Strong buy stocks

KEY TAKEAWAYS Buying from central banks reached the highest level since 1967. Investment demand also increased; ETF sales declined. The price rebound that began late in the year has continued in 2023. Global gold demand, fed by the largest central bank purchases in more than a half-century, surged to the highest level since 2011 last year despite reduced consumption by the metal's largest buying segment: jewelers. The London-based World Gold Council reported that gold demand in 2022 increased 18% to 4,741 metric tons. The world's central banks accounted for about a quarter of that amount, 1,136 metric tons, 152% more than 450 million metric tons in 2021. The buying binge from central banks reflected their desire to increase exposure to an asset historically viewed as a consistent store of value and a hedge against inflation and financial market turbulence. Global inflation surged last year, with U.S. inflation hitting 40-year highs, causing central banks around … [Read more...] about Central Banks’ Buying Binge Boosted 2022 Global Gold Demand to 11-Year High

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Ford published a weaker set of Q4 FY’22 earnings due to supply chain-related headwinds and production issues that impacted the company’s cost base. Ford’s operating profits fell short of both the company’s guidance and Street estimates, coming in at $2.6 billion. For perspective, Ford had guided adjusted operating income for the full year 2022 of between $11.5 billion and $12.5 billion, versus a final reported number of just about $10.4 billion. That said Ford’s revenues came in ahead of estimates, with automotive sales rising 18.4% versus last year to $41.8 billion. Volumes grew by about 4% versus last year and pricing also remained strong. However, Ford’s overall market share fell by 40 basis points versus last year to 5%. Now, Ford’s recent execution has been weak, but we think that things will eventually look up. With inflation easing, the U.S. Federal Reserve has slowed down on the pace of its interest rate hikes (25 … [Read more...] about Ford’s Q4 Results Were Tough, But Things Could Get Better

There are puzzling economic signals, and after surging strongly in January and early February, markets are taking a puzzled breather Highlights The Bank of Canada has said that it will pause rate hikes The US Fed raised the Fed funds rate by the anticipated 0.25% on Feb 1 and the ECB and BOE raised their benchmark rates by the anticipated 50 bps each Markets rallied because Fed chair Powell acknowledged disinflation But job growth in the US is very strong, raising fears the Fed will have to tighten more The question is: which data do we trust? January 26 marked an important monetary policy milestone.... … [Read more...] about Puzzling economic signals and confused markets

The disdain shown by a large majority of the population to intellectual property rights discourages innovation at the domestic level, motivates the innovators to immigrate to foreign shores and register their innovations there. (Representative image) The total apathy of common Indians towards the intellectual property rights (IPR) of the originators is appalling. The use of pirated software, photocopied books, spurious books sold on traffic signals and footpaths, unauthorised copies of branded clothes and so on is unapologetically common. Propriety and ethics are not taught in schools. It is common to see parents encouraging their wards to buy the “cheaper” alternative regardless of its legality and authenticity. Many cities have infamous “markets” for pirated software and duplicate merchandise. Driving out from Delhi NCR region to nearby Uttar Pradesh and Haryana towns, one comes across “Bhatura King”, a fast-food joint chain. The name and logo used by this chain are cannily … [Read more...] about Why is an infringement of intellectual property acceptable but not royalty payments?

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin FTSE 100 stocks Smurfit Kappa, DCC Group and Severn Trent all released fresh trading statements on Wednesday. Here are the key takeaways from their midweek updates. Smurfit Kappa Packaging supplier Smurfit Kappa grew revenues strongly in 2022 despite a fall in cardboard box demand. Revenues rose 27% last year to €12.8 billion even as box volumes dropped 2% year on year. Meanwhile, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 38% to €2.4 billion, helped by a jump in EBITDA margin to 18.4% from 16.8% in 2021. The solid performance encouraged the company to raise the full-year dividend 12% year on year, to 107.6 euro cents per share. Chief executive Tony Smurfit said that “the rate and pace of inflation clearly had a negative effect on the demand environment in 2022.” He added that “the partial reversal of the unsustainably high demand levels seen through the pandemic period” also … [Read more...] about FTSE 100 Round-Up: Smurfit Kappa, DCC, Severn Trent

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Boyan Ivanov is the cofounder and Chief Executive Officer at StorPool‬ since November 2011. An economic downturn can be a difficult time for any company. During a downturn, consumers tend to spend less money, resulting in downward pressure on prices, sales cycles getting longer and fiercer competition. All these developments can lead to a decrease in revenue and profitability as well as a higher risk of going out of business for many companies. However, with the right strategies in place, a company cannot only survive but flourish during such a period. Here are 10 tips that can help a company stay afloat and come out stronger on the other side. 1. Optimize your operations and P&L. One of the first things a company should do during an economic downturn is to take a hard look at its income statement and consider optimizing its operations. This can include reducing some expenses or freezing business lines … [Read more...] about Navigating Economic Turbulence: 10 Strategies For Business Success In A Downturn

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The cannabis industry - both domestic and international in scope, and comprised of two substantial subsectors: marijuana and hemp - started last year off strong. Namely, with a splash of high-profile M&A activity in January and February. There was tremendous promise for growing the market. As we entered second quarter of 2022, the hope for a fruitful Q2 faded. By Q3, it was full-fledged retreat, with many of the industry investment conferences refusing to even consider seminar presentations or panels regarding workouts, receiverships or other proactive measures designed to protect or mitigate the poor economic conditions surrounding the industry and many of its operators. There was a concerted effort to “keep it positive” after the industry had been called “recession proof” and designated as an “essential business,” while enjoying record high sales numbers and revenues. Things were good — until reality set in. I … [Read more...] about 2022 Cannabis In Review And 2023 Opportunity Outlook

The central bank's commentary has a hawkish undertone and suggests that more interest rate hikes cannot be ruled out. Dear Reader, The Panorama newsletter is sent to Moneycontrol Pro subscribers on market days. It offers easy access to stories published on Moneycontrol Pro and gives a little extra by setting out a context or an event or trend that investors should keep track of. The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee met market expectations by increasing the repo rate by 25 basis points, although it left some prayers unanswered. The fond hope was that the MPC would take its cue from global central banks and announce a pause on rate increases. The consolation is that two of the six MPC members didn’t want to raise rates. Nevertheless, the central bank's commentary has a hawkish undertone and suggests that more interest rate hikes cannot be ruled out. This is against what some global central banks have said. The Bank of Canada became the first central bank in a G10 … [Read more...] about Moneycontrol Pro Panorama | MPC plays it safe, more rate hikes coming?

KEY TAKEAWAYS The U.S. savings rate has plunged, and 401(k) accounts have declined as loans and hardship withdrawals exacerbate market losses. With interest rates rising, consumers appear less likely to borrow money in 2023. As a result, the recent decline in consumer spending may persist. Last year, the highest U.S. inflation in 40 years had an entirely unsurprising effect: shrinking the amount of cash in Americans' pockets—and portending challenges for consumer spending in 2023. From tapping their savings to dipping into their retirement accounts, Americans increasingly scrambled for money as the cost of living soared and the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes, designed to lower inflation, raised borrowing costs. Nearly half of Americans said they have less savings than they did a year ago, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll. As cash savings fell, so did retirement accounts: The number of 401(k) retirement participants taking out loans from their … [Read more...] about Cash-Strapped Americans Increasingly Tap Savings, Retirement Accounts

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Oleh Svet, Chief Delivery Officer at Computools . The restaurant sector was among the most impacted during the Covid-19 pandemic as it faced strict social distance requirements, lengthy lockdowns and strict hygiene measures. These challenges, however, also forced owners to switch to digital solutions faster, speeding up what could have been a much longer process toward digitalization. Digitalization and process automation have helped many restaurants not only emerge from the crisis but also to step into a new development phase in post-crisis times. In fact, automation has been shown to help restaurants save money, reduce storage costs and deliver the freshest and highest quality food. In this article, I'll look at how four digital technologies can help improve the way the hospitality industry does business and what those in the industry should know about implementation. Online Menus Previously, … [Read more...] about How Hospitality Tech Is Changing The Restaurant Business