings growth. When earnings grow, the 'E' increases, over time. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers. Skechers U.S.A increased earnings per share by a whopping 45% last year. And earnings per share have improved by 29% annually, over the last five years. I'd therefore be a little surprised if its P/E ratio was not relatively high. One good way to get a quick read on what market participants expect of a company is to look at its P/E ratio. You can see in the image below that the average P/E (17.1) for companies in the luxury industry is roughly the same as Skechers U.S.A's P/E. Skechers U.S.A's P/E tells us that market participants think its prospects are roughly in line with its industry. The company could surprise by performing better than average, in the future. I would further inform my view by checkinginsider buying and selling., among other things. One drawback of using a P/E ratio is that it considers market capitalization, but not the balance sheet. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth. While growth expenditure doesn't always pay off, the point is that it is a good option to have; but one that the P/E ratio ignores. With net cash of US$674m, Skechers U.S.A has a very strong balance sheet, which may be important for its business. Having said that, at 13% of its market capitalization the cash hoard would contribute towards a higher P/E ratio. Skechers U.S.A has a P/E of 17.1. That's around the same as the average in the US market, which is 18.2. The excess cash it carries is the gravy on top its fast EPS growth. So at a glance we're a bit surprised that Skechers U.S.A does not have a higher P/E ratio. All the more so, since analysts expect further profit growth.Click here to research this potential opportunity.. Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. If the reality for a company is not as bad as the P/E ratio indicates, then the share price should increase as the market realizes this. So thisfreereport on the analyst consensus forecastscould help you make amaster moveon this stock. You might be able to find a better buy than Skechers U.S.A. If you want a selection of possible winners, check out thisfreelist of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20 (but have proven they can grow earnings). 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.
Girl recalls poor care in Texas border station For almost two weeks, a 12-year-old migrant girl said she and her 6-year-old sister were held inside a Border Patrol station in Texas where they slept on the floor and some children were locked away when they cried for their parents. She was one of hundreds of migrant children who have been held this year in holding cells at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection station near El Paso that has come under fire for holding children in squalid and unsanitary conditions. In a video obtained by The Associated Press, the girl — speaking in Spanish — tells her Minnesota-based attorney Alison Griffith children were "treated badly" and were not allowed to play or bathe. The girl's face is not visible on the video to protect her privacy and not jeopardize her immigration case. El Paso, Texas, attorney Taylor Levy, who worked with the girl's family, said she and her sister were separated from their aunt when they arrived in the U.S. on May 23. The children, from Central America, were put in the Border Patrol station in Clint, Texas, Levy said. Their aunt is still being detained. Levy said the girls' mother fled an abusive husband and arrived in the U.S. four years ago. She has applied for asylum. The girls stayed behind with their aunt, but the three headed north in May after the girls' father threatened them, Levy said. In the video, the girl says that inside the Clint station, she was given pudding, juice and a burrito she could not eat "because it tasted very bad." "There are some children, like the age of my sister, they cried for their mother or their father. They cried for their aunt. They missed them," she said. "They cried and they were locked up." The attorneys discussed the case on the condition that the AP not release the girl's name or her country of origin out of concern for her family's safety. Lawyers who visited the Clint facility last month after the girls had already been released said the conditions were perilous, with more than 250 children trying to take care of each other, passing toddlers between them, with inadequate food, water and sanitation. Story continues Customs and Border Protection officials have repeatedly said the agency is "in a crisis mode" with too many immigrants and not enough resources. Customs gave journalists a tour of the Clint Border Station on June 26, and a congressional delegation visited Monday. In a facility designed to temporarily hold 100 adults, there were 117 children when AP visited, well below the 700 children Border Patrol said were detained there at one point earlier this year. On Friday, a federal judge ordered that an independent monitor appointed last year move "post haste" to improve conditions at Border Patrol stations, where children are supposed to be held just 72 hours. In the Clint station, some had been held almost a month. Levy said she helped reunite the 12-year-old girl and her sister with their mother. The mother flew to Texas from Minnesota to pick them up on June 3, after a Border Patrol official told her the girls had been repeatedly hospitalized with the flu. "It was an incredibly difficult reunification. The kids were just highly, highly traumatized," Levy said.
How U.S. Chipmakers Pressed Trump to Ease China's Huawei Ban (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. President Donald Trump’s decision to allow U.S. companies to continue selling to Huawei followed an extensive lobbying campaign by the U.S. semiconductor industry that argued the ban could hurt America’s economic and national security. In multiple high-level meetings and a letter to the Commerce Department, the companies argued for targeted action against Huawei Technologies Co. instead of the blanket ban the Trump administration imposed in May. That includes identifying specific technologies that the Chinese company shouldn’t be given access to, while allowing U.S. firms to supply the rest. The Semiconductor Industry Association, or SIA, a trade group that represents companies like Intel Corp., Broadcom Corp. and Qualcomm Inc., told the Trump administration that its sanctions against the Chinese company will make them appear to be unreliable partners, which will put them at a severe disadvantage globally. Representatives of chipmakers last month met with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to argue that the decision to place the company on a so-called entity list could hurt the country, people familiar with the meeting said. In the letter seen by Bloomberg News, SIA said that the action risked cutting off its members from their largest market and hurting their ability to invest. At the same time, Huawei would in many cases be able to get components elsewhere, they argued. “Overly broad restrictions that not only constrain the ability of U.S. semiconductor companies to conduct business around the world, but also casts U.S. companies as risky and undependable, puts at risk the success of this industry, which in turn impacts our national security,” the group wrote last month. They added that the administration should take into account those factors when evaluating license applications from American firms. Their talking points seem to have found their way to Trump. After concluding a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Osaka on Saturday, the U.S. president said American firms weren’t pleased with his Huawei policy and announced that he has agreed to let them keep shipping some of their components and technology. “I’ve agreed -- and pretty easily -- I’ve agreed to allow them to continue to sell that product so American companies will continue,” the president said during a press conference. “The companies were not exactly happy that they couldn’t sell because they had nothing to do with whatever was potentially happening with respect to Huawei. So I did do that.” He later clarified he will only allow them to sell “equipment where there is no great national emergency problem with it,” without offering more details. Trump’s comments stoked confusion among industry and analysts and the White House has not yet announced specifics on the path forward for U.S. companies doing business with Huawei. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Tuesday said Huawei’s involvement in 5G networks remains a "national security concern” but the sale of a “small amount of low-level chips” isn’t a “bad thing” if it persuades China to return to trade negotiations. "5G is huge, selling a few chips to Huawei is not,” Navarro said in an interview on CNBC. While China hawks in Congress and Trump’s administration feared a potential reversal of the export ban, U.S. industry has been pushing the White House to ease restrictions that require American firms to get a U.S. government license in order to sell to the Chinese tech giant. A spokesman for SIA said the group has “consistently urged the administration to advance U.S. semiconductor leadership as it works to preserve national security, and we’re encouraged by the direction the president set in Osaka.” A Commerce spokesman said companies can submit license applications explaining the importance of exports on their business relationship. When a case is made for license approval based on concrete and supportable facts, decisions on those licenses are made. When data is absent, Commerce is unable to act, the spokesman said. Chipmakers have been placed in a tough spot by the trade dispute and security-related action against Huawei. China is their biggest market, providing about a third of revenue. They’re arguing that not all exports to Huawei and its affiliates pose a security risk and that much of what’s sold there is easily replaceable with non-U.S. products. Given the massive cost of research and development for chips, continuing to miss out on revenue could hurt their competitiveness. Their concerns were stoked by China’s response to Trump’s Huawei ban. In May, Beijing threatened to compile a list targeting companies that it says are not dependable suppliers. American firms were also spooked when Chinese government officials called them in for meetings and threatened to add them to the list if they don’t make sure the U.S. eases up on its ban, people briefed on the meetings said. The chip industry’s proposed solution is to ask for a narrower set of restrictions, according to people involved in the negotiations with U.S. government representatives. They argued that there are choke points -- crucial pieces of technology, that if withheld could slow down Huawei without totally crippling it. In many cases, providing chips without the engineering support and software needed to integrate them in devices is enough, the people said. Micron, Intel In the letter the SIA highlighted several areas that don’t warrant a blanket ban. The memory chip industry is dominated by Korean makers with a 68% market share of the commodity products. That means if Micron Technology Inc., Intel and Western Digital Corp. are excluded from China, they will directly lose market share, the group argued. In analog chips, simpler components that convert things like sound and radio waves into digital signals, the U.S. owns 65% of the market. European and Japanese companies have ‘viable substitutes’ that Chinese customers could use. And even in logic chips, where companies such as Intel and Qualcomm have won the U.S. a 69% stranglehold, Huawei’s own HiSilicon chip unit is among a list of alternative providers that could offer replacements for crucial components of smartphones, computers and networking gear. National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said Sunday that the granting of licenses only applies to general merchandise. “Anything to do with national security concerns will not receive a new license from the Commerce Department. I think that’s very important.” Still, the Trump administration’s end goal remains unclear. Trump said he will only make a decision on what to do about Huawei when trade talks are in the final stages. “We’ll have to save that until the very end,” he said. (Updates with comments by Navarro from 10th paragraph.) --With assistance from Margaret Talev. To contact the reporters on this story: Jenny Leonard in Washington at jleonard67@bloomberg.net;Ian King in San Francisco at ianking@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Murray at brmurray@bloomberg.net, Sarah McGregor, Peter Elstrom For more articles like this, please visit us atbloomberg.com ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
The Charles Schwab Corporation's (NYSE:SCHW) 1.7% Dividend Yield Looks Pretty Interesting Want to participate in a short 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 The Charles Schwab Corporation ( NYSE:SCHW ) 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. Unfortunately, it's common for investors to be enticed in by the seemingly attractive yield, and lose money when the company has to cut its dividend payments. While Charles Schwab's 1.7% 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 1.7% of the company's market capitalisation at the time. Before you buy any stock for its dividend however, you should always remember Warren Buffett's two rules: 1) Don't lose money, and 2) Remember rule #1. We'll run through some checks below to help with this. Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis NYSE:SCHW Historical Dividend Yield, July 2nd 2019 Payout ratios Dividends are usually paid out of company earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. As a result, we should always investigate whether a company can afford its dividend, measured as a percentage of a company's net income after tax. In the last year, Charles Schwab paid out 20% of its profit as dividends. We'd say its dividends are thoroughly covered by earnings. Consider getting our latest analysis on Charles Schwab's financial position here. Dividend Volatility From the perspective of an income investor who wants to earn dividends for many years, there is not much point buying a stock if its dividend is regularly cut or is not reliable. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of Charles Schwab's dividend payments. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was US$0.24 in 2009, compared to US$0.68 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 11% a year over that time. Story continues Dividends have been growing pretty quickly, and even more impressively, they haven't experienced any notable falls during this period. Dividend Growth Potential The other half of the dividend investing equation is evaluating whether earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Over the long term, dividends need to grow at or above the rate of inflation, in order to maintain the recipient's purchasing power. It's good to see Charles Schwab has been growing its earnings per share at 27% a year over the past 5 years. The company is only paying out a fraction of its earnings as dividends, and in the past been able to use the retained earnings to grow its profits rapidly - an ideal combination. Conclusion When we look at a dividend stock, we need to form a judgement on whether the dividend will grow, if the company is able to maintain it in a wide range of economic circumstances, and if the dividend payout is sustainable. Firstly, we like that Charles Schwab has a low and conservative payout ratio. Next, growing earnings per share and steady dividend payments is a great combination. Charles Schwab fits all of our criteria, and we think there are a lot of positives to it from a dividend perspective. Companies that are growing earnings tend to be the best dividend stocks over the long term. See what the 15 analysts we track are forecasting for Charles Schwab for free with public analyst estimates for the company . We have also put together a list of global stocks with a market capitalisation above $1bn and yielding more 3%. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com . This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Companies to Watch: Mixed review for Uber, Revolve’s bullish rating, new owner for Hooters Here are the companies Yahoo Finance is watching today. Uber(UBER) is getting a mixed review at Stifel. Analysts there just initiated coverage of the ride hailing giant at a Hold, with a $50 price target. They say while they like Uber's growth prospects, it will be a long road to profitability. They also just upped their price target onLyft(LYFT) to $76 a share, rating that stock a Buy. A lot of bulls started coverage this morning onRevolve(RVLV), an online clothing retailer. The post-IPO quiet period just ended for this influencer driven website — and Guggenheim, Morgan Stanley and Jefferies all rated the stock "outperform." Jefferies even set the price target at $60 a share. The stock is up nearly 90% since it went public at $18 a share back in June. Trouble forGeneral Electric(GE) in Brazil. Several power companies there have started removing GE equipment after a series of explosions. One grid company said the equipment showed a higher failure rate than they expected. GE tells Yahoo Finance it has investigated the equipment and to date, there is no evidence that the incidents were caused by the design, components or manufacturing processes of this specific product. Arizona's governor wants to pull incentives from aNike(NKE) plant there after the company dropped an Independence Day-themed shoe. Colin Kaepernick had reportedly raised concerns about the symbolism of selling a shoe with an early American flag on it. The sneaker was expected to go on sale this week in celebration of Fourth of July. Hooters is getting a new owner.Chanticleer Holdings(BURG) is selling the restaurant chain to Nord Bay Capital and TrisArtisan Capital Advisors. No word yet on the terms of the deal but Hooters' investors are set to retain a stake in the company. In a statement, Terry Marks, CEO of Hooters of America, said the partnership with Nord Bay and TriArtisan will "support our next phase of growth."
The Trump Administration Protested When Kenya Halted a Coal-Fired Power Plant When the Kenyan government had second thoughts about allowing the countrys first coal-fired power plant, the Trump Administrations representative in the country protested. U.S. Ambassador Kyle McCarter, a Trump appointee who previously served as a Republican state senator in Illinois, went on Twitter to argue in a string of tweets that coal is environmentally sound, that the plant would boost the countrys economy and that a critical analysis of the plant from a clean energy think tank amounted only to the work of highly paid protestors. Coal is the cleanest, least costly option, U.S. Ambassador Kyle McCarter wrote from his official Twitter last week. Investors will come. Its unclear what lobbying if any McCarter has engaged in behind the scenes to promote the coal-fired power plant, but the voice of the U.S. government, which contributed more than a $1 billion in foreign to Kenya in 2017, carries weight within the country, and the White House has said that similar tweets from President Donald Trump are official statements. Regardless of whether McCarters tweets were approved by the State Department ahead of time, they reflect the Trump Administrations support for growing the coal industry internationally even as scientists warn that the energy source is one of the biggest contributors to climate change and growth in its use could make it all but impossible to keep the planet from warming to catastrophic levels. These warnings have been left unheeded by Trump, who promised to promote coal throughout his presidential campaign and has unwound environmental policies to that end as president. Most significantly for coal, Trumps Environmental Protection Agency has rewritten President Barack Obamas landmark regulation of the power sector to reduce its impact on coal-fired plants. Still, Trump has been unable to halt the market forces and other pressures that have led hundreds of coal-fired power plants to close. Story continues McCarter Twitter comments began on June 25, after Kenyas National Environmental Tribunals announced that it would halt construction of the Lamu coal-fired power plant, which would have been the first such power plant in the country. The court said the projects planners had failed to engage the local community and argued that the environmental review conducted ahead of the project did not adequately address several environmental issues including the countrys commitment to fighting climate change. The project could still be revived if a new environmental assessment adequately addresses the concerns laid out in the decision. These extraordinary measures are necessary to ensure sufficient access to information by the public on a project that will be the first of its kind in Kenya and the East African region, the National Environmental Tribunal said in its ruling. On Twitter, McCarter cited his experience with coal in his home state as evidence that the energy source would work well in Kenya. In his former position, McCarter received contributions from a slew of energy companies including coal interests, according to state disclosure forms. At the time, his nomination drew criticism from Democrats concerned that the Administration had not conducted proper vetting. A State Department Official told TIME on July 8 that the U.S. backs an approach that takes into account considers all forms of energy to support economic growth in the region and stressed that electricity must be affordable and predictable to attract investment. American companies and investors are ready to partner with Kenya to help them achieve an affordable and reliable power grid, in all forms of energy, the official said in an email, to support the exponential growth expected in Kenyas prosperous future using whichever source they choose. The U.S. recently launched a program promoting investment in the region, intended to serve as a geopolitical counterweight to Chinas growing influence, and McCarter seemed to suggest that a coal-fired new power plant would advance U.S. investment. Still, on its face, the project raises questions about how it would serve U.S. interests over Chinas given that it is financed by China and would be built by Chinese developers. In a contrast to McCarters remarks, the Chinese ambassador to Kenya met with opponents of the coal-fired power plant on June 28 and told them that he supported the will of the people of Kenya to decide whether there would be a coal power plant or not, according to a statement from activists. Trumps campaign promise to restore coal has been met with numerous challenges, particularly in the U.S. Even as the Trump Administration has halted environmental rules, American coal-fired power plants have continued to close as the cost of alternatives namely natural gas and renewable energy sources like wind and solar have fallen in cost. One bright spot for the industry has been the growth in international demand. While coal consumption fell in the U.S. last year, it rose slightly globally and is expected to remain steady for several years, according to a report from the International Energy Agency. Theres a need for our coal around the world, and they want to burn our coal around the world, Murray Energy CEO Bob Murray, a prominent Trump donor, told TIME last year. So its been an offset to a great extent to the loss of the domestic coal. The Kenyan National Environmental Tribunals decision follows a report from the U.S.-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis that found that the a new coal-fired power plant would increase energy costs in the country and make it difficult for the country to meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement. In particular, the report pointed to the countrys rich stock of geothermal, hydropower and other renewables, which could support the countrys growing economy for the next decade. Adding renewables, instead of coal, will be less expensive, says report author David Schlissel, citing a Kenyan government development report. That will mean that customers of Kenya Power will have more money to spend elsewhere than on their electricity. On Twitter, McCarter dismissed the report as the work of highly paid protestors.
Brazil's Petrobras shakes up trading unit amid increasing exports By Gram Slattery and Collin Eaton RIO DE JANEIRO/HOUSTON, July 2 (Reuters) - Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA is reorganizing its trading business, the company told Reuters on Monday, as the state-run oil firm seeks to best take advantage of an expected increase in oil and gas exports. Petrobras, as the company is widely known, is dividing its marketing and trading division into a domestic unit and an international unit, the company said in a statement, after two sources told Reuters of the changes. "Petrobras is splitting its Marketing and Trading area into Trading in Foreign Markets (CME) and Trading in Domestic Markets (CMI)," the company said. "The change aims to align Petrobras with movements in the sector and bring more synergies, innovation and agility to its trading unit." Petrobras is ramping up oil and gas production in Brazil's so-called pre-salt area, located off the nation's southeastern coast, which in turn has led the firm to eye new export markets. In May, Reuters reported that Petrobras would store crude in China to better respond to immediate demand by local refineries. Last week, Petrobras' head of downstream operations said exports could increase by over a third "in the coming years." While Petrobras' trading area has been divided principally by product - such as crude and various fuels - the main division will now be between domestic and international markets, said the sources, who requested anonymity as they were not permitted to speak publicly. The reorganization also comes as Petrobras' trading operation confronts a major corruption scandal that has engulfed major commodities trading houses, including Glencore PLC , Trafigura, Mercuria Energy Group and Vitol SA. In December, Brazilian prosecutors charged 14 people, including six former Petrobras employees, with taking part in a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud Petrobras. In June, Reuters reported that Petrobras managers, at least one of whom is still at the company, ignored previous warnings from employees about a fuel broker who prosecutors now say was a key actor in the scheme. (Reporting by Gram Slattery in Rio de Janeiro and Collin Eaton in Houston; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
How Financially Strong Is U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SLCA)? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! While small-cap stocks, such as U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SLCA) with its market cap of US$992m, are popular for their explosive growth, investors should also be aware of their balance sheet to judge whether the company can survive a downturn. Since SLCA is loss-making right now, it’s vital to evaluate the current state of its operations and pathway to profitability. We'll look at some basic checks that can form a snapshot the company’s financial strength. Nevertheless, this is not a comprehensive overview, so I recommend youdig deeper yourself into SLCA here. Over the past year, SLCA has ramped up its debt from US$512m to US$1.5b , which includes long-term debt. With this rise in debt, SLCA's cash and short-term investments stands at US$162m , ready to be used for running the business. Additionally, SLCA has generated US$244m in operating cash flow during the same period of time, resulting in an operating cash to total debt ratio of 17%, meaning that SLCA’s debt is not covered by operating cash. At the current liabilities level of US$327m, the company has maintained a safe level of current assets to meet its obligations, with the current ratio last standing at 1.77x. The current ratio is the number you get when you divide current assets by current liabilities. Generally, for Energy Services companies, this is a reasonable ratio since there is a bit of a cash buffer without leaving too much capital in a low-return environment. With total debt exceeding equity, SLCA is considered a highly levered company. This is a bit unusual for a small-cap stock, since they generally have a harder time borrowing than large more established companies. Though, since SLCA is currently unprofitable, sustainability of its current state of operations becomes a concern. Maintaining a high level of debt, while revenues are still below costs, can be dangerous as liquidity tends to dry up in unexpected downturns. Although SLCA’s debt level is towards the higher end of the spectrum, its cash flow coverage seems adequate to meet obligations which means its debt is being efficiently utilised. Since there is also no concerns around SLCA's liquidity needs, this may be its optimal capital structure for the time being. This is only a rough assessment of financial health, and I'm sure SLCA has company-specific issues impacting its capital structure decisions. You should continue to research U.S. Silica Holdings to get a more holistic view of the small-cap by looking at: 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for SLCA’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor SLCA’s outlook. 2. Valuation: What is SLCA 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 SLCA 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.
Huawei founder downplays effect of promised Trump reprieve: FT (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's move to relax a ban on Huawei Technologies Co Ltd's equipment will not have "much impact" on its business as it adjusts to a new era of American hostility, the Financial Times quoted Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei as saying on Tuesday. Trump said on Saturday the ban was unfair to U.S. suppliers, who were upset that they could not sell parts and components to Huawei without U.S. government approval. In May, Huawei was put on a U.S. list that restricts U.S. tech firms such as Alphabet Inc's <GOOGL.O> Google from doing business with the Chinese telecom network gear maker, viewed as a security risk by Washington amid trade tensions with Beijing. "President Trump's statements are good for American companies. Huawei is also willing to continue to buy products from American companies," Ren was quoted https://www.ft.com/content/3c0f59c2-9c43-11e9-b8ce-8b459ed04726 as saying. "But we don't see much impact on what we are currently doing. We will still focus on doing our own job right." Huawei did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. (Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
Is Now An Opportune Moment To Examine Covenant Transportation Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVTI)? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Covenant Transportation Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVTI), which is in the transportation business, and is based in United States, saw a decent share price growth in the teens level on the NASDAQGS over the last few months. Less-covered, small caps sees more of an opportunity for mispricing due to the lack of information available to the public, which can be a good thing. So, could the stock still be trading at a low price relative to its actual value? Let’s take a look at Covenant Transportation Group’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists. View our latest analysis for Covenant Transportation Group Good news, investors! Covenant Transportation Group is still a bargain right now. In this instance, I’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. I find that Covenant Transportation Group’s ratio of 6.38x is below its peer average of 16.94x, which suggests the stock is undervalued compared to the Transportation industry. What’s more interesting is that, Covenant Transportation Group’s share price is quite volatile, which gives us more chances to buy since the share price could sink lower (or rise higher) in the future. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market. Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. However, with a negative profit growth of -19% expected next year, near-term growth certainly doesn’t appear to be a driver for a buy decision for Covenant Transportation Group. This certainty tips the risk-return scale towards higher risk. Are you a shareholder?Although CVTI is currently undervalued, the adverse prospect of negative growth brings about some degree of risk. Consider whether you want to increase your portfolio exposure to CVTI, or whether diversifying into another stock may be a better move for your total risk and return. Are you a potential investor?If you’ve been keeping tabs on CVTI for some time, but hesitant on making the leap, I recommend you dig deeper into the stock. Given its current undervaluation, now is a great time to make a decision. But keep in mind the risks that come with negative growth prospects in the future. Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters – the fundamentals – before you make a decision on Covenant Transportation Group. You can find everything you need to know about Covenant Transportation Group inthe latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in Covenant Transportation Group, you can use our free platform to see my list of over50 other stocks with a high growth potential. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
‘Fox & Friends’ Host: Overcrowded Detention Camps Just Like House Party With Too Many People Reacting to reports that detained migrants are being held in cells with no running water, Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade on Tuesday likened the overcrowded border detention camps to house parties with too many guests. After a delegation of Democratic lawmakers said Monday that they witnessed atrocious conditions at the facilities and guards were telling migrants locked in cramped cells to drink toilet water, the Fox & Friends crew noted that Customs and Border Patrol was “pushing back hard,” claiming those accounts weren’t accurate. Kilmeade, meanwhile, launched into a rant in which he vociferously defended CBP’s handling of the growing crisis. “Picture yourself, you have a house, family of five,” Kilmeade said. “You have a party, you have 30 people over. Maybe you have a big party and you have 100 people over and you have two-and-a-half baths.” Fox’s Brian Kilmeade on Concerns About Detention Camp Conditions: ‘Never Going to Have a Hyatt’ He kept on going. “In the beginning, it would be OK with 30,” the pro-Trump Fox News star declared. “Then after 100 people, it would be a little bit taxed, maybe you got to get an outdoor facility. Can you picture 5,000?” Kilmeade went on for a bit longer, justifying the conditions asylum-seeking migrants have endured by saying it isn’t Border Patrol’s idea to “have a wide-open border” or “bad asylum rules.” Guest co-host Griff Jenkins agreed with his colleague, adding that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) “comparison to the concentration camp, her previous criticism, isn’t fair because all the people that are in our custody came on their own accord.” Following the segment, Ocasio-Cortez fired back on Twitter , taking direct aim at Kilmeade’s comparison, asking him when he last went to a party where he “drank out of a toilet” or was “locked in a cage under armed guard.” Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
Czech, Russia aviation authorities extend access till Sunday PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Transport Ministry has temporarily granted Russian airlines permission to fly to the Czech Republic until Sunday, giving aviation authorities from the two countries time to settle their dispute over flight routes. The ministry says it withdrew permits for Russian airlines after Russian authorities limited the rights of the Czech national carrier Czech Airlines to use the airspace over Russia's Siberia for flights from Prague to Seoul. It says it has temporarily parked that decision after Russia's move Tuesday to give the Czech airline use of the route until July 7. The ministry says it has no intention to block the flights but has "to protect the justified rights of Czech carriers." Prague's international airport says four flights operated by Russia's Aeroflot from Moscow to Prague were canceled Tuesday.
Brazil senate committee recommends indicting Vale executives BRASILIA, July 2 (Reuters) - A Brazilian Senate committee that has been investigating iron ore miner Vale SA's deadly dam collapse in late January recommended on Tuesday the indictment of Vale itself as a company, as well as dam stability auditor TÜV SÜD. In a 400-page report on the disaster that killed nearly 250 people, the committee also recommended the indictment of former Vale Chief Executive Fabio Schvartsman and its current chief financial officer, Luciano Siani. (Reporting By Jake Spring)
Why Cresco Labs Stock Deserves More Respect Than It’s Given The whole benefit of investing in the U.S. multi-state operators (MSOs) is playing out as planned with the approval of adult-use cannabis in Illinois. The large market opportunity immediately adds value to the Cresco Labs (CRLBF) business without the company having to acquire another business or look towards global expansion. The stock should not be trading at $10.50 with their growing total addressable market. Already Focused On Illinois The state of Illinois approved adult-use cannabis effective January 1, 2020. The state already had medical marijuana where Cresco Labs had 5 dispensaries addressing the need of the large population in Illinois that includes Chicago. (Source: Cresco Labs presentation) The company is in the middle of working on closing the Origin House (ORHOF) merger that provides wholesale access to 500 dispensaries in California. The opportunity in Illinois is estimated at a potential $2 to $4 billion market size leaving Cresco Labs in a great position whether or not the company gets approval to close that merger.As part of the Illinois approval, Cresco Labs can open 5 more dispensaries to reach a total of 10. The company plans to have these locations open before the adult-use market opens up on January 1 along with expanded cultivation facilities to reach the max allowed by the state. Illinois is well positioned to match the future importance of states like California and Florida as Cresco Labs completes acquisitions already in the works. Still Waiting Cresco Labs is still waiting on several transformational mergers to close. The Origin House deal got the typical request from regulators for additional information. Even the VidaCann merger in Florida hasn’t closed, but the company has now opened additional dispensaries along with plans to reach 20 locations by the end of 2019. The company has pending transactions that will allow Cresco Labs to enter New York, Massachusetts and Florida along with licenses to expand into Michigan. The deals gave the company access to 51 dispensaries and the approval in Illinois brings the total to 56. In addition, the revenue forecasts at the time of the merger topped $1 billion by 2021 and the new expansion in a large market should provide a nice boost to those original estimates. Cresco Labs should be positioned for substantial growth over the next couple of years. Once the mergers with Origin House and VidaCann close, the company will have substantial positions in the key cannabis markets of California, Florida and Illinois that all offer market opportunities that might exceed the current struggling Canadian market. At the time of the merger, the company had listed the fully diluted valuation in the C$5.5 billion range. With about a 15% decline in the stock price since, the updated valuation is about C$4.8 billion. The converted value is about $3.7 billion providing a very reasonable value for all of the opportunities for MSOs building scale in the U.S. Takeaway The key investor takeaway is that Cresco Labs remains an emerging MSO giant. The cannabis company has substantial growth plans right under the surface of investor view due to the pending acquisitions. Within a year, the company will go from reporting quarterly revenues in the $20 million range to topping $125 million. The stock will rise accordingly. To read more on the nitty gritty of what’s going on in the rising cannabis industry,click here. Read more on Cresco Labs • Stay Away from Cresco Labs Stock Until the Smoke Clears • Cresco Labs (CRLBF) Worth Another Look Following Earnings • Is 33% Upside Good Enough to Risk Buying Fitbit (FIT) Stock? Deutsche Bank Doesn't Think So • Deutsche Bank Remains Sidelined on AMD Stock; Here's Why • Antitrust Investigation Is Not a Major Threat to Alphabet (GOOGL) Stock, Says Top Analyst • Tesla's (TSLA) Gigafactory Is Impressive, But Its Stock Isn't, Says RBC Capital
McCormick’s Earnings Results in 3 Slides McCormick(NYSE: MKC)just wrapped up the first half of its fiscal 2019 in strong fashion. The spice and flavorings giant notched higher profitability and sales growth that, while modest, still outpaced the broader packaged foods industry. In aconference call with Wall Street analysts, and in a presentation to investors in conjunction with that call, CEO Lawrence Kurzius and his team went into more detail about the latest results and the reasons for their optimism regarding improving trends through the next six months. Below, we'll look at some highlights from those comments by McCormick's management. Image source: McCormick investor presentation. Sales grew 3% for the total company, with both [consumer and flavor solutions] segments growing sales in each of our three regions. This growth was attributable to higher volume and product mix as well as pricing and was entirely organic driven.-- Kurzius McCormick's expansion pace fell slightly when compared to the prior quarter and landed at the low end of management's target range for the year. Its 3% boost was held back bya slow start to grilling season, executives explained, which led to market share losses in some key niches, tempered by strong product launches elsewhere in the portfolio. Looking deeper into the results reveals healthy demand trends, with volume rising 2.1% overall and pricing inching higher by 0.7%. That balanced growth is a key reason management is still confident that the company will hit its full-year targets. bps = basis points. Image source: McCormick investor presentation. We increased gross profit margin 30 basis points year-on-year driven by cost savings. Our selling, general and administrative expense as a percentage of net sales decreased by 50 basis points from the second quarter of 2018.-- CFO Mike Smith It has been more than a year since McCormick added the higher-margin French's and Frank's condiment brands to its portfolio. So the company isn't seeing nearly the same profit boost from the acquisition as in past quarters. Gross profit margin inched up by less than half of a percent compared to a 2.2-percentage-point boost in 2018. Adjusted operating margin rose by 0.8 percentage points to 16.5% of sales, thanks mainly to cost cuts. Investors can expect profitability gains to be even more muted in the second half of the year because McCormick is planning to ramp up its marketing and advertising spending around the key fall and holiday selling seasons. 1H = first half (of fiscal 2019). 2H = second half. Image source: McCormick. As we enter the second and most significant half of our year, we are confident in our growth trajectory and that we are well positioned to deliver strong results in 2019.-- Kurzius McCormick affirmed its sales outlook, which implies that revenue gains will speed up over the next six months. That expected rebound is courtesy of a few timing choices that executives made that should combine to make the second half of fiscal 2019 look much stronger than the first half did. These include tilting marketing spending and product releases toward the back half of the year around key holiday cooking periods. As a result, the spice giant says the factors that pressured results this past quarter should turn into positives in fiscal Q3 and fiscal Q4. Investors can judge the accuracy of that prediction mainly by following organic sales growth in the months to come. Ideally, that metric will land at around 4% and include both volume and pricing gains to set McCormick up to return to its long-term 5% sales growth target by fiscal 2020. More From The Motley Fool • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,728 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • 20 of the Top Stocks to Buy (Including the Two Every Investor Should Own) • What Is an ETF? • 5 Recession-Proof Stocks • How to Beat the Market Demitrios Kalogeropouloshas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends McCormick. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Here's Why We Think SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Is Well Worth Watching Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Like a puppy chasing its tail, some new investors often chase 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without revenue, let alone profit. And in their study titledWho Falls Prey to the Wolf of Wall Street?'Leuz et. al. found that it is 'quite common' for investors to lose money by buying into 'pump and dump' schemes. In the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, my choice may seem old fashioned; I still prefer profitable companies likeSLM(NASDAQ:SLM). While that doesn't make the shares worth buying at any price, you can't deny that successful capitalism requires profit, eventually. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, unless its owners have an endless appetite for subsidizing the customer, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else breathe its last breath. View our latest analysis for SLM As one of my mentors once told me, share price follows earnings per share (EPS). Therefore, there are plenty of investors who like to buy shares in companies that are growing EPS. Impressively, SLM has grown EPS by 22% per year, compound, in the last three years. As a general rule, we'd say that if a company can keep upthatsort of growth, shareholders will be smiling. Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. I note that SLM's revenuefrom operationswas lower than its revenue in the last twelve months, so that could distort my analysis of its margins. SLM maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 20% to US$1.2b. That's progress. In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings, and revenue, over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers. In investing, as in life, the future matters more than the past. So why not check out thisfreeinteractive visualization of SLM'sforecastprofits? It makes me feel more secure owning shares in a company if insiders also own shares, thusly more closely aligning our interests. As a result, I'm encouraged by the fact that insiders own SLM shares worth a considerable sum. To be specific, they have US$23m worth of shares. That's a lot of money, and no small incentive to work hard. Even though that's only about 0.6% of the company, it's enough money to indicate alignment between the leaders of the business and ordinary shareholders. For growth investors like me, SLM's raw rate of earnings growth is a beacon in the night. I think that EPS growth is something to boast of, and it doesn't surprise me that insiders are holding on to a considerable chunk of shares. So this is very likely the kind of business that I like to spend time researching, with a view to discerning its true value. While we've looked at the quality of the earnings, we haven't yet done any work to value the stock. So if you like to buy cheap, you may want tocheck if SLM is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry. Although SLM certainly looks good to me, I would like it more if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see insider buying, too, then thisfreelist of growing companies that insiders are buying, could be exactly what you're looking for. Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
New York City Pride, Photographed by Daniel Arnold New York City Pride, Photographed by Daniel Arnold New York City was awash in rainbows all June, but no more so than on Sunday, when the official Pride Parade took place in Manhattan. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots , the complicated history, joyous present, and still-nascent future were on the minds of all the revelers, even those who were strutting and shimmying their way down Fifth Avenue. Daniel Arnold captured New Yorks biggest Pride ever for Vogue . Originally Appeared on Vogue
Does This Valuation Of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) Imply Investors Are Overpaying? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. I will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple! Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in theSimply Wall St analysis model. Check out our latest analysis for Valero Energy We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars: [{"": "Levered FCF ($, Millions)", "2020": "$4.5b", "2021": "$3.3b", "2022": "$2.6b", "2023": "$2.3b", "2024": "$2.1b", "2025": "$1.9b", "2026": "$1.9b", "2027": "$1.9b", "2028": "$1.9b", "2029": "$1.9b"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2020": "Analyst x8", "2021": "Analyst x2", "2022": "Est @ -20.89%", "2023": "Est @ -13.81%", "2024": "Est @ -8.84%", "2025": "Est @ -5.37%", "2026": "Est @ -2.94%", "2027": "Est @ -1.24%", "2028": "Est @ -0.05%", "2029": "Est @ 0.78%"}, {"": "Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 9.31%", "2020": "$4.1k", "2021": "$2.8k", "2022": "$2.0k", "2023": "$1.6k", "2024": "$1.3k", "2025": "$1.1k", "2026": "$1.0k", "2027": "$915.8", "2028": "$837.4", "2029": "$772.0"}] ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= $16.5b The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 10-year government bond rate (2.7%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 9.3%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$1.9b × (1 + 2.7%) ÷ (9.3% – 2.7%) = US$29b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= $US$29b ÷ ( 1 + 9.3%)10= $12.05b The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is $28.55b. 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 $68.42. Relative to the current share price of $84.25, the company appears slightly overvalued at the time of writing. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out. The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own 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 Valero Energy 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 9.3%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.104. 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. What is the reason for the share price to differ from the intrinsic value? For Valero Energy, There are three pertinent factors you should further examine: 1. Financial Health: Does VLO 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 VLO'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 VLO? 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 NYSE 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.
Mexican power company CFE says pipeline firms agree to renegotiate MEXICO CITY, July 2 (Reuters) - The head of Mexico's national power company CFE said on Tuesday that he has met with companies involved in a natural gas pipeline dispute that has escalated towards international arbitration and that they agreed to renegotiate the contracts Manuel Bartlett, the CFE's director, speaking at a news conference in Mexico City, added that the companies, which include Canada's TC Energy Corp, had sought international arbitration before Mexico had. The CFE is seeking to negotiate "fairer" terms for a number of pipeline contracts signed by the previous government which President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has questioned, suggesting they may have been too costly for the state. (Reporting by Abraham Gonzalez)
Ryan Serhant reveals his 'number one' career advice for young people (Exclusive) Ryan Serhant is sharing some of the secrets to his success. The star of Bravo's "Million Dollar Listing New York," which is going into its eighth season premiering on August 1, has cemented himself as one of the most successful real estate agents in Manhattan and, during a recent fireside chat for personal finance company,SoFi, he opened up about some of his best practices, giving event goers sage advice around what he considers to be smart approaches to business. "My number one advice to the people right out of school is to pick something you really want to do. At the beginning, you’re probably going to have to work for free so that you can work for the right people versus just worrying about what your income is going to be at the beginning and then working for the wrong people," he told AOL's Gibson Johns atSoFi's "Goal Getters" event. "Also, don’t take a day off for three years. That was the advice given to me when I started, and it sucked, but it paid off." For more from AOL's exclusive conversation with Ryan Serhant, including his everyday financial goals, making money in ways "that you can’t even anticipate," getting his start on "MDLNY" and more, read below: You're about to take part in a fireside chat at personal finance companySoFi's "Goal Getters" event. What does being a goal getter mean to you? My whole life is about setting goals -- settingachievablegoals -- and then having plans to actually go out there and do it. So many young people say they want to make a lot of money and I say, "Okay, but how are you actually going to do it?" They say, "I’ll do this, then that" and then they don’t and they move home. So, what I really try to do is to set actionable tasks that I can do every day that I can actually control. How much money I make is not something I can really control, unless I have a job that pays me a W-2, but I’m not in a business that does that. I know that in order to make a million dollars, I have to sell a certain amount of real estate every year and, in order to sell that amount of real estate, I’ve got to meet a certain amount of people that can hopefully turn into these types of deals, do a certain number of calls, do a certain number of mailings, and if I do all that work every day, that will hopefully turn into that income. That’s work I can control, and those are the basics of how my business is broken down. SoFiis also striving to help its members set financial goals. What’s an every day financial goal that you have for yourself? As a sales person, we are defined by our 1099s. I could tell someone I sold one billion dollars worth of real estate, and they’ll have no idea how much money I made. What were the commissions? What were the splits? How many other agents were involved? You have no idea. I have income goals, but my financial goals are really structured around my team and my business. I have a team of 64 people, and I know I want to do at least $70 million in sales every month. If we do that, in general, that should get me to the income goals that I want to achieve. People are here to hear from you, hoping to take away advice for their own careers and personal financial situations. Do you have go-to advice you give to people who ask you for guidance? It all starts with the work and doing something and staying consistent about it. Think about working out: A lot of people talk about wanting to get in shape -- that’s a goal that everyone sets a the beginning of the year -- but they never do it. It’s like, what is the work going to be and how are you going to make it consistent? Also, how are you not going to bite off more than you can chew? That’s what happens with working out: People work out hardcore for 30 days straight, and then they’e like, “This sucks.” And they don’t do anymore. You shouldn’t do it like that. It’s not just about ripping off a band-aid: Start with 5 minutes a day for two weeks and see if you can do it, then do 10 minutes a day then do 15 minutes every other day and slowly grow and slowly grow. It’s the same thing for making money. There are ways you can make money that you can’t even anticipate. There are ways to make money online now. One of my income streams is YouTube -- I had no idea! One of my income streams is an online course that I announced four hours ago. I try to find as many different revenue streams as possible, because it’s 2019 and you can. People can have many side hustles -- or main hustles! And people appreciate that hustle and the grind, as long as you do the work. My number one advice to the people right out of school is to pick something you really want to do. At the beginning, you’re probably going to have to work for free so that you can work for the right people versus just worrying about what your income is going to be at the beginning and then working for the wrong people. Also, don’t take a day off for three years. That was the advice given to me when I started, and it sucked, but it paid off. It was like grad school for me. Another one of your revenue streams is "Million Dollar Listing New York," which is going into its eighth season. What parts of your success do you attribute to that show? Surely it's done wonders for your career. Listen, there’s no shame about it for me: I was renting apartments in Koreatown when I got cast in that show. I got into real estate at the end of 2008, and I got cast in 2010. At that time, I was thinking about going back to school or going to NYU and learning about real estate development or moving home, because New York was really hard. Then I got cast on the show. The show didn’t give me business and no one cared at the beginning -- everyone thought it was the stupidest thing in the world -- but what it did is, through the threat of public humiliation, it forced me psychologically to do more work and make sh-t happen. I was terrified that I was going to go on this reality show about real estate and fail and suck as a real estate agent. Who would ever hire me? I didn’t want to be the guy who was just okay, and I didn’t want to do anything stupid, either. The cameras were going to follow me for nine months, and I have no control over the edit. I had to be really, really smart about what I was doing, and the show was a metaphorical shotgun to the head that said, "You need to figure out how to do this or we are going to publicly humiliate you." That was it for me. It didn’t help overnight -- it helped me get initial listings because of the exposure I could offer -- but things got better season by season. This is part one of Ryan Serhant's interview with AOL. Stay tuned for more ahead of the August 1 season 8 premiere of"Million Dollar Listing New York"on Bravo.
Trump on blight of homelessness in U.S. cities: 'It's disgraceful' President Trump says he is seriously considering tackling the blight of homelessness in major American cities an issue that Trump curiously believes began shortly after he became president. Its a phenomena that started two years ago. Its disgraceful, Trump told Fox News host Tucker Carlson in an interview that aired Monday night . Were looking at it very seriously because you cant do that. Carlson raised the topic by noting that unlike some U.S. cities, places like Tokyo and Osaka, Japan where the president recently traveled for the G-20 summit are clean. Theres no graffiti. No one going to the bathroom on the street. You dont see junkies, Carlson said. But New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles , theyve got a major problem with filth. Trump agreed. Its very sad, he said. Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: AP, Beck Diefenbach/Reuters While the number of homeless people in the United States has remained more or less the same since 2016, it has fallen considerably in the last decade. In 2018, there were about 553,000 homeless people, according to data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development , or nearly 100,000 fewer homeless people in the country than in 2008. Homelessness in San Francisco and Los Angeles, however, is on the rise. You cant have whats happening where police officers are getting sick just by walking the beat, the president said, perhaps referring to the recent report of a Los Angeles police officer who was diagnosed with typhoid fever. I mean, theyre getting actually very sick, where people are getting sick, where the people living there [are] living in hell too, Trump continued. The president then relayed an idea homeless advocates say is a myth: that some people choose to be homeless. Some of them have mental problems where they dont even know theyre living that way. In fact, perhaps they like living that way, he said. They cant do that. We cannot ruin our cities. People that work in those cities, Trump continued, they work in office buildings and to get into the building, they have to walk through a scene that nobody would have believed possible three years ago. Story continues The president went on to blame the liberal establishment for preventing him from cleaning up encampments of homeless people. This is what Im fighting, he said. Trump then said he successfully solved the blight burden in the nations capital shortly after taking office. I had a situation when I first became president, we had certain areas of Washington, D.C., where that was starting to happen, and I ended it very quickly. I said, You cant do that, Trump said. When we have leaders of the world coming in to see the president of the United States and theyre riding down a highway, they cant be looking at that. I really believe that it hurts our country. Homelessness in Washington, D.C., has dropped 12 percent since 2015 , according to the city. But the problem is personal for the president elsewhere too. I own property in San Francisco, so I dont care except it was so beautiful, Trump said. And now areas that you used to think as being, you know, really something very special, you take a look at whats going on with San Francisco, its terrible. So were looking at it very seriously, he added. We may intercede. We may do something to get that whole thing cleaned up. Its inappropriate. Now, we have to take the people and do something. We have to do something. ___ Read more from Yahoo News: AOC paints grim picture of detention centers: 'People drinking out of toilets' In rambling interview, Trump calls Biden 'a lost soul' U.S. probably had excellent presidents who were gay, Buttigieg says Trump wants his next press secretary to be a cable news street fighter Orlando Sentinel endorses not Donald Trump for president
Enbridge Analyst Sees Risks In Pipeline Projects, Downgrades Stock Recent meetings withEnbridge Inc(NYSE:ENB) management suggest heightened regulatory and project execution risks for the Line 3 (L3R) and Line 5 pipelines, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The Analyst Dennis ColemandowngradedEnbridgefrom Buy to Neutral with an unchanged CA$49 ($37.35) price target. The Thesis A meeting with Enbridge CEO Al Monaco in New York and with EVP and Chief Development Officer John Whelen in Calgary highlighted uncertainty around the timeline for L3R and the possibility of a prolonged litigation process for Line 5 (L5), Coleman said in the Tuesday downgrade note. (See his track record here.) The energy transportation giant projected CA$5-$6 billion in annual self-funding, which supports 5-7% growth in DCF per share in the longer term, the analyst said. While this is positive, more clarity is needed on the company’s “next leg of growth,” he said. Enbridge’s larger projects continue to face headline risks that could limit near-term upside to the stock, Coleman said. The company does have growth opportunities, including connectivity; last-mile prospects; investments in LNG facilities; utility assets; and possible M&A, the analyst said. "While we are encouraged by these growth prospects, we do not believe ENB’s overall growth potential is outsized compared to peers and believe it could face project capture risks due to sharp competition." Price Action Enbridge shares were down 0.33% at $36.05 at the time of publication Tuesday. Related Links: 62 Biggest Movers From Yesterday 50 Stocks Moving In Monday's Mid-Day Session Public domain photo via Wikimedia. Latest Ratings for ENB [{"Jul 2019": "Apr 2019", "": "", "Downgrades": "Downgrades", "Buy": "Outperform", "Neutral": "Neutral"}, {"Jul 2019": "Mar 2019", "": "", "Downgrades": "Downgrades", "Buy": "Outperform", "Neutral": "Sector Perform"}] View More Analyst Ratings for ENBView the Latest Analyst Ratings See more from Benzinga • Wedbush Stays On The Sidelines With Square, Points To Margin Expansion Concerns • Needham: Acacia Communications In Lead With Digital Signal Processing Development • BofA Downgrades Veterinary Medicine Maker Zoetis On Valuation © 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Did Changing Sentiment Drive Clearway Energy's (NYSE:CWEN.A) Share Price Down By 36%? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Clearway Energy, Inc.(NYSE:CWEN.A) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 13% in the last month. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last five years have been less than pleasing. After all, the share price is down 36% in that time, significantly under-performing the market. See our latest analysis for Clearway Energy There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS). During the unfortunate half decade during which the share price slipped, Clearway Energy actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) improve by 5.0% per year. So it doesn't seem like EPS is a great guide to understanding how the market is valuing the stock. Alternatively, growth expectations may have been unreasonable in the past. Based on these numbers, we'd venture that the market may have been over-optimistic about forecast growth, half a decade ago. Having said that, we might get a better idea of what's going on with the stock by looking at other metrics. The steady dividend doesn't really explain why the share price is down. It's not immediately clear to us why the stock price is down but further research might provide some answers. The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail). 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. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think Clearway Energy willearn in the future (free profit forecasts). When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference betweentotal shareholder return(TSR) andshare price return. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. We note that for Clearway Energy the TSR over the last 5 years was -15%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence! While the broader market gained around 8.4% in the last year, Clearway Energy shareholders lost 1.8% (even including dividends). However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. However, the loss over the last year isn't as bad as the 3.3% per annum loss investors have suffered over the last half decade. We'd need to see some sustained improvements in the key metrics before we could muster much enthusiasm. If you want to research this stock further, the data on insider buying is an obvious place to start. You canclick here to see who has been buying shares - and the price they paid. Clearway Energy is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at thisfreelist of growing companies with insider buying. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
How Much Are CanWel Building Materials Group Ltd. (TSE:CWX) Insiders Spending On Buying Shares? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares inCanWel Building Materials Group Ltd.(TSE:CWX). It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market. We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Columbia Universitystudyfound that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'. Check out our latest analysis for CanWel Building Materials Group President of CanWel Building Materials Division & Director Marc Séguin made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for CA$146k worth of shares at a price of CA$4.87 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being CA$4.85). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. In the last twelve months insiders purchased 155k shares for CA$769k. But insiders sold 16000 shares worth CA$80k. Overall, CanWel Building Materials Group insiders were net buyers last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction! There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at thisfreelist of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them). Over the last quarter, CanWel Building Materials Group insiders have spent a meaningful amount on shares. Specifically, Director Harry Rosenfeld bought CA$77k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. That shows some optimism about the company's future. Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Our data indicates that CanWel Building Materials Group insiders own about CA$11m worth of shares (which is 2.9% of the company). We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership. It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of CanWel Building Materials Group we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check thisfreereport showing analyst forecasts for its future. Of courseCanWel Building Materials Group may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see thisfreecollection of high quality companies. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
River Birch Global Water Launches United States Subsidiary and Establishes Quantum Water Services Corp. to Target the Remediation of Wastewater in the Oil & Gas Industry TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / July 2, 2019 /River Birch Global Water Inc. ("River Birch") (www.riverbirchwater.com) is pleased to announce the establishment of River Birch Global Water USA Inc., a Delaware-based wholly owned subsidiary of River Birch Global Water Inc., to act as its operating entity in the United States. In addition, the U.S. company, together with its business partners NuWater Systems LLC, Infinity Resources and Mobile Data have established Quantum Water Services Corp. ("Quantum"), a Delaware-based company, that will specialize in the remediation of wastewater in the oil & gas industry. "Our creation of our U.S. subsidiary and our partnership in Quantum represents another significant milestone for River Birch Global Water as we focus on becoming a global leader in the water industry. Current technology will enable us to clean the water, extract chemicals for re-sale, and make the water safe for reuse by industry or to be released back into the environment," said Peter Deacon, River Birch's President and CEO. The oil and gas industry is a significant producer of wastewater. According to a 2017 Bloomberg article, "30-50millionbarrels of wastewater are producedevery dayin the Permian Basin in Texas." "We are working with our business partners at Quantum to scale our business operations across multiple states and provide full service to energy producers in the fast growing $34 billion per year oil and gas water market," said Ray Kolynchuk, River Birch Director. About River Birch Global Water Inc. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, River Birch Global Water Inc. aims to be a global leader in water technology and services. The private company plans to grow both organically and through strategic acquisitions, leveraging synergies across its various business lines and distribution channel partners. The company focuses on desalination, purification, filtration, water treatment, wastewater treatment, storage, circulation, and nutrient removal. About Quantum Water Services Corp. Quantum Water Services Corp. is a Delaware based corporation that will specialize in the treatment of wastewater in the oil & gas industry. Quantum will actively manage storage, processing of frac wastewater and the subsequent re-sale of the treated water and any derivative products created. Forward Looking Information: This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Although River Birch believes in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because River Birch can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release. River Birch undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of River Birch, its securities, or financial or operating results (as applicable). River Birch disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws. For further information: Peter Deacon, CEOt: (416) 500-8396e:info@riverbirchwater.com RELATED LINKS www.riverbirchwater.comwww.quantumwaterservices.comwww.mobiledataproduction.com SOURCE:River Birch Global Water Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/550613/River-Birch-Global-Water-Launches-United-States-Subsidiary-and-Establishes-Quantum-Water-Services-Corp-to-Target-the-Remediation-of-Wastewater-in-the-Oil-Gas-Industry
Quantum Water Services Corp. Launches Business Focused on Remediation of Wastewater in the Oil & Gas Industry COLUMBUS, OH / ACCESSWIRE / July 2, 2019 /Quantum Water Services Corp. ("Quantum") a Delaware based company is pleased to announce that it has established operations, with a focus on targeting the remediation of wastewater in the oil & gas industry. "With on-shore Oil and Gas production, every barrel produced generates up to 12 barrels of wastewater. Most of this wastewater is minimally treated and simply injected back into a well. Using proprietary technology, Quantum will accept used frac water for treatment and remove chemicals in the water to develop derivative products for sale to energy producers and other industry buyers," stated Christian Olson, CEO of Quantum. Leveraging the combination of industry/field experience from business partners Infinity Resources and Mobile Data, along with River Birch's commitment to leadership in global clean water projects, the company looks to capitalize on this large and growing market focusing on comprehensive wastewater treatment generated during the on-shore production of oil and gas from either conventional or frac-drilled wells. "We are excited at the opportunity to deploy water service assets to support oil and gas production by remediating water used in the hydraulic fracturing process. Quantum provides a water solution to enable production to come online while delivering an environmentally sensitive process to cleaning used production water," said Peter Deacon, Director of Quantum and President of River Birch Global Water Inc. "The sourcing and disposal of water at frac sites continues to represent a growing business risk for energy producers," said Dan Johnson, Director of Quantum and President, Mobile Data. According to a 2017 Bloomberg article, 30-50millionbarrels of wastewater are producedevery dayin the Permian Basin in Texas. There is a tremendous opportunity to establish multiple depots to treat oil and gas wastewater across North America. Quantum plans to grow aggressively to service the market by opening up to 15 depots by 2021. "We are seeing a fast growing demand for the chemicals used at frac sites with an expanding need for reliable suppliers to be able to deliver at frac locations without interrupting production," said Ricky Tillett, Director of Quantum and President, Infinity Resources. "Scaling with current technology, we expect that our business operations will maintain attractive profit margins processing as little as 1,200 barrels of wastewater per day to more than 25,000 barrels per day by location," stated Andrew Cormier, Quantum CFO. About Quantum Water Services Corp. Quantum Water Services Corp. is a private Delaware based corporation that is specializing in the treatment of wastewater in the oil & gas industry. Quantum actively manages storage, processing of frac wastewater and the subsequent re-sale of the treated water and any derivative products created. About River Birch Global Water Inc. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, River Birch Global Water Inc. aims to be a global leader in water technology and services. The private company plans to grow both organically and through strategic acquisitions, leveraging synergies across its various business lines and distribution channel partners. The company focuses on desalination, purification, filtration, water treatment, wastewater treatment, storage, circulation, and nutrient removal. About Mobile Data L.L.C. Mobile Data LLC is a private family owned production company with more than forty years of field experience. The company specializes in providing on-site expertise in oil production and a range of services across the North American oil and gas industries. Among Mobile Data's many services delivered to the market, it helps energy companies with their frac water supply and chemical treatment programs. The company is highly regarded for its strong morale character that is based on a passion for the industry, its development and respect for the land and environment. The Mobile Data production company is based in Dickinson, North Dakota About Infinity Resources Infinity Resources is based in Morgan City, La. Through strategic partnerships and over 25 years of experience in the oil and gas industry we focus on providing quality products at competitive prices with unprecedented service to our customers. We have 8,000 square feet of warehouse space and offer blending and storage of salts and other commodities utilized in oil and gas exploration. Forward Looking Information: This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Although Quantum believes in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because Quantum can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release. Quantum undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of Quantum, its securities, or financial or operating results (as applicable). Quantum disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws. For further information: Christian Olson, CEOt: 614-634-1089e:info@quantumwaterservices.com RELATED LINKS www.quantumwaterservices.comwww.riverbirchwater.comwww.mobiledataproduction.com SOURCE:Quantum Water Services Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/550614/Quantum-Water-Services-Corp-Launches-Business-Focused-on-Remediation-of-Wastewater-in-the-Oil-Gas-Industry
Up 200% in Under 2 Years, Etsy Stock Wins Another Fan on Wall Street Every day, Wall Street analysts upgrade some stocks, downgrade others, and "initiate coverage" on a few more. But do these analysts even know what they're talking about? Today, we're taking one high-profile Wall Street pick and putting it under the microscope... Today we're going to look at a stock that quite honestly frightens me --Etsy(NASDAQ: ETSY)-- and it frightens me because I've seen this story unfold before. (Hint: The Spanish-language version of this story is called "MercadoLibre.") The story goes like this: Unprofitable "tech stock" bursts onto the market ina hot IPO, craters on miserable earnings but then...gets better. The business turns around, profits begin pouring in, the shares skyrocket, and eventually, the company ends up looking wildly overpriced -- but is still growing like gangbusters. It's at this point that a value investor like myself has to decide whether the growth justifies the price (and most often it does not appear to). Other investors, however, beg to differ. This time, the other investor recommending a highflier isNeedham & Company. Image source: Getty Images. Yesterday, Needham announced that after sitting out Etsy's 200% gain in share price since early 2018, it's finally prepared to dive into the stock -- and is initiating coverage at buy, with a price target of $75 implying more than 21% additional upside. Why does Needham think this? StreetInsider.comhas the details. "Etsy is an e-commerce marketplace that allows entrepreneurs (sellers) to transact with consumers (buyers)," says Needham by way of introduction. "We believe Etsy has the right drivers to continue growing sales by >mid-teens%. We see it capturing new buyers, generating higher sales with existing buyers, and improving its take rate from sellers." Andthe numbersbear this out. For example, last quarter Etsy reported a 13% increase in the number of active sellers on its marketplace, and a 28% increase in the number of active buyers. But sales and profits grew all out of proportion to this increase in the number of users populating Etsy's marketplace. Sales: Up 40% year over year. Earnings: Up140%! Nor were Etsy's fiscal Q1 2019 results any kind of a fluke. Indeed, data fromS&P Global Market Intelligenceshow that over the last five years, Etsy's sales have grown at a compound annual rate of 37%. Gross profit margin on those sales has climbed more or less steadily, from 61.8% in 2013 to 68.4% in 2018 (and 69% over the last 12 months). Operating profit margin is up from less than 1% to more than15%. And net profit margin, negative from 2013 all the way through 2016, is now approaching 15% as well. And Etsy may not be done yet. According to Needham, not only are the company's numbers "strong" already, but the analyst also expects them to "expand further on leverage from sales growth and benefits of high-margin service revenue." In other words, not only should sales continue to grow, but theprofitabilityof each additional sale will grow as well. As a result, Needham has every reason to believe that "Etsy's positive momentum and narrative are poised to continue." Of course, this is the part of the story where things get tricky for value investors. On average, analysts polled by S&P Global forecast that Etsy will keep on growing its earnings at better than 21% annually over the next five years -- a prediction that could prove to be conservative if the company continues going the way it's been going over the last five years. The question is whether Etsy will grow fast enough, however, to justify its very rich valuation of nearly 37 times free cash flow -- and more than 77 times trailing earnings. Personally, having seen how a company like MercadoLibre with similar dynamics has outperformed expectations, I strongly suspect that Needham is right, and Etsywillcontinue to defy expectations and grow faster than predicted. But that still doesn't mean I'm brave enough to buy Etsy at these prices -- not even on Needham's say-so. More From The Motley Fool • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,728 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • 20 of the Top Stocks to Buy (Including the Two Every Investor Should Own) • What Is an ETF? • 5 Recession-Proof Stocks • How to Beat the Market Rich Smithhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Etsy and MELI. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Is The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company's (NYSE:SMG) CEO Being Overpaid? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Jim Hagedorn has been the CEO of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) since 2001. 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. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid. View our latest analysis for Scotts Miracle-Gro At the time of writing our data says that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a market cap of US$5.5b, and is paying total annual CEO compensation of US$5.2m. (This is based on the year to September 2018). We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at US$1.1m. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from US$4.0b to US$12b, and the median CEO total compensation was US$6.9m. So Jim Hagedorn receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. This doesn't tell us a whole lot on its own, but looking at the performance of the actual business will give us useful context. You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Scotts Miracle-Gro has changed over time. Over the last three years The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has shrunk its earnings per share by an average of 5.0% per year (measured with a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 13% over last year. Few shareholders would be pleased to read that earnings per share are lower over three years. And while it's good to see some good revenue growth recently, the growth isn't really fast enough for me to put aside my concerns around earnings. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. It could be important to checkthis free visual depiction ofwhat analysts expectfor the future. Most shareholders would probably be pleased with The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company for providing a total return of 53% over three years. As a result, some may believe the CEO should be paid more than is normal for companies of similar size. Remuneration for Jim Hagedorn is close enough to the median pay for a CEO of a similar sized company . The company isn't growing earnings per share, but shareholder returns have been strong over the last three years. So we doubt many are complaining about the fairly normal CEO pay. So you may want tocheck if insiders are buying Scotts Miracle-Gro shares with their own money (free access). If you want to buy a stock that is better than Scotts Miracle-Gro, 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.
Gabrielle Rubenstein’s new private equity firm focuses on healthy foods The healthy food space is ripe for investment. That’s the assessment from Gabrielle Rubenstein, CEO and co-founder ofManna Tree Partners, a Colorado-based private equity firm founded in 2018, along with co-founders Ross Iverson and Brent Drever. Rubenstein, daughter of private equity titan and billionaire David Rubenstein, who is co-founder and co-executive chairman of The Carlyle Group (CG), is bringing her passion for healthy eating to the investment world. Manna just announced a growth equity investment in Vital Farms, a company that specializes in the pasture raised egg market. Financial terms were not released. “They have about 350 farms in the pipeline,” Gabrielle Rubenstein said in an interview. “They’re in about 9,000 grocery stores. We’re looking to expand that.” There is an appetite among consumers to know where their food is coming from, according to Rubenstein, a concept Vital Farm embraces. Its YouTube channelis filledwith videos about its farms and products. Aside from niche proteins like Vital Farms, Rubenstein said Manna is looking at the plant based food space for possible investments. The investor excitement in the plant-based food space can be seen in Beyond Meat (BYND), which debuted as a public company back in May. The stock is up more than 500% from its IPO price. Rubenstein studied agriculture at Purdue University, after graduating from Harvard. She also spent time living in Alaska. “Many people came to Alaska looking to invest in fish and water and that tipped off something in my mind that there was something there,” she said, referring to the broader healthy and sustainable food space. “I love eating healthy. I like being in the wilderness. I love sourcing my own food,” she said. “I constantly feel like I’m learning and bringing knowledge to our firm.” Aside from Rubenstein’s studies in the agriculture space over the past decade, she’s learned business lessons from her father, who owns a 10% stake in Manna’s general partnership. “It’s fun for me to be able to speak my dad’s language,” she said, referring to the private equity world. When starting Manna, she didn’t have any desire for her father to be involved. “I wanted to make sure I could get our own credibility,” she said. When her father asked to buy a stake in the firm, she told him it wasn’t for sale, as she recalled her father’s earlier lessons about the downside of giving up too much of a stake in a business. The two later came to an agreement. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Scott Gamm is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter@ScottGamm. More from Scott: • The earnings picture for 2019 is showing more signs of deterioration • The next rate cut is unlikely to be caused by weak growth, economist explains • Why Trump should be worried about the stock market selloff • What the plunging 10-year Treasury yield says about the economy and stock market • Why one top strategist is bullish on tech even with lingering trade worries Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,LinkedIn, andreddit.
Here comes 3,100 for this key stock market index The bulls are stampeding down Wall Street, trampling any human yelling out “sell, sell, sell” amid escalating trade wars with China and now the European Union. In short, welcome to the summer of mind-blowing — and ridiculously risky — calls on Wall Street as we eye the final months of the year. Crossmark Global Investments strategist Victoria Fernandez tells Yahoo Finance she thinks 3,100 on the S&P 500 by year end looks reasonable. The march higher — the S&P 500’s last trade was about 2,967 as of the time of this writing — will unlikely happen in a straight line, Fernandez says, and investors still need to have some form of cautiousness. Her top picks: The very globally exposed McDonald’s (MCD) and Intel (INTC). “We are thinking about with inflation at about 1% to 2% you usually get [a price-to-earnings multiple] of 18 times, we are right around 17 times at this point in time. So, 3,100 looks reasonable to us,” Fernandez said on Yahoo Finance’sThe First Trade. Fernandez joins JPMorgan this week in making a rather bullish S&P 500 call. “While trade uncertainty remains the single largest source of downside risk for equities, a trade deal along with central bank monetary easing and low equity positioning could push the S&P 500 beyond 3,200,” wrote Dubravko Lakos-Bujas, JPMorgan’s chief U.S. equity strategist,in a Monday note to clients. JPMorgan somewhat tempered its optimism by noting its base case for the S&P 500 is 3,000 this year. A worse-case scenario: 2,500. Thank you for all these buzzy calls, in large part, goes to the Federal Reserve. From Fed Chief Jerome Powell to New York Fed Chief John Williams, most of the FOMC have stoked the hopium on the Street with their open mouth operation efforts to drive hopes for an interest rate cut. Investors love rate cuts. And we suppose, thank you President Donald Trump for frequently attacking the Federal Reserve on Twitter. It seems as if with more attacks, the supposedly not political Fed comes out and blows a kiss to the markets. Here comes 3,100... or more likely, 2,700 on the S&P 500. Yahoo Finance’sScott Gammcontributed to this story. Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-host of ‘The First Trade’ at Yahoo Finance. Follow Brian Sozzi him on Twitter@BrianSozzi Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance • Why Shake Shack CEO is testing a 4-day workweek • Trump's trade war with China may shock investors this summer • 2 black swans could come out of nowhere and kill stocks this summer • Why scrapping Trump's corporate tax cuts could crush businesses Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,SmartNews,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit.
U.S. crude to trickle onto new Gulf Coast lines as connections, storage opens -sources By Devika Krishna Kumar and Collin Eaton NEW YORK/HOUSTON, July 2 (Reuters) - A year-old bottleneck of crude in West Texas is shifting east as new pipelines prepare to begin operations without enough connections or storage for the smooth movement of shale oil to a U.S. Gulf Coast export hub, according to traders and analysts. The United States exported a record 3.8 million bpd of crude in late June after Congress lifted a 40-year export ban in late 2015. Soaring Permian crude output last year exceeded available pipeline space, creating a West Texas glut that knocked regional prices <WTC-WTM> to the lowest levels in four years and helped spur a pipeline construction boom. The start-up of three new pipelines by year-end from the Permian Basin was expected to bring about 2 million new barrels per day to export terminals around Corpus Christi. The prospect has narrowed the discount for Permian Basin oil compared with Brent to about $5.50 a barrel, down from about $8.50 in March. But the rush to build pipelines largely outpaced construction of crude export docks and storage tanks in Corpus Christi, a timing mismatch that could create bottlenecks through the end of 2019, Barclays analysts said. They forecast the discount for Midland crude to Brent could widen again, to between $9 and $14 a barrel next year. New oil pipelines typically are quick to fill as producer commitments and connections allow. However, at least one of the new lines, owned by EPIC Crude Pipeline LP, does not yet have all the connections and storage to handle the full 400,000 bpd capacity, sources said and regulatory filings released on Monday show. EPIC's line, which was converted to transport crude from natural gas liquids temporarily, has only filled about half of its initial capacity, and will move smaller-than-expected volumes when it begins service next month because of the lack of connections, according to nearly a dozen traders, brokers and others familiar with the company's operations. EPIC declined to comment but in a regulatory filing on Monday acknowledged it will provide only "minimal working tankage for storage" needed to move the oil. Some access and unloading points are either not yet in service or expected to be in service only by Aug. 15, the filing said. The pipeline operator is in talks with NuStar Energy, which has a terminal at Corpus Christi, a NuStar spokesman confirmed. A deal could help address EPIC's storage shortfall as it works to construct its own terminal, traders said. A second Permian oil pipeline that is expected to start operations late this year, Phillips 66's Gray Oak, also faces limited dock capacity in Corpus Christi, market sources said. Phillips 66 declined to comment other than to say it anticipates beginning service by year-end with connections to Corpus Christi refineries and export facilities. EPIC, Phillips 66 and a third impending pipeline, Plains All American Pipeline LP's Cactus II, will be able use the largest export terminal near Corpus Christi, Moda Midstream LLC's Ingleside terminal. Moda has completed some of the tanks as part of the process of expanding storage to 12 million barrels, with the full completion expected in 2020, a spokesman told Reuters. (Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York and Collin Eaton in Houston; Editing by Dan Grebler)
YOUR MONEY-New U.S. loan rates make it cheaper to borrow for college By Beth Pinsker NEW YORK, July 2 (Reuters) - The cost of borrowing money for college in the United States just got a little bit cheaper. The federal government lowered interest rates for student loans starting July 1. New rates for direct undergraduate loans are 4.53%, down from 5.05%. Graduate direct unsubsidized loans are 6.08%, down from 6.6% and Parent PLUS loans are 7.08%, down from 7.6%. The average undergraduate will save $199 in borrowing costs during the next academic year, according to calculations by Credible.com, a marketplace for private student lenders. In aggregate with graduate and parent loans, that amounts to $3 billion in overall interest savings. Unfortunately, this rate cut will not affect the estimated $1.6 trillion already owed in student debt, because the changed rates only apply only to new loans. All this will come as news to many students who take out federal loans for college, even though it was announced months ago. When families call financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz for help, they often do not know their loan balance, servicer or interest rate. "Students might have a subsidized federal loan and an unsubsidized loan each year, so that's eight, maybe 12 if their parents also have loans, and managing that can be challenging," said Kantrowitz, publisher and vice president of research at savingforcollege.com. Federal student loans do not come with the same kind of disclosure documents as mortgages, which detail the interest rate, monthly payments and applicable rules for repayment. They do not even have the same rules as private student loans, which are required to provide rate disclosures. "Financial award letters and net price calculators make it unclear how much you are borrowing, so it's no wonder that students are in over their heads," Kantrowitz said. MYTH BUSTING One risk of the lower rates is that students will think they can borrow more, but this could lead to risky borrowing. "This is just for one year's loans," cautioned Kantrowitz. "Regardless of the interest rate, you're still paying back principal." Another risk is that students may be tempted to refinance prior loans, especially if they see aggressively advertised low rates on the private market. Even those in the private student loan business say that federal student loans are usually a better deal for undergraduate students, because there are more consumer protections and income-based repayment options along with no co-signing requirements. For graduates and parents, the math might be different. If you are a parent with good credit, private rates are competitive, said Christine Roberts, head of student lending for Citizen's Bank. However, it is not always easy to compare borrowing options. The place to start is studentloans.gov, where you can see your federal loan information. For those loans, families need to be aware that any listed interest rate also comes with fees, which would drive up the actual cost of borrowing. On the private loan side, your credit score or other underwriting factors could disqualify you for the advertised rates. Simply knowing the difference between an interest rate and an annual percentage rate (APR), which rolls up all the costs of a loan, is important financial literacy, said Joel Frisch, head of Americas at Prodigy Finance, a UK-based firm that specializes in lending to international graduate students. "If one loan is 6% with a 1% fee and one is 5% with 4% application fee, it's really hard if you just look at interest rates," Frisch said. The bottom line is to take your time. "If you are taking on the debt of a small mortgage, take more than 60 seconds thinking about it," Kantrowitz said. A recent Duke University study showed that students who take the time to think about how much they are borrowing and what it is used for ended up taking thousands less in loans. Duke is now in its second year of issuing a spring debt letter to each student, which details their loans and gives a ballpark estimate of what monthly payments will be after graduation. "The first time we sent it out, we got two phone calls within the hour from concerned students," said Irene Jasper, Duke's director for the office of student loans and personal finance. "That was pretty cool." (Follow us @ReutersMoney or at http://www.reuters.com/finance/personal-finance. Editing by Lauren Young and David Gregorio)
If You Had Bought Columbia Property Trust (NYSE:CXP) Stock Five Years Ago, You'd Be Sitting On A 18% Loss, Today Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Ideally, your overall portfolio should beat the market average. But in any portfolio, there will be mixed results between individual stocks. At this point some shareholders may be questioning their investment inColumbia Property Trust, Inc.(NYSE:CXP), since the last five years saw the share price fall 18%. It's down 1.1% in the last seven days. See our latest analysis for Columbia Property Trust There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Looking back five years, both Columbia Property Trust's share price and EPS declined; the latter at a rate of 24% per year. The share price decline of 3.9% per year isn't as bad as the EPS decline. So investors might expect EPS to bounce back -- or they may have previously foreseen the EPS decline. The high P/E ratio of 218.86 suggests that shareholders believe earnings will grow in the years ahead. The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail). Dive deeper into Columbia Property Trust's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Columbia Property Trust'searnings, revenue and cash flow. When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference betweentotal shareholder return(TSR) andshare price return. The TSR 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. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. We note that for Columbia Property Trust the TSR over the last 5 years was 1.9%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. This is largely a result of its dividend payments! Investors in Columbia Property Trust had a tough year, with a total loss of 4.8% (including dividends), against a market gain of about 8.4%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 0.4%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. Importantly, we haven't analysed Columbia Property Trust's dividend history. Thisfreevisual report on its dividendsis a must-read if you're thinking of buying. 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.
Amazon Prime Day 2019 deals are already happening - shop 10 of the best fashion bargains We sure hope you’ve been saving your pennies, as Amazon Prime Day 2019 is fast approaching with mega deals set to drop on the 15th and 16th July. But fashion fanatics needn’t wait until then to scoop a bargain or two, as the online retailer has already introduced up to 50% off its fashion brands - with deals set to last until 28th July. So what are you waiting for? Add these summer must-haves to your wish list and tackle the season in one fell (fashionable) swoop. Animal Print Maxi Skirt - Was, £30 Now, £24.21 Buy now . Straight High Rise Jeans - Were £32, Now, £16.02 Buy now . Midi Floral Dress - Was £40, Now, 20.03 Buy now . Mini Jersey T-Shirt Dress - Was, £20 Now, £15.66 Buy now . Midi Dress - Was, £30, Now, 24.92 Buy now . Wrap Jersey Jumpsuit - Was £48, Now, £33.64 Buy now . Straight Mid Rise Jeans - Were, £32 Now, £16.02 Buy now . Catch you at the check-out? The editors at Yahoo UK 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. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo Style UK: View comments
Venezuela to blend domestic, imported oil to keep exports afloat: oil minister VIENNA (Reuters) - Venezuela will stick to its plan of blending domestic and foreign crude to maintain and even increase oil production and exports in the face of sanctions prohibiting U.S. companies from buying the country's oil, oil minister Manuel Quevedo said on Tuesday. State-run oil company PDVSA in June began tests to focus exports almost entirely on the crude grade preferred by some Asian markets, Merey heavy crude, after shipments of oil and refined products fell in May following U.S. sanctions, according to internal documents seen by Reuters. "Our plan is to recover. We have internal strategies... One of them is to continue blending (to produce) the product we export the most, Merey crude. We will continue blending our own crudes and will also import crude," Quevedo said on the sidelines of a meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC countries in Vienna. Quevedo said sanctions imposed in late January have affected PDVSA's financial transactions, shipping and procurement, and have delayed a plan to boost Venezuela's crude output by 1 million bpd. On top of sanctions, power outages in March also knocked down PDVSA's crude output to 400,000 bpd, Quevedo sad, also affecting exports to most PDVSA's customers. "We have done nothing wrong. We don't deserve to have any country watching over us," he said. Venezuela's oil exports recovered in June from a sharp drop the month before, helped by increased deliveries to China, which is now state-run oil firm PDVSA's primary destination for its crude, according to company records and Refinitiv Eikon data. Washington in January imposed the toughest sanctions yet on PDVSA to pressure socialist President Nicolas Maduro to step down, after recognizing the head of congress, Juan Guaido, as the country's legitimate leader. The measures ban U.S. companies, which were the main buyers of Venezuelan oil, from dealing with the company. (Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar in Vienna, writing by Marianna Parraga; Editing by David Gregorio)
5 Best Stocks of the Top ETF of June The mining corner of the materials sector led the broad market rally in June withETFMG Prime Junior Silver ETF SILJleading the way. It gained 21.5% last month.The rally came on the back of signals by the Fed that it will cut interest rates to protect the economy from trade war threats and slowing global growth. This has pushed the dollar down against the basket of currencies and makes dollar-denominated assets attractive to foreign investors, raising the appeal for the grey metal (read: Best June for Stocks in Decades: 5 Best ETFs).Additionally, industrial demand for silver is on the rise thanks to the ongoing growth in the global solar PV industry, rebound in global computer shipments, as well as new sources of demand for sensors used in IoT and OLED lighting. Notably, silver is used in a wide range of industrial applications. About 50% of the metal’s total demand comes from industrial applications, while 30% comes from jewelry/silverware/coins and medal manufacturers.Further, the optimism surrounding a trade deal between the two largest countries to end a year-long tariff war supported the spike. Given this, silver registered its first monthly gain in five months.Let’s take a closer look at the fundamentals of SILJ.SILJ in FocusThis product provides direct exposure to the silver mining exploration and production industry by tracking the Prime Junior Silver Miners & Explorers Index. It holds 31 stocks in its basket with higher concentration on the top four firms. Canadian firms take the lion’s share at 69.7%, while the United States and Peru take the reminder. The fund has managed assets worth $58.7 million and trades in a good volume of more than 98,000 shares a day. It charges 69 bps in annual fees (see: all the Materials ETFs here).Though most of the stocks in the fund’s portfolio delivered strong returns, a few have gained in double digits. Below we have highlighted the five best-performing stocks in the ETF with their respective positions in the fund’s basket:Best Performing Stocks of SILJCoeur Mining Inc. CDE:This company operates as a primary silver and gold producer with precious metals mines in the Americas. It gained about 51.8% in June. Coeur Mining currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) and VGM Score of F. The stock occupies the fifth position in the fund’s portfolio, making up for 5.1% share.Hecla Mining Company HL:This is a leading low-cost U.S. silver producer with operating mines in Alaska and Idaho, and is a growing gold producer with an operating mine in Quebec, Canada. It also delivered incredible returns of 37.4% last month. The stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and VGM Score of F. Hecla Mining occupies the seventh position at 4.4% of HL. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.Americas Silver Corporation USAS:This silver mining company primarily owns and operates the Cosalá Operations in Sinaloa, Mexico and the Galena Mine Complex in Idaho. The stock rose about 35% last month. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 and has a VGM Score of F. USAS makes up for 2.1% of the total assets in the fund’s basket.McEwen Mining Inc. MUX:This company is primarily engaged in the precious metal mining business in continental United States. The stock makes up for 2.2% of the assets in the SILJ portfolio and gained 30.4% in June. McEwen Mining carries a Zacks Rank #4 and VGM Score of F (read: Top ETF Stories of 1H).First Majestic Silver Corp. AG:This company is engaged in the production, development, exploration, and acquisition of silver mines in Mexico. The stock rallied 30.1% in June and takes the top spot in SILJ portfolio with 12.54% allocation. First Majestic has a Zacks Rank #3 and VGM Score of C.Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox?Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >> Click to get this free reportMcEwen Mining Inc. (MUX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportFirst Majestic Silver Corp. (AG) : Free Stock Analysis ReportCoeur Mining, Inc. (CDE) : Free Stock Analysis ReportHecla Mining Company (HL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAmericas Silver Corporation (USAS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportETFMG Prime Junior Silver ETF (SILJ): ETF Research ReportsTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
AOC criticizes CBP after report of secret Facebook group as agency opens investigation Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized U.S. Customs and Border Protection Monday following a report that over 9,000 current and former Border Patrol agents are part of a secret Facebook group where some group members made fun of migrant deaths and created lewd edited images of the New York Democrat. The agency in a response to the report said it immediately contacted the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general and "initiated an investigation." An official for the CBP said the online activity was "disturbing." The CBP chief also said the posts "are completely inappropriate and contrary to the honor and integrity I see—and expect—from our agents day in and day out" and added employees found to have violated the agency's standards of conduct "will be held accountable." Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office Monday, President Donald Trump sidestepped a question about the Facebook group, saying he did not know what members of the group were saying about members of Congress. However, the president said that "the Border Patrol is not happy with the Democrats in Congress." He also defended Border Patrol agents. "The Border Patrol, they're patriots," he said. "They're great people." According to a report by ProPublica , roughly 9,500 current and former Border Patrol agents are part of a secret Facebook group called "I'm 10-15," a reference to the Border Patrol code for “aliens in custody." Postings to the Facebook group also commented on a visit that Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, are making Monday to migrant detention centers. Members of the group discussed creating a GoFundMe fundraising account for whoever would throw burritos at the two Latina congresswomen, according to ProPublica. "This isn’t about 'a few bad eggs,'" Ocasio-Cortez tweeted . "This is a violent culture." "9,500 CBP officers sharing memes about dead migrants and discussing violence and sexual misconduct towards members of Congress," she wrote in a follow-up tweet . "How on earth can CBP’s culture be trusted to care for refugees humanely?" Story continues 9,500 CBP officers sharing memes about dead migrants and discussing violence and sexual misconduct towards members of Congress. How on earth can CBP’s culture be trusted to care for refugees humanely? PS I have no plans to change my itinerary & will visit the CBP station today. — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 1, 2019 Today, CBP was made aware of disturbing social media activity hosted on a private Facebook group that may include a number of CBP employees. CBP immediately informed DHS Office of the Inspector General and initiated an investigation. Full statement: https://t.co/JdPNcZz36S pic.twitter.com/9f7BgKKrgU — CBP (@CBP) July 1, 2019 . @USBPChief : These posts are completely inappropriate and contrary to the honor and integrity I see—and expect—from our agents day in and day out. Any employees found to have violated our standards of conduct will be held accountable. — CBP (@CBP) July 1, 2019
Best Stocks for 2019: Adobe Stock Is Up 30% YTD — And Still Undervalued Editor’s note: This article is a part of InvestorPlace.com’sBest Stocks for 2019 contest. John Jagerson and Wade Hansen’s pick for the contest isAdobe(NASDAQ:ADBE). Since December 2018, we have been recommendingAdobe(NASDAQ:ADBE) as a long position because its fundamentals are undervalued. ADBE’s market position is dominant in its media products and the company has been steadily growing by adapting its Creative and document management solutions to mobile. We feel that these factors will protect the company from the emerging economic headwinds both in the U.S. and outside. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips From a technical perspective, ADBE has been able to outperform its benchmark indexes and most of its peers despite a choppy year for stocks so far. Now that we have another two quarters of data since we began recommending ADBE stock, it’s time to revisit our analysis and see if we can still make the same judgement. We believe that ADBE’s ability to grow its profit margins has positioned it well in each of its three main segments: Digital Media, Digital Expertise and Publishing. The media segment includes their Creative products like Photoshop and their document services, which accounts for more than 70% of their revenue. The most recent quarterly report on June 18 showed Creative revenues were up by 22% on a year-over-year basis. The emphasis on services and subscriptions has increased ADBE’s gross margin to 85% and net margins are at 23% over the same period. The company did suffer a little over the last two quarters due to adverse currency conversion rates, but to put it in perspective, from a margin standpoint, ADBE is outperformingApple(NASDAQ:AAPL),Netflix(NASDAQ:NFLX), andAmazon(NASDAQ:AMZN); it’s also just behind the most recent report fromMicrosoft(NASDAQ:MSFT). • 7 Restaurant Stocks to Put on Your Plate Besides the favorable comparison between ADBE and their peers, we believe the company’s growth has not been fully priced into the stock. As you can see in the following chart, revenue and EPS have been rising with the stock’s price, but its earnings multiple remains near historical lows. If we were to adjust the EPS line to use constant dollars, the trend of the P/E ratio and EPS would be even more impressive. Click to Enlarge The point behind a value-price comparison like this is to determine if investors are paying more, or less, for each dollar of earnings than they have in the past. Because growth is still strong, paying less for the stock now indicates the likely probability that the shares are still undervalued. Like the stock averages themselves, ADBE’s share price drew down in April and May as traders worried about the impact of slowing economic growth and the trade war. Total revenue from the Europe Middle East Africa (EMEA) region was 27% in the most recent quarter and 15% was from Asia. Outside the US, economic performance and stock markets haven’t recovered from the bear market of late-2018 to the extent the U.S. has, and we feel this has also dragged on ADBE’s share price. However, ADBE’s current technical breakout following their earnings report from an inverted “head-and-shoulders” pattern looks to be a strong bullish momentum signal. This stock tends to have reliable technical patterns which we have been commenting on in our previous recommendation updates including the double bottom in February, bullish diamond in April, and the double-bottom retest at the beginning of June. Click to Enlarge In the short term, a Fibonacci-based target of the inverted head-and-shoulders pattern would indicate an upside target in the $313 per share range. Historically, patterns like this can play out very quickly, but 60-days is closer to the long-term average. As previously mentioned, a quarter of Adobe’s sales come from Europe. Adobe may see its revenues softening, especially in document services if the European economy continues to weaken and the Brexit outlook gets worse due to new conservative leadership in the U.K. Adobe’s continual investment in developing end-to-end document signing and processing puts it at the forefront of the global supply chain. However, recent trade wars could stall that income growth in the short term. The company has placed an emphasis on lower-end media solutions and document management that are focused on mobile users which should help insulate the company from some economic issues because these products are broadening their customer base. We believe the long-term impact of this focus will be similar to what happened when the company shifted to cloud-based services and will increase margin growth. • 7 Stocks on Sale the Insiders Are Buying As noted in ADBE’s recent earnings release, a rising dollar was a negative for earnings. The Fed is hinting at a strong possibility of interest rate cuts in the short term, which could help weaken the dollar and improve performance. However, even with the Fed’s potential cuts in July and December, the battle for a cheaper currency may be tough to win against the European Central Bank (ECB) which has promised to be ready with easing of its own if market conditions worsen in Europe. This is a systemic issue that will affect most large companies but is something to keep your eye on this summer. InvestorPlace advisors John Jagerson and S. Wade Hansen, both Chartered Market Technician (CMT) designees, are co-founders of LearningMarkets.com, as well as the co-editors ofSlingShot Trader, a trading service designed to help you make options profits by trading the news. Get in on the next trade and get 1 free month todayby clicking here. • 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid • 7 F-Rated Stocks to Sell for Summer • 7 Stocks to Buy for the Same Price as Beyond Meat • 7 Penny Marijuana Stocks That Are NOT Cheap Stocks The postBest Stocks for 2019: Adobe Stock Is Up 30% YTD — And Still Undervaluedappeared first onInvestorPlace.
SHAREHOLDER ALERT: LYFT EQBK HRTX: The Law Offices of Vincent Wong Reminds Investors of Important Class Action Deadlines NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 2, 2019 /The Law Offices of Vincent Wong announce that class actions have commenced on behalf of shareholders of the following companies. If you suffered a loss you have until the lead plaintiff deadline to request that the court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Lyft, Inc. (LYFT)Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 16, 2019Class Period: pursuant or traceable to the Company's Offering and Registration Statement issued in relation to the March 28, 2019 IPO Get additional information about LYFT:http://www.wongesq.com/pslra-1/lyft-inc-loss-submission-form?prid=2196&wire=1 Equity Bancshares, Inc. (EQBK)Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 12, 2019Class Period: May 11, 2018 to April 22, 2019 Get additional information about EQBK:http://www.wongesq.com/pslra-1/equity-bancshares-inc-loss-submission-form?prid=2196&wire=1 Heron Therapeutics, Inc. (HRTX)Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 5, 2019Class Period: October 31, 2018 to April 30, 2019 Get additional information about HRTX:http://www.wongesq.com/pslra-1/heron-therapeutics-inc-loss-submission-form?prid=2196&wire=1 To learn more contact Vincent Wong, Esq. either via emailvw@wongesq.comor by telephone at 212.425.1140. Vincent Wong, Esq. is an experienced attorney that has represented investors in securities litigations involving financial fraud and violations of shareholder rights. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. CONTACT:Vincent Wong, Esq.39 East BroadwaySuite 304New York, NY 10002Tel. 212.425.1140Fax. 866.699.3880E-Mail:vw@wongesq.com SOURCE:The Law Offices of Vincent Wong View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/550620/SHAREHOLDER-ALERT-LYFT-EQBK-HRTX-The-Law-Offices-of-Vincent-Wong-Reminds-Investors-of-Important-Class-Action-Deadlines
What Are 414(h) Plans and How Do They Work? A401(k)is the most common type of employer-sponsored retirement plan but certain employees may have access to a 414(h) plan instead. A 414(h) plan, also called a pick-up plan, offers people who hold government jobs a tax-advantaged way togrow savings for retirement. If you work for a local, state or federal government agency, you may be offered one of these plans as part of your benefits package. What Is a 414(h) Plan? A 414(h) plan isn’t that different from a 401(k) or other employer-sponsored plan in terms of how withdrawals are treated for tax purposes. The key difference is in the categorization of contributions. Both employees and employers make contributions to the plan. Employers determine the allowable contribution amount for the year; employee contributions may be mandatory. Contributions may be a set dollar amount or a percentage of an employee’s income. The employer then “picks up” pre-tax employee contributions for tax reporting purposes. This allows those contributions to be excluded from employees’ gross income for the year. Yourtaxable incomefor the year would automatically be reduced by the amount that your employer picked up. For employee contributions to be considered “picked up,” the IRS requires them to meet two rules: • Employers must specify that they’re paying employee contributions directly into the plan. • Participating employees must not be permitted to opt out of the “pick-up,” or to receive the contributed amounts directly instead of having them paid by the employing unit to the plan. One potential advantage of a 414(h) plan over a 401(k) is that employee contributions may not be subject toFICA taxes. With a 401(k), employee contributions dodge income taxes but are still subject to FICA taxes amounting to 7.65%. Because contributions to a 414(h) are “picked up” and characterized as employer contributions, the employee may be able to avoid these taxes on the contributed amount – provided the plan meets certainIRS criteria. Pick-up plans are only a retirement savings option for government employees. Depending on your employer, participation may be required as a condition of employment.Unlike an IRA, there are no income restrictions on who can participate in a 414(h) plan or enjoy their tax benefits. Tax Treatment of 414(h) Plan Withdrawals Any contributions – either those made by the employer or pre-tax employee contributions that are picked up – grow tax-deferred in a 414(h) plan. This means that qualified withdrawals are subject to ordinary income tax when employees begin taking distributions. Similar to a traditional 401(k) or IRA, 414(h) plans are subject torequired minimum distributionrules. You must begin taking RMDs at age 70.5 or face atax penalty. The current tax penalty for failing to take RMDs on time is 50% of the amount you were required to withdraw. Depending on state tax laws, you may also owe state income tax on qualified 414(h) plan distributions. Early withdrawal penalties also apply when you take 414(h) distributions before age 59.5. That means you’d incur ordinary income tax on an early withdrawal, along with a 10% tax penalty. This penalty also applies if you’re rolling 414(h) plan assets over to another qualified retirement account and you miss the 60-day window for doing so. The IRS specifies that you must complete anyrolloverswithin 60 days to avoid this penalty. If you’re worried about triggering the 10% tax penalty, the easiest and best way to avoid it is requesting a direct rollover from one plan to another. The good news is that contributions to a 414(h) plan are automaticallyfully vested. If you leave your employer for any reason and decide to roll your plan over, you’d be able to take all of the money in your account with you. With a 401(k), your contributions would be fully vested but you may have to wait several years for employer-matched contributions to become 100% vested. 414(h) Plan Pros and Cons From a tax perspective, contributing to a 414(h) plan can make your tax filing easier. You don’t have to report your contributions to the plan on your tax return; your employer handles that on their return. All you have to do is enter in your taxable income for the year, as listed on your W-2. Any reductions in taxable income associated with 414(h) plan contributions can work to your advantage if you’re in a higher income range. The more you earn, the higher your tax bracket may be and the more you may owe in taxes. Having a lower taxable income to report could reduce your tax liability and result in a lower tax bill or a bigger refund. You may realize another benefit if you anticipate being in a lower tax bracket when you retire. If that’s the case, then taking taxable withdrawals may not have as much of an impact on your tax liability. Also note that contributing to a 414(h) plan doesn’t bar you from contributing to an after-tax savings plan such as aRoth IRA. You’d need to be within theadjusted gross income(AGI) guidelines to contribute to a Roth IRA, but doing so could give you a tax-free source of retirement income to balance out any taxable withdrawals from a 414(h). One downside, however, is that contributions to a 414(h) plan are not eligible for theRetirement Saver’s Credit. This credit, which is available to taxpayers who are at or below certain income limits, can reduce tax liability on a dollar-for-dollar basis. If you’re counting on maximizing every tax credit possible to lighten your tax burden, missing out on this one could hurt. The Bottom Line A 414(h) plan can help you grow your retirement nest egg if you’re eligible to participate in one of these plans. If you’re a government employee with access to a pick-up plan, take time to read your plan documentation carefully. Specifically, make sure you understand how much you’re expected to contribute to the plan, how much your employer will contribute, how contributions can be invested and what fees you may pay, if any, for investment or plan management. And if you’re interested in supplementing your retirement savings further, consider whether a traditional or Roth IRA best meets your needs. Retirement Planning Tips • Get professional advice.Employer-sponsored 414(h) plans are less common than other types of retirement plans. If you’re a little confused about how they work, it may be helpful to talk to a professional who can explain the details. Finding the right financial advisor thatfits your needsdoesn’t have to be hard.SmartAsset’s free toolmatches you with financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that will help you achieve your financial goals,get started now. • Holistic financial planning.While your workplace retirement plan is an important part of your financial planning strategy, it’s not the only piece of the puzzle you need to consider. For example, you plan might include establishing acollege savings planor paying off debt. Talking through all the issues that affect your financial life can make it easier to realize your short- and long-term goals. Photo credit: ©iStock.com/wdstock, ©iStock.com/NoDerog, ©iStock.com/designer491 The postWhat Are 414(h) Plans and How Do They Work?appeared first onSmartAsset Blog. • Lump Sum vs. Annuity: Which Should You Take? • What Is a Self-Directed Roth IRA? • 401(k) Hardship Distributions: All You Need to Know
Do Institutions Own Stuart Olson Inc. (TSE:SOX) Shares? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! If you want to know who really controls Stuart Olson Inc. (TSE:SOX), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies. Companies that have been privatized tend to have low insider ownership. Stuart Olson is a smaller company with a market capitalization of CA$95m, so it may still be flying under the radar of many institutional investors. In the chart below below, we can see that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about SOX. View our latest analysis for Stuart Olson Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices. As you can see, institutional investors own 34% of Stuart Olson. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Stuart Olson's earnings history, below. Of course, the future is what really matters. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Stuart Olson. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too. The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO. Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group. We can see that insiders own shares in Stuart Olson Inc.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own CA$1.6m worth of the CA$95m company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but I usually like to see higher insider holdings. It might be worth checkingif those insiders have been buying. The general public -- mostly retail investors -- own 64% of Stuart Olson . With this size of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to decline an acquisition or merger that may not improve profitability. I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. I 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 are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can checkthis free report showing analyst forecasts for its future. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Selena Gomez Parties in Mexico After Speaking Out On Immigration Issues Selena Gomez is south of the border, despite the strong stance she took on immigration over the weekend. The "I Can't Get Enough" singer used her powerful platform to slam the 'inhumane' treatment of immigrate children at the border, and now it appears she was in Mexico when she shared her heartfelt post. Gomez sizzled on the beach in a revealing red one-piece, having a total "Baywatch" moment during her cousin Priscilla DeLeon 's bachelorette party in Puerto Vallarta on Saturday. Dipping in the ocean and hamming it up with the bride to be and her best friend, Theresa Marie Mingus , Gomez seemed confident and happy on her girl's getaway. Her friend also designed the red-hot swimsuit she was wearing. Selena made sure to show off all angles of the Krahs Swimwear. The singer took several shots on the beach with Priscilla during her weekend celebration. Gomez grabbed her hand to snap a gorgeous sunset pic while wearing a floral dress with high slit to capture the picture perfect moment. This Mexico trip comes just months after she threw an epic bachelorette bash for her other BFF, Courtney Barry, in Cabo San Lucas. Gomez did a lot more than just relax in the sand during her cousin's pre-wedding festivities. The group of girls went out on the town and explored the local sights, which could have inspired the singer to speak out about immigration. As The Blast reported, Gomez addressed the situation head on and urged fans to take action. Sharing a black and white photo of herself, she tugged at the heartstrings with her powerful caption. "Kids in cages! Sleeping on concrete floors with aluminum blankets! No access to simple dignities! How is this still happening???" she began her message. Calling the situation "inhumane," she put herself and her family into the scary scenario. "It’s absolutely inhumane to treat anyone like this let alone children. I can’t even imagine what they are going through," Gomez continued. The Texas native, whose father is of Mexican descent, begged her fans not to ignore the situation any longer. "We need to get this to finally stop!" she stated. "Don’t stay silent on this human rights issue." Providing a number and urging her followers to call their reps, she hashtagged the message "#CloseTheCamps" and "#FamilesBelongTogether."
Sue Bird supports Megan Rapinoe in Trump feud Seattle Storm star Sue Bird wants people to know she supports her girlfriend Megan Rapinoe. Bird published a piece in The Players Tribune on Tuesday, explaining how she feels to see her girlfriend feuding with President Donald Trump. The article, titled So the President f-ing hates my girlfriend, focuses on 10 things Bird wants fans to know before the World Cup semifinals. The first is about Bird returning to writing, the second focuses on how proud Bird is of Rapinoe. The third gets into Rapinoes feud with Trump. Bird explains she was initially freaked out when she saw the back and forth, and admits there are aspects to the feud that scare her. She also wonders whether the President has better things to do before again praising Rapinoes demeanor during everything. I mean, some of it is kind of funny.. but like in a REALLY? REALLY? THIS GUY??? kind of way. Like, dude theres nothing better demanding your attention?? It would be ridiculous to the point of laughter, if it wasnt so gross. (And if his legislations and policies werent ruining the lives of so many innocent people.) And then whats legitimately scary, I guess, is like.. how its not just his tweets. Because now suddenly youve got all these MAGA peeps getting hostile in your mentions. And youve got all these crazy blogs writing terrible things about this person you care so much about. And now theyre doing takedowns of Megan on Fox News, and who knows whatever else. Its like an out-of-body experience, really thats how Id describe it. Thats how it was for me. But then Megan, man.. Ill tell you what. You just cannot shake that girl. Shes going to do her thing, at her own damn speed, to her own damn rhythm, and shes going to apologize to exactly NO ONE for it. So when all the Trump business started to go down last week, I mean the fact that Megan just seemed completely unfazed? Its strange to say, but that was probably the only normal thing about it. Its not an act with her. Its not a deflection. Story continues Birds fourth point focuses on which womens basketball teams Trump has invited to the White House and what it took to make that happen. She then links to vote.org , encouraging people to get out and vote. The rest of Birds column is definitely worth reading . She reveals Rapinoes hair is pink, not purple, weighs in on the equal pay debate and she makes a prediction for the U.S. vs. England game. Spoiler: Bird unsurprisingly takes the U.S. to defeat England. If shes right, that gives plenty of time for Rapinoe and Trump to trade a few more barbs before the U.S. plays in Sundays final. Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik More from Yahoo Sports: Nike pulls shoe after Kaepernick raises racial concerns Angels pitcher, family man Skaggs gone too soon Yankees Stanton posts heartfelt message after Skaggs death Broncos preview: Replacing Manning has been tough
What Is China Yuchai International Limited's (NYSE:CYD) Share Price Doing? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! China Yuchai International Limited (NYSE:CYD), which is in the machinery business, and is based in Singapore, saw significant share price movement during recent months on the NYSE, rising to highs of $18.13 and falling to the lows of $13.9. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether China Yuchai International's current trading price of $15.12 reflective of the actual value of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at China Yuchai International’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change. See our latest analysis for China Yuchai International Great news for investors – China Yuchai International is still trading at a fairly cheap price. In this instance, I’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. I find that China Yuchai International’s ratio of 6.51x is below its peer average of 21.82x, which suggests the stock is undervalued compared to the Machinery industry. However, given that China Yuchai International’s share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us another chance to buy in the future. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility. Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. China Yuchai International’s earnings over the next few years are expected to increase by 44%, indicating a highly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to more robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value. Are you a shareholder?Since CYD is currently undervalued, it may be a great time to increase your holdings in the stock. With a positive outlook on the horizon, it seems like this growth has not yet been fully factored into the share price. However, there are also other factors such as financial health to consider, which could explain the current undervaluation. Are you a potential investor?If you’ve been keeping an eye on CYD for a while, now might be the time to enter the stock. Its prosperous future outlook isn’t fully reflected in the current share price yet, which means it’s not too late to buy CYD. But before you make any investment decisions, consider other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to make a well-informed buy. Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters – the fundamentals – before you make a decision on China Yuchai International. You can find everything you need to know about China Yuchai International inthe latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in China Yuchai International, you can use our free platform to see my list of over50 other stocks with a high growth potential. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Top Ranked Growth Stocks to Buy for July 2nd Here are three stocks with buy ranks and strong growth characteristics for investors to consider today, July 2nd: Amdocs Limited (DOX): This provider of software and services to the communications, pay TV, entertainment and media industry service providers, which carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 1.9% over the last 60 days. Amdocs Limited Price and Consensus Amdocs Limited Price and Consensus Amdocs Limited price-consensus-chart \| Amdocs Limited Quote Amdocs has a PEG ratio 1.70, compared with 2.08 for the industry. The company possesses a Growth Score of A. Amdocs Limited PEG Ratio (TTM) Amdocs Limited PEG Ratio (TTM) Amdocs Limited peg-ratio-ttm \| Amdocs Limited Quote Asure Software, Inc. (ASUR): This cloud-based human capital management and workspace management solutions provider, which carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 13.7% over the last 60 days. Asure Software Inc Price and Consensus Asure Software Inc Price and Consensus Asure Software Inc price-consensus-chart \| Asure Software Inc Quote Asure has a PEG ratio 0.61, compared with 1.66 for the industry. The company possesses a Growth Score of A. Asure Software Inc PEG Ratio (TTM) Asure Software Inc PEG Ratio (TTM) Asure Software Inc peg-ratio-ttm \| Asure Software Inc Quote JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (JKS): This photovoltaic products producer, which carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 0.3% over the last 60 days. JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited Price and Consensus JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited Price and Consensus JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited price-consensus-chart \| JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited Quote JinkoSolar has a PEG ratio 0.38, compared with 1.69 for the industry. The company possesses a Growth Score of A. JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited PEG Ratio (TTM) JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited PEG Ratio (TTM) JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited peg-ratio-ttm \| JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited Quote See the full list of top ranked stocks here Story continues Learn more about the Growth score and how it is calculated here . This Could Be the Fastest Way to Grow Wealth in 2019 Research indicates one sector is poised to deliver a crop of the best-performing stocks you'll find anywhere in the market. Breaking news in this space frequently creates quick double- and triple-digit profit opportunities. These companies are changing the world – and owning their stocks could transform your portfolio in 2019 and beyond. Recent trades from this sector have generated +98%, +119% and +164% gains in as little as 1 month. Click here to see these breakthrough stocks now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited (JKS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Amdocs Limited (DOX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Asure Software Inc (ASUR) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research
Brazil Senate committee recommends blanket ban on mining tailings dams BRASILIA, July 2 (Reuters) - A Brazilian Senate committee investigating a deadly dam collapse at a Vale SA mining facility recommended on Tuesday that Congress pass a blanket ban on all tailings dams, with those already in place be decomissioned in 10 years. The committee also recommended in its 400-page report on the findings of its investigation that taxes on mineral production should be raised and that a law should be passed to create additional types of environmental crimes. (Reporting by Jake Spring; Editing by Christian Plumb)
Delta raises outlook for second-quarter financial results ATLANTA (AP) — Delta Air Lines is boosting its forecast of second-quarter earnings per share because of rising revenue. The Atlanta-based airline said Tuesday it expects to earn between $2.25 and $2.35 per share for April through June. That's up from an April forecast of $2.05 to $2.35 per share. Delta says revenue is rising by 8% to 8.5%, up from an earlier prediction of 6% to 8% over the same quarter last year. Some of that is due to more seats for sale, but revenue per seat is also rising. Delta, the second-biggest U.S. airline by revenue after American Airlines, is scheduled to report financial results July 11. In morning trading, the shares rose $1.10, or 1.9%, to $58.89. They have gained roughly 18% both in 2019 and the past 12 months.
These Are the Worst 4th of July Injuries Doctors and Nurses Have Ever Seen Photo credit: Tetra Images - Getty Images From Men's Health The 4th of July is a time for beer, barbecues, and fireworks - but on a recent Reddit thread , medical professionals are telling stories which function as excellent reminders to practise caution over the holiday. Here are some of the worst injuries that doctors, nurses and first responders have treated due to 4th of July incidents. "I had a nine year old lose an eye a few years ago," recalls one commenter. "An older kid shot a bottle rocket at him and the bottle rocket hit him in the right eye. The globe ruptured from the explosion. I had to pack his eye socket with gauze in attempt to kept the rest of the globe together but it was pretty obvious the eye was a total loss. The older kid was prosecuted for the incident." Perhaps unsurprisingly, firework-related accidents are fairly common. A first responder shares something they remember happening when they were a kid: "Friend of the family was a spectator at a city event. A firework misfired and went into the crowd, and hit him square in the face before blowing up. It broke most of the bones in his face, lost one eye, suffered brain damage." "I helped with this one as an intern a while ago," says another commenter. "Some drunk guy was holding a mortar tube and firing it off. Ended up turning towards him so he put his hand over the tube to hopefully stop it coming out? Ended up blowing up the majority of his hand and burned a hole in his abdomen." It can't be overstated how important it is to handle these things with care. As one comment points out: "I mean, when you consider it, it is a small bomb that gets launched into the air." Somebody who works in a burn unit says they dread this particular holiday. "Every year there's a bunch of fireworks and grill and kitchen fire accidents coming in with something that could have been prevented/avoided if the people involved had just taken a few moments to realize what could go wrong with this idea. A recurrent one is someone setting off a small firework in their hand. Hand open, little damage. Closed hand around the firework? Yeah, anywhere from a few fingers to the majority of the hand now gone." On the less serious side of the scale, a medic has this cautionary tale: "I had a patient who thought it would be funny to light their farts with a lighter when they were drunk. Their perineal area was scorched. Please drink responsibly and be careful with flammable objects." ('You Might Also Like',) A Vegan Diet Helped This Man Lose 150 Pounds and Improve His Mental Health How to Cool Down After Your Hardest Workouts What Is The Lectin-Free Diet? View comments
Is Sportscene Group Inc.'s (CVE:SPS.A) Balance Sheet Strong Enough To Weather A Storm? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Investors are always looking for growth in small-cap stocks like Sportscene Group Inc. (CVE:SPS.A), with a market cap of CA$55m. However, an important fact which most ignore is: how financially healthy is the business? Understanding the company's financial health becomes vital, as mismanagement of capital can lead to bankruptcies, which occur at a higher rate for small-caps. Let's work through some financial health checks you may wish to consider if you're interested in this stock. Nevertheless, this is just a partial view of the stock, and I suggest youdig deeper yourself into SPS.A here. SPS.A has built up its total debt levels in the last twelve months, from CA$18m to CA$21m , which includes long-term debt. With this increase in debt, SPS.A currently has CA$1.8m remaining in cash and short-term investments to keep the business going. Additionally, SPS.A has produced cash from operations of CA$6.3m during the same period of time, resulting in an operating cash to total debt ratio of 30%, indicating that SPS.A’s operating cash is sufficient to cover its debt. With current liabilities at CA$16m, it appears that the company may not be able to easily meet these obligations given the level of current assets of CA$13m, with a current ratio of 0.83x. The current ratio is the number you get when you divide current assets by current liabilities. With a debt-to-equity ratio of 56%, SPS.A can be considered as an above-average leveraged company. This is somewhat unusual for small-caps companies, since lenders are often hesitant to provide attractive interest rates to less-established businesses. We can test if SPS.A’s debt levels are sustainable by measuring interest payments against earnings of a company. Ideally, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) should cover net interest by at least three times. For SPS.A, the ratio of 4.88x suggests that interest is appropriately covered, which means that debtors may be willing to loan the company more money, giving SPS.A ample headroom to grow its debt facilities. SPS.A’s high cash coverage means that, although its debt levels are high, the company is able to utilise its borrowings efficiently in order to generate cash flow. However, its lack of liquidity raises questions over current asset management practices for the small-cap. I admit this is a fairly basic analysis for SPS.A's financial health. Other important fundamentals need to be considered alongside. I suggest you continue to research Sportscene Group to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at: 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for SPS.A’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor SPS.A’s outlook. 2. Historical Performance: What has SPS.A's returns been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look atthe free visual representations of our analysisfor more clarity. 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.
Fed's Mester says she needs more information to support rate cut By Marc Jones and Navdeep Yadav LONDON (Reuters) - A Federal Reserve policymaker on Tuesday expressed skepticism that a U.S. interest rate cut is the right move until there are more signs the economy is moving to a truly weaker path. "I prefer to gather more information before considering a change in our monetary policy stance," Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said in remarks prepared for delivery at an economics event in London that answers some colleagues of hers and the White House who are arguing for an immediate rate cut. Markets also widely expect the central bank's next move will be a cut by its July 30-31 policy meeting in light of weaker inflation and uncertainties including a U.S.-China trade war. "It is not clear how effective this policy would be," Mester said. "Cutting rates at this juncture could reinforce negative sentiment about a deterioration in the outlook even if this is not the baseline view, and could encourage financial imbalances given the current level of interest rates, which would be counterproductive." Mester does not have a vote on the Fed's policy-setting committee this year but participates in its deliberations. She said she expects the "resilient" U.S. economy to turn in a strong performance again in 2019. But "a few" weak job reports, further declines in factory activity, weaker business spending and falling inflation expectations could build a stronger case that the U.S. is moving to a "weak-growth scenario" that could require more stimulus, she said. After its most recent meeting, the Fed last month released economic projections revealing that nearly half of the 17 policymakers now showed a willingness to lower borrowing costs over the next six months. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has said he and his colleagues are "grappling" with whether current risks to the economy warrant a cut of rates currently between 2.25%-2.50%. Mester compared the forces at work today to those from 2014 to 2016, when there was a global economic slowdown, a decline in oil prices and a stronger U.S. dollar. The Fed raised rates once in December 2015 and once again a year later. If the expansion seems to remain healthy, "I would favor taking a similar opportunistic approach to the recent softness in the inflation readings instead of trying to proactively move inflation up with rate cuts," Mester said. "This would mean ... keeping the funds rate at current levels for a while to support a gradual rise in inflation and not over-reacting to shocks that might, for a time, move inflation somewhat above 2%." (Writing by Trevor Hunnicutt in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Cricket World Cup 2019 group table: latest standings and results so far England's Jonny Bairstow celebrates reaching his century in Sunday's match against India. - PA The 2019 Cricket World Cup began in May and will end on July 14. England beat South Africa in their very first match on May 30. They have since lost to Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and beaten Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the group stages so far. Each team will play each other over the course of the first five weeks with the top four making it through to the semi-finals in July. You can keep up to date with the table and latest standings here throughout the tournament. Cricket World Cup results so far England vs South Africa, May 30 at The Oval - England won by 104 runs West Indies vs Pakistan, May 31 at Trent Bridge - West Indies won by 7 wickets New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, June 1 at Cardiff - New Zealand won by 10 wickets Australia vs Afghanistan, June 1 in Bristol - Australia beat Afghanistan by seven wickets South Africa vs Bangladesh, June 2 at The Oval - Bangladesh beat South Africa by 21 runs England vs Pakistan, June 3 at Trent Bridge - Pakistan beat England by 14 runs Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka, June 4 in Cardiff - Sri Lanka won by 34 runs South Africa vs India, June 5 in Southampton - India won by six wickets Bangladesh vs New Zealand, June 5 at The Oval - New Zealand won by two wickets Australia vs West Indies, June 6 at Trent Bridge - Australia won by 15 runs Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, June 7 in Bristol - no result England vs Bangladesh, June 8 in Cardiff - England won by 106 runs Afghanistan vs New Zealand, June 8 in Taunton - New Zealand won by seven wickets India vs Australia, June 9 at The Oval - India won by 36 runs South Africa vs West Indies, June 10 in Southampton - no result Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, June 11 in Bristol - no result Australia vs Pakistan, June 12 in Taunton - Australia won by 41 runs India vs New Zealand , June 13 at Trent Bridge - no result England vs West Indies, June 14 in Southampton - England won by 8 wickets Sri Lanka vs Australia, June 15 at The Oval - Australia beat Sri Lanka by 87 runs Afghanistan vs South Africa, June 15 in Cardiff - South Africa beat Afghanistan by 9 wickets India vs Pakistan, June 16 at Old Trafford - India beat Pakistan by 89 runs West Indies vs Bangladesh, June 17 in Tounton - Bangladesh won by 7 wickets England vs Afghanistan, June 18 at Old Trafford - England win by 150 runs New Zealand vs South Africa, June 19 in Birmingham - New Zealand won by 4 wickets Australia vs Bangladesh, June 20 at Trent Bridge - Australia won by 48 runs England vs Sri Lanka, June 21 in Leeds - Sri Lanka won by 20 runs India vs Afghanistan, June 22 in Southampton - India won by 11 runs New Zealand vs West Indies, June 22nd at Old Trafford - New Zealand won by 5 runs Pakistan vs South Africa, June 23 at Lord's - Pakistan won by 49 run Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, June 24 in Southampton - Bangladesh won by 62 runs England vs Australia, June 25 at Lord's - Australia won by 64 runs New Zealand vs Pakistan, June 26 in Edgbaston- Pakistan won by 6 wickets West Indies vs India, June 27 at Old Trafford - India won by 125 runs South Africa vs Sri Lanka, June 28 at Chester-le-Street - South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 9 wickets Afghanistan vs Pakistan, June 29 at Headingley - Pakistan beat Afghanistan by 3 wickets Australia vs New Zealand, June 29 at Lord's - Australia beat New Zealand by 86 runs England vs India, June 30 in Edgbaston - England won by 31 runs Sri Lanka vs West Indies, July 1 at Chester-le-Street - Sri Lanka won by 23 runs Bangladesh vs India, July 2 in Edgbaston - live score
U.S. House panel sues U.S. Treasury, IRS over Trump's tax returns WASHINGTON, July 2 (Reuters) - A House of Representatives panel filed suit on Tuesday against the U.S. Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service, according to a federal lawsuit, as it wrangled to obtain President Donald Trump's tax returns. U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal said in May he was consulting with counsel on how best to enforce his subpoena to get the Republican president's tax returns. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Writing by Doina Chiacu;)
Bitcoin Sees Support at $10,000 After Giving Back Much of Rally (Bloomberg) -- Bitcoin stabilized at around the $10,000 level after a sell-off erased much of its monster gain from last week. The largest digital asset pared most of its earlier 7.8% drop on Tuesday and was trading at $10,454 as of 11:49 a.m. in New York. Other cryptocurrencies also pared their declines, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Bitcoin found support just below the $10,000 level after a volatile week that saw its price leap 23% after oscillating widely between gains and losses, at one point plunging more than $1,800 in a matter of minutes. It’s still up more than 180% since the start of a year that’s seeing wider acceptance of digital coins from corporate giants, including Facebook Inc., which unveiled plans for its own token. The volatility follows comments from notable crypto skeptic Nouriel Roubini, the head of Roubini Macro Associates, sometimes known as “Dr. Doom,” who said at a blockchain summit in Taipei that there is “massive, massive amounts of price manipulation” in the crypto space. But not all are as gloomy about Bitcoin’s outlook. Cedric Jeanson, chief executive and founder of crypto asset management and advisory firm BitSpread Ltd., sees the volatility as an opportunity. He anticipates Bitcoin will surpass its previous record of more than $19,000 reached in 2017. “The real trend is buy and hold,” Jeanson said. “As soon as it goes down, people find opportunities to buy it at what they consider to be ‘on the cheap.”’ To contact the reporters on this story: Vildana Hajric in New York at vhajric1@bloomberg.net;Gregor Stuart Hunter in Hong Kong at ghunter21@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeremy Herron at jherron8@bloomberg.net, Todd White, Rita Nazareth For more articles like this, please visit us atbloomberg.com ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Did You Manage To Avoid Deluxe's (NYSE:DLX) 38% Share Price Drop? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Deluxe Corporation(NYSE:DLX) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 11% in the last month. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last year have been less than pleasing. In fact the stock is down 38% in the last year, well below the market return. Check out our latest analysis for Deluxe In his essayThe Superinvestors of Graham-and-DoddsvilleWarren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price. Unhappily, Deluxe had to report a 43% decline in EPS over the last year. We note that the 38% share price drop is very close to the EPS drop. Given the lower EPS we might have expected investors to lose confidence in the stock, but that doesn't seemed to have happened. Rather, the share price has approximately tracked EPS growth. You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values). We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. Thisfreeinteractive report on Deluxe'searnings, revenue and cash flowis a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further. Investors should note that there's a difference between Deluxe's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price change, which we've covered above. Arguably the TSR is a more complete return calculation because it accounts for the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested), along with the hypothetical value of any discounted capital that have been offered to shareholders. Deluxe's TSR of was a loss of 37% for the year. That wasn't as bad as its share price return, because it has paid dividends. While the broader market gained around 8.4% in the last year, Deluxe shareholders lost 37% (even including dividends). However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 5.0% per year over five years. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. If you want to research this stock further, the data on insider buying is an obvious place to start. You canclick here to see who has been buying shares - and the price they paid. Deluxe is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at thisfreelist of growing companies with insider buying. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Patience is a Virtue When it Comes to Silver ETFs This article was originally published onETFTrends.com. TheiShares Silver Trust (SLV)and theAberdeen Standard Physical Silver Shares ETF (SIVR), two of the largest exchange traded funds backed by holdings of physical silver, have recently shown signs of life, indicating the previously sluggish silver funds could be ready to seize some of the precious metals spotlight from gold. “After gold’s monster rally last week to price levels not seen since 2013, silver climbed up near the $15.40/ozmark. Silver bulls have been patiently waiting for a run-up to highs of $50 an ounce, last seen in 2011,”according to ETF Daily News. Unlike its more radiant cousin gold, silver has had a significantly more lackluster performance over the past few years. After peaking around $50 an ounce back in 2011, just shy of the $50.35-an-ounce intraday record hit in January 1980, the metal has been trading in a much more narrow range over the last few years, between roughly $14 to $20 an ounce. “The silver rally is on its way, but until then, it’s like watching paint dry, according to Peter Hug, global trading director for Kitco Metals Inc.,” reports ETF Daily News. Headwinds for Silver Silver’s slack start to 2019 is betraying what were optimistic forecasts for the metal heading into the year after a rough 2018. A more accommodative Federal Reserve would bolster the case for silver. Looking ahead, silver and other precious metals may continue to face an uphill struggle as the Federal Reserve is expected to keep hiking interest rates, which makes non-yielding assets like commodities less attractive. According to ETF Daily News: “I expected a rally in silver,” Hug noted. “I thought silver would have had at least enough juice to go up to $16.” Investors can tap silver equities with theGlobal X Silvers Miners ETF (SIL) and related ETFs. SIL, the largest silver miner-related ETF, tries to mirror the Solactive Global Silver Miners Total Return Index, which is also comprised of global silver miners. “I still think if this gold rally is real and gold can get over $1,425, given the small amount of resistance levels above that level, eventually silver is going to catch it,” said Hug in the Kitco interview. For more information on alternative strategies, visit ourAlternatives Channel. POPULAR ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM • SPY ETF Quote • VOO ETF Quote • QQQ ETF Quote • VTI ETF Quote • JNUG ETF Quote • Top 34 Gold ETFs • Top 34 Oil ETFs • Top 57 Financials ETFs • Facebook Libra: Weighing The Pros And Cons • As Bitcoin Surges Past $13K, Calls to Embrace Crypto Grow • GLDM Marks One Year Anniversary Today, Leads Gold-Backed ETF Flows • ROBO Global Healthcare Technology ETF Debuts on NYSE • Gold And Silver Rally On Unusual Options Activity READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM >

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