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Can Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (SGX:S63) Maintain Its Strong Returns? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! One of the best investments we can make is in our own knowledge and skill set. With that in mind, this article will work through how we can use Return On Equity (ROE) to better understand a business. By way of learning-by-doing, we'll look at ROE to gain a better understanding of Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (SGX:S63). Our data showsSingapore Technologies Engineering has a return on equity of 20%for the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every SGD1 worth of equity in the company, it was able to earn SGD0.20. View our latest analysis for Singapore Technologies Engineering Theformula for return on equityis: Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders' Equity Or for Singapore Technologies Engineering: 20% = S$508m ÷ S$2.6b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.) Most readers would understand what net profit is, but it’s worth explaining the concept of shareholders’ equity. It is the capital paid in by shareholders, plus any retained earnings. You can calculate shareholders' equity by subtracting the company's total liabilities from its total assets. Return on Equity measures a company's profitability against the profit it has kept for the business (plus any capital injections). The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. A higher profit will lead to a higher ROE. So, all else being equal,a high ROE is better than a low one. Clearly, then, one can use ROE to compare different companies. By comparing a company's ROE with its industry average, we can get a quick measure of how good it is. However, this method is only useful as a rough check, because companies do differ quite a bit within the same industry classification. As you can see in the graphic below, Singapore Technologies Engineering has a higher ROE than the average (10%) in the Aerospace & Defense industry. That is a good sign. In my book, a high ROE almost always warrants a closer look. For exampleyou might checkif insiders are buying shares. Most companies need money -- from somewhere -- to grow their profits. That cash can come from retained earnings, issuing new shares (equity), or debt. In the first two cases, the ROE will capture this use of capital to grow. In the latter case, the debt used for growth will improve returns, but won't affect the total equity. In this manner the use of debt will boost ROE, even though the core economics of the business stay the same. While Singapore Technologies Engineering does have some debt, with debt to equity of just 0.31, we wouldn't say debt is excessive. The fact that it achieved a fairly good ROE with only modest debt suggests the business might be worth putting on your watchlist. Conservative use of debt to boost returns is usually a good move for shareholders, though it does leave the company more exposed to interest rate rises. Return on equity is a useful indicator of the ability of a business to generate profits and return them to shareholders. In my book the highest quality companies have high return on equity, despite low debt. All else being equal, a higher ROE is better. But ROE is just one piece of a bigger puzzle, since high quality businesses often trade on high multiples of earnings. It is important to consider other factors, such as future profit growth -- and how much investment is required going forward. So I think it may be worth checking thisfreereport on analyst forecasts for the company. If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss thisfreelist of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Read This Before Selling Ground International Development Limited (HKG:989) 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 we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares inGround International Development Limited(HKG:989). It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required. We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.' View our latest analysis for Ground International Development In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Chairman of the Board Xintong Cui bought HK$8.0m worth of shares at a price of HK$0.93 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being HK$0.18). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when an insider has purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Xintong Cui. Xintong Cui bought 55.7m shares over the last 12 months at an average price of HK$0.68. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below! Ground International Development is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at thisfreelist of growing companies with insider buying. Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Ground International Development insiders own 81% of the company, currently worth about HK$759m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders. It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Ground International Development shares in the last quarter. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. With high insider ownership and encouraging transactions, it seems like Ground International Development insiders think the business has merit. To put this in context, take a look at how a company has performed in the past. You can accessthisdetailed graphof past earnings, revenue and cash flow. If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss thisfreelist of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
A Friend In The Fed For This Dividend ETF Speculation that the Federal Reserve could lower interest rates this year and the corresponding declines in Treasury yields are positives for myriad asset classes including dividend stocks, particularly those of the high-yield varietal. Just look at theiShares Core High Dividend ETF(NYSE:HDV), which is higher by more than 5% over the past month, a period including the Fed's most recent meeting. What Happened The $7.32 billion HDV tracks the Morningstar Dividend Yield Focus Index and holds 74 stocks. HDV yields 3.46%, or 158 basis points above the dividend yield on the S&P 500. HDV's “underlying index is comprised of qualified income paying securities that are screened for superior company quality and financial health as determined by Morningstar, Inc.’s proprietary index methodology,”according to Morningstar. Why It's Important Income investors should consider the current environment, meaning where dividend stocks are out and where the group has been. “High dividend yield seeks to provide exposure to above average dividend-paying companies relative to price, while dividend growth aims to invest in companies that consistently grow their dividends,”said BlackRock in a recent note. “Following the Global Financial Crisis many dividend-oriented funds employ quality screens as part of their investment process.” While HDV is a high dividend strategy, the fund is not excessively allocated to the utilities and real estate sectors, groups that are often pillars of high-yield dividend ETFs. Those sectors combine for just 10% of HDV's roster. “Companies within sectors such as Consumer Staples and Utilities for example, can afford to pay more of their earnings out in the form of dividends; they are generally more established, have high barriers to entry, and are less focused on reinvesting for rapid growth,” said BlackRock. Energy is HDV's largest sector weight at 24% followed by consumer staples at 19%,according to issuer data. What's Next The sanguine interest rate outlook should continue serving as an impetus for income investors to embrace funds like HDV. “Higher rates have historically put pressure on dividend strategies,” said BlackRock. “Dividend-paying companies tend to carry more debt, which grows more expensive as rates rise; at the same time, bond yields become more attractive as interest rates rise, lowering the demand for income through dividend-paying stocks.” Fortunately for HDV, higher rates do not appear to be in the cards this year. Related Links: Best Sector ETFs For July A Good Mid-Cap Deal Photo credit: Dan Smith - Own workvia Wikimedia Commons See more from Benzinga • Best Sector ETFs For July: Make Some Bank • Finding Value And Compensation In Mid-Cap Stocks • Good Timing For This Alternative Energy ETF © 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Amazon to add over 2,000 jobs in Britain this year LONDON (Reuters) - Amazon will add over 2,000 permanent jobs in Britain this year, taking the U.S. retail giant's UK workforce to more than 29,500, it said on Wednesday. The company said the jobs will be at its UK head office in London, in research and development, Amazon Web Services and operations. The roles include entry-level positions at warehouses as well as engineers, software developers, data scientists, and cloud and machine learning experts. In 2018, Amazon added 2,500 permanent jobs in Britain, its biggest market in Europe. On Tuesday the retail giant said it would create 1,800 permanent jobs this year in France, its second-biggest European market. More than 170 of the new jobs in Britain will be at Amazon's development centres in Cambridge, Edinburgh and London. Apart from nationwide goods deliveries, Amazon's services include video streaming and a digital home assistant known as Alexa. Amazon says it has invested over 9.3 billion pounds ($11.7 billion) in its UK operations since 2010 but does not break down that figure between capital expenditure and operating costs. (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Karuna Therapeutics Inc (KRTX) President & CEO Steven M Paul Bought $230,400 of Shares President & CEO of Karuna Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:KRTX) Steven M Paul bought 10,000 shares of KRTX on 06/28/2019 at an average price of $23.04 a share.
Estimating The Intrinsic Value Of Shougang Fushan Resources Group Limited (HKG:639) Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of Shougang Fushan Resources Group Limited (HKG:639) by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. I will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple! Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in theSimply Wall St analysis model. View our latest analysis for Shougang Fushan Resources Group We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars: [{"": "Levered FCF (HK$, Millions)", "2020": "HK$688.0m", "2021": "HK$643.0m", "2022": "HK$616.4m", "2023": "HK$602.3m", "2024": "HK$596.2m", "2025": "HK$595.6m", "2026": "HK$598.8m", "2027": "HK$604.6m", "2028": "HK$612.3m", "2029": "HK$621.5m"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2020": "Analyst x1", "2021": "Analyst x1", "2022": "Est @ -4.14%", "2023": "Est @ -2.29%", "2024": "Est @ -1%", "2025": "Est @ -0.1%", "2026": "Est @ 0.53%", "2027": "Est @ 0.97%", "2028": "Est @ 1.28%", "2029": "Est @ 1.5%"}, {"": "Present Value (HK$, Millions) Discounted @ 8.86%", "2020": "HK$632.0", "2021": "HK$542.6", "2022": "HK$477.9", "2023": "HK$428.9", "2024": "HK$390.1", "2025": "HK$358.0", "2026": "HK$330.6", "2027": "HK$306.6", "2028": "HK$285.3", "2029": "HK$266.0"}] ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= HK$4.0b We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 10-year government bond rate of 2%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.9%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = HK$621m × (1 + 2%) ÷ (8.9% – 2%) = HK$9.3b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= HK$HK$9.3b ÷ ( 1 + 8.9%)10= HK$3.96b The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is HK$7.98b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding.This results in an intrinsic value estimate of HK$1.5. Compared to the current share price of HK$1.75, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent. The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Shougang Fushan Resources Group as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.9%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.03. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business. Whilst important, DCF calculation shouldn’t be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Shougang Fushan Resources Group, I've compiled three pertinent aspects you should further research: 1. Financial Health: Does 639 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 639'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 639? Exploreour interactive list of high quality stocksto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every HK stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock justsearch here. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
SYFY, Space, IDW Entertainment and SEVEN24 Films Announce Return to Production for Wynonna Earp Cineflix Studios to Co-Produce - Cineflix Rights to Handle International Sales LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 2, 2019 /IDW Entertainment, SEVEN24 Films, Space and SYFY announced today that "Wynonna Earp," the award-winning series based on the IDW comic created by Beau Smith, has been greenlit to start production for its fourth season. With production slated to begin later this year, Season 4 is expected to debut in Summer 2020 on SYFY in the US and Space in Canada. Additionally, IDW Entertainment announced that Cineflix Studios has come aboard to co-produce with Cineflix Rights handling international sales for all four seasons of the series. Winner of the 2018 People's Choice Award for Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show, "Wynonna Earp" follows the life of the great, great granddaughter (Melanie Scrofano, "Bad Blood") of famous lawman Wyatt Earp. The action-packed supernatural sci-fi series stars Scrofano, Tim Rozon ("Schitt's Creek"), Dominique Provost-Chalkley ("Avengers: Age of Ultron") and Katherine Barrell ("Working Moms"). "We are absolutely thrilled that we get to make more 'Wynonna Earp,' and are grateful to our networks and partners for working hard to ensure we can," said Emily Andras, Showrunner and Executive Producer. "This is an enormous testament to our passionate and fierce fans, the Earpers, who remind us every day how to fight like hell for the things you love with wit, ferocity and kindness." Known for having one of the most active social media communities - from arranging fan conventions around the world to raising money for LGBTQ charities - "Wynonna Earp" has been praised for its "fierce and committed performances", and has received and been nominated for numerous awards including Canadian Screen Awards, GLAAD Media Awards, Directors Guild of Canada, Writers Guild of Canada and Alberta Film & Television Awards. SEVEN24's Jordy Randall and Tom Cox, in addition to Cineflix's Peter Emerson and Brett Burlock, serve as Executive Producers along with Todd Berger and Rick Jacobs. ABOUT IDW ENTERTAINMENT IDW Entertainment"IDWE" is charged with developing, financing, producing and distributing creative, diversified and targeted entertainment content ranging from series and features to interactive experiences and digital content from sister companyIDW Publishing's extensive IP catalog of comic books and graphic novels, as well as from third-party content. Since launching in 2013, IDWE has successfully delivered three seasons of the critically-acclaimed "Wynonna Earp", which debuted on SYFY in the U.S.; Spike TV in the UK and Australia; and Netflix Globally. The company is also in production on a Netflix series adaptation of the popular comic book "Locke & Key" by Joe Hill and show run by Carlton Cuse, slated to premiere in 2020. IDWE has completed production on the Netflix Original series "VWars" set to premiere in 2019, starring Ian Somerhalder; and "October Faction" also slated to premiere in 2019. IDWE is a franchise studio division ofIDW Media Holdings, Inc. (OTC:IDWM), a fully integrated media company. ABOUTSEVEN24 FILMS SEVEN24 Films is an independent film and television production company whose work has spanned over two decades. Executive Producers Tom Cox and Jordy Randall have produced dramatic series, mini-series, television movies and feature films garnering over one hundred industry awards and nominations. In addition to the People's Choice Award winning series, Wynonna Earp, current projects includeFortunate Son, a political thriller for CBC and NBCU International,Dark Cargo, a noir thriller for YouTube Premium,Jann, a half hour comedy for CTV, and the hit family seriesHeartland, the longest running one-hour series in Canadian history, now in its thirteenth season for CBC and UPtv. Previous projects includeYoung Drunk Punkfor Rogers and CBC, the Canadian Screen Award winnerBorealis, the Gemini Award winning movieMayerthorpeand Gemini Award winning Mini-SeriesBurn Up. Tom Cox and Jordy Randall were also co-producers on numerous high-profile feature films including the Academy Award nominated Brokeback Mountain, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Resurrecting the Champ.ABOUT CINEFLIX STUDIOS Cineflix Studios creates scripted content for the US, Canada, and international markets. Partnering with top flight showrunners and third-party producers, Cineflix Studios brings creative, co-financing, and distribution expertise through Cineflix Rights to premium projects. Cineflix Studios co-financed and co-produced two seasons of the dramatic series Pure for WGNA/Hulu/Super Channel/CBC and the recently renewed break-out hit series Coroner for CBC/NBCU International Networks. Maureen Ryan,Variety SOURCE:IDW Entertainment, SEVEN24, Space, SYFY View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/550692/SYFY-Space-IDW-Entertainment-and-SEVEN24-Films-Announce-Return-to-Production-for-Wynonna-Earp
Did Shenzhen Investment Limited (HKG:604) Insiders Buy Up More 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. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So before you buy or sellShenzhen Investment Limited(HKG:604), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling. It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required. 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 Shenzhen Investment While there weren't any large insider transactions in the last twelve months, it's still worth looking at the trading. You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below! Shenzhen Investment is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at thisfreelist of growing companies with insider buying. I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. 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 suggests Shenzhen Investment insiders own 0.07% of the company, worth about HK$17m. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. We consider this fairly low insider ownership. The fact that there have been no Shenzhen Investment insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders do have a stake in Shenzhen Investment and their transactions don't cause us concern. Of course,the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Shenzhen Investment, you should check out thisfreereport on analyst forecasts for the company. If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss thisfreelist of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Read This Before You Buy Anton Oilfield Services Group (HKG:3337) Because Of Its 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 written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll look at Anton Oilfield Services Group's (HKG:3337) P/E ratio and reflect on what it tells us about the company's share price.Anton Oilfield Services Group has a P/E ratio of 11.51, based on the last twelve months. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 8.7%. View our latest analysis for Anton Oilfield Services Group Theformula for price to earningsis: Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price (in reporting currency) ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS) Or for Anton Oilfield Services Group: P/E of 11.51 = CN¥0.91(Note: this is the share price in the reporting currency, namely, CNY )÷ CN¥0.079 (Based on the year to December 2018.) A higher P/E ratio means that buyers have to paya higher pricefor each HK$1 the company has earned over the last year. That is not a good or a bad thingper se, but a high P/E does imply buyers are optimistic about the future. Earnings growth rates have a big influence on P/E ratios. If earnings are growing quickly, then the 'E' in the equation will increase faster than it would otherwise. That means even if the current P/E is high, it will reduce over time if the share price stays flat. And as that P/E ratio drops, the company will look cheap, unless its share price increases. Anton Oilfield Services Group's 285% EPS improvement over the last year was like bamboo growth after rain; rapid and impressive. On the other hand, the longer term performance is poor, with EPS down 15% per year over 5 years. We can get an indication of market expectations by looking at the P/E ratio. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (33.3) for companies in the energy services industry is higher than Anton Oilfield Services Group's P/E. Anton Oilfield Services Group's P/E tells us that market participants think it will not fare as well as its peers in the same industry. While current expectations are low, the stock could be undervalued if the situation is better than the market assumes. You should delve deeper. I like to checkif company insiders have been buying or selling. Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth. Such spending might be good or bad, overall, but the key point here is that you need to look at debt to understand the P/E ratio in context. Net debt totals 95% of Anton Oilfield Services Group's market cap. This is a reasonably significant level of debt -- all else being equal you'd expect a much lower P/E than if it had net cash. Anton Oilfield Services Group trades on a P/E ratio of 11.5, which is fairly close to the HK market average of 11. It does have enough debt to add risk, although earnings growth was strong in the last year. The P/E suggests the market isn't confident that growth will be sustained, though. When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. As value investor Benjamin Graham famously said, 'In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.' So thisfreevisualization of the analyst consensus on future earningscould help you make theright decisionabout whether to buy, sell, or hold. But note:Anton Oilfield Services Group may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20). We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
UPDATE 4-Australia's Woolworths to offload drinks, pubs units amid slot machine pressure * Woolworths says the move will simplify both businesses * Demerger follows years of pressure over slot machines * Woolworths shares rise to over 1-month high (Adds fund manager comment) By Byron Kaye and Nikhil Nainan SYDNEY/BENGALURU, July 3 (Reuters) - Australia's biggest supermarket chain Woolworths Group Ltd said on Wednesday it will combine and spin off its drinks and pubs units to focus on its core business, cutting back its contentious involvement in poker-machine gambling. The demerger would give investors exposure to a standalone listed operator of 1,500 liquor stores and 327 pubs worth about A$10 billion ($7 billion), according to analysts, while reducing family-focused Woolworths' reliance on slot machine revenue. It also marks the beginning of the end of the major retailers' addiction to poker machine revenue, after Woolworths rival Coles Group Ltd said in March it was carving off its pubs business into a joint venture. "A significant proportion of the world's funds under management that would invest in this stock is concerned about its ownership of hotels and poker machines," said David walker, large companies portfolio manager at Clime Asset Management. "Whether that's the intention or not, it just removes a hurdle." Woolworths shares were trading 3% higher late on Wednesday, while the broader Australian market was up about 0.5%, a sign that investors supported the split. Woolworths Chief Executive Officer Brad Banducci said the divestment was intended to simplify both businesses in response to fierce competition from internet-based retailers, not to allay investor concerns over gambling. "We did it to unlock potential, not to avoid issues," he told journalists. "There will be more simplicity which will lead to more agility," he said, adding Woolworths could sell the new asset rather than demerge. The move comes two weeks after New South Wales state's gambling regulator said it was investigating a complaint that two Woolworths-owned pubs broke the law by giving gamblers free alcohol. The pubs and drinks units brought about a fifth of Woolworths' pre-tax profit in 2018, its annual report shows. Woolworths' poker machine arm ALH is Australia's third-largest owner of slot machines with some 12,000 of them, behind only casino operators Crown Resorts Ltd and Star Entertainment Group Ltd. Public concerns about the social costs of gambling - Australians lose about A$14 billion a year on poker machines - and the conversion of traditional pubs into gambling venues have dogged Australian retailers for years. "ALH has long been Australia's biggest, most aggressive and most irresponsible pokies operator, pushing hard on loyalty schemes, offering up free liquor to gamblers and operating for the maximum amount of hours as the laws allow," Alliance for Gambling Reform head Tim Costello said. Cutting its ties with slot machines was a "globally significant moment for the gambling divestment movement, not unlike Rio Tinto getting out of coal", he added. The Australian supermarket sector is facing growing competition from internet rivals and aggressive discounters like Germany's ALDI Inc. Last year, Woolworths said it was selling its petrol station business to Britain's EG Group for A$1.73 billion, and the former owner of Coles, Wesfarmers Ltd, spun off the No. 2 grocer. ($1 = 1.4306 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Byron Kaye in SYDNEY and Nikhil Kurian Nainan in BENGALURU, additional reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in BENGALRU; Editing by Stephen Coates and Himani Sarkar)
Dapps, smart contracts and crypto collectibles come to Waves blockchain Waves has released a major upgrade, which the creators hope will make it a viable alternative toEthereum,EOSandTron. Dubbed Node 1.0, it adds support forsmart contracts, opening the door for bothdappsandcrypto collectibles, like CryptoKitties. The update will need to be voted in with a minimum turnout of 80 percent—much higher than platforms like EOS. Its delegated proof-of-stake system–which is similar to Waves’–only needs 15 percent of participants to cast a vote to make it binding. It’s like democracy only for those who can be bothered to take part. If the vote is reached, the upgrades will be introduced a week later. Waves is a high-performance blockchain that prioritizes speed. It saw 6.1 million transactions in a single day in October, last year. It is able to do this through its leased proof-of-stake consensus mechanism developed from a proposal written by Cornell professorEmin Gun Sirer. In this model, users can lend their mining capabilities to others while still earning rewards. It’s designed so that more people can participate in maintaining the network, rather than over relying on a smaller group of validators, a la EOS. To some degree, this puts it ahead of platforms like Ethereum—which plans to move towards proof-of-stake over the next five years. On the other hand, Waves is not built by adecentralizedcommunity but is developed by a Moscow-based, for-profit company. Potatoes, decentralized Po-ta-toes. The new upgrades also shed light on a new programming language for the Waves blockchain called RIDE. The language is designed to be more stable to help combat bugs in dapps. This is important because dapps literally control how money flows through them—and mistakes can bedisastrous. If the update is voted in, developers will be able to create any kind of dapps, from simple gambling ones (like EosDice or TronBet) to decentralized exchanges (like EtherDelta). However, it will have to face the current problem affecting all dapp platforms—alack of users. How Waves hopes to solve this is yet to be seen. In addition, this will introduce support for crypto collectibles. These are unique tokens that are the digital equivalent of trading cards. Crypto collectibles hit a craze in 2017 with the rise ofCryptoKittiesbut despite creators’ Matter Labs’ best efforts, few projects have come close to making the headlines. Perhaps Waves has something up its sleeve.
Nike Breaks Down Another Record Quarter Nike's(NYSE: NKE)growth rebound is still gaining steam. The athletic apparel and footwear giant recently revealed accelerating sales in the U.S. market, as well as rising profit margins as consumers enthusiastically shelled out for its latest product releases. The results closed the books on Nike's first full year of a strategy that's delivering robust returns for investors. In aconference call with Wall Street analysts, the management team broke down the key factors behind Nike's market share gains, and the reasons behind their optimism about the coming fiscal year. Here are a few highlights from that presentation. Image source: Getty Images. "For the full year, revenue grew 11% on a currency neutral basis, and 10% in the most recent quarter. At Nike's scale, that is roughly $4 billion of incremental revenue in just one year." – CFO Andy Campion Fiscal 2019 represented the first full year of a growth strategy that management calls its "consumer direct offense." The results werestrong across the board. Sales growth landed at 11% for the year and for 10% in the most recent quarter. Both figures surpassed the target of range high single-digit growth that executives had outlined. Those gains put further distance between it and peers such asUnder Armour(NYSE: UA)(NYSE: UAA), which grew sales 4% in 2018. Importantly, Nike's growth sped back up in the U.S. this quarter, with gains accelerating to 8% from 7%. Under Armour's comparable figure declined to 3%. Nike credited its new product launches, supplemented by a robust e-commerce strategy, for keeping it well ahead of rivals. "Gross margin expanded 80 basis points in Q4, also exceeding our guidance. Margin expansion was driven by strong full-price sales, enhanced product profitability and Nike Digital growth. For the full year, gross margin expanded 90 basis points." – Campion Despiteworries about rising costs, Nike posted higher gross profit margins for the quarter and fiscal year. Several positive factors underlaid that win, including a supply-and-demand balance in the U.S., and a shift in sales toward newer products and the direct-to-consumer channel. Executives see room to boost profitability for years to come, too, as they keep shortening the development time for new footwear and apparel products, and as e-commerce becomes a bigger part of Nike's business. "We expect another year of broad-based growth with all 4 geographies delivering on our long-term financial model." – Campion Nike's fiscal 2020 outlook calls for a third consecutive year of strengthening results. Sales are forecast to again rise by just under 10%, including significant foreign currency exchange headwinds. Healthy growth in the U.S. should be supplemented by even faster gains in markets like Latin America and China. Gross profit margin is expected to rise about about half of a percentage point, a light gain compared to last year's 80 basis points of growth. Yet this figure is being held back by temporary factors such as Nike's spending on supply chain improvements, management said. Accounting for those issues shows how the company is in prime position to flex its financial muscles. Nike is likely to push more aggressively in areas like women's apparel and footwear this year. The Chinese market will get lots of management's attention, too, as they work to improve on the extra $1 billion of revenue it added to the business just in fiscal 2019. Overall, Nike's outlook is for market share gains that, combined with rising profitability, should power strong returns for its shareholders. More From The Motley Fool • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,728 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • 20 of the Top Stocks to Buy (Including the Two Every Investor Should Own) • What Is an ETF? • 5 Recession-Proof Stocks • How to Beat the Market Demitrios Kalogeropoulosowns shares of Nike, Under Armour (A Shares), and Under Armour (C Shares). The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Nike, Under Armour (A Shares), and Under Armour (C Shares). The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Taylor Swift's Fans Came at Sia With Accusations of Blackface In the midst of Taylor Swift's comments about Scooter Braun's acquisition of Big Machine Records and the rights to her music, Sia offered a few words of support for the entrepreneur and talent manager. That rubbed a few of Swift's fans the wrong way, and in what looks like an act of retaliation, they posted photos of Sia in what appears to be blackface. According to Just Jared , the Australian performer didn't stand for it. She clarified with a tweet, saying that she had painted herself into a backdrop on set, a move she used before adopting large wigs to conceal her identity. "For the swift fans trying to make out that I would ever do blackface please see this video. I was painting myself into the backdrop, it was a pre cursor [sic] to the wig…," Sia tweeted alongside a clip from YouTube. Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images RELATED: Scooter Braun's Wife Yael Cohen Says Taylor Swift Collects and Drops "Friends Like Wilted Flowers" For the swift fans trying to make out that I would ever do blackface please see this video. I was painting myself into the backdrop, it was a pre cursor to the wig... https://t.co/6St0hWl1k1 — sia (@Sia) July 2, 2019 Earlier this week, Sia tweeted words of support for Braun, writing, "You're a good kind man @scooterbraun I hope this passes quickly. I love you keep going." This was after the announcement that Braun and his company, Ithaca Holdings, had purchased Swift's former record label (she moved to Republic Records and Universal Music Group) and controlled her back catalog. Swift called out his " incessant, manipulative bullying ," though along with Sia, Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato have voiced their support for Braun. Scott Borchetta, the founder of Big Machine Label Group, also sided with Braun, saying that he believes Swift's music will be in safe hands. Story continues RELATED: Justin Bieber Told Taylor Swift She Was "Crossing a Line" with the Scooter Braun Drama "As to her comments about ‘being in tears or close to it’ anytime my new partner Scooter Braun’s name was brought up, I certainly never experienced that," he wrote on the label's website . "Scooter has always been and will continue to be a supporter and honest custodian for Taylor and her music." Halsey, Katy Perry, Cher, and Iggy Azalea, have thrown their support behind Swift. Subsequently, Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus, Lana Del Rey, Selena Gomez, Rihanna, and Adele have all unfollowed Braun on social media.
Crypto News: Square to Accept Bitcoin Deposits; TD Ameritrade-Backed Trading Platform Receives License Cryptocurrency is still a nascent asset class. The majority of people who buy and sell cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are individual investors and traders. There are signs that institutional investors -- such as hedge funds, pension funds, and university endowments -- are beginning to enter the crypto arena. But before these large professional investors can allocate significant sums of capital to cryptoassets, certain aspects of market and regulatory infrastructure must be in place. Additionally, the promise of bitcoin has long been that of a borderless, global currency. Yet the popular cryptocurrency is still a long way from fulfilling this bold vision. Read on to learn about two recent developments by businesses seeking to address these challenges. A person walking in a dark tunnel towards a lighted exit in the shape of a bitcoin logo. Image source: Getty Images. Square rolls out Bitcoin deposits Square (NYSE: SQ) is enabling Bitcoin deposits on its Cash App, according to CoinDesk . The payments and merchant services company previously allowed users to buy, sell, and transfer Bitcoin. Now it appears that Square is beginning to roll out the ability for users to accept incoming deposits. Square CEO Jack Dorsey is an ardent proponent of Bitcoin. He recently began to assemble a small team of elite developers to help strengthen the cryptocurrency's ecosystem. The team, named Square Crypto, will report directly to Dorsey. Dorsey wants to help make cryptocurrency more accessible to the masses. In this regard, he plans to eventually bring the Lightning Network -- a scaling solution that could enable fast and inexpensive cryptocurrency payments -- to Square's Cash App. "We don't think it stops at buying and selling [Bitcoin]," Dorsey said during a podcast with Stephan Livera . "We do want to help make happen the currency aspect." Allowing users of Square's Cash App to receive bitcoin deposits is another step in this direction. ErisX receives license The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has granted ErisX a license that will allow it to offer digital asset futures contracts. The trading platform is backed by popular discount brokerage TD Ameritrade (NASDAQ: AMTD) . Story continues In the case of Bitcoin, futures contracts are binding agreements that allow traders to make bets on whether the cryptocurrency's price will rise or fall over a certain period of time. ErisX's futures contracts will be physically settled, meaning the buyer of the contract will receive actual Bitcoin. This is in contrast to the cash-settled contracts offered by other exchanges, such as CME Group . ErisX says its regulated derivatives market will launch later this year. The company says its trading platform will better serve the needs of professional investors. "By establishing a marketplace and developing infrastructure typically associated with traditional markets, ErisX has eliminated many of the obstacles institutional investors face in accessing digital assets," ErisX CEO Don Wilson said. "This is another step in the development and maturation of the markets." 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 Joe Tenebruso has no position in any of the stocks or cryptocurrencies mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Square. The Motley Fool recommends CME Group. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks or cryptocurrencies mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
U.S. judge to slash $80 million Roundup jury verdict: court hearing By Tina Bellon (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday said he would reduce an $80 million damage award against Bayer AG <BAYGn.DE> to $50 million or less in the case of a man who blamed his cancer on glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco said the jury's $75 million punitive damages award to plaintiff Edwin Hardeman in March could not stand. "It's quite clear that under the Constitution I'm required to reduce the punitive damages award and it's just a question of how much," Chhabria said during a court hearing in which lawyers for both sides discussed the company's request to overturn the verdict. Chhabria said he would issue a ruling by the end of next week. Following a four-week trial, a federal jury on March 27 awarded $5 million in compensatory and $75 million in punitive damages to Hardeman, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2014. U.S. Supreme Court rulings limit the ratio of punitive to compensatory damages to 9 to 1. Chhabria said he was also considering reducing the compensatory damages award because Hardeman was now in full remission and unlikely to suffer as much as he had in the past. Bayer, which bought Roundup maker Monsanto for $63 billion last year, says Roundup and its active ingredient glyphosate are safe for human use and not carcinogenic. The company faces lawsuits by more than 13,400 plaintiffs nationwide and a series of Roundup jury verdicts against Bayer have prompted its share price to plummet. Under pressure from activist shareholders, Bayer on Wednesday said it set up a committee to help resolve the litigation and hired an external lawyer to advise its supervisory board. Bayer had asked Chhabria to completely reverse the jury verdict in Hardeman's case in light of scientific evidence and assessments by regulators finding glyphosate to be safe. Brian Stekloff, a lawyer for Bayer, on Tuesday said Monsanto went "above and beyond" to meet regulatory requirements, warranting a complete reversal of the punitive damages award. But Chhabria disagreed, saying jurors had seen sufficient evidence that Monsanto did not care whether its products cause cancer, instead focusing on undermining people who were raising concerns. "There was nothing suggesting that anybody at Monsanto viewed this issue objectively or with any consideration for the life of human people," the judge said. (Reporting by Tina Bellon in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Are Precision Tsugami (China) Corporation Limited’s (HKG:1651) High Returns Really That Great? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we'll look at Precision Tsugami (China) Corporation Limited (HKG:1651) and reflect on its potential as an investment. Specifically, we're going to calculate its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), in the hopes of getting some insight into the business. First of all, we'll work out how to calculate ROCE. Next, we'll compare it to others in its industry. Last but not least, we'll look at what impact its current liabilities have on its ROCE. ROCE measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. Generally speaking a higher ROCE is better. Overall, it is a valuable metric that has its flaws. Author Edwin Whitingsaysto be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since 'No two businesses are exactly alike.' The formula for calculating the return on capital employed is: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) Or for Precision Tsugami (China): 0.33 = CN¥470m ÷ (CN¥2.0b - CN¥546m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.) So,Precision Tsugami (China) has an ROCE of 33%. Check out our latest analysis for Precision Tsugami (China) ROCE can be useful when making comparisons, such as between similar companies. Precision Tsugami (China)'s ROCE appears to be substantially greater than the 10% average in the Machinery industry. We consider this a positive sign, because it suggests it uses capital more efficiently than similar companies. Regardless of the industry comparison, in absolute terms, Precision Tsugami (China)'s ROCE currently appears to be excellent. In our analysis, Precision Tsugami (China)'s ROCE appears to be 33%, compared to 3 years ago, when its ROCE was 18%. This makes us wonder if the company is improving. The image below shows how Precision Tsugami (China)'s ROCE compares to its industry, and you can click it to see more detail on its past growth. It is important to remember that ROCE shows past performance, and is not necessarily predictive. 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. Future performance is what matters, and you can see analyst predictions in ourfreereport on analyst forecasts for the company. Current liabilities are short term bills and invoices that need to be paid in 12 months or less. Due to the way the ROCE equation works, having large bills due in the near term can make it look as though a company has less capital employed, and thus a higher ROCE than usual. To check the impact of this, we calculate if a company has high current liabilities relative to its total assets. Precision Tsugami (China) has total liabilities of CN¥546m and total assets of CN¥2.0b. Therefore its current liabilities are equivalent to approximately 28% of its total assets. This is quite a low level of current liabilities which would not greatly boost the already high ROCE. This is good to see, and with such a high ROCE, Precision Tsugami (China) may be worth a closer look. Precision Tsugami (China) looks strong on this analysis,but there are plenty of other companies that could be a good opportunity. Here is afree listof companies growing earnings rapidly. I will like Precision Tsugami (China) better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out thisfreelist of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Airlines' Growth on Hawaii Routes Is Set to Slow Shares ofHawaiian Holdings(NASDAQ: HA)have lost about half of their value over the past two years due to rising competition in many of the carrier's key markets: particularly on West Coast-Hawaii routes.United Airlines(NASDAQ: UAL)significantly increased its capacity to Hawaii starting in late 2017. And just a few months ago,Southwest Airlines(NYSE: LUV)began flying to Hawaii. (Southwest has also started flying some interisland routes within Hawaii.) However, Southwest and United were both early customers forBoeing's(NYSE: BA)737 MAX. The grounding of the 737 MAX -- which now seems likely to drag on formany more months-- is leading to slower growth in West Coast-Hawaii capacity. This should help Hawaiian Airlines as it tries to get back on the right track. Capacity growth in the West Coast-Hawaii air travel market is slowing again. Image source: Hawaiian Airlines. While Southwest Airlines wasn't able to begin its Hawaii flights in 2018 as originally planned, there was still a huge surge in capacity on West Coast-Hawaii routes last year. United Airlines was responsible for the biggest share of the increase, but Hawaiian Airlines also added a number of new routes in midsize markets. The total number of seats from the western U.S. to Hawaii increased 10.7% year over year in 2018, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Growth slowed abruptly in Q1 2019, as United lapped the beginning of its Hawaii expansion and Southwest's entry into the Hawaii market wasdelayed to mid-March. The number of seats from the western U.S. to Hawaii inched up just 1% in the first quarter. However, Southwest Airlines quickly grew its West Coast-Hawaii flight schedule from one daily roundtrip in mid-March to six by the end of May. As a result, growth in the number of seats between the West Coast and Hawaii accelerated again, reaching 5.4% in May. Furthermore, when it launched Hawaii ticket sales, Southwest hinted that more routes were coming soon. Southwest Airlines' initial 2019 fleet plan called for the airline to end the year with about 775 aircraft in its fleet -- including 75 Boeing 737 MAX jets -- up from 750 at the end of 2018. Instead, the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX means that Southwest has fewer airplanes available than it did a year ago. That's causing its capacity to shrink on a year-over-year basis. Southwest hasn't started ticket sales for any new Hawaii routes since March. Image source: Southwest Airlines. As a result, Southwest hasn't announced any new routes to Hawaii since March. The 737 MAX grounding will extend until at least late October -- and more likely November, December, or even early 2020 -- due to new issues that Boeing needs to address. This means that Southwest will be limited to its six daily roundtrips to Hawaii in both the third quarter and a substantial chunk of the fourth quarter. United Airlines also faces a capacity crunch that could impact its Hawaii service. Early on in the Boeing 737 MAX grounding, United substituted larger wide-body planes for the 737 MAX 9s it had been using between the West Coast and Hawaii. However, management made it clear that this wasn't sustainable. In any case, there aren't extra widebodies available in its fleet during the summer peak season. As of April, Hawaiian Airlines expected total industry capacity from the West Coast to Hawaii toincrease about 6% in Q2and 7% in Q3, based on airlines' published schedules. Now that airlines are being forced to pare their schedules, the growth rate is likely to be slower than expected this summer. Capacity growth could slow even further in the fourth quarter. At some point, the Boeing 737 MAX will get back in the air. Southwest Airlines is likely to dramatically expand its Hawaii service in short order after that happens. Thus, Hawaiian Airlines can't permanently avoid the threat of higher competition. However, if Southwest's growth in Hawaii doesn't resume until around year-end, that will give Hawaiian some much-needed breathing room. First, Hawaiian Airlines' own growth on the West Coast is slowing. In recent months, the carrier has announced the resumption of a route to Fukuoka, Japan, and an extra daily flight to Tokyo. Those moves will likely entail shifting twoAirbusA330 wide-bodies from West Coast routes to Japan. This will offset most of the growth from Hawaiian's five remaining A321neo deliveries. Second, Hawaiian will introduce basic economy fares later this year. This is a tool that has proven effective at other airlines for attracting price-sensitive travelers without hurting average fares too much. Management expects a $15 million to $25 million annual benefit from the introduction of basic economy. Thanks to the 737 MAX grounding, Hawaiian Airlines will get a respite from rising competition in the second half of 2019. That could help it get back on a stable footing, putting the airline in better position to compete with the likes of Southwest and United in 2020 and beyond. More From The Motley Fool • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,728 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • 20 of the Top Stocks to Buy (Including the Two Every Investor Should Own) • What Is an ETF? • 5 Recession-Proof Stocks • How to Beat the Market Adam Levine-Weinbergowns shares of Hawaiian Holdings and Southwest Airlines. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Southwest Airlines. The Motley Fool recommends Hawaiian Holdings. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
NVIDIA's De Facto Price Cut Sets Up a Battle With AMD WhenNVIDIA(NASDAQ: NVDA)launched its RTX 20 series of graphics cards last year,the company's pricing strategydidn't give gamers much value for their money. While the new cards were substantially faster than their predecessors, bloated price tags made them questionable upgrades. NVIDIA was only competing with itself in the higher-end portion of the market at the time, but high prices contributed toweak demand for the new cards. NVIDIA's pricing left the door open forAdvanced Micro Devices(NASDAQ: AMD). AMD will launchtwo new Navi-based graphics cards, the RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT, on July 7, and both outperform comparable NVIDIA cards, according to AMD's benchmarks. The former is $30 more expensive than NVIDIA's RTX 2060, while the latter undercuts NVIDIA's RTX 2070 by $50. NVIDIA's RTX 2080 SUPER graphics card. Image source: NVIDIA. If AMD's benchmarks are close to what third-party reviewers find when the cards launch, NVIDIA's pricey graphics cards will be facing some serious competition. In an effort to get out ahead of AMD's launch, NVIDIA announced a refresh of the RTX 20 series on July 2. The GTX 2070 and GTX 2080 will be dropped entirely, replaced with new SUPER variants. The GTX 2060 will remain, with the GTX 2060 SUPER slotting in above it in the product stack. [{"Product": "RTX 2080 Ti", "MSRP": "$999"}, {"Product": "RTX 2080 SUPER", "MSRP": "$699"}, {"Product": "RTX 2080 (being dropped)", "MSRP": "$699"}, {"Product": "RTX 2070 SUPER", "MSRP": "$499"}, {"Product": "RTX 2070 (being dropped)", "MSRP": "$499"}, {"Product": "RTX 2060 SUPER", "MSRP": "$399"}, {"Product": "RTX 2060", "MSRP": "$349"}] Data source: Anandtech. The new SUPER variants are based on the same underlying architecture, with NVIDIA claiming average performance improvements of around 15% compared with the non-SUPER cards. The RTX 2060 SUPER is basically on par with the old RTX 2070, according to Anandtech's tests, and the RTX 2070 is close in performance to the old RTX 2080. In other words, this product refresh is essentially a price cut. NVIDIA is knocking $200 off RTX 2080-level performance, and $100 off RTX 2070-level performance. Given the timing, this doesn't appear to be coming from a position of strength. NVIDIA is probably worried about losing market share to AMD, and it's trying to boost the value proposition of its lineup to minimize the impact. Once AMD launches its new graphics cards on July 7, the company still won't have a compelling entry to compete with NVIDIA's two higher-end cards.AMD launched the Radeon VIIearlier this year, meant to battle the RTX 2080, but it lost on performance despite selling for the same price. The Radeon VII is based on an older architecture, which is one reason it's far less energy efficient that NVIDIA's cards. While NVIDIA still owns the ultra-high end, the mid- to high-end portion of the graphics card market appears to be up for grabs for the first time in many years. AMD's new graphics cards won't fare quite as well against NVIDIA's faster SUPER variants, but price-to-performance should still be in the same ballpark for both AMD and NVIDIA. NVIDIA's RTX 2060 SUPER and RTX 2070 SUPER will be available on July 9, two days after AMD's new cards debut. The RTX 2080 SUPER will appear on July 23. AMD has a real shot at winning significant market share in a portion of the market where it's struggled in recent years, but NVIDIA's de facto price cut may enough to keep AMD in check. More From The Motley Fool • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,728 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • 20 of the Top Stocks to Buy (Including the Two Every Investor Should Own) • What Is an ETF? • 5 Recession-Proof Stocks • How to Beat the Market Timothy Greenhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends NVIDIA. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Is CK Hutchison Holdings Limited's (HKG:1) Capital Allocation Ability Worth Your Time? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we'll evaluate CK Hutchison Holdings Limited (HKG:1) to determine whether it could have potential as an investment idea. Specifically, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), since that will give us an insight into how efficiently the business can generate profits from the capital it requires. Firstly, we'll go over how we calculate ROCE. Then we'll compare its ROCE to similar companies. Last but not least, we'll look at what impact its current liabilities have on its ROCE. ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. All else being equal, a better business will have a higher ROCE. Overall, it is a valuable metric that has its flaws. Author Edwin Whitingsaysto be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since 'No two businesses are exactly alike.' 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 CK Hutchison Holdings: 0.045 = HK$45b ÷ (HK$1.2t - HK$222b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.) So,CK Hutchison Holdings has an ROCE of 4.5%. See our latest analysis for CK Hutchison Holdings One way to assess ROCE is to compare similar companies. It appears that CK Hutchison Holdings's ROCE is fairly close to the Industrials industry average of 3.7%. Putting aside CK Hutchison Holdings's performance relative to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms is poor - considering the risk of owning stocks compared to government bonds. There are potentially more appealing investments elsewhere. Our data shows that CK Hutchison Holdings currently has an ROCE of 4.5%, compared to its ROCE of 2.8% 3 years ago. This makes us wonder if the company is improving. You can click on the image below to see (in greater detail) how CK Hutchison Holdings's past growth compares to other companies. Remember that this metric is backwards looking - it shows what has happened in the past, and does not accurately predict the future. ROCE can be deceptive for cyclical businesses, as returns can look incredible in boom times, and terribly low in downturns. This is because ROCE only looks at one year, instead of considering returns across a whole cycle. Future performance is what matters, and you can see analyst predictions in ourfreereport on analyst forecasts for the company. Short term (or current) liabilities, are things like supplier invoices, overdrafts, or tax bills 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 counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets. CK Hutchison Holdings has total assets of HK$1.2t and current liabilities of HK$222b. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 18% of its total assets. This is a modest level of current liabilities, which will have a limited impact on the ROCE. That's not a bad thing, however CK Hutchison Holdings has a weak ROCE and may not be an attractive investment. Of course,you might also be able to find a better stock than CK Hutchison Holdings. So you may wish to see thisfreecollection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly. For those who like to findwinning investmentsthisfreelist of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Should You Consider Jyothy Laboratories Limited (NSE:JYOTHYLAB)? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Attractive stocks have exceptional fundamentals. In the case of Jyothy Laboratories Limited (NSE:JYOTHYLAB), there's is a well-regarded dividend payer that has been able to sustain great financial health over the past. Below, I've touched on some key aspects you should know on a high level. If you're interested in understanding beyond my broad commentary, take a look at thereport on Jyothy Laboratories here. JYOTHYLAB's strong financial health means that all of its upcoming liability payments are able to be met by its current cash and short-term investment holdings. This indicates that JYOTHYLAB has sufficient cash flows and proper cash management in place, which is a key determinant of the company’s health. JYOTHYLAB's has produced operating cash levels of 1.03x total debt over the past year, which implies that JYOTHYLAB's management has put its borrowings into good use by generating enough cash to cover a sufficient portion of borrowings. Income investors would also be happy to know that JYOTHYLAB is a great dividend company, with a current yield standing at 1.9%. JYOTHYLAB has also been regularly increasing its dividend payments to shareholders over the past decade. For Jyothy Laboratories, I've compiled three relevant factors you should look at: 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for JYOTHYLAB’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor JYOTHYLAB’s outlook. 2. Historical Performance: What has JYOTHYLAB'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 Attractive Alternatives: Are there other well-rounded stocks you could be holding instead of JYOTHYLAB? Exploreour interactive list of stocks with large potentialto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Trump, Buttigieg escalate cash battle with impressive hauls WASHINGTON (AP) The battle for campaign cash is escalating as President Donald Trump posted a massive second quarter haul on Tuesday, while a fresh-faced Indiana mayor outraised Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of the most prominent names in Democratic politics. Trump's $105 million take reflects the incredible resources at his disposal as he prepares to fight for reelection. And South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg's $6 million advantage over Sanders shows the intense competition the Vermont senator is facing in a crowded primary. Together, the early numbers emerging from top campaigns preview the challenges that lie ahead, particularly for Democrats. While Trump amasses a fortune, Democrats worry their long, potentially divisive primary will give the president an advantage going into the general election. "The danger here is that Trump gets a free year to meddle," said Ben LaBolt, the national press secretary for President Barack Obama's reelection campaign. Second quarter fundraising numbers don't need to be reported to the Federal Election Commission until July 15, but often campaigns give an early glimpse, particularly if they had a good haul. So far, only Buttigieg and Sanders have released their numbers, with Buttigieg garnering $24.8 million and Sanders pulling in $18 million and transferring an additional $6 million from other accounts. Yet to be seen are highly anticipated figures from former Vice President Joe Biden and California Sen. Kamala Harris, who saw a fundraising surge after her breakout performance during last week's Democratic debates. Trump's haul includes money raised by the Trump campaign, Trump's joint fundraising entities and the Republican National Committee. The Democratic National Committee, meanwhile, is raising money to support the party's eventual nominee. Sanders' campaign manager, Faiz Shakir, attributed the campaign's cash gulf to Sanders's rejection of high-dollar fundraisers, which Buttigieg has embraced. Instead, Sanders' campaign is fueled by small-dollar online donations from a blue-collar base, he said. "It is the kind of support that we would take any day of the week over cushy, closed-door, high-dollar fundraisers in New York City, in which people eat Parmesan-encrusted salmon on a toothpick," Shakir said. Buttigieg's campaign didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Biden, the presumed front-runner, is coming off several shaky weeks, including a dramatic moment on the debate stage during which he struggled to respond to pointed questions from Harris about his past positions on school busing. Story continues A member of his finance team, California attorney Thomas McInerney, withdrew his support, pointing to Biden's recent comments highlighting his work with segregationists in the Senate. Biden's campaign said in an email to supporters on Monday that they "blew our fundraising goal out of the water" but remain coy about how much he raised. Harris, meanwhile, took in $2 million in the 24 hours after her searing critique of Biden. The former vice president's supporters say they aren't worried. "Let's be honest: When you are the far and away front-runner, everybody is shooting at you," said Steve Westly, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist who is raising money for Biden and predicted his campaign would post a large figure. Fundraising success, however, does not equate to votes, and the race is still in the early stages. Buttigieg, for example, is winning favor among donors but has struggled with African American voters, a key constituency for any winning Democratic presidential campaign. On Tuesday, the 37-year-old acknowledged the needs to meet more voters in the black community during a campaign appearance in Chicago, suggesting that they may warm up to him if they "see me in action for a longer period of time." A clearer picture of the race will emerge once the numbers are reported, laying bare the relative health of their campaigns. Candidates must reach 2% in at least four polls in addition to collecting contributions from at least 130,000 donors to appear on the September debate stage. At least a dozen of the more than 20 campaigns are trying to lure in new donors to qualify for the fall round of debates. But the dry summer months, when fundraising is difficult, lie ahead. Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is one of the most vulnerable candidates, in part because of his trouble raising money. He's resisting pressure from his staff to scrap his flagging presidential campaign and instead run for Senate in his home state. "We need to winnow the field. If you are not raising eight figures in an entire quarter, you may need to look yourself in the mirror and accept that this is not your race," said Rufus Gifford, Obama's former finance director. Republicans, meanwhile, are trying to duplicate Democrats' online fundraising success with small-dollar donors. Last week they launched WinRed, their answer to ActBlue, the Democratic behemoth that funneled more than $1.6 billion mostly low-dollar contributions to campaigns during the 2018 midterms. Republicans frequently rely on rich mega-donors but hope Trump's popularity with everyday voters will translate into more grassroots contributions flowing to other races. Still, Democrats caution that money isn't everything. "I don't think money will decide this election," said Chris Korge, the new DNC finance chair. "We have energy on our side that they don't have on theirs." ___ Associated Press writers Sara Burnett in Chicago and Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this report. View comments
How Oxford Industries Is Beating Tariffs As an apparel company,Oxford Industries(NYSE: OXM)finds itself in the bull's-eye of the U.S.-China trade war. Oxford Industries sells clothing under the brands Tommy Bahama, Lilly Pulitzer, and Southern Tide, and although 96% of the company's revenue last year was from customers in the United States, 70% of its products were sourced from China. Geopolitical circumstances have put Oxford Industries in an awkward position with regard to its supply chain. However, it turns out the company has some tricks up its sleeve.On its most recent earnings call, the company affirmed financial guidance after noting that it had reoriented its supply chain to avoid an impending 25% tariff. Trade tensions eased at the end of June when the U.S. and China agreed to a truce on additional tariffs and a restart to negotiations over a deal that could see tariffs reduced or removed. However, the situation changes from week to week and companies like Oxford Industries want to be prepared for all scenarios. Tariffs have had little impact on Oxford Industries' business so far, but the company's management team wants investors to know that it is prepared. At issue is a 25% punitive tariff on Chinese imports that has been under consideration, though it may not be implemented if the U.S.-China trade disputes are resolved. According to the company, a shirt that retails for around $100 costs roughly $20 to manufacture. A 25% tariff would add $5 in manufacturing costs. This might not sound like a lot compared to the $100 retail price, but the company incurs additional costs to ship product to the U.S., market products to customers, and hire employees to sell the items. And not everything that retails at $100 sells for $100. Oxford Industries has taken two key steps to secure its low cost of production. First, it has negotiated lower prices with its Chinese suppliers so that they absorb most of the hit from tariffs. Second, the company has moved some production out of China and into other countries, such as Vietnam, Thailand, India, and Peru. The company has already started making these changes and expects to complete the supply chain transition by mid-2020. If new tariffs were implemented today, Oxford would likely take a short-term hit to earnings, but the longer they are delayed, the less the overall potential impact. With as much as 70% of its products coming from China, the U.S.-China trade war has created a real headache for Oxford Industries. But the company has risen to the challenge and will be able to maintain its low cost of production as a result. Image Source: Getty Images. Oxford Industries has shown strong financial resultsdespite headwinds in the consumer retail sector and the uncertainties created by tariffs. Q1 2019 saw the company reportsame-store sales growthof 2%, and sales and earnings per share that were above the top end of the company's issued guidance. The company credits its success to its careful rollout of stores across the U.S. Despite strong brand awareness of the Tommy Bahama label, the company operates only 167 Tommy Bahama stores. In total, Oxford Industries operates 230 stores across all its brands. This has left its brick-and-mortar opportunity relatively underpenetrated and has enabled the company to continue slowly expanding its store base even whileother companies have been aggressively closing stores. Oxford Industries has also been successful in its adoption of an e-commerce strategy. The company reports that approximately 21% of its total sales occur online, which has supported strong revenue growth. On the Q1 earnings call, CEO Thomas Chubb stated, "With our high average ticket and a high gross margin, e-commerce is a very profitable channel and we see its continued growth as a key to Oxford's continued success." OXM Total Return Pricedata byYCharts The company's continued solid financial results have translated into strong results for long-term shareholders. There has been some recent short-term volatility in the stock price related to external global economic factors, but Oxford Industries has proven on multiple occasions that it can execute its business plan even in uncertain times. Investors should expect the company to continue its long-term upward trajectory as it thoughtfully grows its business and mitigates supply chain costs. 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 Luis Sanchezhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
What Should You Know About Reliance Industries Limited's (NSE:RELIANCE) Growth? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! In April 2019, Reliance Industries Limited (NSE:RELIANCE) announced its latest earnings update, which showed that the business gained from a small tailwind, eventuating to a single-digit earnings growth of 9.7%. Below is a brief commentary on my key takeaways on how market analysts predict Reliance Industries's earnings growth trajectory over the next couple of years and whether the future looks even brighter than the past. Note that I will be looking at net income excluding extraordinary items to get a better understanding of the underlying drivers of earnings. Check out our latest analysis for Reliance Industries Analysts' expectations for this coming year seems optimistic, with earnings growing by a robust 18%. This growth seems to continue into the following year with rates reaching double digit 43% compared to today’s earnings, and finally hitting ₹599b by 2022. Although it’s informative understanding the growth year by year relative to today’s level, it may be more insightful to determine the rate at which the business is growing every year, on average. The benefit of this method is that it removes the impact of near term flucuations and accounts for the overarching direction of Reliance Industries's earnings trajectory over time, which may be more relevant for long term investors. To compute this rate, I've inserted a line of best fit through the forecasted earnings by market analysts. The slope of this line is the rate of earnings growth, which in this case is 13%. This means that, we can assume Reliance Industries will grow its earnings by 13% every year for the next few years. For Reliance Industries, I've compiled three key factors you should look at: 1. Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk. 2. Valuation: What is RELIANCE 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 RELIANCE is currently mispriced by the market. 3. Other High-Growth Alternatives: Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of RELIANCE? Exploreour interactive list of stocks with large growth potentialto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
UPDATE 1-Lagarde's ECB nomination thrusts IMF into early succession race (New throughout, adds details on looming IMF succession race) By David Lawder WASHINGTON, July 2 (Reuters) - The nomination of Christine Lagarde as European Central Bank president on Tuesday has thrust the International Monetary Fund into an early, unanticipated search for a new leader amid a raging trade war that has darkened the outlook for global growth. Lagarde in a brief announcement said she was "honored" by the nomination and would temporarily relinquish her duties as IMF managing director during the nomination period. Her appointment is subject to approval by a fractious European Parliament. If approved, she would take over as ECB president from Mario Draghi on Oct. 31. Lagarde's second five-year term as IMF managing director is not due to end until July 2021. Last September, when asked by the Financial Times whether she was interested in the ECB job, she replied, "No, no, no no, no no." In a statement, the IMF board said it accepted her decision to temporarily step aside and named IMF First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton as the fund's acting chief, expressing its "full confidence" in the American economist. The board statement provided no details about the search for a successor to lead the IMF. SPECULATION STARTS But in Washington, speculation about possible candidates was already centering on Europeans that had been viewed as contenders for the ECB job, including Bank of Finland Governor Olli Rehn, French central bank chief Francois Villeroy de Galhau, Germany's Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann, and ECB executive board member Benoit Coeure. Some analysts also suggested that Draghi, who will turn 72 before he leaves the ECB, could be a potential IMF candidate in a sort of job-swap with Lagarde, who is 63. The IMF has traditionally been run by a European, while the World Bank, its sister institution also created at the end of World War Two, has been run by an American. At times, larger emerging market countries have sought to disrupt the duopoly with their own candidates. But Mark Sobel, a former U.S. executive director at the IMF and long-time Treasury official, said he did not see a deviation this time around, especially after U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to run the World Bank, David Malpass, was approved without a challenge in April. "The duopoly is well in place," Sobel said. "The Europeans didn't want to object to Malpass because they wanted to hang onto the IMF seat. The U.S. is not going to object to someone that the Europeans put up." With 16.5 percent of the voting power on the IMF board, the United States retains an effective veto over IMF decisions. Given Europe's shrinking influence in the global economy, it may eventually have to relinquish IMF leadership, said Heather Conley, senior vice president for Europe and Eurasia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "Precedent does carry weight of course, but the lack of IMF institutional reform and the reduction of European GDP to global GDP calls this precedent into question," she said. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has blocked consideration of a reallocation of IMF shareholdings that would increase funding and give more influence to large emerging market countries such as China, Brazil and India. Lagarde's departure would deprive the IMF of a tireless advocate for the benefits of trade, global growth that aids the poor and middle classes, and the empowerment of women. She has spent much of this year warning about slowing global growth caused by the U.S.-China tariff war, which the IMF estimates would cut global economic output by 0.5 percent. (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
Mexican manufacturers demand background checks for migrant labor By Lizbeth Diaz and Anthony Esposito MEXICO CITY/CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico, July 2 (Reuters) - M exican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has promised thousands of jobs to migrants waiting on the northern border for U.S. asylum, but some employers are refusing to hire them unless the government screens for potential criminals. Lopez Obrador said on Friday he would make up to 40,000 jobs available along the border to migrants while they wait in Mexico for the results of their U.S. asylum claims under an agreement forged with U.S. President Donald Trump. Many asylum claimants are Central American nationals fleeing violence and poverty in their respective countries of origin, often at the hands of criminal groups like Mara Salvatrucha, known as MS-13. Employers in Mexico are urging the government to conduct background checks and regularize their immigration status to make sure gang members are not among the job seekers. But Luis Hernandez, president of manufacturing industry chamber INDEX in the border city of Tijuana, said companies run the risk of falling out of compliance with existing international agreements unless background checks are run on prospective employees. Many Mexican firms are certified by the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which requires companies to only employ individuals whose backgrounds have been verified, said Hernandez. "We don't want to take the risk that the federal government comes to audit us, the state government audits us and because we hired someone, we're not following the rules," he said. Lopez Obrador's measure, which will rely on an agreement with the manufacturing industry's maquiladoras - or assembly plants - aims to ease pressure on overcrowded shelters on the border and comes as public support for the migrants is waning. The factories, which import raw materials from the United States and ship assembled products back across the border duty free, exported billions worth of goods last year. Migration experts say concerns about gang members traveling north in migrant caravans bring to mind Trump's rhetoric about violent Central Americans seeking refuge in the United States. Oscar Misael Hernandez, a migration specialist at Mexico's Colegio de la Frontera Norte, said he thinks the chances of criminals entering Lopez Obrador's program are slim to none. "It's so illogical to think that people asking for asylum have criminal records, since they know they'll face double scrutiny" in the United States and Mexico, he said. According to INDEX, more than 60,000 jobs need filling in the manufacturing and exporting industries in Mexico's northern border states. In part, this is due to lower wages than just across the border in the United States. Central American migrants sent back to Mexico to await U.S. asylum claims could provide a fix to the labor shortages. Still, businesses say applicants must meet legal requirements and pass security checks. "Employers are worried ... because there's no register for undocumented migrants to see if they've got criminal records in their homelands, if they're members of the Mara Salvatrucha or some other gang," said Eduardo Ramos, president of employers' association Coparmex in the border city of Ciudad Juarez. (Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico City and Anthony Esposito in Ciudad Juarez; additional reporting by Sharay Angulo; writing by Rebekah F Ward; editing by Richard Chang and G Crosse)
Where Silver Touch Technologies Limited (NSE:SILVERTUC) Stands In Terms Of Earnings Growth Against Its Industry Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Understanding how Silver Touch Technologies Limited (NSE:SILVERTUC) is performing as a company requires looking at more than just a years' earnings. Today I will run you through a basic sense check to gain perspective on how Silver Touch Technologies is doing by comparing its latest earnings with its long-term trend as well as the performance of its it industry peers. Check out our latest analysis for Silver Touch Technologies SILVERTUC's trailing twelve-month earnings (from 31 March 2019) of ₹105m has jumped 28% compared to the previous year. Furthermore, this one-year growth rate has exceeded its 5-year annual growth average of 20%, indicating the rate at which SILVERTUC is growing has accelerated. How has it been able to do this? Well, let’s take a look at whether it is only because of an industry uplift, or if Silver Touch Technologies has seen some company-specific growth. In terms of returns from investment, Silver Touch Technologies has fallen short of achieving a 20% return on equity (ROE), recording 14% instead. However, its return on assets (ROA) of 9.3% exceeds the IN IT industry of 9.0%, indicating Silver Touch Technologies has used its assets more efficiently. And finally, its return on capital (ROC), which also accounts for Silver Touch Technologies’s debt level, has increased over the past 3 years from 16% to 19%. This correlates with a decrease in debt holding, with debt-to-equity ratio declining from 37% to 11% over the past 5 years. While past data is useful, it doesn’t tell the whole story. While Silver Touch Technologies has a good historical track record with positive growth and profitability, there's no certainty that this will extrapolate into the future. I suggest you continue to research Silver Touch Technologies to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at: 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for SILVERTUC’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor SILVERTUC’s outlook. 2. Financial Health: Are SILVERTUC’s operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why we’ve done it for you. Check out ourfinancial health checks here. 3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the trailing twelve months from 31 March 2019. 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.
Fresh Vegetables From Green Giant and Trader Joe's Recalled for Possible Listeria Risk Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. Update July 17, 2019: The Food and Drug Administration announced that Growers Express has expanded this recall to include additional fresh vegetable products. Further testing found one retail sample contaminated with listeria. The additional products are: Green Giant Fresh Brussles Sprouts sold at Big Y supermarkets in Massachusetts; Growers Express Cauliflower Florets distributed by Native Maine to foodservice operators in Maine; and Peak Green Beans and Cauliflower Florets distributed by Ruby Robinson to foodservice operators in Maine. Growers Express says it is no longer sourcing vegetables from the suspected source of the contamination. There are still no illnesses reported. For information on UPC codes and best by/pack dates go to the FDA's website . The Food and Drug Administration announced a recall of fresh packaged butternut squash, cauliflower, and zucchini products sold under the brands Green Giant Fresh, Trader Joe’s, Growers Express, and Signature Farms. The vegetables may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a type of bacteria that can cause serious and potentially deadly foodborne illness . A spokesperson for Growers Express, which produces the products, told Consumer Reports that the company voluntarily issued a recall after the Massachusetts Department of Health found Listeria in a package of fresh zucchini noodles produced at the company’s Biddeford, Maine, production facility. No illnesses have been reported at this time. The products were shipped to various stores in 29 states and Washington, D.C. Most of the packages are labeled with a “Best If Used By” date between June 26 and June 29. (See a list of the product names, below .) Frozen and canned vegetables aren't involved in this recall. Listeria causes approximately 1,600 cases of listeriosis every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , and about 260 deaths. The infection is particularly dangerous for adults over 65, anyone with a weakened immune system, young children and newborns, and pregnant women, because the infection increases risk for miscarriage or stillbirth. Story continues Listeria can contaminate products in a number of ways, says James E. Rogers, Ph.D., director of food safety testing at Consumer Reports. It’s found in soil where fruits and vegetables are grown, water used for irrigation, and feces from animals that run through growing fields. The bacteria can live and spread on the floors and counters of facilities where food is prepared or packaged , he says. Plus, Listeria is particularly concerning because it continues to multiply even when food is refrigerated, and there’s evidence it may continue to grow at temperatures close to freezing, according to Rogers. “If you think you have any of these products that have been listed in the recall, return them to the point of purchase to try to get a refund,” he says. Otherwise, he says to “make sure you dispose of them and totally clean and disinfect your refrigerator where they might have touched or been stored to avoid cross-contamination.” Symptoms of Listeria Infections caused by Listeria can cause a variety of symptoms, including fever and diarrhea, similar to other foodborne illnesses . If the bacteria spreads beyond the gut, people that are not pregnant may experience headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, convulsions, fever, and muscle aches. Pregnant women typically experience only flu-like symptoms, but these infections may lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, or life-threatening infection of the newborn. Symptoms of an invasive infection that has spread beyond the gut typically appear one to four weeks after eating contaminated food, according to the CDC, but some have reported symptoms as soon as the same day as exposure and as late as 70 days after exposure. The Details Products recalled: The recall is for fresh products that originated at the Growers Express facility in Biddeford, Maine. Frozen and canned products were not affected by this issue, according to a company statement. The majority of products have a “Best If Used By” date between 6/26 and 6/29. Depending on the state you live in and retailer you shop at, the following products may be subject to the recall. (For more specifics, including affected item package weight, retailer, affected states, sell-by date, and Lot No., see this link .) Green Giant Fresh Cauliflower Sweet Potato Crumbles Green Giant Fresh Cauliflower Crumbles "Fried Rice" Blend Green Giant Fresh Butternut Diced Green Giant Fresh Butternut Cubed Green Giant Fresh Ramen Bowl Growers Express Butternut Peeled Signature Farms Cauliflower Crumbles Green Giant Fresh Zucchini Noodles Trader Joe's Butternut Squash Spirals Trader Joe's Zucchini Spirals The problem: These fresh products may be contaminated with Listeria. The fix: Growers Express says to refer to the toll-free number on each package with questions or requests for refund. Dispose of any affected products that display the affected sell-by date, or products with unreadable date codes. How to contact the manufacturer: Growers Express lists customer-service contact numbers for: Growers Express/Green Giant Fresh, 831-757-9951 Albertson’s/Safeway, 888-723-3929 Trader Joe’s Customer Relations, 626-599-3817 How to report foodborne illness: If you experience foodborne illness or other problems with your food, you can report it to your local health department, contact your state’s Food and Drug Administration Consumer Complaint Coordinator , or call the FDA at 866-300-4374. Report problems with meat, poultry, and processed egg products to the Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection service on its website or by phone to the USDA at 888-674-6854. More from Consumer Reports: Top pick tires for 2016 Best used cars for $25,000 and less 7 best mattresses for couples Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 2019, Consumer Reports, Inc.
Why kids need to know far more about personal finance than they do right now How much did you know about investing when you were thirteen? About 30% of adults under the age of 45 have a relatively low level of financial literacy, according to a survey conducted by the TIAA Institute. Tim Sheehan, CEO and co-founder of family finance app Greenlight, joined Yahoo Finance’s the Final Round to discuss gaps in adults’ money knowledge and how personal finance apps like Greenlight are helping parents pass on better knowledge. “Adults aren’t even aware of some of the gaps in their [financial] knowledge,” said Tim Sheehan, CEO and co-founder of Greenlight, in an interview with The Final Round. “All of the parents that we’ve talked to know that they want their kids to be smart about money, even if they don’t know everything on the personal finance spectrum — they know that they want their kids to be savvy about it.” Sheehan said adults can have gaps in their knowledge about spending wisely, saving, investing, and establishing credit. Sheehan said the Greenlight app and debit card, part of a growing market of family personal finance products, help families get serious about personal finance. With the app, parents can monitor their child’s spending, individually approve their purchases, and set savings goals. Sheehan said Greenlight helps parents encourage their children to develop healthy financial habits early in life to build a foundation to a stable financial future once they’re adults. Worker taking credit card from cafe customer “By using Greenlight, kids start to learn things like making trade-off decisions,” Sheehan said. “Should I hold off on buying this thing, even though I really want to get it for instant gratification, and save my money for something better down the road?” Greenlight is not without competitors: products like Goalsetter, which boasts a similar business model, encourage families to grow their savings alongside one another. But Sheehan doesn’t feel threatened by the swelling of the personal finance space. “Some people are approaching it in different ways,” he explains. “We’re trying to look at the whole personal finance spectrum, and help kids learn as they go.” Story continues Olivia Balsamo is a writer and producer at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @BalsamoOlivia . Read more: 'Medicare for All' would be a ‘major disruption,’ says EventShares CIO Shopify COO: The future of retail is not just online Why AKT founder Anna Kaiser isn't afraid of Peloton Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , Flipboard , SmartNews , LinkedIn , YouTube , and reddit .
Ethereum Analysis – Support Levels in Play – 03/07/19 It’s been a bearish first half of the week. Following last week’s 2.76% gain, Ethereum was down by 8.13%, Sunday through Tuesday. A bearish start to the week saw Ethereum slide by 8.51% on Sunday to set the tone early on. In spite of finding support on Monday to hold on to $290 levels, with a 1.25% gain, the reversal continued on Tuesday. Ethereum fell by a further 0.84% to end the day at $291.25. Falling from a current week high $323.61 from Sunday, Ethereum fell to a current week low $270.42 on Tuesday. Steering well clear of the first major resistance level at $363.16, Ethereum fell through the first major support level at $272.17 before recovering to $291 levels. While falling back from the 38.2% FIB of $367, Ethereum managed to steer clear of the 23.6% FIB of $257. The extended bearish trend, formed at last May 2018’s swing hi $828.97, remained firmly intact, however. Ethereum continued to fall short of the 38.2% FIB Retracement Level of $367, following December’s swing lo $80.6. For the bulls, a breakout from the 38.2% FIB of $367 would be needed to form a near-term bullish trend. At the time of writing, Ethereum was up by 0.67% to $293.19. A move back through to $320 levels would signal a 2ndhalf of a week rebound. Ethereum would need support from the broader market, however, to break out from $300. In the event of a broad-based crypto rebound, a move through to $320 levels would bring the first major resistance level at $363.16 into play. Barring a crypto rally going into the weekend, however, the first major resistance level and the 38.2% FIB would cap any upside in the event of a bounce back. With volatility returning to the broader market, a break through the 38.2% FIB would bring $400 levels into view. Failure to move through to $320 levels would likely leave Ethereum on the back foot through the week. A fall through the current week low $270.42 could see Ethereum slide through the 23.6% FIB of $257 before any recovery. Barring a crypto meltdown, Ethereum should steer well clear of the second major support level at $227.34. A visit to $260 levels would be on the cards, however, in the event of a sell-off. Major Support Level: $272.17 Major Resistance Level: $363.16 23.6% FIB Retracement Level: $257 38.2% FIB Retracement Level: $367 62% FIB Retracement Level: $543 Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • USD/CAD is Bearish Below W H3 Camarilla Pivot • E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM) Futures Technical Analysis – July 3, 2019 Forecast • USD/CAD Daily Forecast – Overhead Ichimoku Clouds Deterring the Upside Actions • Cardano’s ADA Technical Analysis – Support Levels in Play – 04/07/19 • Geopolitics Likely to Take Center Stage with Stats on the Lighter Side • US Stock Market Overview – The Dow Hits Fresh All-time Highs as All Sectors Rallied
Does Excel Industries (NSE:EXCELINDUS) Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! It's only natural that many investors, especially those who are new to the game, prefer to buy shares in 'sexy' stocks with a good story, even if those businesses lose money. But as Peter Lynch said inOne Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' If, on the other hand, you like companies that have revenue, and even earn profits, then you may well be interested inExcel Industries(NSE:EXCELINDUS). While that doesn't make the shares worth buying at any price, you can't deny that successful capitalism requires profit, eventually. Conversely, a loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the sweet milk of external capital may run sour. See our latest analysis for Excel Industries Over the last three years, Excel Industries has grown earnings per share (EPS) like young bamboo after rain; fast, and from a low base. So I don't think the percent growth rate is particularly meaningful. Thus, it makes sense to focus on more recent growth rates, instead. Like the last firework on New Year's Eve accelerating into the sky, Excel Industries's EPS shot from ₹58.78 to ₹122, over the last year. Year on year growth of 108% is certainly a sight to behold. I like to see top-line growth as an indication that growth is sustainable, and I look for a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin to point to a competitive moat (though some companies with low margins also have moats). The good news is that Excel Industries is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 9.7 percentage points to 28%, over the last year. That's great to see, on both counts. The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. For finer detail, click on the image. Excel Industries isn't a huge company, given its market capitalization of ₹13b. That makes it extra important to check on itsbalance sheet strength. 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 Excel Industries insiders have a significant amount of capital invested in the stock. Indeed, they hold ₹1.3b worth of its stock. That's a lot of money, and no small incentive to work hard. Those holdings account for over 11% of the company; visible skin in the game. It's good to see that insiders are invested in the company, but are remuneration levels reasonable? Well, based on the CEO pay, I'd say they are indeed. For companies with market capitalizations between ₹6.9b and ₹28b, like Excel Industries, the median CEO pay is around ₹17m. The CEO of Excel Industries only received ₹8.2m in total compensation for the year ending March 2018. That looks like modest pay to me, and may hint at a certain respect for the interests of shareholders. 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. Excel Industries's earnings per share have taken off like a rocket aimed right at the moon. The sweetener is that insiders have a mountain of stock, and the CEO remuneration is quite reasonable. The strong EPS improvement suggests the businesses is humming along. Big growth can make big winners, so I do think Excel Industries is worth considering carefully. Of course, identifying quality businesses is only half the battle; investors need to know whether the stock is undervalued. So you might want to consider thisfreediscounted cashflow valuationof Excel Industries. Although Excel Industries 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.
Bitcoin Rebounds, Surges Above $11,000 Investing.com - Bitcoin rebounded on Wednesday in Asia and surged above $11,000, after falling to as low as $9,728.50 overnight. It last traded at $11,338.7 by 11:45PM ET (03:45 GMT), up 8.9%. Bitcoin began its free fall last Thursday and was down almost $4,000 from its highs last week. The highly volatile cryptocurrency has had a stellar turnaround this year and surged about 200% so far this year, despite the latest fall. It still remains well below record highs of nearly $20,000 reached in December 2017, however. The comeback was largely due to Facebook’s announcement of its own cryptocurrency known as Libra, which it plans to launch in 2020. It will be run by Stripe, Uber (NYSE:UBER), Mastercard (NYSE:MA), Visa (NYSE:V), PayPal, Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) and others. Other major cryptocurrencies also traded mostly higher today. Ethereum was up 2.6% to 296.35, while Litecoin gained 1.5%. XRP, however, slipped 0.8% to 0.40247. In other news, while not a directional driver, the Bank for International Settlements announced this week that it is setting up an innovation FinTech Hub for financial technology. BIS General Manager Agustin Carstens said that “it might be that it is sooner than we think that there is a market and we have to create our own digital currencies.” “There needs to be demand for central bank currencies and it is not clear that the demand is there yet,” Carstens told the FT. “Perhaps people can do what they want by using electronic wallets provided by banks or fintech companies. It depends on the development of private stable coins.” The BIS’s hub will be set up in Switzerland, Hong Kong and Singapore, according to a statement. According to Bloomberg, central banks including Sweden’s are currently looking into introducing virtual coins of their own. Related Articles Bitcoin Climbs 12% As Investors Gain Confidence UN Looks to Blockchain to Aid Sustainable Urban Development in Afghanistan $515 Million in Bitcoin Spent on Illicit Activity This Year Representing 1% of Total BTC Activity
Republican lawmaker promotes New Balance shoes after Nike cancels Betsy Ross sneakers Former Republican lawmaker Bruce Poliquin says customers should ban Nike in favor of New Balance after the former brand canceled its "Betsy Ross flag" shoes. (Photo: Getty Images) Ex-GOP lawmaker Bruce Poliquin directed sneaker customers towards New Balance shoes after Nike canceled its “Betsy Ross flag” line over reported objections from Colin Kaepernick . According to the Wall Street Journal , the ex-NFL player disapproved of Nike’s “Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July” shoes for their new “Betsy Ross flag” imprint. Nike reportedly axed the $140 sneakers on June 26 before Tuesday’s release and after orders were shipped. The early version of the American flag, named after Betsy Ross, the seamstress who allegedly stitched the first one in 1776, had 13 stars for the 13 colonies. According to Newsweek , the flag symbolized to many the era of slavery. Poliquin, formerly of Maine, said on Facebook that followers should buy New Balance. “AMERICA, HERE'S AN IDEA,” he wrote Tuesday. “Since Nike, who makes their shoes out of the country, just BANNED a new ‘Betsy Ross’ sneaker because of a claim the colonial flag from our nation's founding is now controversial; why not buy American? This shoe for instance, made by New Balance which employs hundreds of our fellow U.S. Citizens, right in the great state of Maine. As we are celebrating our nation's independence what better time than to buy American?” Yahoo Lifestyle could not reach Poliquin for comment in time for publication. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sneaker News (@sneakernews) on Jun 24, 2019 at 4:54pm PDT A spokesperson from New Balance did not return Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment. An alleged New Balance employee of the sneaker brand replied to the lawmaker on Facebook: “Thank you Bruce Poliquin for always supporting us. This August will be my 23rd year working for New Balance.” Poliquin wrote back, “Maine workers are the best! Thank you for the note.” Kaepernick hasn’t played pro football since 2016, when he refused to kneel during the National Anthem to protest police brutality against black people. Last year, when Kaepernick became Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign spokesperson, Poliquin wrote on Facebook, “With Nike hiring Colin Kaepernick, the San Francisco 49ers famed kneeling quarterback, who protest during our national anthem, there has never been a better time to show off your Maine-Made New Balance shoes!” Story continues On Tuesday, Senator Ted Cruz announced he was joining the shoe ban, with the hashtag #WalkAwayFromNike. “I love America. I stand for the anthem, respect the flag & honor the men & women who fought to defend our Nation,” Cruz tweeted. “I respect Free Speech & I’m exerting mine: until Nike ends its contempt for those values, I WILL NO LONGER PURCHASE NIKE PRODUCTS...” I love America. I stand for the anthem, respect the flag & honor the men & women who fought to defend our Nation. I respect Free Speech & I’m exerting mine: until @Nike ends its contempt for those values, I WILL NO LONGER PURCHASE NIKE PRODUCTS. #WalkAwayFromNike RT if you agree. https://t.co/IvXNTgvlHq — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 2, 2019 Reacting to Nike’s news, Arizona governor Doug Ducey said he was rescinding incentive funds for Nike to open a manufacturing plant in the town of Goodyear, which would have reportedly created 500 local jobs . “Nike has made its decision, and now we’re making ours,” Ducey said in a thread. “I’ve ordered the Arizona Commerce Authority to withdraw all financial incentive dollars under their discretion that the State was providing for the company to locate here.” Another Ducey tweet read, “Arizona’s economy is doing just fine without Nike. We don’t need to suck up to companies that consciously denigrate our nation’s history.” Today was supposed to be a good day in Arizona, with the announcement of a major @Nike investment in Goodyear, AZ. THREAD—> 1/ — Doug Ducey (@dougducey) July 2, 2019 Nike has made its decision, and now we’re making ours. I’ve ordered the Arizona Commerce Authority to withdraw all financial incentive dollars under their discretion that the State was providing for the company to locate here. 7/ — Doug Ducey (@dougducey) July 2, 2019 Arizona’s economy is doing just fine without Nike. We don’t need to suck up to companies that consciously denigrate our nation’s history. 8/ — Doug Ducey (@dougducey) July 2, 2019 But Arizona’s change of heart with Nike was seen as an opportunity for other states. New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham shared Ducey’s tweet, tagging Nike and writing , “Hey Nike, let’s talk.” Tripp Stelnicki, director of communications for Grisham, tells Yahoo Lifestyle, “The administration has reached out to Nike to explore whether there's a potential fit. We want those jobs. It's wild to me that anyone would jeopardize viable employment for hundreds of state residents over some political virtue-signaling...” A Nike representative tells Yahoo Lifestyle: “We regularly make business decisions to withdraw initiatives, products and services. Nike made the decision to halt distribution of the Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July based on concerns that it could unintentionally offend and detract from the nation’s patriotic holiday...” Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Arizona governor says he's 'embarrassed for Nike' after it pulls Betsy Ross Flag sneaker design over racism concerns Female presidential candidates pose for Vogue shoot with a notable absence: 'Where's Marianne Williamson?' The Nike Air Max Dia Is a Women's Shoe—and We Really Want a Pair Follow us on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
UPDATE 2-Broadcom in advanced talks to buy Symantec -sources (Adds shares, background) By Greg Roumeliotis July 2 (Reuters) - Chipmaker Broadcom Inc is in advanced talks to buy cybersecurity firm Symantec Corp, according to sources familiar with the matter, as Broadcom seeks to diversify beyond semiconductors. Shares of Symantec surged 22% in after-hours trading, while Broadcom fell 4%. A deal would expand Broadcom's push into software a year after its $18.9 billion deal to buy U.S. business software company CA Inc. It also follows Broadcom's failed bid https://reut.rs/2xn5gVE to buy Qualcomm Inc. A Symantec spokesperson said the company does not comment on speculation. Broadcom was not immediately available for comment. Broadcom's chief executive officer, Hock Tan, has built the company through a series of ambitious deals https://reut.rs/2XnqvWO. As CEO of Avago, Tan pulled off the acquisition of Broadcom for $37 billion, bringing the two companies under the umbrella name of Broadcom. A Broadcom-Symantec deal would be the second major acquisition of a cybersecurity provider by a chipmaker, following Intel Corp's purchase of California-based McAfee in 2011. However, Intel sold a majority stake in McAfee to investment firm TPG after a failed effort to stake out a major position in the computer security business. Symantec was an early leader in computer security but is facing growing competition. The company, which is being investigated by U.S. regulators over an accounting irregularity, has seen a slew of key executive departures since late last year, including CEO Greg Clark, who abruptly stepped down in May. In August last year, Symantec said it would cut 8% of its workforce worldwide after it slashed its revenue forecast. The anti-virus software maker's recent troubles have hit its stock, which as of Tuesday's close has lost over a third of its value from a high of $34.20 in August 2017. News of the talks between Broadcom and Symantec was first reported by Bloomberg https://bloom.bg/2YtaFpX. (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Additional reporting by Bharath Manjesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Rigby, Cynthia Osterman and Leslie Adler)
Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Limited (NSE:CROMPTON) Earns A Nice Return On Capital Employed Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we'll evaluate Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Limited (NSE:CROMPTON) to determine whether it could have potential as an investment idea. Specifically, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), since that will give us an insight into how efficiently the business can generate profits from the capital it requires. First, we'll go over how we calculate ROCE. Then we'll compare its ROCE to similar companies. Finally, we'll look at how its current liabilities affect its ROCE. ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. All else being equal, a better business will have a higher ROCE. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Author Edwin Whitingsaysto be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since 'No two businesses are exactly alike.' The formula for calculating the return on capital employed is: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) Or for Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals: 0.39 = ₹5.7b ÷ (₹27b - ₹12b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.) So,Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals has an ROCE of 39%. See our latest analysis for Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals ROCE can be useful when making comparisons, such as between similar companies. In our analysis, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals's ROCE is meaningfully higher than the 15% average in the Consumer Durables industry. I think that's good to see, since it implies the company is better than other companies at making the most of its capital. Setting aside the comparison to its industry for a moment, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals's ROCE in absolute terms currently looks quite high. We can see that , Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals currently has an ROCE of 39% compared to its ROCE 3 years ago, which was 27%. This makes us wonder if the company is improving. The image below shows how Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals's ROCE compares to its industry, and you can click it to see more detail on its past growth. It is important to remember that ROCE shows past performance, and is not necessarily predictive. 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 only a point-in-time measure. Since the future is so important for investors, you should check out ourfreereport on analyst forecasts for Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals. Current liabilities are short term bills and invoices that need to be paid in 12 months or less. 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 check the impact of this, we calculate if a company has high current liabilities relative to its total assets. Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals has total liabilities of ₹12b and total assets of ₹27b. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 45% of its total assets. A medium level of current liabilities boosts Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals's ROCE somewhat. Even so, it has a great ROCE, and could be an attractive prospect for further research. Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals shapes up well under this analysis,but it is far from the only business delivering excellent numbers. You might also want to check thisfreecollection of companies delivering excellent earnings growth. If you are like me, then you willnotwant to miss thisfreelist 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 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.
Android founder Andy Rubin accused of participating in 'sex ring' in court docs A California court hasunsealed documentsthat detail some of the explosive allegations against Android cofounder Andy Rubin, including his alleged participation in a "sex ring." The documents stem from a civil suit filed by Rubin's wife last fall, but were just unsealed, as firstreported byBuzzFeed. The lawsuit alleges that the former Google exec hid his vast wealth and coerced his pregnant wife into signing an unfair prenuptial agreement. The lawsuit also delves into allegations that Rubin had numerous affairs and "ownership relationships" with women, whom he paid in exchange for allowing him to "loan" them to other men. "Rubin would pay for their expenses in exchange for offering them to other men," the lawsuit states. "Rubin did this so he could watch them engage in various sexual acts."Read more... More aboutTech,Google,Andy Rubin,Tech, andBig Tech Companies
Are Investors Undervaluing Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX:SAR) By 24%? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX:SAR) as an investment opportunity by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. I will be using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple! Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of theSimply Wall St analysis model. Check out our latest analysis for Saracen Mineral Holdings We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate: [{"": "Levered FCF (A$, Millions)", "2020": "A$171.6m", "2021": "A$199.3m", "2022": "A$221.6m", "2023": "A$240.5m", "2024": "A$256.4m", "2025": "A$270.2m", "2026": "A$282.2m", "2027": "A$292.9m", "2028": "A$302.7m", "2029": "A$311.9m"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2020": "Analyst x3", "2021": "Analyst x3", "2022": "Est @ 11.17%", "2023": "Est @ 8.51%", "2024": "Est @ 6.65%", "2025": "Est @ 5.35%", "2026": "Est @ 4.44%", "2027": "Est @ 3.8%", "2028": "Est @ 3.35%", "2029": "Est @ 3.04%"}, {"": "Present Value (A$, Millions) Discounted @ 8.45%", "2020": "A$158.2", "2021": "A$169.5", "2022": "A$173.7", "2023": "A$173.8", "2024": "A$170.9", "2025": "A$166.0", "2026": "A$159.9", "2027": "A$153.0", "2028": "A$145.8", "2029": "A$138.5"}] ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= A$1.6b After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the intial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 10-year government bond rate of 2.3%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.5%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = AU$312m × (1 + 2.3%) ÷ (8.5% – 2.3%) = AU$5.2b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= A$AU$5.2b ÷ ( 1 + 8.5%)10= A$2.31b The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is A$3.92b. 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 A$4.77. Compared to the current share price of A$3.65, the company appears a touch undervalued at a 24% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out. Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Saracen Mineral Holdings as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.5%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.03. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business. Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn’t be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. What is the reason for the share price to differ from the intrinsic value? For Saracen Mineral Holdings, I've put together three relevant factors you should look at: 1. Financial Health: Does SAR 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 SAR'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 SAR? 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 ASX 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 Avenue Supermarts Limited (NSE:DMART) Looks Like A Quality Company Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! One of the best investments we can make is in our own knowledge and skill set. With that in mind, this article will work through how we can use Return On Equity (ROE) to better understand a business. By way of learning-by-doing, we'll look at ROE to gain a better understanding of Avenue Supermarts Limited (NSE:DMART). Our data showsAvenue Supermarts has a return on equity of 16%for the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every ₹1 worth of equity in the company, it was able to earn ₹0.16. See our latest analysis for Avenue Supermarts Theformula for return on equityis: Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders' Equity Or for Avenue Supermarts: 16% = ₹9.0b ÷ ₹56b (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. A higher profit will lead to a higher ROE. So, as a general rule,a high ROE is a good thing. That means ROE can be used to compare two businesses. One simple way to determine if a company has a good return on equity is to compare it to the average for its industry. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. As you can see in the graphic below, Avenue Supermarts has a higher ROE than the average (6.2%) in the Consumer Retailing industry. That's what I like to see. I usually take a closer look when a company has a better ROE than industry peers. One data point to check is ifinsiders have bought shares recently. Virtually all companies need money to invest in the business, to grow profits. That cash can come from issuing shares, retained earnings, or debt. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. In the latter case, the debt required for growth will boost returns, but will not impact the shareholders' equity. Thus the use of debt can improve ROE, albeit along with extra risk in the case of stormy weather, metaphorically speaking. Avenue Supermarts has a debt to equity ratio of just 0.077, which is very low. Its very respectable ROE, combined with only modest debt, suggests the business is in good shape. Conservative use of debt to boost returns is usually a good move for shareholders, though it does leave the company more exposed to interest rate rises. Return on equity is a useful indicator of the ability of a business to generate profits and return them to shareholders. In my book the highest quality companies have high return on equity, despite low debt. All else being equal, a higher ROE is better. But ROE is just one piece of a bigger puzzle, since high quality businesses often trade on high multiples of earnings. Profit growth rates, versus the expectations reflected in the price of the stock, are a particularly important to consider. So I think it may be worth checking thisfreereport on analyst forecasts for the company. Of course,you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere.So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Disney Animator Milton Quon Dies at 105 Click here to read the full article. Milton Quon , an animator who worked on Fantasia and Dumbo , died of natural causes at his home in Torrance, Ca., on June 18. He was 105. His son, artist Mike Quon, told Variety that his father was drawing up until his last days. He also acted in movies including Speed, Chill Factor, Sweet Jane, The Cat Killers and the TV series NYPD Blue in addition to working as a Disney publicity executive. He described his Speed character in a 2005 interview as the token Asian on the bus. Related stories Disney Cuts 'Toy Story 2' Casting Couch Joke From Blooper Reel Summer Box Office Meltdown: Why the Movie Business Is Running Scared 'Avengers: Endgame' Inches Toward 'Avatar' Box Office Record With Re-Release Mike Quon said his father maintained a sense of humor throughout his life. When asked about the secret to his longevity, he would reply, A good wife and Chinese food. Quon was born in Los Angeles as the eldest of eight children and the only son of immigrants from Canton, China. He was encouraged by an uncle to pursue a career in art, before receiving a scholarship to the Chouinard Art Institute. Soon after, he began creating menus and producing design work for restaurants in the Chinatown district in Los Angeles. Quon joined Walt Disney Studios in 1939 soon after graduation from Chouinard as the third Chinese-American to be hired by the studio. He worked on the Waltz of the Flowers and the Arabian Dance scenes in Fantasia and as first assistant animator on Dumbo . Quon also headed a team of artists at Douglas Aircraft during World War II, working on illustrations for repair manuals for its planes. He returned to Disney after the war and ran its publicity/promotions department, including performing artwork for films including Make Mine Music and Song of the South. Story continues Quon joined the advertising agency BBD&O as art director in 1951. He worked as senior design artist at Sealright Co., from 1964 until his retirement in 1980. He taught drawing, painting and advertising courses at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College from 1974 to 1989. The Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles presented a retrospective exhibit of his work in 2005. He received the Golden Spike Award from the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California in 2013 and was featured in a father and son art exhibition in Red Bank, New Jersey, with his son Mike and in a solo exhibition at Santa Monica Colleges Emeritus Gallery. Survivors include his widow, Peggy; children Mike, Jeff, Tim and Sherrill; and four grandchildren. The family has asked that donations in his memory be made to the Chinese American Museum, the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California and the South Bay Presbyterian Church of Torrance. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .
What Kind Of Shareholders Own Eimco Elecon (India) Limited (NSE:EIMCOELECO)? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! The big shareholder groups in Eimco Elecon (India) Limited (NSE:EIMCOELECO) have power over the company. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. We also tend to see lower insider ownership in companies that were previously publicly owned. With a market capitalization of ₹2.2b, Eimco Elecon (India) is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it's seems that institutions own shares in the company. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about EIMCOELECO. View our latest analysis for Eimco Elecon (India) 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. We can see that Eimco Elecon (India) does have institutional investors; and they hold 6.6% of the stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Eimco Elecon (India), (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Eimco Elecon (India). While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track. The definition of company insiders can be subjective, and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer to the board; and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board, themselves. I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions. Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Eimco Elecon (India) Limited. In their own names, insiders own ₹106m worth of stock in the ₹2.2b 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, with a 16% stake in the company, will not easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run. We can see that Private Companies own 52%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company. Public companies currently own 19% of EIMCOELECO stock. It's hard to say for sure, but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership. While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Many find it usefulto take an in depth look at how a company has performed in the past. You can accessthisdetailed graphof past earnings, revenue and cash flow. If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss thisfreereport on analyst forecasts. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Volkswagen's 1962 bus is back as the all-electric Type 20 Twitter Facebook This is not your parents' VW bus. Image: volkswagen It may look like the Type 2 bus from back in the 1960s (yes, it's sometimes called a hippie bus), but the Type 20 bus unveiled Tuesday at Volkswagen's Innovation and Engineering Center California (IECC) in the Bay Area is filled with "high-tech surprises," as executives said during its grand reveal. It's an all-electric concept car converted from a 1962 Type 2 11-window Microbus. The IECC also debuted Tuesday at the former Electronics Research Laboratory in the same space, but with an expanded goal to bring digitization, connectivity, autonomy, and other advanced driving systems into research centers for VW and its other brands (like Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, and Bugatti). The Type 20 is named for the roughy 20 years Germany-based VW has been in Silicon Valley. Read more... More about Electric Vehicles , Volkswagen , Concept Cars , Tech , and Transportation
Washington, D.C. is the worst-run U.S. city: WalletHub The worst-run city in America is Washington, D.C., according to anew reportfrom WalletHub. The personal finance website ranked the best- and worst-run cities in the U.S. for 2019 by comparing the operating efficiency of 150 of the largest U.S. cities across six weighted categories: financial stability, education, health, safety, economy, and infrastructure and pollution. New York, San Francisco, and Detroit were also among the worst. For years, the Big Apple has been riddled by crime and rising rent prices. However, the NYPD recently announced that the city is getting safer, withmurder crimes hitting a record low in May, although the city remains vigilant against a rise in hate crimes. Additionally,New York City’s real estate has shown signs of cooling. A recent survey found Manhattan's high-end apartment prices fell in the second-quarter, with resale closings stagnating, and sellers offering their biggest price discounts in nearly a decade. Detroit, meanwhile, has the highest infant mortality rate among all the measured cities and is tied for the highest violent crime rate. It’s also among the top cities for highest percentage of population in poverty and highest unemployment rate. For San Francisco, it wasn’t all bad news. The Golden City topped the list for lowest infant mortality rate, and tied for first place for lowest unemployment rate with five other major cities. But real estate prices and homelessness have put it in the national spotlight, with President Donald Trumprecently saying he is “seriously” considering tackling the blight of homelessness in major American cities. As for real estate, the median home price in the Fog City was $1,304,3000 as of January.Prices have skyrocketed more than 65% over the last 10 years, making San Francisco County one of the places with the highest-median home values in the country. The WalletHub survey also found that the city has some of the worst quality of roads and highest long-term debt outstanding per capita. Topping the list for best-run city is Nampa, Idaho. With an estimated population of 100,000, Nampa is about 20 miles west of the state capital of Boise. The city has the second-lowest long-term debt outstanding per capita. However, that’s not to say it scored highly across the board. It came in at 48 for “quality of city services”. The top spot for that category went to Huntington Beach, California. Pamela Granda is a producer on Yahoo Finance’s closing bell show, The Final Round. Follow her onTwitter. Read more: • Nike's yanking of Betsy Ross sneaker sparks controversy • Tesla posts record vehicle deliveries in the second quarter • Why companies like Apple and Facebook just weighed in on a gay rights case hitting the Supreme Court • Why the Trump stock market has lost touch with any form of reality • Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit.
Did You Miss Sunteck Realty's (NSE:SUNTECK) Impressive 286% Share Price Gain? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! The worst result, after buying shares in a company (assuming no leverage), would be if you lose all the money you put in. But in contrast you can make muchmorethan 100% if the company does well. For example, theSunteck Realty Limited(NSE:SUNTECK) share price has soared 286% in the last three years. That sort of return is as solid as granite. It's even up 8.2% in the last week. Check out our latest analysis for Sunteck Realty There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time. Sunteck Realty was able to grow its EPS at 104% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. This EPS growth is higher than the 57% average annual increase in the share price. Therefore, it seems the market has moderated its expectations for growth, somewhat. The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail). It is of course excellent to see how Sunteck Realty has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at ourfreereport on how its financial position has changed over time. It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. 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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for Sunteck Realty the TSR over the last 3 years was 292%, 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! It's good to see that Sunteck Realty has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 26% in the last twelve months. And that does include the dividend. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 22% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. Most investors take the time to check the data on insider transactions. You canclick here to see if insiders have been buying or selling. Of courseSunteck Realty may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see thisfreecollection of growth stocks. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on IN 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.
Bitcoin Climbs 12% As Investors Gain Confidence Investing.com - Bitcoin was trading at $11,252.1 by 00:30 (04:30 GMT) on the Investing.com Index on Wednesday, up 11.67% on the day. It was the largest one-day percentage gain since May 19. The move upwards pushed Bitcoin's market cap up to $201.6B, or 62.07% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. At its highest, Bitcoin's market cap was $241.2B. Bitcoin had traded in a range of $10,836.4 to $11,422.4 in the previous twenty-four hours. Over the past seven days, Bitcoin has seen a drop in value, as it lost 7.36%. The volume of Bitcoin traded in the twenty-four hours to time of writing was $33.3B or 33.89% of the total volume of all cryptocurrencies. It has traded in a range of $9,728.5088 to $13,422.0020 in the past 7 days. At its current price, Bitcoin is still down 43.37% from its all-time high of $19,870.62 set on December 17, 2017. Ethereum was last at $295.38 on the Investing.com Index, up 5.67% on the day. XRP was trading at $0.40184 on the Investing.com Index, a loss of 0.97%. Ethereum's market cap was last at $31.7B or 9.77% of the total cryptocurrency market cap, while XRP's market cap totaled $17.3B or 5.32% of the total cryptocurrency market value. Related Articles Bitcoin Rebounds, Surges Above $11,000 UN Looks to Blockchain to Aid Sustainable Urban Development in Afghanistan $515 Million in Bitcoin Spent on Illicit Activity This Year Representing 1% of Total BTC Activity
Read This Before Buying PCCW Limited (HKG:8) For Its Dividend Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we'll take a closer look at PCCW Limited (HKG:8) from a dividend investor's perspective. Owning a strong business and reinvesting the dividends is widely seen as an attractive way of growing your wealth. If you are hoping to live on your dividends, it's important to be more stringent with your investments than the average punter. Regular readers know we like to apply the same approach to each dividend stock, and we hope you'll find our analysis useful. In this case, PCCW likely looks attractive to dividend investors, given its 6.9% dividend yield and nine-year payment history. It sure looks interesting on these metrics - but there's always more to the story . Some simple analysis can reduce the risk of holding PCCW for its dividend, and we'll focus on the most important aspects below. Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on PCCW! Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. 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 269% of PCCW's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, from the perspective of an investor who hopes to own the company for many years, a payout ratio of above 100% is definitely a concern. Another important check we do is to see if the free cash flow generated is sufficient to pay the dividend. Last year, PCCW paid a dividend while reporting negative free cash flow. While there may be an explanation, we think this behaviour is generally not sustainable. As PCCW has a meaningful amount of debt, we need to check its balance sheet to see if the company might have debt risks. A rough way to check this is with these two simple ratios: a) net debt divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), and b) net interest cover. Net debt to EBITDA measures total debt load relative to company earnings (lower = less debt), while net interest cover measures the ability to pay interest on the debt (higher = greater ability to pay interest costs). PCCW has net debt of 5.43 times its EBITDA, which implies meaningful risk if interest rates rise of earnings decline. Net interest cover can be calculated by dividing earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by the company's net interest expense. With EBIT of 3.18 times its interest expense, PCCW's interest cover is starting to look a bit thin. High debt and weak interest cover are not a great combo, and we would be cautious of relying on this company's dividend while these metrics persist. Remember, you can always get a snapshot of PCCW's latest financial position,by checking our visualisation of its financial health. One of the major risks of relying on dividend income, is the potential for a company to struggle financially and cut its dividend. Not only is your income cut, but the value of your investment declines as well - nasty. The first recorded dividend for PCCW, in the last decade, was nine years ago. During the past nine-year period, the first annual payment was HK$0.13 in 2010, compared to HK$0.31 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 10.0% per year over this time. It's good to see the dividend growing at a decent rate, but the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. PCCW might have put its house in order since then, but we remain cautious. The other half of the dividend investing equation is evaluating whether earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Growing EPS can help maintain or increase the purchasing power of the dividend over the long run. It's not great to see that PCCW's have fallen at approximately 15% over the past five years. Declining earnings per share over a number of years is not a great sign for the dividend investor. Without some improvement, this does not bode well for the long term value of a company's dividend. We'd also point out that PCCW issued a meaningful number of new shares in the past year. Trying to grow the dividend when issuing new shares reminds us of the ancient Greek tale of Sisyphus - perpetually pushing a boulder uphill. Companies that consistently issue new shares are often suboptimal from a dividend perspective. 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. It's a concern to see that the company paid out such a high percentage of its earnings and cashflow as dividends. Earnings per share have been falling, and the company has cut its dividend at least once in the past. From a dividend perspective, this is a cause for concern. Using these criteria, PCCW looks quite suboptimal from a dividend investment perspective. Given that earnings are not growing, the dividend does not look nearly so attractive. See if the 6 analysts are forecasting a turnaround in ourfree collection of analyst estimates here. 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.
California mom charged in son's death left parole in 2014 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A woman accused of drowning her 12-year-old son in a California irrigation ditch was released from probation in 2014 after her parole officer in Montana said she didn't pose any risk to the boy she had tried to drown as a baby in a Montana river. Sherri Telnas' Montana parole officer recommended in July 2014 conditional release from her supervision, saying Telnas' discharge from supervision "is in the best interests of the offender and society and will not present unreasonable risk of danger to the victim(s) of this offense," court documents show. Telnas, 45, was charged Tuesday with the killing of her oldest son, Jackson, and the attempted killing of her 7-year-old son, Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward said. Her youngest son remains at a hospital in critical condition. Telnas was sentenced in 2009 to the custody of Montana health officials for two 10-year sentences running consecutively for trying to drown the then-10-month-old boy. She transferred her supervision to California in 2012, according to court documents. In her request to a judge, Montana parole officer Gloria Soja wrote that a probation officer in California had reported Telnas had completed drug abuse programs, had no violations and continued to attend all her appointments. She got custody of her sons in late 2010 as part of her divorce, court records said. The judge found that she was doing well in her treatment with her psychiatrist, was holding down a job and her relationship with her son Jackson "appears to be very loving." The psychiatrist "had no concern about her ability to parent and testified that he sees no risk factors to indicate that she may de-compensate in her emotional wellness," District Judge Ed McLean wrote. He also noted that the boy's father, Jacob Telnas, did not fight testimony that he was unemployed, living with friends, smoked marijuana on a daily basis and drank alcohol regularly. She later reunited with her ex-husband, and their second son was born in 2012, said Ellie Brown, who is married to the boys' uncle. The couple lived together in California for a time, and Telnas had been alone with the boys for about a year, she said. Telnas was arrested Saturday in her rural home near Porterville, about 270 miles (435 kilometers) south of San Francisco. A judge in California on Tuesday denied bail and scheduled her arraignment for Wednesday at her request. Authorities didn't know if she had an attorney who could speak on her behalf. Deputies who responded to a 911 call found a neighbor who made the call and the boys' grandmother trying to revive the kids, KFSN-TV reported. Story continues ___ Associated Press journalist Amy Beth Hanson in Helena, Montana, contributed to this report. View comments
A Guide to Interval Funds In an interval fund, aninvestment companywill regularly offer torepurchaseshares fromshareholders. Those repurchases come at various intervals, hence the name. Before you decide to invest in interval funds, though, it’s worth considering how they function and what to expect. How do Interval Funds Work? These types of funds are relatively new and can be somewhat difficult to access. They aren’t traded on asecurities exchange,and many are only be sold by accredited investors. When sold by the fund itself, interval funds are sold at the current net asset value (NAV) set by the fund. They can be purchased at any time, but are illiquid. That means you can only sell them at specific intervals. Depending on the fund, you may only be able to sell shares quarterly or annually. However, interval funds can be an easy way to diversify your portfolio. Fund assets often includereal estate securitiesand private equity funds. They also contain other investments such asbusiness loansandcommercial property. That diversity can help yield a higher rate of return. Interval Funds and Fees The cost of interval funds can be substantial.Minimum investmentscan start at $10,000 and drift closer to $30,000. Administrative expenses can be as much as 3% of an interval fund’s costs. There are also a whole lot of fees associated with interval funds. Management fees can range from 1.5% to 2.45%. Redemption fees (2% of proceeds) can take an even bigger bite. Service fees (0.25%) and operating fees (more than 0.75%). Even before sales charges (some as high as 6%), a fund’s annual fees can come close to or exceed 4%. By comparison,fees for mutual fundscomprise 0.25% to 1.5% of an annual investment balance Interval Funds: Potential Returns A diverse group of assets and an illiquid structure with few redemptions can give interval funds a highrate of return. A higherdistribution ratemay seem enticing to investors, who may want to earn more money without spending more of it. But higher fees can cut thatrate of return. While the distribution rate for interval funds can exceed 5 percent, it doesn’t consist solely of income. Investors may want to see if that rate includes a return of principal or capital (the amount you invested) as well ascapital gains,interest, ordividends. Bottom Line The diverse assets of interval funds might be enticing. Potential returns are also higher than other investments like mutual funds.Long-term growthcan be rewarding, partially due to thatdiversification. All investments carry risk. You’ll want to check if interval funds carry enough possible reward for you. Since you can liquidate them only at intervals that the investment company sets, you’re stuck with them for a set amount of time. If you need capital in theshort term, these may not be the right of investments for you. Tips for Responsible Investing • Before you jump to buy interval funds, consider talking to a professional first.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. • Not all investments are created equal, especially the many different types of funds available. With mutual funds, closed-end funds, index funds and ETFs, it’s important to know the difference. Get to know the varioustypes of investmentsbefore jumping into them. Photo credit: ©iStock.com/HAKINMHAN , ©iStock.com/Jikaboom, ©iStock.com/primeimages The postA Guide to Interval Fundsappeared first onSmartAsset Blog. • How Limit Orders Work in Stock Trading • What Are Structured Notes and How Do They Work? • Return on Equity (ROE): Definition and Examples
Have Insiders Been Buying Straker Translations Limited (ASX:STG) Shares This Year? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares inStraker Translations Limited(ASX:STG). 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 logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Harvard Universitystudyfound that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.' Check out our latest analysis for Straker Translations Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Henry Tam for AU$130k worth of shares, at about AU$1.77 per share. That implies that an insider found the current price of AU$1.84 per share to be enticing. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. Happily, the Straker Translations insider decided to buy shares at close to current prices. Henry Tam was the only individual insider to buy over the year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date! Straker Translations is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to findwinning investmentsthisfreelist of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Straker Translations insiders own about AU$31m worth of shares. That equates to 32% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders. It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Straker Translations shares in the last quarter. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Straker Translations insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at thisFREEreport showing analyst forecasts for Straker Translations. But note:Straker Translations 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.
The Latest: Navy SEAL acquitted of murder says he's grateful SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Latest on the murder case of a Navy SEAL accused of killing a war prisoner under his care in Iraq in 2017 (all times local): 5:30 p.m. A Navy SEAL acquitted of killing a wounded war prisoner in Iraq says he's "happy and grateful." Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher spoke briefly with reporters Tuesday after a military jury in San Diego found him not guilty of murder and all but one other charge. The jury is scheduled to sentence him Wednesday in San Diego. Gallagher could face up to four months confinement after being convicted of a single charge of posing for photographs with a dead war casualty. But he could receive credit for the more than six months he served awaiting trial. ___ 3:10 p.m. A defense lawyer for a decorated Navy SEAL says his client cried tears of "joy" and "freedom" after being acquitted of murder. Attorney Marc Mukasey said the jury verdict Tuesday that cleared Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher of all but one charge had lifted a huge weight from the SEAL and his family. Friends of Gallagher emerged from the courthouse and yelled "Free Eddie" while his attorneys high-fived each other. Gallagher could face up to four months confinement for being convicted of posing for photographs with a dead war casualty. But he could be given credit for the more than six months he served awaiting trial. ___ 2:30 p.m. A military jury in San Diego has found a Navy SEAL not guilty of committing murder in Iraq. The jury Tuesday also found Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher not guilty of all other counts except for the violation of posing for photographs with a dead war casualty. Gallagher was accused of fatally stabbing an Islamic State prisoner who had been wounded by an airstrike in Iraq in 2017 and other crimes. He had also been accused of attempted murder. ___ 10:50 a.m. A military jury in San Diego has resumed deliberating murder and other charges against a Navy SEAL after a partial review of testimony. Story continues The panel listened Tuesday to a recording of Lt. Thomas MacNeil, the first witness in the court-martial of Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, who is accused of fatally stabbing an Islamic State prisoner in Iraq in 2017 and other crimes. MacNeil described hearing Gallagher say "he's mine" on the platoon radio after learning there was a prisoner who had been wounded in an airstrike. MacNeil testified about seeing the prisoner alive and then returning later when he was dead. MacNeil also testified about a custom knife that Gallagher always carried or would hang on the wall of the room they shared. Gallagher has pleaded not guilty to all charges. ___ 9:55 a.m. A military jury deliberating murder and other charges against a Navy SEAL has requested a review of testimony by another SEAL. The request came about an hour after the jury resumed deliberations Tuesday in San Diego. Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher is accused of killing a wounded Islamic State prisoner and other crimes while deployed to Iraq in 2017. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The jury of five Marines and two sailors asked for a review of recorded testimony by Lt. Thomas MacNeil, who was part of the SEAL team and was Gallagher's roommate. Gallagher is accused of using a knife to stab the wounded militant in the neck. ___ 9:15 a.m. A jury has resumed deliberating the case of a decorated Navy SEAL accused of fatally stabbing a captive under his care in Iraq and shooting civilians in separate incidents in 2017. The panel of five Marines and two sailors, including a SEAL, returned to deliberations Tuesday, a day after closing arguments wrapped up at the court-martial of Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher. Gallagher has pleaded not guilty to seven charges. The other charges include violations for posing with a human casualty and for allegedly retaliating against SEALs who reported him. A military prosecutor asserted the proof of Gallagher's guilt is his own words, his own photos and the testimony of his fellow troops. Defense lawyers called the case a "mutiny" by entitled, junior SEALs trying to oust a demanding chief. ___ 9:36 p.m. The case of a decorated Navy SEAL charged with murder and other crimes in Iraq is in the hands of a jury. Jurors in San Diego will resume deliberations Tuesday in the court-martial of Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, who is accused of killing a wounded war prisoner in Iraq in 2017. He has pleaded not guilty. Closing arguments wrapped up Monday with a military prosecutor asserting that the proof of Gallagher's guilt is his own words, his own photos and the testimony of his fellow troops. Defense lawyers called the case a "mutiny" by entitled, junior SEALs trying to oust a demanding chief. The jury is made up of five Marines and two sailors, including a SEAL, many of whom had been in heavy combat in Iraq. ___ This story has been corrected to show the reviewed testimony was an audio recording, not video.
The Crypto Daily – The Movers and Shakers 03/07/19 Bitcoin continued its trend-bucking form on Tuesday to end a string of losses at the turn of the quarter. Bitcoin rose by 2.29% on Tuesday. Reversing a 1.48% fall from Monday, Bitcoin ended the day at $10,885. A bearish start to the day saw Bitcoin slide from a morning high $10,719 to a late morning intraday low $9,728.2. Falling short of the major resistance levels, Bitcoin fell through the first major support level at $10,075 to test support at the 38.2% FIB of $9,734 before bouncing back. Rallying through the afternoon, Bitcoin struck a late intraday high $10,965 before easing back. In spite of the afternoon rally, Bitcoin fell well short of the first major resistance level at $11,218. It was Bitcoin’s first visit to sub-$10,000 levels since 21stJune. Across the rest of the top 10 cryptos, it was a sea of red across the crypto-board. Leading the way down was Binance Coin, which slid by 3.65%. Also seeing heavy losses were Litecoin (-3.26%), Tron (-2.89%), Bitcoin Cash ABC (-2.59%), and EOS (-2.37%). Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash SV saw more modest losses of 0.84% and 0.48% respectively. For Stellar’s Lumen, things haven’t improved since falling out of the top ten with a 2.16% loss on the day. With Bitcoin bucking the trend to see green on the day,Bitcoin’s dominancemoved back to 61% levels. The total crypto market cap recovered from sub-$290 levels on Tuesday to end the day at $313.2bn. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was up by 2.73% to $11,182 as the bulls look to restore order. Moves within the first hour saw Bitcoin rise from a low $10,876 to a high $11,200 before easing back. While leaving the major support and resistance levels untested early on, Bitcoin came within range of the 23.6% FIB of $11,275. Elsewhere, it was a mixed start to the day for the majors. Ethereum tracked Bitcoin early on, with a 1.01% gain. Tron (+0.94%), Bitcoin Cash SV (+1.03%), and Litecoin (+1.18%) also made solid gains. Bucking the trend in the early hours, however, was Binance Coin with a 0.31% loss. Bitcoin would need to move through the 23.6% FIB of $11,257 to bring the first major resistance level at $11,323.93 into play. Having failed to touch $11,000 levels on Tuesday, the early move should support a bullish day ahead. An early break through the first major resistance level would bring $11,500 levels into play. Bitcoin would need the support of the broader market, however, to take a run at the second major resistance level at $11,762.87. Failure to move through the 23.6% FIB could see Bitcoin hit reverse. A fall back through to $10,500 levels would bring the first major support level at $10,087.13 into play. Barring a crypto meltdown, Bitcoin should steer clear of sub-$10,000 support levels on the day. Get Into Cryptocurrency Trading Today Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Natural Gas Price Prediction – Prices Rebound but Momentum is Neutral • Gold Forecast Bullish as Traders Remain Sceptical • Forex Recap – Greenback Managed to Hold Gains Despite Adverse US Data • USD/CAD is Bearish Below W H3 Camarilla Pivot • Weaker Global Sentiment & Mrs Lagarde at the ECB – CHFJPY Moves Lower • S&P 500 is eyeing 3000
Is China Literature Limited (HKG:772) Trading At A 30% Discount? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of China Literature Limited (HKG:772) as an investment opportunity by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to today's value. I will be using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward. Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of theSimply Wall St analysis model. Check out our latest analysis for China Literature We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value: [{"": "Levered FCF (CN\u00a5, Millions)", "2020": "CN\u00a52.0b", "2021": "CN\u00a51.7b", "2022": "CN\u00a52.1b", "2023": "CN\u00a52.5b", "2024": "CN\u00a52.7b", "2025": "CN\u00a52.8b", "2026": "CN\u00a52.9b", "2027": "CN\u00a53.0b", "2028": "CN\u00a53.1b", "2029": "CN\u00a53.2b"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2020": "Analyst x3", "2021": "Analyst x3", "2022": "Analyst x1", "2023": "Analyst x1", "2024": "Est @ 6.84%", "2025": "Est @ 5.39%", "2026": "Est @ 4.37%", "2027": "Est @ 3.66%", "2028": "Est @ 3.17%", "2029": "Est @ 2.82%"}, {"": "Present Value (CN\u00a5, Millions) Discounted @ 7.24%", "2020": "CN\u00a51.9k", "2021": "CN\u00a51.5k", "2022": "CN\u00a51.7k", "2023": "CN\u00a51.9k", "2024": "CN\u00a51.9k", "2025": "CN\u00a51.8k", "2026": "CN\u00a51.8k", "2027": "CN\u00a51.7k", "2028": "CN\u00a51.7k", "2029": "CN\u00a51.6k"}] ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= CN¥17.4b The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 10-year government bond rate of 2%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 7.2%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = CN¥3.2b × (1 + 2%) ÷ (7.2% – 2%) = CN¥63b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CN¥CN¥63b ÷ ( 1 + 7.2%)10= CN¥31.15b The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is CN¥48.57b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. This results in an intrinsic value estimate in the company’s reported currency of CN¥47.53. However, 772’s primary listing is in China, and 1 share of 772 in CNY represents 1.141 ( CNY/ HKD) share of SEHK:772,so the intrinsic value per share in HKD is HK$54.21.Relative to the current share price of HK$38.15, the company appears a touch undervalued at a 30% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out. Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at China Literature 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 7.2%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.879. 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 China Literature, There are three important aspects you should further examine: 1. Financial Health: Does 772 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 772'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 772? Exploreour interactive list of high quality stocksto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every HK stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock justsearch here. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Kelly Ripa Shares Sexy Photo of Shirtless Husband Mark Consuelos as They Wrap Up Family Vacation Kelly Ripa just made our Instagram timelines a whole lot hotter. The Live with Kelly and Ryan co-host shared a steamy snap of her husband, Riverdale star Mark Consuelos , to her Instagram on Tuesday. The photo shows Mark, 48, shirtless in beautiful blue water, showing off his impressive upper body muscles. “An actor prepares………..for the end of vacation,” Ripa, 48, captioned the photo. The sexy snap garnered plenty of attention from other celebrities and fans, like Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna , who wrote in a comment, “Thank you Kelly. 🔥” Actor Jonathan Tucker agreed, commenting, “MORE OF THIS CONTENT PLEASE.” Ripa and her family have been on vacation since last week, and both she and Mark have been documenting the sunny getaway to their social platforms. The mother of three caught some attention herself while on the trip, after posting a stunning photo of herself in a white bikini and beach coverup snapped by her 18-year-old daughter Lola Consuelos . View this post on Instagram An actor prepares...........for the end of vacation A post shared by Kelly Ripa (@kellyripa) on Jul 2, 2019 at 2:46pm PDT “Sous le soleil avec #papa (Not pictured)” Ripa wrote in the caption. The French phrase translates to “under the sun with #papa.” “I would do anything for legs 🦵🏼 like this!!!!! Anything. 🔥🔥🔥🔥,” Rinna, 55, commented on that post. Holly Robinson Peete also commented on the photo, saying “Damn sis,” while Mark’s Riverdale costar Marisol Nichols added, “Stunning!!!” Before the TV host’s fun in the sun ended, she also shared a sweet throwback photo of Mark and their three kids — Lola, Michael, 22, and Joaquin, 16. Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos and family \| Mark Consuelos Instagram RELATED: Kelly Ripa Marvels at How Much Her Kids Have Grown in 8-Year Throwback Post with Mark Consuelos The throwback photo was taken eight years ago in 2011, as the foursome smile atop a beautiful bluff with the ocean in the background on one side and old buildings on the other. She shared a photo from their current trip, as well, writing jokingly in the comment that the walls behind them got smaller. Story continues Mark has also shared some great family photos from the trip, including one of the whole crew at sunset . “Entourage…(said w/French accent),” he wrote in the caption. Sadly, it sounds like the envy-inducing travel photos from Ripa and Consuelos will shortly be coming to an end — we better start preparing.
Apiam Animal Health Limited (ASX:AHX): A Fundamentally Attractive Investment Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Attractive stocks have exceptional fundamentals. In the case of Apiam Animal Health Limited (ASX:AHX), there's is a company with strong financial health as well as a buoyant future outlook. Below, I've touched on some key aspects you should know on a high level. If you're interested in understanding beyond my broad commentary, read the fullreport on Apiam Animal Health here. One reason why investors are attracted to AHX is its earnings growth potential in the near future of 32%, made up of high-quality, operational cash from its core business, which is expected to increase by 52% next year. This indicates a high-quality bottom-line expansion, as opposed to those driven by unsustainable cost-cutting activities. AHX's strong financial health means that all of its upcoming liability payments are able to be met by its current cash and short-term investment holdings. This indicates that AHX has sufficient cash flows and proper cash management in place, which is a key determinant of the company’s health. AHX's has produced operating cash levels of 0.24x total debt over the past year, which implies that AHX's management has put its borrowings into good use by generating enough cash to cover a sufficient portion of borrowings. For Apiam Animal Health, I've compiled three fundamental factors you should further research: 1. Historical Performance: What has AHX'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. 2. Valuation: What is AHX 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 AHX is currently mispriced by the market. 3. Other Attractive Alternatives: Are there other well-rounded stocks you could be holding instead of AHX? Exploreour interactive list of stocks with large potentialto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
How Financially Strong Is Tonking New Energy Group Holdings Limited (HKG:8326)? 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 Tonking New Energy Group Holdings Limited (HKG:8326) with its market cap of HK$187m, are popular for their explosive growth, investors should also be aware of their balance sheet to judge whether the company can survive a downturn. Understanding the company's financial health becomes crucial, as mismanagement of capital can lead to bankruptcies, which occur at a higher rate for small-caps. Let's work through some financial health checks you may wish to consider if you're interested in this stock. However, these checks don't give you a full picture, so I’d encourage you todig deeper yourself into 8326 here. Over the past year, 8326 has ramped up its debt from HK$101m to HK$144m , which is mainly comprised of near term debt. With this growth in debt, the current cash and short-term investment levels stands at HK$82m , ready to be used for running the business. Its negative operating cash flow means calculating cash-to-debt wouldn't be useful. As the purpose of this article is a high-level overview, I won’t be looking at this today, but you can take a look at some of 8326’soperating efficiency ratios such as ROA here. With current liabilities at HK$256m, the company has been able to meet these obligations given the level of current assets of HK$434m, with a current ratio of 1.69x. The current ratio is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities. Generally, for Hospitality 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 debt reaching 62% of equity, 8326 may be thought of as relatively highly levered. 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 8326’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 8326, the ratio of 7.92x suggests that interest is appropriately covered, which means that debtors may be willing to loan the company more money, giving 8326 ample headroom to grow its debt facilities. Although 8326’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 8326'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 8326 has company-specific issues impacting its capital structure decisions. You should continue to research Tonking New Energy Group 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 8326’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor 8326’s outlook. 2. Historical Performance: What has 8326'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.
Attention, Optus customers: Are you owed a refund? The ACCC is encouraging Optus customers to check their texts and emails for a possible refund from the major telco. In early February this year, Optus was slapped with a $10 million fine from the Federal Court forcharging customers for digital content they never realised they were purchasing. Optus has already contacted and offered refunds to nearly 400,000 customers, but only a quarter of those people have taken up refunds that are worth $6.7 million. “Optus committed to providing these refunds, and will continue to contact customers over the coming months,” ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said. “Many of the affected customers were charged for content that they never wanted and never used, and from which they found difficult to unsubscribe. “In some cases children unwittingly incurred charges,” she added. Optus has also committed to reviewing future complaints about its direct carrier billing (DCB) service and to dealing with these complaints in good faith, according to the competition watchdog. Optus haspreviously admittedthat it had known customers were being wrongly charged since at least April 2014, yet didn’t immediately put in place safeguards, and fobbed off enquiries or complaints about the service to third party developers. • Related story:FINED: Optus cops $10 million penalty for charging customers for digital content they never meant to buy • Related story:Optus to refund $2.4m to some customers • Related story:Optus, Vodafone, Telstra customers: Your loyalty is costing you ‘hundreds’ If you think you’re due a refund, Optus is reaching out to customers on this matter, so you should keep an eye out for texts or emails from the telco. But if you haven’t been contacted by Optus yet, you can call them on 133 937. Optus’ DCB service allowed customers to buy digital content from third-party developers, with the charges automatically added to customers’ mobile accounts. But the DCB service was automatically enabled for Optus customers, and it only took one or two clicks to purchase content. Due to the way the DCB is set up, it means customers inadvertently or unknowingly bought and was charged for content they didn’t want or use. Optus has since stopped offering DCB services, aside from a handful of services for one-off content such as TV shows, magazines and gaming, which require express customer agreement before purchasing. Make your money work with Yahoo Finance’s daily newsletter. Sign uphereand stay on top of the latest money, news and tech news.
House lawmakers sue Trump administration for president's tax returns Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA A House committee sued the Trump administration in federal court on Tuesday for access to Donald Trumps tax returns, setting up a legal showdown over the records. The House ways and means committee said it needed the documents for an investigation into tax law compliance by the president, among other things. It asked the court to order the administration to turn over the documents. In the suit, the committee said the administration had refused to turn over the documents in order to shield President Trumps tax return information from Congressional scrutiny. The committee said it was not required to explain to the treasury department its reasons for seeking the tax return information but that in this case the committees need is evident. Without reviewing the requested return materials, the Committee cannot ensure that the IRSs audit process is functioning fairly and effectively, understand how provisions of the tax code are impacted by President Trumps returns or exercise its legislative judgment to determine whether changes to the code may be warranted, the lawsuit said, adding that the president had declined to follow the practice of every elected President since Richard Nixon of voluntarily disclosing their tax returns. In a statement, Steven Groves, the White House deputy press secretary, accused the Democrats of partisan motives and presidential harassment, adding: The only thing more political than the Committees crusade for the Presidents tax returns is its sham lawsuit. The lawsuit is the culmination of a long-running fight between Democrats and Trump over the returns, dating back to the 2016 campaign, when Trump claimed that he could not release them due to an IRS audit. The records hold the promise of information that Trump has carefully guarded from public view, including about his business entanglements, relationships with foreign creditors and governments, and the value of his assets. Related: Trump tax returns: Steven Mnuchin refuses to comply with subpoena Story continues The committee originally demanded six years of Trumps tax records in early April under a law that says the Internal Revenue Service shall furnish the returns of any taxpayer to a handful of top lawmakers. But the treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, told the committee in May that he would not be turning over the returns to the Democratic-controlled House. Mnuchin concluded that the treasury department was not authorized to disclose the requested returns and return information. The justice department backed Mnuchins position in a legal opinion, saying the request lacked a legitimate legislative purpose and was an unprecedented use of congressional authority. The argument is the same one Trump has used in refusing other demands from Congress for financial records from accountants and banks Trump and his family have done business with. Lawsuits over those records were filed in federal courts in Washington and New York, and Trump has lost in those lawsuits opening rounds. Its unclear how long it will take to resolve the lawsuit. Fights between Congress and the executive branch can in some cases take years, and the administration may be eager to make the lawsuit last in order to delay providing records. But if, as the committee suggests, the fight comes down to the text of what the law requires, a resolution could come more quickly, though it could be appealed. Steve Rosenthal, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, said the committee is on strong legal footing with the lawsuit because it is entitled to oversee and investigate the executive branch, which is a key element of our checks and balances.
Why We Think China Telecom Corporation Limited (HKG:728) Could Be Worth Looking At Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! I've been keeping an eye on China Telecom Corporation Limited (HKG:728) because I'm attracted to its fundamentals. Looking at the company as a whole, as a potential stock investment, I believe 728 has a lot to offer. Basically, it is a dependable dividend payer that has been able to sustain great financial health over the past. In the following section, I expand a bit more on these key aspects. For those interested in digger a bit deeper into my commentary, read the fullreport on China Telecom here. With a debt-to-equity ratio of 19%, 728’s debt level is reasonable. This indicates a good balance between taking advantage of low cost funding through debt financing, but having enough financial flexibility and headroom to grow debt in the future. 728's has produced operating cash levels of 1.48x total debt over the past year, which implies that 728's management has put its borrowings into good use by generating enough cash to cover a sufficient portion of borrowings. Income investors would also be happy to know that 728 is a great dividend company, with a current yield standing at 3.1%. 728 has also been regularly increasing its dividend payments to shareholders over the past decade. For China Telecom, there are three fundamental factors you should look at: 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for 728’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor 728’s outlook. 2. Historical Performance: What has 728'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 Attractive Alternatives: Are there other well-rounded stocks you could be holding instead of 728? Exploreour interactive list of stocks with large potentialto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
How Does Carpenter Tan Holdings Limited (HKG:837) Affect Your Portfolio Volatility? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Anyone researching Carpenter Tan Holdings Limited (HKG:837) might want to consider the historical volatility of the share price. Modern finance theory considers volatility to be a measure of risk, and there are two main types of price volatility. First, we have company specific volatility, which is the price gyrations of an individual stock. Holding at least 8 stocks can reduce this kind of risk across a portfolio. The other type, which cannot be diversified away, is the volatility of the entire market. Every stock in the market is exposed to this volatility, which is linked to the fact that stocks prices are correlated in an efficient market. Some stocks mimic the volatility of the market quite closely, while others demonstrate muted, exagerrated or uncorrelated 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. View our latest analysis for Carpenter Tan Holdings Looking at the last five years, Carpenter Tan Holdings has a beta of 0.80. The fact that this is well below 1 indicates that its share price movements haven't historically been very sensitive to overall market volatility. If history is a good guide, owning the stock should help ensure that your portfolio is not overly sensitive to market volatility. Many would argue that beta is useful in position sizing, but fundamental metrics such as revenue and earnings are more important overall. You can see Carpenter Tan Holdings's revenue and earnings in the image below. Carpenter Tan Holdings is a noticeably small company, with a market capitalisation of HK$1.2b. Most companies this size are not always actively traded. Companies with market capitalisations around this size often show poor correlation with the broader market because market volatility is overshadowed by company specific events, or other factors. It's worth checking to see how often shares are traded, because very small companies with very low beta values are often only thinly traded. The Carpenter Tan Holdings doesn't usually show much sensitivity to the broader market. This could be for a variety of reasons. Typically, smaller companies have a low beta if their share price tends to move a lot due to company specific developments. Alternatively, an strong dividend payer might move less than the market because investors are valuing it for its income stream. In order to fully understand whether 837 is a good investment for you, we also need to consider important company-specific fundamentals such as Carpenter Tan Holdings’s financial health and performance track record. I urge you to continue your research by taking a look at the following: 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for 837’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor 837’s outlook. 2. Past Track Record: Has 837 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 837's historicalsfor more clarity. 3. Other Interesting Stocks: It's worth checking to see how 837 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.
Amazon to Hire 2,000 in U.K. for Latest Technology Ventures (Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc. is set to hire more than 2,000 workers in the U.K., including engineers, software developers and data scientists, to develop its latest technology ventures. The Seattle-based tech giant’s U.K. workforce will total almost 30,000 people by the end of the year, and will include cloud and machine learning experts, corporate roles and fulfillment and delivery workers, the company said Wednesday in a statement. Of the new jobs, 170 workers will be based at Amazon’s development centers in Cambridge, Edinburgh and London, which specialize in technologies such as the voice-recognition tool Alexa and drone-delivery service Prime Air, among other projects. Amazon unveiled its drone technology in 2013 and made its first customer delivery as part of a private trial in December 2016 in Cambridge. The company says it can deliver small packages, including tech gadgets, dog biscuits and football boots, to customers within 30 minutes or less. The new hires will also be assisting teams working to develop Amazon Video and Amazon Web Services. “We are delighted to be able continue to invest and grow our U.K. business,” Doug Gurr, head of Amazon’s U.K. operations, said in a statement. “The U.K. is a fantastic hub for global talent and the exciting, innovative work that takes place here benefits Amazon’s customers around the world.” To contact the reporter on this story: Ellen Milligan in London at emilligan11@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Eric Pfanner at epfanner1@bloomberg.net, Molly Schuetz, Andrew Pollack For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Brambles Limited (ASX:BXB) Is Yielding 2.3% - But Is It A Buy? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Is Brambles Limited (ASX:BXB) a good dividend stock? How can we tell? Dividend paying companies with growing earnings can be highly rewarding in the long term. On the other hand, investors have been known to buy a stock because of its yield, and then lose money if the company's dividend doesn't live up to expectations. A slim 2.3% yield is hard to get excited about, but the long payment history is respectable. At the right price, or with strong growth opportunities, Brambles could have potential. Some simple analysis can offer a lot of insights when buying a company for its dividend, and we'll go through this below. Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis Companies (usually) pay dividends out of their earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, the dividend might have to be cut. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. Looking at the data, we can see that 49% of Brambles's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. This is a middling range that strikes a nice balance between paying dividends to shareholders, and retaining enough earnings to invest in future growth. Besides, if reinvestment opportunities dry up, the company has room to increase the dividend. We also measure dividends paid against a company's levered free cash flow, to see if enough cash was generated to cover the dividend. Brambles paid out 167% of its free cash flow last year, which we think is concerning if cash flows do not improve. Paying out such a high percentage of cash flow suggests that the dividend was funded from either cash at bank or by borrowing, neither of which is desirable over the long term. Brambles paid out less in dividends than it reported in profits, but unfortunately it didn't generate enough free cash flow to cover the dividend. Cash is king, as they say, and were Brambles to repeatedly pay dividends that aren't well covered by cashflow, we would consider this a warning sign. Consider gettingour latest analysis on Brambles's financial position here. One of the major risks of relying on dividend income, is the potential for a company to struggle financially and cut its dividend. Not only is your income cut, but the value of your investment declines as well - nasty. Brambles 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$0.21 in 2009, compared to US$0.20 last year. Dividend payments have shrunk at a rate of less than 1% per annum over this time frame. A shrinking dividend over a ten-year period is not ideal, and we'd be concerned about investing in a dividend stock that lacks a solid record of growing dividends per share. 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. Earnings have grown at around 2.8% a year for the past five years, which is better than seeing them shrink! A payout ratio below 50% leaves ample room to reinvest in the business, and provides finanical flexibility. However, earnings per share are unfortunately not growing much. Might this suggest that the company should pay a higher dividend instead? To summarise, shareholders should always check that Brambles's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. First, we like Brambles's low dividend payout ratio, although we're a bit concerned that it paid out a substantially higher percentage of its free cash flow. 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 Brambles out there. Companies that are growing earnings tend to be the best dividend stocks over the long term. See what the 7 analysts we track are forecasting for Bramblesfor freewith publicanalyst estimates for the company. 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.
D-Link to Boost Security Program to Settle FTC Complaint Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. D-Link Systems, a popular manufacturer of routers, webcams, and other connected devices, has agreed to launch a comprehensive software security program to settle a Federal Trade Commission complaint that it didnt adequately protect consumers from hackers. The complaint, originally filed in 2017 , disputed repeated claims by the company that its products were secure. In reality, the FTC argued, easily preventable security flaws in D-Links routers and webcams had left sensitive consumer information, including live video and audio feeds, exposed and vulnerable to hackers for years. These security flaws risked exposing users most sensitive personal information to prying eyes, said Andrew Smith, director of the FTCs Bureau of Consumer Protection, via press release. Manufacturers and sellers of connected devices should be aware that the FTC will hold them to account for failures that expose user data to risk of compromise. Though the companys products have been targeted by hackers since the complaint became public, its unclear whether any customer's personal data has actually been stolen. The FTC says D-Link used hard-coded login credentials in its camera software, which could allow an unauthorized person to access the cameras live feed. A flaw in the companys routers could permit an attacker to remotely take control of a users device and potentially gain access to the rest of the network and sensitive information stored on devices connected to it. The FTC argued that the company mishandled a private key code used to sign into D-Link software, allowing it to be openly available on a public website for six months, and also that it left login credentials for its mobile app unsecured in clear, readable text on users' mobile devices. In a statement, D-Link said its pleased to reach an amicable resolution with the FTC, noting that the order doesnt find the company liable for any of the alleged violations. Story continues This settlement allows D-Link Systems to vigorously continue with its current comprehensive software security program and sets a new standard for secure software development practices for IoT devices, the company stated. But privacy advocates say the settlement would not have been needed if D-Link had taken adequate security measures in the first place. Although we are happy to see the FTC take action against D-Link, the company should have ensured that their systems and services were secure before they released their cameras in the marketplace, says Katie McInnis, policy counsel at Consumer Reports. Such security vulnerabilities put consumers at risk. As part of the deal with the FTC, D-Link will be required to create a security plan and test its products for security vulnerabilities before releasing them to the public. The deal also mandates ongoing monitoring for security flaws and automatic firmware updates to ensure devices receive patches for any flaws discovered after they've been sold. The company now must submit to independent, outside assessments of its software security program every other year for the next 10 years. More from Consumer Reports: Top pick tires for 2016 Best used cars for $25,000 and less 7 best mattresses for couples Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 2019, Consumer Reports, Inc.
Chuck E. Cheese Coins Are More Valuable Than Bitcoin The venerable Chuck E. Cheese himself responded to a Twitter post regarding bitcoin. It may seem odd at first blush that Chuck E. Cheese andbitcoinhave anything to do with one another, but it makes sense as the story unfolds. Ryan Hoover, the founder of something called Product Hunt, tweeted this out first: And Hoover received a reply from the Head Rodent himself: This has sparked some hilarious replies on Ryan Hoover’s feed. Read the full story on CCN.com.
Your guide to the Easter eggs and end-credit scenes in 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' Spider-Man soars into action in 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' (Photo: Columbia Pictures / © Marvel / courtesy Everett Collection) Warning: This post contains big spoilers for Spider-Man: Far From Home. If Avengers: Endgame provided the final chapter in Marvel Studios’s 22-movie Infinity Saga, Spider-Man: Far From Home serves as the epilogue. Marvel Studios has yet to officially unveil what their plans are for the next phase of their sprawling cinematic universe. But Far From Home is filled with cleverly-placed Easter eggs that point their way to the MCU ’s future. Here’s a guide to the references, in-jokes and hints you may have missed. In Memoriam Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) was one of the biggest casualties of 'Avengers: Endgame' (Photo: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / © Marvel Studios / courtesy Everett Collection) In case you somehow didn’t get around to seeing Avengers: Endgame , Far From Home opens with a handy summary of events as created by Midtown’s A/V club for the daily show co-anchored by Betty Brant (Angourie Rice) and Jason Ionello (Jorge Lendeborg jr.). Hilariously scored to Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You,” the video pays tribute to those who lost their lives in the fight against Thanos, a roll call that starts with Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and then goes on to cite Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Vision (Paul Bettany). What’s interesting is that only one of those four — Iron Man — is definitely gone for good. After all, Cap has reached retirement age, but isn’t six feet under — a secret that the Avengers have apparently kept from the world. His presence allows Marvel to potentially persuade Evans to return for present-day cameos as an older Cap or sideways sequels depicting Steve’s adventures in the past. Black Widow, meanwhile, will be seen again in a currently-shooting standalone movie that’s presumably a prequel. And Vision is one of the titular stars of the upcoming Disney+ series, WandaVision , alongside Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch. As they say on the Iron Islands, what is dead may never die. Wither the Avengers? The Avengers assemble and attack Thanos in 'Avengers: Endgame' (Photo: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / © Marvel Studios / courtesy Everett Collection) Later on in that same video, Jason asks the question those of us in the theater want to know as well: “Are the Avengers a thing anymore?” Certainly, the original line-up is no more — and Avengers HQ is still a crater — but there are plenty of heroes who could serve as the next generation, including Spider-Man himself. Peter Parker (Tom Holland) remains reluctant to commit to joining a super-team, especially one previously lead by his mentor and friend. The only Avenger-adjacent veteran who does think he has the right stuff is Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), who tries to provide Peter with some guidance… when he’s not casually dating Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), of course. While the film ends without a new team line-up being announced, Spider-Man seems more confident in his status as Tony Stark’s superhero heir. It’s safe to assume that when the next Avengers-level threat arrives on Earth, he’ll be ready to enlist again. Story continues Betty and Ned, sitting in a tree Betty (Angourie Rice), Ned (Jacob Batalon) and MJ (Zendaya) go from bystanders to action heroes in the climax of 'Far From Home' (Photo: Jay-Maidment / © Columbia / © Marvel Studios/ Courtesy Everett Collection) The “only in Europe” summertime fling between Ned (Jacob Batalon) and Betty is one of the surprise delights in Far From Home . But comic book fans knew that relationship was inevitable. In Marvel Comics continuity, Betty was Peter’s first girlfriend, but they broke up after he developed feelings for Liz Allan — who was the main love interest in Homecoming . Once their relationship hit the rocks, the Daily Bugle secretary moved on to reporter Ned Leeds who, funnily enough, moved to Europe. They did the long distance thing until he returned, whereupon they tied the knot. But while honeymooning in Paris, Ned underwent a personality transformation that culminated in him being framed as the murderous Hobgoblin . All things considered, it’s just as well that the movie version of Ned and Betty called it quits as soon as they touched down in New York. Mastering the elements Sandman is one of the elemental monsters in 'Far From Home' (Photo: Marvel/Sony/YouTube) So far, the MCU version of Spider-Man has avoided revisiting any villains that previously appeared in the Tobey Maguire trilogy or the Andrew Garfield pictures. That changes, slightly, in Far From Home as the first enemy we see is a new version of Sandman —the sand-based creature played by Thomas Haden Church in 2007’s Spider-Man 3 . Granted, he’s not addressed as “Sandman,” but he belongs to the elemental monsters that dimension-hopping hero Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) claims to have fought before. In fact, he blames them for being the reason why his Earth perished. Besides the sand giant, there’s also a water-type bad guy modeled after Hydro-Man and the lava-based Molten Man , both of whom have tangled with Spidey in the comic books. In the end, it turns out that these monsters are just elaborate holograms created with next-gen Stark Industries tech. That means that Holland could presumably meet them again for the first time in future adventures. Which earth is it anyway? Considering that the terrestrial residents of the MCU have recently learned about reality-altering gauntlets and time travel, the concept of a multiverse isn’t too much of a stretch. That’s exactly how Mysterio is able to sell himself as the genuine article to Nick Fury and Maria Hill, who buy into his explanation that the Avengers’ recent shenanigans have opened up doorways to other realms, each with their own number. Mysterio’s own reality, for example, was Earth-833 , where Spider-Man UK fought the Master Weaver in the comic books. After the elementals’ rampage left it a burned-out husk, he made his way to their dimension, Earth-616 aka Marvel Comics’s Prime Universe. Noticeably not mentioned is Earth-67, which we glimpsed at the end Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse . Beck’s multiverse may be a lie, but thanks to that Oscar-winning animated hit, we know that there’s a Spider-Verse out there just waiting to be discovered. Everything’s coming up Edith First there was J.A.R.V.I.S. Then came F.R.I.D.A.Y. Next up was K.A.R.E.N. And now Far From Home introduces another member of Tony Stark’s A.I. menagerie: E.D.I.T.H., the voice that Peter hears when he puts on the glasses that his mentor bequeathed him. As we come to learn, the name is an acronym for one last Stark boast: “Even Dead I’m the Hero.” But it’s worth noting that there are a few actual Edith’s in the MCU that Tony could be name-checking. His fellow Avenger, Clint Barton, is a “son of Edith” as the Vormir-exiled Red Skull revealed in Endgame . And his own dad, Howard, once romanced an Edith — Edith Oberon , to be specific — years before he married Maria. Granted, that character only appeared in Marvel TV’s Agent Carter rather than any of the films. But don’t forget that Endgame essentially canonized that series with its cameo appearance by the actual Jarvis , James D’Arcy. It’s a little weird to name an A.I. after one of your dad’s former flames, but hey, Tony’s a weird guy. That’s one of the reasons his former employees didn’t love him as much as the rest of the world did. (More on that below.) Hey, it’s that guy! In what could potentially be the deepest cut in any Marvel movie, Far From Home brings back a character we haven’t seen since the very first Iron Man adventure. No, it’s not Terrence Howard’s Rhodey. We’re talking about William Ginter Riva , played by Peter Billingsley… yes, that Peter Billingsley . Don’t remember Riva? Director Jon Watts and Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige sure do. In 2008, he was tasked by Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) with figuring out a way to make another version of Tony’s iron suit, as well as another Arc reactor. He failed on both counts and has clearly been nursing a grudge against Stark ever since. That’s why he joined forces with another disgruntled Stark Industries employee, Quentin Beck, the man who would be Mysterio and the inventor of the hologram technology that Tony unveiled to the world at the beginning of Captain America: Civil War . (Stark added insult to injury by rechristening Beck’s creation as Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing… or B.A.R.F.) Now that their boss is dead, Beck, Riva and other Stark Industries rejects are out to reclaim his technology as their own. Mysterio is the illusionary product of B.A.R.F. and his primary function is to lure Peter into handing over E.D.I.T.H., thus giving Beck and Riva’s rogue operation access to the Stark mainframe. Because superhero movies never end with the heroes losing (well… apart from Infinity War ), Spider-Man bounces back and saves the day. But there’s no reason to suspect that there aren’t more ex-Stark employees out there nursing their own evil intentions. With Riva as precedent, don’t be surprised if a background extra from Iron Man 2 suddenly becomes one of the main bad guys in Marvel’s next phase. Tingle all the way How Spider-Man's spider-sense ability was depicted in 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' (Photo: Columbia Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection) Spider-Man can do whatever a spider can, as well as several things that a spider can’t . Arachnids, for instance, don’t have a special sense that warms them of impending danger. Maybe because it’s so un-spider like, it’s taken the MCU version of Peter a little bit of time to discover this particular ability. Where Maguire’s Spider-Man used his spidey sense in his first-ever super-villain battle (Flash Thompson totally counts as a super-villain in our book), Holland’s wall-crawler rarely employed it during Homecoming . But it becomes a key part of his arsenal during Far From Home , helping him tell reality apart from illusion while battling Mysterio. Don’t you dare call it “spidey sense,” though. It’s now the “Peter tingle,” which is arguably more scientifically accurate... and easier to ridicule. Get your phase on Webslinging through Manhattan is more fun when you’re the slinger rather than the passenger, as MJ (Zendaya) discovers at the end of Far From Home . After a rough ride, Peter sets his girlfriend down outside of Grand Central Station. If you look at the background as they’re conversing, you’ll spot a construction site with a banner in front of it. That banner reads “1—2—3—? We’re so excited to show you what’s next.” Consider it a personal message from Marvel Studios to all the true believers that have followed along through the three-phase Infinity Saga. Interestingly, that sign also suggests that whatever comes next won’t necessarily be known as Phase 4. Consider our spider sense, er, Peter tingle, activated. He’s baaaaack J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson in 'Spider-Man 2' a role he reprises in 'Far From Home' (Photo: Columbia/courtesy Everett) That’s no illusion: J.K. Simmons officially returns as J. Jonah Jameson in the mid-credits sequence of Far From Home . Only this time, Jameson announces his Spider-Man hatred live on the Internet instead of via next-day news headlines. Reflecting the changing media landscape, Jonah is now the Alex Jones-like proprietor of DailyBugle.net , which exclusively reveals to the world that Spider-Man is, indeed, a menace. And he’s got the video to prove it — images that seem to show the wall-crawler executing Mysterio with his enemy’s own drones. We in the audience know that the video is Beck’s last illusion, which he created before shuffling off this mortal coil. As far as the general public can tell, though, their friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is a stone-cold killer. But Jameson saves his biggest bombshell for last, unmasking Peter for the world to see. It’s a nightmare scenario that Peter has confronted in comic book continuity before ( just check out this cover for The Amazing Spider-Man #169 ) and usually found a way to keep his identity secret. It’s also a clever inversion of the way the world discovered that Tony Stark was Iron Man. Where Tony unmasked himself, Peter has his mask forcibly ripped off by a new foe. And that’s a fascinating place to begin a new chapter in Spider-Man’s life, as well as the MCU as a whole. Meet the real masters of illusion Talos (Ben Mendeloshn) reappears at the end of 'Far From Home' (Photo: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / © Marvel / courtesy Everett Collection) If you thought the mid-credits reveal was mind-blowing, just wait for the post-credits sequence. At the same time that Peter’s face is revealed to the public, we discover that Nick Fury and Maria Hill have other faces as well. It turns out that Captain Marvel ’s resident shape-shifter Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) has been impersonating Fury throughout the entire film, with his wife Soren (Sharon Blynn) taking on Hill’s form. Talos’s colleague teases him for falling for Mysterio’s claptrap in the first place, before the two of them decide it’s time to reach out to the real McCoy. Dialing his digits, Talos is sent directly to Fury’s voicemail. “Hope your trip is going well,” he says. Cut to Nick apparently relaxing on a Tahiti-like beach. Before you can say, “ It’s a magical place ,” the camera pulls back to reveal he’s just relaxing in a Holodeck-like simulation. With a sigh, he gets up and enters the main deck of a spaceship. “Everybody back to work!” he calls out, as other Skrull scurry about, building… something. Is it a new galaxy-exploring vessel? A dimensional portal? A bigger time machine? Stay tuned for Phase 4 — or whatever’s coming next. Spider-Man: Far From Home is now playing. Watch Jake Gyllenhaal talk about his turn as Mysterio: Read more on Yahoo Entertainment: Jake Gyllenhaal on almost playing Spider-Man and what he learned from 'Prince of Persia' Swing into July with the best 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' goodies you can shop now 'Spider-Man' poster contains hilarious Photoshop fail Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle's newsletter. View comments
Here's Why I Think Bravura Solutions (ASX:BVS) Might Deserve Your Attention Today Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it completely lacks a track record of revenue and profit. Unfortunately, high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. If, on the other hand, you like companies that have revenue, and even earn profits, then you may well be interested inBravura Solutions(ASX:BVS). Even if the shares are fully valued today, most capitalists would recognize its profits as the demonstration of steady value generation. 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. See our latest analysis for Bravura Solutions Even with very modest growth rates, a company will usually do well if it improves earnings per share (EPS) year after year. So EPS growth can certainly encourage an investor to take note of a stock. Bravura Solutions boosted its trailing twelve month EPS from AU$0.12 to AU$0.14, in the last year. That's a 18% gain; respectable growth in the broader scheme of things. 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. The good news is that Bravura Solutions is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 3 percentage points to 15%, over the last year. Ticking those two boxes is a good sign of growth, in my book. The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. For finer detail, click on the image. While we live in the present moment at all times, there's no doubt in my mind that the future matters more than the past. So why not checkthis interactive chart depicting future EPS estimates, for Bravura Solutions? Like standing at the lookout, surveying the horizon at sunrise, insider buying, for some investors, sparks joy. Because oftentimes, the purchase of stock is a sign that the buyer views it as undervalued. Of course, we can never be sure what insiders are thinking, we can only judge their actions. Even though there was some insider selling over the last year, that was outweighed by CEO, MD & Director Anthony Klim's huge outlay of AU$3.6m, spent buying shares. We should note the average purchase price was around AU$5.26. Big purchases like that are well worth noting, especially for those who like to follow the insider money. The good news, alongside the insider buying, for Bravura Solutions bulls is that insiders (collectively) have a meaningful investment in the stock. Indeed, they hold AU$34m worth of its stock. That shows significant buy-in, and may indicate conviction in the business strategy. Even though that's only about 2.9% of the company, it's enough money to indicate alignment between the leaders of the business and ordinary shareholders. While insiders are apparently happy to hold and accumulate shares, that is just part of the pretty picture. The cherry on top is that the CEO, Tony Klim is paid comparatively modestly to CEOs at similar sized companies. For companies with market capitalizations between AU$574m and AU$2.3b, like Bravura Solutions, the median CEO pay is around AU$1.4m. Bravura Solutions offered total compensation worth AU$1.3m to its CEO in the year to June 2018. That comes in below the average for similar sized companies, and seems pretty reasonable to me. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. It can also be a sign of good governance, more generally. One important encouraging feature of Bravura Solutions is that it is growing profits. On top of that, we've seen insiders buying shareseven though they already own plenty. To me, that all makes it well worth a spot on your watchlist, as well as continuing research. Of course, just because Bravura Solutions is growing does not mean it is undervalued. If you're wondering about the valuation, check outthis gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry. There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. So if you like the sound of Bravura Solutions, you'll probably love thisfreelist of growing companies that insiders are buying. Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Oil prices climb as U.S. equities rally, rig count drops By Devika Krishna Kumar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday ahead of a U.S. holiday, after falling steeply a day earlier as worries about a slowing global economy outweighed a decision by OPEC and allies to extend crude output cuts. Strength in the U.S equities market and data showing U.S. energy firms this week reduced the number of oil rigs operating for the first time in three weeks helped support oil prices. Each of the major U.S. stock indexes finished at a record closing high, as expectations grew that the Federal Reserve would take a more dovish turn as a raft of data provided more evidence of a slowing economy. U.S. oil drillers cut five oil rigs in the week to July 3, bringing the total count down to 788, General Electric Co's <GE.N> Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report. Record U.S. crude production has pressured prices over the past year. September Brent crude futures <LCOc1> ended the session up $1.42, or 2.3%, at $63.82 a barrel. U.S. crude futures for August delivery <CLc1> settled up $1.09, or 1.9%, at $57.34 a barrel. On Tuesday, both benchmarks fell more than 4% on worries about a global economic slowdown. Gains were pared after data showed U.S. crude inventories <USOILC=ECI> fell by 1.1 million barrels in the latest week, much less than the 3-million-barrel decrease analysts had expected. [EIA/S] "The market is disappointed by a very small crude oil inventory draw. ... The only sign of strength in the market is the continued modest decline of gasoline inventories," said Andrew Lipow, president at Lipow Oil Associates in Houston. U.S. gasoline futures led the energy complex, rising about 2.5% to settle at $1.9167 a gallon. "We had a pretty sharp correction yesterday, so after that a little rebound is expected. Globally, the market is concerned about oil demand growth potential," Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix consultancy said. Trading volumes were subdued ahead of the U.S. Fourth of July holiday on Thursday. About 573,076 lots of the front-month U.S. crude futures contract were traded by 2:45 p.m. ET (1845 GMT), some 65.2 percent of the previous session's volume. On Tuesday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers such as Russia, a group known as OPEC+, agreed to extend oil supply cuts until March 2020. "Extending the cut by six or nine months, it doesn't really matter if the level stays the same," Jakob said. "If you really wanted to target stock levels, you would need deeper cuts but Saudi Arabia has already gone beyond its cut target." The OPEC+ agreement should draw down oil inventories in the second half, boosting oil prices, analysts from Citi Research said in a note. "Keeping cuts through the end of 1Q aims to avoid putting oil into the market during a seasonal low for demand and refinery runs," they said. Still, signs of a global economic slowdown hitting oil demand worried investors after global manufacturing indicators disappointed and the United States threatened Europe with more tariffs. The U.S. trade deficit jumped to a five-month high in May and the ADP National Employment Report showed private payrolls increased far less than economists had expected. Barclays expects oil demand to grow at the slowest pace since 2011. Morgan Stanley lowered its long-term Brent price forecast to $60 per barrel from $65 per barrel, and said the oil market is broadly balanced. Crude prices also were pressured by signs of a recovery in oil exports from Venezuela in June and growth in oil production in Argentina in May. (Additional reporting by Julia Payne in London, Jessica Jaganathan in Singapore; Editing by David Gregorio, Will Dunham and Leslie Adler)
To boost milk, dairy groups support high school coffee bars NEW YORK (AP) Coffee bars selling $3 iced lattes are popping up in high schools, helped along by dairy groups scrambling for new ways to get people to drink milk. It's one small way the dairy industry is fighting to slow the persistent decline in U.S. milk consumption as eating habits change and rival drinks keep popping up on supermarket shelves. At a high school in North Dakota, a $5,000 grant from a dairy group helped pay for an espresso machine that makes lattes with about 8 ounces of milk each. The drinks used 530 gallons of milk this year. "We buy a lot of milk," said Lynelle Johnson, the food service director for the Williston Public School District. It's not clear how much coffee drinks in high schools might help boost milk consumption, or whether the concept will gain traction across the country. But with consumption of milk in the U.S. down 40 percent since 1975, the dairy industry is looking for all the help it can get. The industry famous for its "Got Milk" advertising campaign is hoping its newer "Undeniably Dairy" slogan will help fend off the almond, oat and soy alternatives that are becoming more popular. And regional dairy groups are encouraging schools to serve milky drinks like smoothies and hot chocolate, as well as iced lattes. The efforts come as the dairy industry is also trying to adjust to changing views about diet and nutrition. With fat no longer seen as a dietary evil, skim milk has suffered the sharpest declines in demand in recent years. And it's difficult for dairy producers to reduce production of skim milk because it is left over after making other products such as butter, cheese and ice cream. As skim milk becomes especially tough to sell, Organic Valley is even drying some of the surplus and mixing it back into low-fat and fat-free milk to boost the nutrients and make it creamier. "We're just exploring everything we can," said George Siemon, who was CEO of Organic Valley when the plans were developed, but has recently stepped down. Story continues The dairy industry blames rules that limit the fat content of milk in schools for consumption declines, arguing that generations of students are growing up disliking milk because of the watery taste of skim. In the meantime, it's hoping lattes can make milk go down easier. In Florida, a dairy group said it paid for coffee carts in 21 high schools this past school year. In the Southwest, a dairy group gave grants to seven schools for coffee programs. Not all high school coffee bars get grants from dairy groups, and the money may only cover a small portion of costs. School food operators also say lattes offer other benefits, such as giving teens a reason to stay on school grounds. At a national convention for school lunch officials this month, one session will also detail how schools in Orange County, Florida used coffee drinks to get students to buy lunch. For an extra $2, students can turn the cup of milk served with lunch into a coffee drink at a nearby cart. Without the lunch, it costs $3. The Orange County schools did not receive industry grants for the coffee bars, but the local dairy council provided chalkboard-style signs and menus. Cafeteria directors and dairy groups say coffee drinks in schools have to follow nutrition standards, making them healthier than the lattes students would get anyway outside schools. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which sets rules for schools participating in its meal programs, says high schools can sell espresso drinks that are no bigger than 12 ounces, and that are made with fat-free or 1% milk. The drinks have around 150 calories, school food directors say. But not everyone thinks teens should drink coffee, or that they need milk. The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages caffeine consumption among children, citing potentially harmful effects on developing bodies. And while dairy is an efficient way to get calcium and vitamin D, it's not the only way to get such nutrients, said Dr. Natalie Muth, a pediatrician and representative for the American Academy of Pediatrics. As for lattes, Muth said there are ways to encourage students to get the nutrients of milk without promoting caffeine habits that could lead to headaches, agitation and lack of sleep. "If they're going to be having that outside of school, that's one thing. But in schools, the idea is to promote good health and nutrition," Muth said. Exactly how schools prepare coffee drinks can vary, but milk is a primary ingredient for lattes. "It's really milk with some coffee, as far as proportion," said Julie Ostrow of Midwest Dairy. It's why the group is providing a grant for a coffee bar at a fourth high school in the Fort Zumwalt, Missouri district this upcoming year. In exchange, the group gets data on how much milk is used for the lattes, as well as information for personal pizzas, mozzarella sticks and other products with dairy. But the group might not be happy about one of the newer options: This past year, the coffee bars began offering almond milk for 40 cents extra, said Paul Becker, the district's food director. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Channing Tatum Gets Restraining Order After Woman Breaks Into His Home Channing Tatum is starting off his 4th of July weekend by exercising his American rights ... to file a restraining order against a woman who broke into his home and shacked up for more than a week. According to court records obtained by The Blast, the "Smallfoot" star filed documents Tuesday in a Los Angeles County courthouse against a woman, who we have chosen not to name. In June, the woman actually broke into one of Tatum's homes in Hollywood, which is currently vacant, and squatted in the property for 10 days. She was eventually discovered by an assistant on June 24 and placed under citizen arrest before cops were called to take her away. At the time, the woman refuted that she was trespassing and believed Tatum had invited her to stay. We're told Tatum does not know the woman, but he is aware of her, as she has previously showed up at his home and tried to make contact with the star. He also included a declaration in his court documents, and claims the alleged stalker left a letter for him at his home back in November claiming the two had met 10-years prior and she believed Tatum was watching her. The actor believes the woman is delusional. We're told Tatum was granted the restraining order, which also includes protection for his ex-wife, Jenna Dewan , daughter Everly and two assistants. It's unclear if Tatum included girlfriend Jessie J under the request for the order of protection, but the two lovebirds have been pretty much inseparable as of late. On Tuesday, before Tatum went to court, the "Bang Bang" singer posted photos of the two cuddled up, and it's clear their relationship is still going strong. The couple was getting some last minute loving in before Jessie J takes off to Romania this weekend to perform at the 2019 Neversea Festival.
Why Tata Global Beverages Limited’s (NSE:TATAGLOBAL) Return On Capital Employed Might Be A Concern Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we'll look at Tata Global Beverages Limited (NSE:TATAGLOBAL) and reflect on its potential as an investment. To be precise, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), as that will inform our view of the quality of the business. Firstly, we'll go over how we calculate ROCE. Second, we'll look at its ROCE compared to similar companies. Then we'll determine how its current liabilities are affecting its ROCE. ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. All else being equal, a better business will have a higher ROCE. Overall, it is a valuable metric that has its flaws. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussinhas suggestedthat a high ROCE can indicate that 'one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar'. The formula for calculating the return on capital employed is: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) Or for Tata Global Beverages: 0.071 = ₹6.7b ÷ (₹109b - ₹15b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.) Therefore,Tata Global Beverages has an ROCE of 7.1%. Check out our latest analysis for Tata Global Beverages One way to assess ROCE is to compare similar companies. We can see Tata Global Beverages's ROCE is meaningfully below the Food industry average of 12%. This performance could be negative if sustained, as it suggests the business may underperform its industry. Regardless of how Tata Global Beverages stacks up against its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms is quite low (especially compared to a bank account). There are potentially more appealing investments elsewhere. You can see in the image below how Tata Global Beverages's ROCE compares to its industry. Click to see more on past growth. When considering ROCE, bear in mind that it reflects the past and does not necessarily predict the future. Companies in cyclical industries can be difficult to understand using ROCE, as returns typically look high during boom times, and low during busts. ROCE is, after all, simply a snap shot of a single year. Since the future is so important for investors, you should check out ourfreereport on analyst forecasts for Tata Global Beverages. Current liabilities are short term bills and invoices that need to be paid in 12 months or less. Due to the way ROCE is calculated, a high level of current liabilities makes a company look as though it has less capital employed, and thus can (sometimes unfairly) boost the ROCE. To check the impact of this, we calculate if a company has high current liabilities relative to its total assets. Tata Global Beverages has total assets of ₹109b and current liabilities of ₹15b. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 13% of its total assets. This is not a high level of current liabilities, which would not boost the ROCE by much. While that is good to see, Tata Global Beverages has a low ROCE and does not look attractive in this analysis. You might be able to find a better investment than Tata Global Beverages. If you want a selection of possible winners, check out thisfreelist of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20 (but have proven they can grow earnings). For those who like to findwinning investmentsthisfreelist of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Dollar hobbled by lower U.S. yields, pound sags on dovish BoE By Shinichi Saoshiro TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar struggled on Wednesday, having been nudged off two-week highs as fading optimism over any near-term Sino-U.S. trade deal revived safe-haven demand and drove U.S. yields down. U.S. bond yields also tracked a decline in their British counterparts to 2-1/2-year lows on dovish-sounding comments from Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, which in turn weighed on the pound. The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies stood at 96.742 after pulling back from 96.875 scaled on Tuesday, its highest since June 20. The pound was steady at $1.2597 after shedding 0.35% the previous day, when it touched a two-week trough of $1.2584. BoE's Carney said on Tuesday that a global trade war and a no-deal Brexit were growing risks to Britain's economy which might need more help to cope with a downturn, prompting investors to increase their bets on central bank easing. The dollar traded at 107.83 yen, having been nudged off a 12-day high of 108.535 scaled at the start of the week. "The dollar fell below 108.00 yen again in light of BoE Governor Carney's dovish comments, which helped depress global bond yields," said Shinichiro Kadota, senior strategist at Barclays in Tokyo. "Yields declined as the BoE, up until now, was seen as the only central bank which was not as dovish as others." The euro was little changed at $1.1291 following a volatile session on Tuesday, when it swung between a low of $1.1275 and a high of $1.1322. The common currency had received a lift after a media report that European Central Bank policymakers are in no rush to cut interest rates at a July policy meeting. But it later slipped after IMF managing director Christine Lagarde, perceived as a policy dove, was nominated as the next ECB president. The Australian dollar was flat at $0.6992 after gaining about 0.4% the previous day. The Aussie had gained after the Reserve Bank of Australian cut interest rates but offered a more balanced outlook. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield extended an overnight fall and brushed a fresh 2-1/2-year low of 1.965%. At the G20 summit in Japan last weekend, Washington and Beijing agreed to restart trade talks after U.S. President Donald Trump offered concessions. But investors were wary about the chances of a resolution to the year-long trade war between the world's two biggest economies, especially given the recent breakdown in talks and Trump's comments that any deal would have to be tilted in U.S.'s favour. Sentiment was also dented by Washington's threat of tariffs on $4 billion of additional European Union goods in a long-running dispute over aircraft subsidies. (Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
Dollar dips to one-week low vs. yen on Fed rate cut view By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar slipped to a one-week low against the Japanese yen on Wednesday, weighed down by declining U.S. Treasury bond yields, fading optimism over the China-U.S. trade deal, and the possibility of fresh tariff hostilities with Europe. Volume was light ahead of the U.S. Independence Day holiday on Thursday. Investors, though, are looking to Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls for June, with markets forecasting new jobs of 160,000. U.S. economic reports on Wednesday were mixed and did not really change the dollar's trading direction. Data from payrolls processor ADP showed U.S. companies added 102,000 private-sector jobs in June, much higher than the revised 41,000 jobs in May, but lower than the 140,000 analysts had forecast. Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said the ADP report suggests the deterioration in the broader economy has spread to the labor market. "Even with the U.S.-China trade talks back on track, for now at least, the evidence of a slowdown in employment growth should still be enough to persuade the Federal Reserve to cut rates in either July or September, but expectations of a 50 basis-point cut seem misplaced," he added. Wednesday's data also showed U.S. weekly jobless claims fell more than expected to a seasonally adjusted 221,000, while the U.S. trade deficit in May widened to $55.5 billion from April's revised $51.2 billion. Numbers on the U.S. service sector were also downbeat, with the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index falling to 55.1 in June from 56.9 in May. In afternoon trading, the dollar dipped 0.1% against the yen to 107.82, after earlier falling to a one-week low of 107.54 <JPY=>. The dollar-yen pair has become more sensitive to trade developments, with investors having grown more skeptical about the possibility of a speedy resolution to the trade war. Against a basket of six currencies, the dollar eased from Tuesday's two-week highs <.DXY> to trade little changed on Wednesday at 96.765. The index earlier fell as bond yields extended the previous day's decline, with 10-year yields hitting 2-1/2-year lows below 1.94% <US10YT=RR>. (Graphic: FX market positions - https://tmsnrt.rs/2FPLRRN) WEAK DOLLAR Expectations have grown that the Fed will embark on its first rate cut in a decade at a policy meeting this month. Markets are assigning a more than a 70% probability of a quarter point rate cut at the next policy meeting. "We continue to like the broad U.S. dollar lower," said Mark McCormick, global head of FX strategy at TD Securities in Toronto. "It's telling of the anti-U.S. dollar view that the last month has seen the yen rally alongside higher-yield emerging market currencies." The euro, meanwhile, was little changed at $1.1283 <EUR=> following a volatile session on Tuesday. The common currency briefly got a lift on Tuesday after a media report that the European Central Bank was in no rush to cut rates at the July meeting. But it later slipped after IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, perceived as a policy dove, was nominated as the next ECB president. (Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 - http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh) (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Additional reporting by Sujata Rao in London; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis)
Want To Invest In DYNAM JAPAN HOLDINGS Co., Ltd. (HKG:6889)? Here's How It Performed Lately Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Increase in profitability and industry-beating performance can be essential considerations in a stock for some investors. In this article, I will take a look at DYNAM JAPAN HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.'s (HKG:6889) track record on a high level, to give you some insight into how the company has been performing against its historical trend and its industry peers. See our latest analysis for DYNAM JAPAN HOLDINGS 6889's trailing twelve-month earnings (from 31 March 2019) of JP¥13b has jumped 16% compared to the previous year. Furthermore, this one-year growth rate has exceeded its 5-year annual growth average of -8.6%, indicating the rate at which 6889 is growing has accelerated. What's the driver of this growth? Let's take a look at whether it is merely attributable to an industry uplift, or if DYNAM JAPAN HOLDINGS has seen some company-specific growth. In terms of returns from investment, DYNAM JAPAN HOLDINGS has fallen short of achieving a 20% return on equity (ROE), recording 8.9% instead. However, its return on assets (ROA) of 6.2% exceeds the HK Hospitality industry of 4.5%, indicating DYNAM JAPAN HOLDINGS has used its assets more efficiently. And finally, its return on capital (ROC), which also accounts for DYNAM JAPAN HOLDINGS’s debt level, has increased over the past 3 years from 11% to 13%. This correlates with a decrease in debt holding, with debt-to-equity ratio declining from 3.9% to 2.3% over the past 5 years. While past data is useful, it doesn’t tell the whole story. Recent positive growth doesn’t necessarily mean it’s onwards and upwards for the company. There could be factors that are influencing the entire industry thus the high industry growth rate over the same time period. I suggest you continue to research DYNAM JAPAN HOLDINGS to get a better picture of the stock by looking at: 1. Financial Health: Are 6889’s operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why we’ve done it for you. Check out ourfinancial health checks here. 2. Valuation: What is 6889 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 6889 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. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the trailing twelve months from 31 March 2019. 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.
Shareholders Are Loving Hanison Construction Holdings Limited's (HKG:896) 5.5% Yield Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Is Hanison Construction Holdings Limited (HKG:896) 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. In this case, Hanison Construction Holdings likely looks attractive to investors, given its 5.5% dividend yield and a payment history of over ten years. We'd guess that plenty of investors have purchased it for the income. Some simple research can reduce the risk of buying Hanison Construction Holdings for its dividend - read on to learn more. Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis Companies (usually) pay dividends out of their earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, the dividend might have to be cut. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. Looking at the data, we can see that 14% of Hanison Construction Holdings's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. We like this low payout ratio, because it implies the dividend is well covered and leaves ample opportunity for reinvestment. With a strong net cash balance, Hanison Construction Holdings investors may not have much to worry about in the near term from a dividend perspective. We update our data on Hanison Construction Holdings every 24 hours, so you can always getour latest analysis of its financial health, here. One of the major risks of relying on dividend income, is the potential for a company to struggle financially and cut its dividend. Not only is your income cut, but the value of your investment declines as well - nasty. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of Hanison Construction Holdings's dividend payments. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was HK$0.02 in 2009, compared to HK$0.075 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 14% per year over this time. Hanison Construction Holdings has grown distributions at a rapid rate despite cutting the dividend at least once in the past. Companies that cut once often cut again, but it might be worth considering if the business has turned a corner. Examining whether the dividend is affordable and stable is important. However, it's also important to assess if earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Growing EPS can help maintain or increase the purchasing power of the dividend over the long run. It's good to see Hanison Construction Holdings has been growing its earnings per share at 19% a year over the past 5 years. Rapid earnings growth and a low payout ratio suggests this company has been effectively reinvesting in its business. Should that continue, this company could have a bright future. To summarise, shareholders should always check that Hanison Construction Holdings's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. It's great to see that Hanison Construction Holdings is paying out a low percentage of its earnings and cash flow. Next, earnings growth has been good, but unfortunately the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. Overall we think Hanison Construction Holdings scores well on our analysis. It's not quite perfect, but we'd definitely be keen to take a closer look. You can also discover whether shareholders are aligned with insider interests bychecking our visualisation of insider shareholdings and trades in Hanison Construction Holdings stock. 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.
Global stock markets, bonds rally in expectation of rate cuts By David Randall NEW YORK (Reuters) - Record low bond yields in Europe and the expectation of further interest rate cuts by central banks worldwide helped push global stock market indices higher Wednesday as the benchmark U.S. S&P 500 hit another record high. European Union leaders' nomination of Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, to replace Mario Draghi as president of the European Central Bank reinforced expectations of more monetary policy easing if it is needed. Traders greeted the decision by sinking German 10-year Bund yields to record lows of minus 39 basis points, lowering Italian two-year yields back into negative territory for first time in over a year and lifting stocks worldwide. The yield on 10-year UK gilts fell 4 basis points to 0.687%, which left it below the Bank of England's main policy rate for the first time in a decade. U.S. Treasury yields slumped to their lowest since late 2016. "We have already seen some weak data in recent weeks, so that is the backdrop," said Elwin de Groot, head of macro strategy at Rabobank. "And now have Christine Lagarde as the likely successor of Mr Draghi at the ECB, which for the market says that the dovish policies will continue." On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 179.32 points, or 0.67%, to 26,966, the S&P 500 gained 22.81 points, or 0.77%, to 2,995.82 and the Nasdaq Composite added 61.14 points, or 0.75%, to 8,170.23. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.55%, following broad equity gains in Europe. The U.S. market closed early due to the Fourth of July holiday and will reopen Friday, when the closely-watched monthly jobs report will provide one of the most important data points before the Federal Reserve holds its next meeting at the end of the month. Investors continued to seek out the safe haven of bonds due to concerns of slowing global growth after data showed Britain's economy apparently shrank in the second quarter. Benchmark 10-year notes last rose 7/32 in price to yield 1.9532%, from 1.977% late on Tuesday. "The latest downturn has followed a gradual deterioration in demand over the past year as Brexit-related uncertainty has increasingly exacerbated the impact of a broader global economic slowdown," Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said of the Britain reading. In the currency markets, the pound flirted with two-week lows and stood at $1.2568, on course for its fifth drop in the past six sessions. Oil prices also rose after data showed U.S. crude stockpiles fell more than expected last week. They remained wobbly, however, after falling more than 4% on Tuesday, even after OPEC and allies including Russia agreed to extend supply cuts. Brent crude futures rose 1.4% to $63.28 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 0.9% to $56.78 a barrel after dropping 4.8% the day before. (Graphic: Global assets in 2019 - http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl) (Graphic: Global currencies vs. dollar - http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh) (Graphic: Emerging markets in 2019 - http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV) (Graphic: MSCI All Country World Index Market Cap - http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j) (Reporting by David Randall; Editing by Will Dunham and Alistair Bell)
World Cup: Alyssa Naeher steps out of Hope Solo's shadow LYON, France When the final whistle sounded and United States womens national team could finally relax and celebrate its 2-1 win over England in Tuesdays thrilling World Cup semifinal, it was obvious who the star of the night had been. It wasnt captain Alex Morgan, scorer of the game-winning goal in the second half. It wasnt fleet-footed Christen Press, who replaced the injured Megan Rapinoe in the American lineup and gave them the lead before the contest was even 10 minutes old. No, the entire U.S. bench made a beeline straight for understated goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who disappeared in a sea of bodies hugging and whooping it up in appreciation of Naehers late penalty kick save that preserved the victory and sent the defending champions back to the Sundays title match. If the U.S. was to repeat this summer in France, the thinking went before the knockout stage began, Naeher would eventually have to come up huge. She was solid against France in the quarters last week, but she didnt have to be anything more than that. But her defining moment came without a doubt Tuesday when, with millions of fans watching back home, the 31-year-old dove to her right to smother Steph Houghtons shot . The stop was as brilliant as it was timely, and it came with an added benefit: allowing Naeher to finally emerge from Hope Solos long shadow for good. Obviously [Naeher] has a particular person that shes following that had so much attention on her, Rapinoe said without actually naming Solo, who led the U.S. to the 2015 title and is widely regarded as the best keeper to ever play game, but who was also a source of constant off field drama for most of her decade-plus as the national teams undisputed starter. She hasnt really had moments like these to come into herself. Shes an incredible goalkeeper. Shes so steady for us back there. For her to have this moment, for her personally, I think is just so special. Its one of those things shell never forget. Story continues Alyssa Naeher's penalty save against Steph Houghton preserved the USWNT's win over England and gave her an iconic World Cup moment. (Getty) Naeher replaced Solo as the USWNTs No. 1 in 2016 and her low-key demeanor has made her immensely popular with her teammates since. And thats been the narrative around Naeher this summer. The actual soccer part? That has remained an open question, mainly because the Americans offensive dominance has left her with little to do. All of that changed Tuesday. Even before the games decisive play, Naeher proved she was up to any challenge. Moments after Morgan put the U.S. ahead for the second time in the match, she made a full-stretch save to maintain the lead and the momentum. She saved our ass, Morgan said. Becky Sauerbrunn, who clipped English forward Ellen Whites heel to set up the penalty kick, wasnt at all surprised that Naeher bailed them and her out. I dont think she needed to have a big moment for us to know how good she is, Sauerbrunn said. Maybe everyone else needed that moment. We knew what she was capable of, and now the world knows. We see what she does in practice every day, added midfielder Rose Lavelle, who was outstanding at Stade de Lyon. She saves our own penalties, to our frustration. And Press, who has become especially close with Naeher, was ecstatic for her friend. Theres no words that I can give you to let you know how proud I am personally of Alyssa and how proud our entire team is, Press said. Shes just shown so much courage and bravery throughout this tournament. Much of that has to do with how shes handled the constant comparisons to Solo, who has consistently taken pot-shots at her former team in her new role as a BBC analyst. Even after the game of her life, Naeher was quizzed about Hope. I dont get wrapped up in the comparisons, she answered gently, her voice barely audible above the din in a hallway deep in the belly of the stadium. I just try to be me. Still, shes no wallflower. Theres a quiet confidence there. Nothing seems to faze her. Shell probably get on the bus and do a crossword and get ready for the next game, Sauerbrunn cracked. Thats how she rolls. Her teammates clearly adore her for it. So does her coach. Shes a tremendous person, Jill Ellis gushed in her postgame news conference. People care about her. People have her back, and people are just starting to see glimpses of what I see every day in training in terms of her capabilities. Shes making her own mark and shes creating her own legacy. And, Ellis said. A hell of a save. 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
Would China Overseas Land & Investment Limited (HKG:688) Be Valuable To Income Investors? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we'll take a closer look at China Overseas Land & Investment Limited (HKG:688) 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. A high yield and a long history of paying dividends is an appealing combination for China Overseas Land & Investment. It would not be a surprise to discover that many investors buy it for the dividends. Some simple analysis can offer a lot of insights when buying a company for its dividend, and we'll go through this below. Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on China Overseas Land & Investment! 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. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. In the last year, China Overseas Land & Investment paid out 22% of its profit as dividends. With a low payout ratio, it looks like the dividend is comprehensively covered by earnings. We also measure dividends paid against a company's levered free cash flow, to see if enough cash was generated to cover the dividend. Unfortunately, while China Overseas Land & Investment pays a dividend, it also reported negative free cash flow last year. While there may be a good reason for this, it's not ideal from a dividend perspective. Remember, you can always get a snapshot of China Overseas Land & Investment'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. China Overseas Land & Investment 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 HK$0.13 in 2009, compared to HK$0.90 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 21% a year over that time. With rapid dividend growth and no notable cuts to the dividend over a lengthy period of time, we think this company has a lot going for it. The other half of the dividend investing equation is evaluating whether earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Growing EPS can help maintain or increase the purchasing power of the dividend over the long run. China Overseas Land & Investment has grown its earnings per share at 7.8% per annum over the past five years. A low payout ratio and strong historical earnings growth suggests China Overseas Land & Investment has been effectively reinvesting in its business. We think this generally bodes well for its dividend prospects. To summarise, shareholders should always check that China Overseas Land & Investment's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. China Overseas Land & Investment has a low payout ratio, which we like, although it paid out virtually all of its generated cash. Earnings per share growth has been slow, but we respect a company that maintains a relatively stable dividend. Ultimately, China Overseas Land & Investment comes up short on our dividend analysis. It's not that we think it is a bad company - just that there are likely more appealing dividend prospects out there on this analysis. Earnings growth generally bodes well for the future value of company dividend payments. See if the 22 China Overseas Land & Investment 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.
Is Yangtze Optical Fibre And Cable Joint Stock Limited Company's (HKG:6869) CEO Overpaid Relative To Its Peers? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Dan Zhuang has been the CEO of Yangtze Optical Fibre And Cable Joint Stock Limited Company (HKG:6869) since 2011. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid. Check out our latest analysis for Yangtze Optical Fibre And Cable Limited Our data indicates that Yangtze Optical Fibre And Cable Joint Stock Limited Company is worth HK$23b, and total annual CEO compensation is CN¥5.4m. (This is based on the year to December 2018). While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at CN¥1.9m. We examined companies with market caps from CN¥14b to CN¥44b, and discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was CN¥3.7m. Thus we can conclude that Dan Zhuang receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of companies in the same market, and of similar size to Yangtze Optical Fibre And Cable Joint Stock Limited Company. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay is too high. A closer look at the performance of the underlying business will give us a better idea about whether the pay is particularly generous. You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Yangtze Optical Fibre And Cable Limited, below. Yangtze Optical Fibre And Cable Joint Stock Limited Company has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 32% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is down -4.7%. This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. The lack of revenue growth isn't ideal, but it is the bottom line that counts most in business. Shareholders might be interested inthisfreevisualization of analyst forecasts. Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Yangtze Optical Fibre And Cable Joint Stock Limited Company for providing a total return of 98% over three years. As a result, some may believe the CEO should be paid more than is normal for companies of similar size. We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by Yangtze Optical Fibre And Cable Joint Stock Limited Company, and compared it to remuneration at a group of similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group. However we must not forget that the EPS growth has been very strong over three years. On top of that, in the same period, returns to shareholders have been great. As a result of this good performance, the CEO remuneration may well be quite reasonable. If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really likethis free visualization of insider trading at Yangtze Optical Fibre And Cable Limited. Important note:Yangtze Optical Fibre And Cable Limited may not be the best stock to buy. You might find somethingbetterinthis list 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.
Why Megan Rapinoe didn't play in USWNT's vital World Cup win over England LYON, France — During a World Cup when Megan Rapinoe scored five goals, including all four of the United States tallies in two knockout games, dealt with best-in-class defenders, a summer heat wave and a social-media kerfuffle with Donald Trump, she finally found something nearly too stressful to handle. Sitting and watching the U.S. defeat England, 2-1, in Tuesday’s semifinal victory . “It’s terrible,” Rapinoe said. “It’s so stressful.” Rapinoe was sidelined with what was deemed a “slight hamstring strain.” It is likely more severe than that. While the United States has incredible depth and a more-than-capable backup in Christen Press, who scored the game’s first goal, about the last thing coach Jill Ellis wants is Rapinoe out of the lineup right now. Rapinoe said she expects to be back for Sunday’s final against either Sweden or the Netherlands. “It’s definitely a process between all of us, a culmination of how I feel and how it looks,” Rapinoe said. “I expect how I feel now to be ready. As it is with these things, you go day-by-day and see how it is.” She paused and mimicked picking up a phone and calling the team doctors. “Hi, it’s me again, can I get checked again?’” she said with a laugh. “But I do expect to be ready for the final.” Rapinoe said she injured the hamstring late in Friday’s 2-1 quarterfinal victory over France in Paris. She scored twice that night, but the wear of a long tournament has taken its toll on the 33-year-old. Press has routinely been a late-game substitution in an effort to save Rapinoe, yet there was no indication or reports of an injury. United States' Megan Rapinoe warms up before the Women's World Cup semifinal soccer match between England and the United States, at the Stade de Lyon outside Lyon, France, Tuesday, July 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) As such, when the starting lineup was announced about an hour before the England game, American fans and media were stunned. Due to Rapinoe’s dust-up with Trump, anything she does can take on a life of its own — with social media speculation running the gamut from politics to even the concept that coach Jill Ellis sat her for tactical reasons. U.S. Soccer would only say that it “wasn’t a disciplinary issue,” which didn’t tamper down the noise. Story continues When Rapinoe didn’t participate in pregame warmups, the truth was clear. It was just an injury. (Generally, as tactics go, playing your best and most productive player in a tournament is usually a good move.) Ellis said the team kept things quiet because there was a minuscule chance Rapinoe would actually play. If the game ended in a tie and headed to decisive penalty kicks, she could have conceivably been inserted to take a kick. Rapinoe is the Americans’ top-ranked player on PKs. “There was an outside chance Pinoe could take a penalty so we didn’t want to extend ourselves more than we wanted to,” Ellis said. "I think every coach wants to keep their cards as close as possible." That wasn’t needed, of course. Instead Rapinoe spent the night screaming for her teammates and even bringing water bottles to them when possible. The rest of the time she fretted and struggled with not having any control over the outcome. “It’s hard,” Rapinoe said. “You put everything into this game. Obviously all of the players who don’t get to play every game, you have everything invested in it and no way to get rid of all that anxiety, you can’t run or play or smash into anybody. “You just try to give all the energy you have to the team,” she continued. “It’s also like incredible to sit there in awe of your teammates. You have incredible performances. It’s pretty special.” That included Press scoring on a header in the 10th minute, reminding everyone of how she could be a starter on essentially any other team in this tournament. “We’ve been talking about this depth that we have for months and months and months and all throughout this tournament and it was on full display tonight,” Rapinoe said. Indeed, the team has so much talent that 2015 World Cup hero Carli Lloyd and promising young star Mallory Pugh could have also replaced Rapinoe. It’s why players said no one batted an eye, let alone panicked, when Ellis said Rapinoe wasn’t playing. Megan Rapinoe (right) was still there for the USWNT, cheering at the top of her lungs. (Getty) “Just a minor hamstring,” Rapinoe said. “It’s not really even a strain. But not really able to go today, just felt like it wasn’t going to hold up.” The game also featured an epic late-game save on a penalty kick by goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who proved herself as a worthy successor to the American net from previous World Cup-winning keepers Hope Solo and Briana Scurry. At the end of the game, Rapinoe couldn’t help jogging down to celebrate with Naeher for her victory-sealing save. “I wasn’t sprinting,” Rapinoe said. “I am not allowed to run yet. I took it easy. Hopefully my up and down during the game wasn’t too stressful.” And when she lifted Naeher in the air to celebrate postgame? Rapinoe joked that it was all “glutes” and those are fine. Afterwards, she was just happy it was over. The Americans were onto the final and her teammates had played brilliantly in dispatching a very tough English team. And, she was confident she’d be ready for the final. If she’s even needed. “Maybe they don’t need me for the final,” Rapinoe said. “Maybe I just got pushed to the side.” On a team this good, with a replacement as talented as Christen Press, anything is possible, but that one is rather unlikely. If Megan Rapinoe is healthy, Megan Rapinoe is going to play. 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
Suga International Holdings Limited (HKG:912) Investors Should Think About This Before Buying It For Its Dividend Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Could Suga International Holdings Limited (HKG:912) be an attractive dividend share to own for the long haul? Investors are often drawn to strong companies with the idea of reinvesting the dividends. 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 Suga International Holdings yielding 8.3% 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. There are a few simple ways to reduce the risks of buying Suga International Holdings for its dividend, and we'll go through these below. Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis 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. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. Suga International Holdings paid out 51% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. 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. Consider gettingour latest analysis on Suga International Holdings's financial position 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. Suga International Holdings 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 HK$0.036 in 2009, compared to HK$0.15 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 15% per year over this time. It's not great to see that the payment has been cut in the past. We're generally more wary of companies that have cut their dividend before, as they tend to perform worse in an economic downturn. 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 not great to see that Suga International Holdings's have fallen at approximately 8.1% over the past five years. Declining earnings per share over a number of years is not a great sign for the dividend investor. Without some improvement, this does not bode well for the long term value of a company's dividend. 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, we think Suga International Holdings has an acceptable payout ratio and its dividend is well covered by cashflow. Earnings per share have been falling, and the company has cut its dividend at least once in the past. From a dividend perspective, this is a cause for concern. While we're not hugely bearish on it, overall we think there are potentially better dividend stocks than Suga International Holdings out there. You can also discover whether shareholders are aligned with insider interests bychecking our visualisation of insider shareholdings and trades in Suga International Holdings stock. 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.
Here's What Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings Company Limited's (HKG:6868) P/E Is Telling Us Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today, we'll introduce the concept of the P/E ratio for those who are learning about investing. We'll apply a basic P/E ratio analysis to Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings Company Limited's (HKG:6868), to help you decide if the stock is worth further research. Looking at earnings over the last twelve months,Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings has a P/E ratio of 20.35. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 4.9%. View our latest analysis for Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings Theformula for P/Eis: Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share (in the reporting currency) ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS) Or for Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings: P/E of 20.35 = CN¥4.47(Note: this is the share price in the reporting currency, namely, CNY )÷ CN¥0.22 (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.) The higher the P/E ratio, the higher the price tag of a business, relative to its trailing earnings. That isn't necessarily good or bad, but a high P/E implies relatively high expectations of what a company can achieve in the future. Probably the most important factor in determining what P/E a company trades on is the earnings growth. If earnings are growing quickly, then the 'E' in the equation will increase faster than it would otherwise. And in that case, the P/E ratio itself will drop rather quickly. Then, a lower P/E should attract more buyers, pushing the share price up. Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings increased earnings per share by an impressive 11% over the last twelve months. And it has improved its earnings per share by 23% per year over the last three years. So one might expect an above average 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. As you can see below, Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings has a higher P/E than the average company (15.8) in the food industry. Its relatively high P/E ratio indicates that Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings shareholders think it will perform better than other companies in its industry classification. Shareholders are clearly optimistic, but the future is always uncertain. So investors should delve deeper. I like to checkif company insiders have been buying or selling. One drawback of using a P/E ratio is that it considers market capitalization, but not the balance sheet. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future) by investing in growth. That means taking on debt (or spending its cash). 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. Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings has net cash of CN¥374m. That should lead to a higher P/E than if it did have debt, because its strong balance sheets gives it more options. Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings has a P/E of 20.4. That's higher than the average in the HK market, which is 11. With cash in the bank the company has plenty of growth options -- and it is already on the right track. So it is not surprising the market is probably extrapolating recent growth well into the future, reflected in the relatively high P/E ratio. Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. As value investor Benjamin Graham famously said, 'In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.' We don't have analyst forecasts, but shareholders might want to examinethis detailed historical graphof earnings, revenue and cash flow. Of course,you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates.So take a peek at thisfreelist of companies with modest (or no) debt, trading on a P/E below 20. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Is Fujikon Industrial Holdings Limited's (HKG:927) 7.1% Dividend Sustainable? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Could Fujikon Industrial Holdings Limited (HKG:927) be an attractive dividend share to own for the long haul? Investors are often drawn to strong companies with the idea of reinvesting the 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. In this case, Fujikon Industrial Holdings likely looks attractive to investors, given its 7.1% dividend yield and a payment history of over ten years. We'd guess that plenty of investors have purchased it for the income. There are a few simple ways to reduce the risks of buying Fujikon Industrial Holdings for its dividend, and we'll go through these below. Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Fujikon Industrial Holdings! 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. Fujikon Industrial Holdings paid out 88% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. Paying out a majority of its earnings limits the amount that can be reinvested in the business. This may indicate a commitment to paying a dividend, or a dearth of investment opportunities. In addition to comparing dividends against profits, we should inspect whether the company generated enough cash to pay its dividend. Unfortunately, while Fujikon Industrial Holdings pays a dividend, it also reported negative free cash flow last year. While there may be a good reason for this, it's not ideal from a dividend perspective. With a strong net cash balance, Fujikon Industrial Holdings investors may not have much to worry about in the near term from a dividend perspective. Remember, you can always get a snapshot of Fujikon Industrial Holdings's latest financial position,by checking our visualisation of its financial health. 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. Fujikon Industrial Holdings 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 HK$0.08 in 2009, compared to HK$0.09 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 1.2% a year over that time. It's good to see some dividend growth, but the dividend has been cut at least once, and the size of the cut would eliminate most of the growth, anyway. We're not that enthused by this. Examining whether the dividend is affordable and stable is important. However, it's also important to assess if earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Growing EPS can help maintain or increase the purchasing power of the dividend over the long run. In the last five years, Fujikon Industrial Holdings's earnings per share have shrunk at approximately 18% 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. 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. 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 Fujikon Industrial Holdings's dividend has been cut at least once in the past, which is disappointing. Using these criteria, Fujikon Industrial Holdings looks quite suboptimal from a dividend investment perspective. You can also discover whether shareholders are aligned with insider interests bychecking our visualisation of insider shareholdings and trades in Fujikon Industrial Holdings stock. 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.
Why Winox Holdings Limited (HKG:6838) Could Be Your Next Investment Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Building up an investment case requires looking at a stock holistically. Today I've chosen to put the spotlight on Winox Holdings Limited (HKG:6838) due to its excellent fundamentals in more than one area. 6838 is a financially-robust company with a strong track record of performance, trading at a discount. In the following section, I expand a bit more on these key aspects. For those interested in understanding where the figures come from and want to see the analysis, read the fullreport on Winox Holdings here. Over the past year, 6838 has grown its earnings by 32%, with its most recent figure exceeding its annual average over the past five years. This strong performance generated a robust double-digit return on equity of 22%, which paints a buoyant picture for the company. 6838 is financially robust, with ample cash on hand and short-term investments to meet upcoming liabilities. This indicates that 6838 has sufficient cash flows and proper cash management in place, which is an important determinant of the company’s health. 6838's has produced operating cash levels of 3.92x total debt over the past year, which implies that 6838's management has put its borrowings into good use by generating enough cash to cover a sufficient portion of borrowings. 6838's shares are now trading at a price below its true value based on its discounted cash flows, indicating a relatively pessimistic market sentiment. According to my intrinsic value of the stock, which is driven by analyst consensus forecast of 6838's earnings, investors now have the opportunity to buy into the stock to reap capital gains. Also, relative to the rest of its peers with similar levels of earnings, 6838's share price is trading below the group's average. This bolsters the proposition that 6838's price is currently discounted. For Winox Holdings, I've put together three fundamental aspects you should further research: 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for 6838’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor 6838’s outlook. 2. Dividend Income vs Capital Gains: Does 6838 return gains to shareholders through reinvesting in itself and growing earnings, or redistribute a decent portion of earnings as dividends? Ourhistorical dividend yield visualizationquickly tells you what your can expect from 6838 as an investment. 3. Other Attractive Alternatives: Are there other well-rounded stocks you could be holding instead of 6838? Exploreour interactive list of stocks with large potentialto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Looking At North Eastern Carrying Corporation Limited (NSE:NECCLTD) From All Angles Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Building up an investment case requires looking at a stock holistically. Today I've chosen to put the spotlight on North Eastern Carrying Corporation Limited (NSE:NECCLTD) due to its excellent fundamentals in more than one area. NECCLTD is a company that has been able to sustain great financial health, trading at an attractive share price. Below, I've touched on some key aspects you should know on a high level. If you're interested in understanding beyond my broad commentary, take a look at thereport on North Eastern Carrying here. NECCLTD's strong financial health means that all of its upcoming liability payments are able to be met by its current cash and short-term investment holdings. This implies that NECCLTD manages its cash and cost levels well, which is an important determinant of the company’s health. NECCLTD appears to have made good use of debt, producing operating cash levels of 0.46x total debt in the prior year. This is a strong indication that debt is reasonably met with cash generated. NECCLTD's shares are now trading at a price below its true value based on its discounted cash flows, indicating a relatively pessimistic market sentiment. This mispricing gives investors the opportunity to buy into the stock at a cheap price compared to the value they will be receiving, should analysts' consensus forecast growth be correct. Compared to the rest of the transportation industry, NECCLTD is also trading below its peers, relative to earnings generated. This supports the theory that NECCLTD is potentially underpriced. For North Eastern Carrying, there are three important aspects you should further examine: 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for NECCLTD’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor NECCLTD’s outlook. 2. Historical Performance: What has NECCLTD'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 Attractive Alternatives: Are there other well-rounded stocks you could be holding instead of NECCLTD? Exploreour interactive list of stocks with large potentialto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
How SunPower Can Continue Its Hot Streak The market is finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel forSunPower(NASDAQ: SPWR), and for investors, it can't come soon enough. The company has spent the last few years shedding most of its project development business, retooling manufacturing, and investing in an entirely new utility-scale solar panel technology. What investors have been left with over that time is hundreds of millions in losses and an uncertain place in the solar market. But as 2019 unfolds, it appears that SunPower's strategy is starting to play out like it had hoped. NewA-Series solar panels, which are its most efficient yet, are rolling off the production line at costs that management says can compete with commodity products. And the P-Series production investment in the U.S. and China should begin having a significant impact on the company this year. Image source: SunPower. The residential solar business is really SunPower's bread and butter. The company generates about one-third of its revenue from residential customers and has better margins than commercial or utility-scale markets. What's new in 2019 is the company's instant design function, which will reduce the design process from about 30 minutes to less than 60 seconds. The software automatically optimizes a home's solar system and gives them options for layouts. This allows for lower costs in the sales process, and will also increase the number of leads the company can serve and engage new customers. While new design tools are important, what I'm watching for the rest of the year is SunPower's margins, which is where these tools show their value. The A-Series solar panel is supposed to be lower-cost than existing solar panels and management has touted its momentum in residential markets. Any improvements should show up in margins expanding from low double digits the last two quarters to high-teen or low-20s gross margin by the end of the year. SunPower has the No. 1 market share in commercial solar in the U.S., but that's done little to drive profitability. The company's average gross margin in the commercial segment over the last four quarters is just 7.3%, which still doesn't include sales or marketing costs. The inclusion of energy storage in about one-third of commercial solar systems is a positive development lately, but again investors need to see that drive higher margins to know it's adding value. Lower-cost, more efficient solar panels should help SunPower's commercial solar business, and I'll be watching gross margin for signs of improvement. This will never be a high-gross-margin business given how competitive it is, but if gross margin can reach the high teens, it would be a great segment because there's a lot of scale to be had in commercial solar. SunPower has moved its business away from utility-scale solar projects, where efficiency doesn't have a big advantage. But it still makes a product called P-Series that's slightly more efficient than commodity solar panels and is a form factor that works perfectly with utility-scale projects. The company isn't doing solar farm development for P-Series, but rather selling solar panels and other components to third-party developers. If P-Series can generate even a high-single-digit gross margin, it could be a win for SunPower because the companyalready has 2 gigawatts of manufacturing scale built in China. Scale is the only way SunPower will be able to remain competitive and get any contribution from P-Series solar panels, so it's a bet the company had to make. But it may not pay off given competitive dynamics, so this is a wild card that could have a small upside or lead to another manufacturing writedown for SunPower. There are a lot of bright signs for SunPower and the solar industry more broadly. There's strong demand for solar in the U.S. and around the world, helped by the continuation of low interest rates. SunPower's manufacturing improvements are also key to making the company more competitive with commodity solar panels. Management thinks efficiency from scale and the A-Series solar panel will help drive margins higher in 2019, leading to adjustedEBITDAof $90 million to $110 million in 2019. If it can meet or exceed that mark, it would be a big win for SunPower and show the company is truly on the road to recovery. More From The Motley Fool • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,728 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • 20 of the Top Stocks to Buy (Including the Two Every Investor Should Own) • What Is an ETF? • 5 Recession-Proof Stocks • How to Beat the Market Travis Hoiumowns shares of SunPower. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Trump says he will tap economists for 2 key Fed vacancies WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump, who has criticized the Federal Reserve for not cutting interest rates, said Tuesday that he intends to nominate two economists to fill influential positions on the central bank's Board of Governors. Trump said he would name to the board Christopher Waller, who is executive vice president and research director at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, where he has worked since 2009. He also tapped Judy Shelton, the U.S. executive director for the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. Shelton was previously an economic adviser to Trump's presidential campaign. The planned nominations were announced by Trump in a tweet late Tuesday. Each must be confirmed by the Senate. Trump's choices come after he has harshly and repeatedly criticized the Fed under Chair Jerome Powell for raising rates four times last year and for keeping rates unchanged this year. Trump has argued that the Fed, by keeping its benchmark rate in a range of 2.25% to 2.5%, is slowing economic growth and depressing the stock market. This spring, Trump said he planned to nominate former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain and conservative commentator Stephen Moore to the remaining two vacancies on the Fed board. But Cain withdrew from consideration after allegations of sexual harassment and infidelity, first aired during his 2012 presidential run, resurfaced. Moore withdrew in the face of Republican opposition in the Senate after news organizations unearthed many of his writings belittling women. Shelton has a history of attacking the Fed's policies and has also supported the gold standard, under which the value of currencies like the dollar are fixed to a specific amount of gold. Most mainstream economists who study monetary policy reject the gold standard as antiquated. Shelton has expressed support for cutting rates, as Trump has demanded. Waller's approach to interest rate policy is less clear but he serves as the research director in St. Louis, a regional Fed bank whose president, James Bullard, has been advocating for lower rates and even dissented at the Fed's last meeting, arguing that the Fed should immediately cut rates. "Waller works for James Bullard and usually the research director at a regional bank and the bank president hold similar views," said Sung Won Sohn, economics professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. "I suspect that the administration has chosen Waller because his views on interest rates are similar to those of Bullard." Bullard said last month that he had been approached by White House officials about joining the Fed's seven-member board. He said he told the administration that he was happy in his current position as president of one of the Fed's 12 regional banks. Before joining the St. Louis Fed, Waller was an economics professor at the University of Notre Dame for six years, and before that a professor at the University of Kentucky. With the latest nominations, Trump will have filled six of the Fed board's seven seats including tapping Powell to be Fed chairman when Trump decided not to offer Janet Yellen a second term as chair. The number of Trump choices on the Fed board, however, has not stopped the president from attacking the central bank and Powell specifically for pursing monetary policies that the president believes are harming the economy. The Fed next meets to consider interest rates at the end of this month and financial markets widely expect the central bank will begin cutting rates at that time if the economy continues to show signs of weakening. At the Fed's last meeting, the central bank promised to do what was needed to protect the current 10-year economic expansion, which this month became the longest in U.S. history.
Why King's Flair International (Holdings) Limited’s (HKG:6822) Return On Capital Employed Is Impressive Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we are going to look at King's Flair International (Holdings) Limited (HKG:6822) to see whether it might be an attractive investment prospect. In particular, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), as that can give us insight into how profitably the company is able to employ capital in its business. First, we'll go over how we calculate ROCE. Then we'll compare its ROCE to similar companies. Last but not least, we'll look at what impact its current liabilities have on its ROCE. ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Generally speaking a higher ROCE is better. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Author Edwin Whitingsaysto be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since 'No two businesses are exactly alike.' 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 King's Flair International (Holdings): 0.21 = HK$146m ÷ (HK$1.1b - HK$388m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.) Therefore,King's Flair International (Holdings) has an ROCE of 21%. See our latest analysis for King's Flair International (Holdings) When making comparisons between similar businesses, investors may find ROCE useful. In our analysis, King's Flair International (Holdings)'s ROCE is meaningfully higher than the 9.3% average in the Consumer Durables industry. We consider this a positive sign, because it suggests it uses capital more efficiently than similar companies. Setting aside the comparison to its industry for a moment, King's Flair International (Holdings)'s ROCE in absolute terms currently looks quite high. We can see that , King's Flair International (Holdings) currently has an ROCE of 21%, less than the 33% it reported 3 years ago. This makes us wonder if the business is facing new challenges. You can click on the image below to see (in greater detail) how King's Flair International (Holdings)'s past growth compares to other companies. When considering this metric, keep in mind that it is backwards looking, and not necessarily predictive. 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. How cyclical is King's Flair International (Holdings)? You can see for yourself by looking at thisfreegraph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow. Current liabilities are short term bills and invoices that need to be paid in 12 months or less. 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 check the impact of this, we calculate if a company has high current liabilities relative to its total assets. King's Flair International (Holdings) has total assets of HK$1.1b and current liabilities of HK$388m. Therefore its current liabilities are equivalent to approximately 36% of its total assets. King's Flair International (Holdings)'s ROCE is boosted somewhat by its middling amount of current liabilities. Despite this, it reports a high ROCE, and may be worth investigating further. There might be better investments than King's Flair International (Holdings) out there,but you will have to work hard to find them. These promising businesses withrapidly growing earningsmight be right up your alley. If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love thisfreelist of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them). We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Do China Suntien Green Energy's (HKG:956) Earnings Warrant Your Attention? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! It's only natural that many investors, especially those who are new to the game, prefer to buy shares in 'sexy' stocks with a good story, even if those businesses lose money. But as Peter Lynch said inOne Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' If, on the other hand, you like companies that have revenue, and even earn profits, then you may well be interested inChina Suntien Green Energy(HKG:956). Even if the shares are fully valued today, most capitalists would recognize its profits as the demonstration of steady value generation. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, but time is often a friend of the profitable company, especially if it is growing. View our latest analysis for China Suntien Green Energy In the last three years China Suntien Green Energy'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 falcon taking flight, China Suntien Green Energy's EPS soared from CN¥0.25 to CN¥0.33, over the last year. That's a commendable gain of 32%. 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. While China Suntien Green Energy did well to grow revenue over the last year, EBIT margins were dampened at the same time. So it seems the future my hold further growth, especially if EBIT margins can stabilize. The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers. Fortunately, we've got access to analyst forecasts of China Suntien Green Energy'sfutureprofits. You can do your own forecasts without looking, or you cantake a peek at what the professionals are predicting. Like that fresh smell in the air when the rains are coming, insider buying fills me with optimistic anticipation. This view is based on the possibility that stock purchases signal bullishness on behalf of the buyer. However, small purchases are not always indicative of conviction, and insiders don't always get it right. In the last twelve months China Suntien Green Energy insiders spent CN¥216k on stock; good news for shareholders. While this isn't much, we also note an absence of sales. It's me that China Suntien Green Energy insiders are buying the stock, but that's not the only reason to think leader are fair to shareholders. Specifically, the CEO is paid quite reasonably for a company of this size. I discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like China Suntien Green Energy with market caps between CN¥2.7b and CN¥11b is about CN¥2.9m. The CEO of China Suntien Green Energy only received CN¥1.1m in total compensation for the year ending December 2018. That looks like modest pay to me, and may hint at a certain respect for the interests of shareholders. 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 China Suntien Green Energy's strong EPS growth. But wait, it getsbetter. We have seen insider buying and the executive pay seems on the modest side of things. The message I'd take from this quick rundown is that, yes, this stock is worth investigating further. Of course, just because China Suntien Green Energy is growing does not mean it is undervalued. If you're wondering about the valuation, check outthis gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry. The good news is that China Suntien Green Energy is not the only growth stock with insider buying. Here'sa list of them... 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.
What Kind Of Shareholder Owns Most Salt Lake Potash Limited (ASX:SO4) Stock? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Every investor in Salt Lake Potash Limited (ASX:SO4) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones. I generally like to see some degree of insider ownership, even if only a little. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb said, 'Don’t tell me what you think, tell me what you have in your portfolio.' With a market capitalization of AU$186m, Salt Lake Potash is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about SO4. See our latest analysis for Salt Lake Potash Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index. As you can see, institutional investors own 26% of Salt Lake Potash. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Salt Lake Potash, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Salt Lake Potash. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage. While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board; and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board, themselves. Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group. It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Salt Lake Potash Limited. Insiders own AU$27m worth of shares in the AU$186m company. I would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You canclick here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling. The general public, with a 38% stake in the company, will not easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders. It seems that Private Companies own 4.4%, of the SO4 stock. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company. Public companies currently own 18% of SO4 stock. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further. I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. I like to dive deeperinto how a company has performed in the past. You can accessthisinteractive graphof past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free. If you 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.
What Kind Of Shareholder Appears On The Schaffer Corporation Limited's (ASX:SFC) Shareholder Register? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Every investor in Schaffer Corporation Limited (ASX:SFC) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. Warren Buffett said that he likes 'a business with enduring competitive advantages that is run by able and owner-oriented people'. So it's nice to see some insider ownership, because it may suggest that management is owner-oriented. Schaffer is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of AU$188m, which means it wouldn't have the attention of many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutions own shares in the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about SFC. See our latest analysis for Schaffer 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. Schaffer already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own 9.5% of the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone, since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Schaffer's historic earnings and revenue, below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story. Schaffer is not owned by hedge funds. There is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time. The definition of company insiders can be subjective, and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO. Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances. Our most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of Schaffer Corporation Limited. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. Given it has a market cap of AU$188m, that means they have AU$98m worth of shares. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish todiscover(for free)if they have been buying or selling. The general public, with a 30% stake in the company, will not easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run. We can see that Private Companies own 8.4%, of the shares on issue. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research. I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. I like to dive deeperinto how a company has performed in the past. You can accessthisinteractive graphof past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free. If you 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.
Zhenro Properties Group Limited (HKG:6158): Are Analysts Bullish? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Zhenro Properties Group Limited's (HKG:6158) announced its latest earnings update in April 2019, which revealed that the business gained from a large tailwind, eventuating to a high double-digit earnings growth of 51%. Below, I've laid out key growth figures on how market analysts view Zhenro Properties Group's earnings growth outlook over the next couple of years and whether the future looks even brighter than the past. Note that I will be looking at net income excluding extraordinary items to get a better understanding of the underlying drivers of earnings. View our latest analysis for Zhenro Properties Group Analysts' outlook for the coming year seems positive, with earnings rising by a significant 62%. This strong growth in earnings is expected to continue, bringing the bottom line up to CN¥6.0b by 2022. While it’s informative knowing the growth each year relative to today’s figure, it may be more valuable to evaluate the rate at which the company is rising or falling on average every year. The pro of this approach is that it ignores near term flucuations and accounts for the overarching direction of Zhenro Properties Group's earnings trajectory over time, which may be more relevant for long term investors. To compute this rate, I put a line of best fit through the forecasted earnings by market analysts. The slope of this line is the rate of earnings growth, which in this case is 32%. This means that, we can anticipate Zhenro Properties Group will grow its earnings by 32% every year for the next couple of years. For Zhenro Properties Group, there are three essential aspects you should look at: 1. Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk. 2. Valuation: What is 6158 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 6158 is currently mispriced by the market. 3. Other High-Growth Alternatives: Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of 6158? Exploreour interactive list of stocks with large growth potentialto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
After Hours: Tesla Deliveries Surge, Alphabet's Waymo Gets a Green Light TheS&P 500set another record high today, in what was yet another excellent trading day for bulls. Post-market activity is similarly brisk, with many shares changing hands. All in all, after-hours traders seem just as bullish as those who pumped up the markets during business hours. There are numerous good reasons for this, specifically... The many doubters ofTesla(NASDAQ: TSLA) are keeping a low profile tonight following the company's latest operational update. After markets closed, the high-profile electric-car maker released the production anddelivery figures from its second quarter. For the period, the company produced 87,048 vehicles and delivered 95,200. Both results were record highs for Tesla. They were also significantly higher than those in the same quarter of 2018. In that period, Tesla produced 53,339 cars and delivered 40,740. Among the vehicle models, the second-quarter 2019 numbers break down like so: Car ModelVehicles ProducedVehicles DeliveredModel S/X 14,517 17,650 Model 3 72,531 77,550TOTAL87,04895,200 Data source: Tesla. The company added that in the second quarter, it took in more orders than it could deliver. As a result, as it entered its current third quarter, its order backlog increased. However, "[w]e believe we are well positioned to continue growing total production and deliveries in Q3," wrote Tesla in the press release unveiling the numbers. The company's 95,200 total deliveries well exceeded the average analyst estimate of 91,000. According to MarketWatch.com, citing FactSet data, this is the most convincing beat in over three years. Tesla did not provide any financial data along with the operational figures. It said this will occur when it releases Q2 results. Understandably, Tesla is one of the most actively traded stocks this evening. It's currently up 7% over its closing market price. Today, California's Public Utilities Commission granted a permit toAlphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) Waymo unit to function as a charter-party carrier of passengers. In other words, its self-driving cars will be allowed to shuttle passengers when operating within the state. The permit is valid for three years. That permission comes with several important caveats, though. The Alphabet unit will not be allowed to charge its passengers a fare for their rides. Also, a human operator must always be present in the driver's seat. Those limits, though, aren't very restrictive, and they allow Waymo a lot of scope to keep developing its autonomous technology. In turn, this will help advance the broader effort to automate vehicles. Both classes of Alphabet stock are up slightly in after-market trading tonight. More From The Motley Fool • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,728 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • 20 of the Top Stocks to Buy (Including the Two Every Investor Should Own) • What Is an ETF? • 5 Recession-Proof Stocks • How to Beat the Market Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.Eric Volkmanhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Tesla. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
China Conch Venture Holdings Limited (HKG:586) Might Not Be A Great Investment Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we are going to look at China Conch Venture Holdings Limited (HKG:586) to see whether it might be an attractive investment prospect. To be precise, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), as that will inform our view of the quality of the business. First of all, we'll work out how to calculate ROCE. Next, we'll compare it to others in its industry. And finally, we'll look at how its current liabilities are impacting its ROCE. ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. In general, businesses with a higher ROCE are usually better quality. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Author Edwin Whitingsaysto be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since 'No two businesses are exactly alike.' 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 China Conch Venture Holdings: 0.032 = CN¥981m ÷ (CN¥33b - CN¥2.2b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.) So,China Conch Venture Holdings has an ROCE of 3.2%. Check out our latest analysis for China Conch Venture Holdings One way to assess ROCE is to compare similar companies. In this analysis, China Conch Venture Holdings's ROCE appears meaningfully below the 10% average reported by the Machinery industry. This performance could be negative if sustained, as it suggests the business may underperform its industry. Independently of how China Conch Venture Holdings compares to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms is low; especially compared to the ~2.0% available in government bonds. Readers may wish to look for more rewarding investments. You can click on the image below to see (in greater detail) how China Conch Venture Holdings's past growth compares to other companies. When considering ROCE, bear in mind that it reflects the past and does not necessarily predict the future. ROCE can be misleading for companies in cyclical industries, with returns looking impressive during the boom times, but very weak during the busts. ROCE is only a point-in-time measure. Future performance is what matters, and you can see analyst predictions in ourfreereport on analyst forecasts for the company. Liabilities, such as supplier bills and bank overdrafts, are referred to as current liabilities if they need to be paid within 12 months. Due to the way the ROCE equation works, having large bills due in the near term can make it look as though a company has less capital employed, and thus a higher ROCE than usual. To counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets. China Conch Venture Holdings has total liabilities of CN¥2.2b and total assets of CN¥33b. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 6.5% of its total assets. China Conch Venture Holdings has a low level of current liabilities, which have a negligible impact on its already low ROCE. Nonetheless, there may be better places to invest your capital. But note:make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across.So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20). I will like China Conch Venture Holdings better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out thisfreelist of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
USD/JPY Forex Technical Analysis – July 3, 2019 Forecast The Dollar/Yen is trading sharply lower for a second consecutive session early Wednesday with the selling pressure being driven by increasing demand for the safe-haven Japanese Yen. The move is a complete turnaround from Monday’s “gap and go” rally which drove the Forex pair to its highest level in two weeks. At 01:30 GMT, theUSD/JPYis at 107.555, down 0.360 or -0.34%. The demand for the Japanese Yen is being fueled by a plunge in global yields including the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield which fell back below 2% on concerns over global economic growth. The main trend is down according to the daily swing chart. A trade through 108.534 will change the main trend to up. A move through 106.775 will signal a resumption of the downtrend. The minor trend is also down. It turned down earlier tonight when sellers took out the minor bottom at 107.555. The main range is 110.677 to 106.775. Its retracement zone at 108.726 to 109.186 is resistance. The short-term range is 106.775 to 108.534. The USD/JPY is currently testing its retracement zone at 107.655 to 107.447. Aggressive counter-trend buyers may come in on a test of this zone in an effort to form a secondary higher bottom. Look for an extension of the selling if 107.447 fails as support. Based on the early price action and the current price at 107.555, the direction of the USD/JPY the rest of the session is likely to be determined by trader reaction to the short-term uptrending Gann angle at 107.525. Taking out 107.525 and sustaining the move will indicate the presence of sellers. The next target is the short-term Fibonacci level at 107.447. This is a potential trigger point for an acceleration to the downside with the next target angles coming in at 107.150 and 106.963. The latter is the last potential support angle before the 106.775 main bottom. Holding 107.525 and sustaining the move will signal the return of buyers. Climbing above the short-term 50% level at 107.655 will indicate the buying is getting stronger. This could trigger a retest of the downtrending angle at 109.034. This angle provided resistance earlier in the session. Aggressive counter-trend buyers would have to overcome 109.034 in order to trigger an upside breakout. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • EUR/USD Daily Forecast – Volatility Drops as US Traders Celebrate 4th of July • Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis – Traders Respecting Short-Term Pivot at $1413.80 • European Equities: Can the DAX Make it 7 in-a-row? • Investing in a late-cycle Economy • Gold Price Prediction – Prices Whipsaw and Settle Unchanged • USD/CAD Daily Forecast – Overhead Ichimoku Clouds Deterring the Upside Actions
Volatility 101: Should China Renewable Energy Investment (HKG:987) Shares Have Dropped 38%? 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 even the best stock picker will only win withsomeselections. At this point some shareholders may be questioning their investment inChina Renewable Energy Investment Limited(HKG:987), since the last five years saw the share price fall 38%. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 15% in the last 90 days. But this could be related to the weak market, which is down 6.6% in the same period. View our latest analysis for China Renewable Energy Investment 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...' By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time. During the unfortunate half decade during which the share price slipped, China Renewable Energy Investment actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) improve by 16% per year. Given the share price reaction, one might suspect that EPS is not a good guide to the business performance during the period (perhaps due to a one-off loss or gain). Or possibly, the market was previously very optimistic, so the stock has disappointed, despite improving EPS. Because of the sharp contrast between the EPS growth rate and the share price growth, we're inclined to look to other metrics to understand the changing market sentiment around the stock. We note that the dividend has remained healthy, so that wouldn't really explain the share price drop. It's not immediately clear to us why the stock price is down but further research might provide some answers. You can see how earnings and revenue have 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. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination ofhistoric growth trends, available here.. It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. 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. In the case of China Renewable Energy Investment, it has a TSR of -33% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence! While the broader market lost about 3.5% in the twelve months, China Renewable Energy Investment shareholders did even worse, losing 9.3% (even including dividends). Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 7.7% over the last half decade. We realise that Buffett has said investors should 'buy when there is blood on the streets', but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality businesses. 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. There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably donotwant 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 HK 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.
Energy distributor UGI's unit to acquire Columbia Midstream for $1.28 bln July 2 (Reuters) - Energy distributor UGI Corp said on Tuesday its unit UGI Energy Services will acquire Columbia Midstream Group from a subsidiary of Canada's TC Energy Corp for about $1.28 billion to expand its midstream business. The Pennsylvania-based company said it expected the deal to be neutral to earnings per share in fiscal year 2020 and accretive starting fiscal year 2021, according to a statement. (Reporting by Mekhla Raina in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
Why TIL Limited (NSE:TIL) Should Be In Your Dividend Portfolio Want to participate in a short research study ? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Is TIL Limited ( NSE:TIL ) a good dividend stock? How can we tell? Dividend paying companies with growing earnings can be highly rewarding in the long term. If you are hoping to live on the income from dividends, it's important to be a lot more stringent with your investments than the average punter. A 0.7% yield is nothing to get excited about, but investors probably think the long payment history suggests TIL has some staying power. Some simple analysis can offer a lot of insights when buying a company for its dividend, and we'll go through this below. Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on TIL! NSEI:TIL Historical Dividend Yield, July 3rd 2019 Payout ratios Companies (usually) pay dividends out of their earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, the dividend might have to be cut. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. Looking at the data, we can see that 7.6% of TIL's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. We like this low payout ratio, because it implies the dividend is well covered and leaves ample opportunity for reinvestment. Is TIL's Balance Sheet Risky? As TIL has a meaningful amount of debt, we need to check its balance sheet to see if the company might have debt risks. A rough way to check this is with these two simple ratios: a) net debt divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), and b) net interest cover. Net debt to EBITDA is a measure of a company's total debt. Net interest cover measures the ability to meet interest payments. Essentially we check that a) the company does not have too much debt, and b) that it can afford to pay the interest. TIL has net debt of 3.69 times its EBITDA, which is getting towards the limit of most investors' comfort zones. Judicious use of debt can enhance shareholder returns, but also adds to the risk if something goes awry. Story continues We calculated its interest cover by measuring its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), and dividing this by the company's net interest expense. With EBIT of 1.51 times its interest expense, TIL's interest cover is starting to look a bit thin. We update our data on TIL every 24 hours, so you can always get our latest analysis of its financial health, here. Dividend Volatility 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. TIL 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 ₹4.00 in 2009, compared to ₹1.75 last year. The dividend has shrunk at around 7.9% a year during that period. A shrinking dividend over a ten-year period is not ideal, and we'd be concerned about investing in a dividend stock that lacks a solid record of growing dividends per share. 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. Strong earnings per share (EPS) growth might encourage our interest in the company despite fluctuating dividends, which is why it's great to see TIL has grown its earnings per share at 18% per annum over the past five years. Rapid earnings growth and a low payout ratio suggests this company has been effectively reinvesting in its business. Should that continue, this company could have a bright future. Conclusion 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, we like that the company's dividend payments appear well covered, although the retained capital also needs to be effectively reinvested. Next, earnings growth has been good, but unfortunately the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. All things considered, TIL looks like a strong prospect. At the right valuation, it could be something special. Are management backing themselves to deliver performance? Check their shareholdings in TIL in our latest insider ownership analysis. 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.
Terry Crews says a White Chicks sequel is happening A sequel to White Chicks could be hitting the big screen in the near future, or so says star Terry Crews . During a recent appearance on Andy Cohens Watch What Happens Live , the Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor was asked whether he had any updates on a potential sequel to the 2004 comedy. I actually got with Shawn [Wayans] and he was like, Man, were doing it, were getting it going, Crews said, to enthusiastic applause. Crews, who portrayed pro basketball player Latrell Spencer in the film, joked that hes staying in shape just to do the sequel. Ive been working out for 15 years so I can do White Chicks 2 , yall! Please, please, he said. The first film starred Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans as FBI agents who go undercover as white women (donning whiteface and wigs) to solve a string of kidnappings. Keenen Ivory Wayans directed the movie, from a script the three siblings wrote with Xavier Cook, Andy McElfresh, and Michael Anthony Snowden. The Wayanses also produced. Despite being panned by critics , White Chicks was one of the top-grossing comedies of 2004, earning $113 million at the worldwide box office. Related content: Terry Crews will never forget where he was when Brooklyn Nine-Nine was canceled Sylvester Stallone changed The Expendables because of Terry Crews performance
Here's What Wong's International Holdings Limited's (HKG:99) P/E Ratio Is Telling Us Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! This article is for investors who would like to improve their understanding of price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). To keep it practical, we'll show how Wong's International Holdings Limited's (HKG:99) P/E ratio could help you assess the value on offer.Wong's International Holdings has a P/E ratio of 1.13, based on the last twelve months. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 89%. View our latest analysis for Wong's International Holdings Theformula for P/Eis: Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS) Or for Wong's International Holdings: P/E of 1.13 = HK$3.35 ÷ HK$2.97 (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.) A higher P/E ratio means that buyers have to paya higher pricefor each HK$1 the company has earned over the last year. That is not a good or a bad thingper se, but a high P/E does imply buyers are optimistic about the future. P/E ratios primarily reflect market expectations around earnings growth rates. That's because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the 'E' in the equation. Therefore, even if you pay a high multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become lower in the future. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers. Wong's International Holdings's 196% EPS improvement over the last year was like bamboo growth after rain; rapid and impressive. The cherry on top is that the five year growth rate was an impressive 79% per year. So I'd be surprised if the P/E ratio wasnotabove average. The P/E ratio essentially measures market expectations of a company. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (10) for companies in the electronic industry is higher than Wong's International Holdings's P/E. This suggests that market participants think Wong's International Holdings will underperform other companies in its industry. Many investors like to buy stocks when the market is pessimistic about their prospects. It is arguably worth checkingif insiders are buying shares, because that might imply they believe the stock is undervalued. Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. Thus, the metric does not reflect cash or debt held by the company. The exact same company would hypothetically deserve a higher P/E ratio if it had a strong balance sheet, than if it had a weak one with lots of debt, because a cashed up company can spend on growth. 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. Net debt totals 78% of Wong's International Holdings's market cap. This is enough debt that you'd have to make some adjustments before using the P/E ratio to compare it to a company with net cash. Wong's International Holdings trades on a P/E ratio of 1.1, which is below the HK market average of 11. The company may have significant debt, but EPS growth was good last year. If it continues to grow, then the current low P/E may prove to be unjustified. Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. If it is underestimating a company, investors can make money by buying and holding the shares until the market corrects itself. Although we don't have analyst forecasts, you might want to assessthis data-rich visualizationof earnings, revenue and cash flow. You might be able to find a better buy than Wong's International Holdings. 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.
Lee Iacocca, auto executive who saved Chrysler from bankruptcy, dies at 94 By Bill Trott (Reuters) - Lee Iacocca, the charismatic U.S. auto industry executive who gave America the Ford Mustang and was celebrated for saving Chrysler from going out of business, has died at the age of 94, Fiat Chrysler said. Iacocca died Tuesday at his home in Bel-Air, California of complications from Parkinson's disease, his daughter Lia Iacocca Assad told the Washington Post. "The company is saddened by the news of Lee Iacocca's passing. He played a historic role in steering Chrysler through crisis and making it a true competitive force," Fiat Chrysler Automobiles <FCHA.MI> said in a statement. "He was one of the great leaders of our company and the auto industry as a whole. He also played a profound and tireless role on the national stage as a business statesman and philanthropist," the company said. During a nearly five-decade career in Detroit that began in 1946 at Ford Motor Co <F.N>, the proud son of Italian immigrants made the covers of Time, Newsweek and the New York Times Sunday Magazine in stories portraying him as the avatar of the American Auto Age. One of the first celebrity U.S. chief executives, his autobiography made best-seller lists in the mid-1980s. Iacocca was a cracker-jack salesman. He encouraged his design teams to be bold, and they responded with sports cars that appealed to baby boomers in the 1960s, fuel-efficient models when gasoline prices soared in the 1970s, and the first-ever, family-oriented minivan in the 1980s that led its segment in sales for 25 years. "I don't know an auto executive that I've ever met who has a feel for the American consumer the way he does," late United Auto Workers Union President Douglas Fraser had said. "He's the greatest communicator who's ever come down the pike in the history of the industry." Iacocca also had some duds, such as the Ford Pinto, an economy car that became notorious for exploding fuel tanks. "You don't win 'em all," he said of the Pinto. Iacocca won a place in business history when he pulled Chrysler, now part of Fiat Chrysler, from the brink of collapse in 1980, rallying support in U.S. Congress for $1.2 billion in federally guaranteed loans and persuading suppliers, dealers and union workers to make sacrifices. He cut his salary to $1 a year. Iacocca was often described as a demanding and volatile boss who sometimes clashed with fellow executives. "He could get mad as hell at you, and once it was done he let it go. He wouldn't stay mad," said Bud Liebler, vice president of communications at Chrysler during the 1980s and 1990s. "He liked to bring an issue to its head, get it resolved. You always knew where you stood with him." Iacocca often spoke of his immigrant roots and how America rewards hard work. When he was tapped by President Ronald Reagan in 1982 to be chairman of a campaign to restore the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, he said he accepted the job as a way of honoring his parents. The campaign raised more than $350 million, more than double the initial $150 million goal. MARKETING SUCCESSES Iacocca began his career just as post-war prosperity kicked the Auto Age into high gear. By the 1970s, many new suburban homes came with a two-car garage. Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca was born in the Pennsylvania steel town of Allentown on Oct. 24, 1924. His father, Nicola, owned a hot dog stand he called The Orpheum Wiener House - a foretaste of his son's later marketing creativity. In high school he was freshman class president, "a big shot," he had thought. But when he stopped shaking his classmates' hands, he lost re-election. "It was an important lesson about leadership," Iacocca wrote. He was a diligent student, made the debating team and was a star in Latin class. Sophomore year he survived rheumatic fever, an illness that later kept him out of the military during World War Two, and graduated 12th in a class of more than 900. Iacocca enrolled in Lehigh University, earning his engineering degree in fewer than four years and received a fellowship at Princeton for his master's degree. After joining Ford, he realized right away he was better at marketing than engineering. Ten years later, when his district had the worst sales in the country, he came up with a marketing campaign, "56 for '56" - buyers could get a 1956 Ford with 20% down and three years of monthly installments of $56. The plan took off like a rocket and Ford executive Robert McNamara, who would become secretary of defense in the Kennedy administration, made it part of Ford's national sales strategy. Iacocca's relationship with the Mustang was cemented when both Time and Newsweek featured him and the car on their covers in April 1964. By 2013, about 9 million Mustangs had been sold. Gene Bordinat, Ford's design executive at the time, said of Iacocca's contribution to the Mustang's popularity: "We conceived the car and he pimped it after it was born." It was cheap to produce and generated big profits. For years, it was Iacocca's signature achievement. The low moment in Iacocca's career though came in 1978, when Henry Ford II fired him. He asked why, reminding his boss that the company had earned record profits of $1.8 billion two straight years. Ford replied: "Well, sometimes you just don't like somebody." The firing made national news. Iacocca never forgave Ford, and he described his former boss as a spendthrift and dictator. CHRYSLER FACED TWO HEADWINDS Iacocca's exile from Detroit board rooms was brief. Within weeks he accepted the presidency of Chrysler, even though its market share was shrinking and losses were deepening. In 1979 Chrysler was facing twin blows of spiking interest rates and a second oil shock that doubled the price of gasoline. When the U.S. economy plunged into recession, sales at every automaker plummeted. Iacocca searched for a merger partner but when no takers emerged, he turned to the government for up to $1.5 billion in loan guarantees. He pounded on the doors in Washington, assisted by dealers and union officials who knew their brethren would be out of work if Chrysler folded. Asking for federal help was controversial, and one editorial cartoon depicted a child asking what the U.S. Capitol was called. "The Chrysler Building" came the answer. Iacocca won the loan guarantees but they required broad sacrifices, of plant closures, pay cuts for factory workers and layoffs of white-collar staff. He put his personal reputation on the line, and in the end, it was a tour de force of leadership. Factoring in positions at Chrysler, its dealerships and suppliers, he saved more than 500,000 jobs. "People saw him in the trenches," Liebler said. "When we needed the loan guarantees and he was pounding the halls of Congress, the dealers were with him ... he worked his head off day and night, and everyone who was involved in any way with Chrysler knew it." About that time, Chrysler's introduction of the smaller, fuel-efficient "K Cars" gave it a boost. In a series of no-nonsense television commercials, Iacocca barked, "If you can find a better car, buy it!" He paid the loans back seven years early, and in 1983, a cartoon showed frantic executives of the troubled U.S. airline industry shouting into a phone, "Get me Lee Iacocca!" But Iacocca's star faded in the late 1980s as Chrysler floundered again. Chrysler struggled through the 1990-1991 economic downturn, losing $800 million in 1991. Iacocca refused to cut new product spending, and by 1992, the new Jeep Grand Cherokee and LH sedans led to a $732 million profit, while Ford and General Motors Co <GM.N> were in the red. With Chrysler profitable again, Iacocca stepped down at the end of 1992. He lived out his latter years in stylish Bel-Air, California. In retirement, Iacocca invested in the casino business and a line of imported olive oil, and he joined corporate boards. He penned "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?," a 2007 book critical of American leadership, especially President George W. Bush. Iacocca had two daughters with his first wife, Mary, who died of diabetes in 1983, prompting him to start a family foundation to fight the disease. After Mary's death he married twice more. His second was brief and ended in annulment, while his third ended in divorce. (Reporting by Bill Trott; Additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Diane Craft and Lisa Shumaker)
Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings) Limited (HKG:551): Poised For Long Term Success? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Looking at Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings) Limited's (HKG:551) earnings update in March 2019, analysts seem cautiously optimistic, as a 28% increase in profits is expected in the upcoming year, relative to the past 5-year average growth rate of 1.9%. Presently, with latest-twelve-month earnings at US$307m, we should see this growing to US$394m by 2020. I will provide a brief commentary around the figures and analyst expectations in the near term. Readers that are interested in understanding the company beyond these figures shouldresearch its fundamentals here. See our latest analysis for Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings) The longer term expectations from the 7 analysts of 551 is tilted towards the positive sentiment. Since forecasting becomes more difficult further into the future, broker analysts generally project out to around three years. I've plotted out each year's earnings expectations and inserted a line of best fit to calculate an annual growth rate from the slope in order to understand the overall trajectory of 551's earnings growth over these next few years. From the current net income level of US$307m and the final forecast of US$485m by 2022, the annual rate of growth for 551’s earnings is 12%. EPS reaches $0.27 in the final year of forecast compared to the current $0.19 EPS today. In 2022, 551's profit margin will have expanded from 3.2% to 4.5%. Future outlook is only one aspect when you're building an investment case for a stock. For Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings), I've compiled three fundamental aspects you should look at: 1. Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk. 2. Valuation: What is Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings) 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 Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings) is currently mispriced by the market. 3. Other High-Growth Alternatives: Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings)? Exploreour interactive list of stocks with large growth potentialto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
U.S. govt staff told treat Huawei as blacklisted-email WASHINGTON, July 3 (Reuters) - A senior U.S. official this week told the Commerce Department's enforcement staff that China's Huawei should still be treated as blacklisted, days after U.S. President Donald Trump sowed confusion with a vow to ease a ban on selling to the firm. On Saturday, Trump surprised markets by promising Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan that he would allow U.S. companies to sell products to Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. In May, the company was added to the so-called Entity List, which bans American firms from selling to it without special permission, as punishment for actions against U.S. national security interests. Trump's announcement Saturday -- an olive branch to Beijing to revive stalled trade talks -- was cheered by U.S. chipmakers eager to maintain sales to Huawei, the world's largest telecoms equipment maker and a key U.S. customer. But Trump's comments also spawned confusion among industry players and government officials struggling to understand what Huawei policy he had unveiled. In an email to enforcement staff on Monday and seen by Reuters, John Sonderman, Deputy Director of the Office of Export Enforcement, in the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), sought to clarify how agents should approach license requests by firms seeking approval to sell to Huawei. All such applications should be considered on merit and flagged with language noting that "This party is on the Entity List. Evaluate the associated license review policy under part 744," he wrote, citing regulations that include the Entity List and the "presumption of denial" licensing policy that is applied to blacklisted companies. He added that any further guidance from BIS should also be taken into account when evaluating Huawei-related license applications. The Commerce department did not immediately respond to request for comment. A person familiar with the matter said the letter was the only guidance that enforcement officials had received after Trump's surprise announcement on Saturday. A presumption of denial implies strict review and most licenses reviewed under it are not approved. It is unclear when Commerce will provide its enforcement staff with additional guidance, based on Trump's promises, and how that might alter the likelihood of obtaining licenses. The internal memo, not previously reported, came as White House advisors also scrambled to shed light on Trump's announcement. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro noted on Tuesday that the government would allow "lower tech" chip sales to the company, which don't impact national security. The United States has accused Huawei of stealing American intellectual property and violating Iran sanctions. It has launched a lobbying effort to convince U.S. allies to keep Huawei out of next-generation 5G telecommunications infrastructure, citing concerns the company could spy on customers. Huawei has denied the allegations. (Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Additional Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Michael Perry)
Are Investors Undervaluing Giordano International Limited (HKG:709) By 32%? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! How far off is Giordano International Limited (HKG:709) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. This is done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward. We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of theSimply Wall St analysis model. See our latest analysis for Giordano International We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate: [{"": "Levered FCF (HK$, Millions)", "2020": "HK$499.0m", "2021": "HK$508.0m", "2022": "HK$517.4m", "2023": "HK$527.2m", "2024": "HK$537.4m", "2025": "HK$547.9m", "2026": "HK$558.7m", "2027": "HK$569.7m", "2028": "HK$581.0m", "2029": "HK$592.6m"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2020": "Analyst x1", "2021": "Analyst x1", "2022": "Est @ 1.85%", "2023": "Est @ 1.9%", "2024": "Est @ 1.93%", "2025": "Est @ 1.95%", "2026": "Est @ 1.97%", "2027": "Est @ 1.98%", "2028": "Est @ 1.99%", "2029": "Est @ 1.99%"}, {"": "Present Value (HK$, Millions) Discounted @ 8.23%", "2020": "HK$461.0", "2021": "HK$433.6", "2022": "HK$408.1", "2023": "HK$384.2", "2024": "HK$361.8", "2025": "HK$340.8", "2026": "HK$321.1", "2027": "HK$302.5", "2028": "HK$285.0", "2029": "HK$268.6"}] ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= HK$3.6b After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the intial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 10-year government bond rate of 2%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.2%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = HK$593m × (1 + 2%) ÷ (8.2% – 2%) = HK$9.7b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= HK$HK$9.7b ÷ ( 1 + 8.2%)10= HK$4.40b 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 HK$7.96b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding.This results in an intrinsic value estimate of HK$5.05. Compared to the current share price of HK$3.43, the company appears quite good value at a 32% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent. The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. 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 Giordano International as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.2%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.937. 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 Giordano International, I've compiled three essential factors you should further examine: 1. Financial Health: Does 709 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 709'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 709? 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 HKG 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.

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