It was the image that launched a social media sensation: football superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi hunched over a chess game set atop Louis Vuitton’s signature luggage. That 2022 campaign image broke the record at the time for most likes on Instagram. Now the world’s biggest luxury house, with more than €20bn in annual…
World Acceptance Corporation (NASDAQ:WRLD) Q4 2024 Earnings Conference Call May 2, 2024 10:00 AM ET Company Participants Chad Prashad – President and CEOJohnny Calmes – Chief Financial and Strategy Officer Conference Call Participants John Rowan – Janney Operator Good morning, and welcome to the World Acceptance Corporation Fourth Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. This call…
“The institutions are coming.” Anyone who’s been in the Bitcoin space for any significant period of time has heard some prominent figure within the space utter this phrase. In August 2020, when MicroStrategy, an American-based business software company, announced it would be purchasing bitcoin to add it to its treasury, many thought that was the…
Microstrategy’s annual Bitcoin for Corporations conference has kicked off its second day, featuring conversations with leading finance, regulatory and fintech professionals on the future of corporate Bitcoin adoption. Discussions will center around the financial implications of the recently approved Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States, the changing regulatory landscape for Bitcoin, as well as…
Daniel Grizelj Thesis The iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEARCA:EFA) is an equity exchange-traded fund. The fund represents the main offering for EMEA equities aggregators (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), at a $52 billion AUM. The vehicle seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI EAFE Index, and provides retail investors with overseas equity exposure…
metamorworks/iStock via Getty Images Dear Fellow Shareholder: Market Backdrop The Artisan Developing World Fund (Investor Class) returned 11.09% for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, versus 2.37% for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (all returns in USD unless stated otherwise). Since June 30, 2015, the Artisan Developing World Fund has returned 117.20% cumulatively, versus 32.20%…
justocker The Dominion Buy Thesis There is a tremendous spread between the sentiment on Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D) and its fundamental forward outlook. The market is approaching D with apprehension and trading it at low multiples while the fundamentals look strongly positive given the rapid growth in energy needs in Northern Virginia (NOVA) with D…
We Are By Nelson Yu With inflation and interest rates in transition, it’s time to take a fresh look at the forces driving business models, profitability and equity returns. Equity investors are struggling to adapt to evolving market and macroeconomic conditions after years of low inflation and zero interest rate policies. Overcoming higher hurdles to…
Cooper Neill/Getty Images Sport Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) seemingly does not get as much attention as other mega-cap tech names recently, due to avoiding the extremes on both fundamental performance and valuation. AMZN is not the cheapest mega-cap name, especially based on near-term financial metrics, and is seeing more moderate top-line growth courtesy of its large…
AndreyPopov Introduction Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) is everywhere. Everyone is talking about it. That’s no surprise, as it is both cool and scary. Just yesterday, I asked Google Gemini to give me a full overview of the world’s best olive oils and the reasons why they are so good. Within seconds, I got a report that…
Photofex/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Dear readers/followers, Norsk Hydro (OTCQX:NHYDY) is a company that I’ve reviewed a number of times over the past few years. I had a very appealing position in the company that I bought at below 30 NOK/share, and sold at over 60, for a triple-digit RoR. The company has not declined…
ExperienceInteriors Summary Readers may find my previous coverage via this link. My previous rating was a hold, as I believed Armstrong World Industries (NYSE:AWI) would continue to see pressure from the elevated inflation and uncertain economic outlook. Despite the initiatives implemented, I thought it was tough to assess the likelihood of success. As it turns…
selamiozalp Rock-Solid Alpha Generation The iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF (BATS:SMIN) is an $800m sized ETF that covers close to 500 small-cap stocks in India. Note that over the past year, this has proven to be one of the stellar equity pockets across the world, generating returns of over 40%, also translating to 10x the…
Peach_iStock By Rich Mathieson and Christopher DiPrimio, CAIA The post-COVID era has marked a shift from decades of stagnant economic growth to a regime of reflation characterized by positive nominal growth and structurally higher inflation (and interest rates). The below series of charts illustrates the impact of this shift through the lens of corporate earnings….
da-kuk The weather may be cold during winter, but stocks were scorching hot last month, fueled in part by the surge in performance from AI (Artificial Intelligence) stocks. More specifically, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up +2.2% to 38,996. The S&P 500 surged +5.2% to 5,096. And the AI-heavy Nasdaq index climbed the most…
Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI) Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call February 20, 2024 10:00 AM ET Company Participants Theresa Womble – Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications Vic Grizzle – President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Calzaretta – Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Conference Call Participants Garik Shmois – Loop Capital Markets…
Just one day after the January 11 approval of 11 Bitcoin spot ETFs – including BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) – by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, BlackRock Chair and CEO Larry Fink sat down with Bloomberg’s David Westin to discuss the implications of the world’s largest asset manager entering the Bitcoin market. Not…
champc In my economic slowdown post a month ago, I was generally upbeat, but I worried about the slowdown in job creation. Those worries faded with a strong January jobs number. The US economy is ok: credit spreads are still quite low, liquidity is still abundant, the dollar is still strong, inflation is still declining,…
Dilok Klaisataporn Both the Fed and most Fed watchers (especially those in the financial press) chronically misunderstand the relationship between economic growth and inflation. Strong growth doesn’t cause inflation, and reducing inflation doesn’t require a recession. Inflation is the result of an imbalance in the supply and the demand for money. Bringing down inflation requires…
blackred/iStock via Getty Images Digital World Acquisition (NASDAQ:DWAC) (DWACU) (DWACW) stock soared over the last few weeks because of a string of victories for this SPAC that is planning to merge with Donald Trump’s Trump Media and Technology Group – TMTG. Is DWAC trading as an investment security or is it instead trading as a…
angel_nt A guest post by Ovi Below are a number of Crude plus Condensate (C + C) production charts, usually shortened to “oil”, for oil-producing countries. The charts are created from data provided by the EIA’s International Energy Statistics and are updated to September 2023. This is the latest and most detailed/complete World Oil production…
World Acceptance Corporation (NASDAQ:WRLD) Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript January 19, 2024 10:00 AM ET Company Participants Chad Prashad – President and Chief Executive Officer Johnny Calmes – Chief Financial and Strategy Officer Conference Call Participants John Rowan – Janney Vincent Caintic – Stephens Operator Good morning, and welcome to the World Acceptance Corporation’s Third…
The 54th World Economic Forum in Davos gathers global leaders to discuss challenges ranging from geopolitical tensions to AI impact. Key themes include security, economic growth, AI ethics, and climate strategy. From January 15 to 19, 2024, the small Swiss alpine town of Davos will once again become the epicenter of global discussions with the…
DNY59/E+ via Getty Images After running in multiple organized events in 2023 (two half marathons, 1 quarter marathon trail run, a 10-kilometer race and a 5-kilometer race, plus lots and lots of training miles over the last 12-months, but who’s counting?) I started 2024 with a night-time trail run the first weekend in January. I…
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images The TSMC Investment Thesis Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE:TSM) or most commonly referred to as TSMC is the heart of today’s economy. This is because semiconductors are now a key part of nearly every type of electronic device, from cars to smart phones. Most people are probably not aware that…
onurdongel/E+ via Getty Images Synopsis Armstrong World Industries (NYSE:AWI) is a leading manufacturer of innovative commercial and residential ceiling, wall, and suspension system solutions. AWI’s historical financials have shown a robust recovery in revenue growth from the impact of COVID-19, but I do notice a slowdown in growth due to weakening housing demand. In addition,…
In many parts of the world, access to electricity is a luxury that we often take for granted. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), for example, faces a severe electricity deficit, with over 600 million people without power. This deficit leads to economic stagnation, reduced food production, poverty, and even civil unrest. The correlation between electricity access and…
Poca Wander Stock Thesis Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN), with its dynamic approach in the specialty insurance market, is carving a unique niche through strategic acquisitions and a focus on complex risk solutions. The company’s agility in adapting to evolving market demands and its strategic M&A moves position it strongly for sustained growth in a competitive industry….
World ID Apps allow users to verify accounts and apply a verification status similar to the blue checkmark used on some social media platforms. The latest version of Worldcoin’s identity platform World ID 2.0 comes with the addition of Apps, a new way to build and use integrations to verify your online accounts using World…
Melpomenem By Bradley Krom The potential for stubborn inflation, a higher-for-longer policy from the Federal Reserve, and structural $1 trillion deficits have all contributed to an abnormal shape in the U.S. Treasury curve. In this piece, we look to other periods of curve inversion and conclude that inverted yield curves are generally not an impediment…
Riding in its current wave of success, Worldcoin has decided to spread its tentacles. Presently, the company is looking at expanding to Mexico and Singapore. Worldcoin, co-founded by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, has shared an update about its digital identity platform World ID. According to a company statement, the upgrade includes making significant integrations with five…
Mario Tama/Getty Images News Digital World Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:DWAC) is a publicly traded special-purpose acquisition company in a merger agreement with Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). The stock gained attention after experiencing an 800% surge in share price in October 2021, primarily attributed to its association with former President Donald Trump. Data by YCharts…
JasonDoiy/E+ via Getty Images Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) is a large energy infrastructure company with a market cap of almost $40 billion. Making me feel old, it’s been almost a decade since the company’s dividend cut in 2015, as the company’s equity-for-growth strategy ended. As seen from comments in previous articles, though, many haven’t forgotten….
tadamichi By Walt Czaicki, CFA, David Wong and Robert Milano Equities have an important role to play in a diversified allocation today, to help hedge against inflation and to navigate a lower-growth environment. Higher bond yields are presenting tough questions for equity investors. While the risk/reward trade-off for equities might be less favorable than in…
Sean Rayford/Getty Images News On September 2, 2021, special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:DWAC) held its initial public offering. The following month, the SPAC announced it was merging with Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), a recently-formed company centered around former President Donald Trump. The merger was a financial sensation: DWAC soared…
It has become commonplace to normalize the extremity of fiat. The last such instance was in September when the federal government broke another record by crossing the $33 trillion national debt threshold. A decade ago, the USG’s outstanding borrowings have already outpaced the US’ annual GDP. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) now projects a 2%…
Feverpitched Dear readers, eXp World Holdings (NASDAQ:EXPI) is a real estate brokerage with a very interesting business model which allows for significantly lower overhead and faster scalability than virtually all of its peers. Historically, the company has traded like a tech stock, i.e. at a very high P/E ratio, which is the main reason why…
With the imminent launch of Bitcoin spot ETFs, many institutions are also looking to gain increased exposure to BTC. Exactly 15 years ago, Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, sent the Bitcoin whitepaper via email to a select number of cryptographers. Satoshi is fondly quoted to have opened the email saying: “I’ve been working…
Andrii Yalanskyi Thesis While they might be boring, short term bond funds have delivered in 2023. We are experiencing yet another market correction, with analysts split on whether we are going to have a soft or hard landing next. In today’s environment retail investors are best served by doing simple things rather than try to…
The basis for this issuance was Corda, R3’s digital ledger technology (DLT) platform that offers a sustainable infrastructure for digitally native notes. In a first, the World Bank has listed the “first digital native security” or “digital native note (DNN)” on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSe). The €100 million DNN, listed on the Luxembourg Stock…
Edwin Tan /E+ via Getty Images Elevator Pitch My rating for H World Group Limited (NASDAQ:HTHT) [1179:HK] stock is a Hold. With my prior article written on August 11, 2023, I reviewed H World’s key operating metrics for the second quarter of this year. In the current update, I outline my expectations for HTHT’s Q3…
porcorex I have been increasingly critical in my writings this year of the overwhelmingly negative take on just about everything related to the economy and markets. There has been relentless focus on a recession that never materialized, constant calls for a retest of the 2022 bear-market lows, growing concerns about another credit crisis, and a…
Digital transformation is rapidly shaping the global financial landscape, and bitcoin, the pioneering decentralized cryptocurrency, stands tall as a symbol of this revolution. While bitcoin’s global popularity is undeniable, there’s an emerging trend spotlighted in a recent survey conducted by Jack Dorsey‘s Block, Inc., in conjunction with Wakefield Research: developing nations are displaying a burgeoning…
georgeclerk/iStock via Getty Images Introduction The last quarterly report from the company managed to showcase a decent improvement in one of the more important areas for the company, its delinquency rates. The move was positive and the rate for 90+ was reduced to 3.5%, down from 4.1% in the previous quarter. Apart from that, there…
“That Would Be The Road To Hell For America.” I will never not enjoy that clip. “Clown world” has become so much more than just a meme. Here in the US, but relevant for Europe as well, we have had two tribes within the energy generation industry that have been at-odds for the better part…
Peter Vahlersvik/E+ via Getty Images The Haystack Corporate Governance is ensuring businesses have the appropriate decision-making processes and controls to ensure that all stakeholders’ interests (shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers, and the community) are balanced. Companies stress this ideology, but it often doesn’t work out for all stakeholders. Some management groups may put the shareholder first,…
Love Employee/iStock via Getty Images My estimation of global official gold reserves hit 38,764 tonnes in Q2 2023, breaking its previous record from 1965. The new high confirms the world has entered a new era of gold. Central banks will continue to accumulate gold, and the metal’s role in the international monetary system will increase…
Receive free Social affairs updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Social affairs news every morning. The internet is moving from an age of prurience to one of protection. A sudden rush of age-verification laws designed to stop children from accessing explicit content is about to change the way…
LukaTDB Introduction Since the turn of August, the stock of America’s largest RV retailer, Camping World Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CWH), hasn’t been in a good way; admittedly, it’s not as though the broader markets or CHW’s peers from the consumer discretionary space have been shining lights during this period, but the level of drawdown seen at…
TERADAT SANTIVIVUT Global jobs growth remained muted in August, according to PMI survey data. Job gains were largely limited to the emerging markets, where jobs growth hit a 12-year-high. Developed world job growth, in contrast, slowed to near-stagnation. Employment growth has cooled especially sharply in the US and Europe in recent months, having enjoyed a…