Stock Pick

  • Watch Out Amazon, Facebook is Coming for You

    Watch Out Amazon, Facebook is Coming for YouFacebook’s (FB) universe is getting even bigger. On Tuesday, the social media colossus unveiled Facebook Shops, elbowing its way to the front of the e-commerce queue. The platform will act as a digital shopfront where businesses of all sizes will be able to sell their products. Customers will be able to make purchases directly through either Facebook or Instagram. “We think Facebook Shop in a simplistic bull case could drive up to as much as a $30 billion revenue opportunity, across a combination of take-rate driven transactional and advertising revenue,” said Deutsche Bank analyst Lloyd Walmsley. Facebook hopes the move will help alleviate some of the pressure on small businesses as a result of COVID-19. The new platform significantly expands on last year’s rollout of Instagram Checkout. Looking specifically at Checkout, Walmsley originally estimated the 130 million users of Instagram shopping tags would increase to just under 400 million by 2021. The analyst believes the new endeavor will “drive this activity across 2.6 billion core Facebook MAUs and 3.0 billion MAU across the Family of apps,” translating to roughly three times the addressable audience initially estimated. Adding to the good news, the new service will include numerous features like Instagram Shop, where users will be able to find and purchase products in Instagram Explore, as well as live shopping features (taking a page out of Alibaba’s playbook) and the ability to connect loyalty programs (currently in test mode). Facebook will also work with other brands such as Shopify, BigCommerce and WooCommerce to help businesses operate online. Walmsley expects Facebook shares to pop over the coming weeks, reminding investors that following the launch of Instagram Checkout, the stock surged by 17% over a one-month period. “FB shares could similarly outperform over the next month as investors anticipate a nice contribution from eCommerce more broadly across the platform,” he concluded. Unsurprisingly, Facebook has widespread Street support. 3 Hold ratings are crushed by 33 Buys, presenting the social media king with a Strong Buy consensus rating. (See Facebook stock analysis on TipRanks) Read more: * Top Analyst Sees Over 35% Upside in These 3 Tech Stocks * 3 Big Dividend Stocks Yielding Over 7%; BMO Says ‘Buy’

    from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2ZnT1r3

  • Has China banned Australian coal?

    Two red shipping containers with the word 'Tariff' and Chinese flag

    Has China banned Australian coal? There may be another step in the pressure that China is exerting onto Australia.

    According to the Australian Financial Review, some power plants in China have been told to stop importing Australian coal. If that’s the case then perhaps China has indeed banned Australian coal. 

    It may be as simple as China wanting to support its own coal industry. But it comes at a time when China has already hit Australian barley. Australian beef and perhaps even Australian iron ore could be in the firing line. Basically, most of Australia’s main commodity exports to China is looking like it’s under pressure from the Asian superpower.

    What will the share prices of Australian coal miners drop?

    We’ll see this morning. There are several large coal miners on the ASX including BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC), Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) and New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC).

    Some coal miners sell more coal to China than others, so it doesn’t affect them all the same. For example, a lot of Whitehaven’s customers are based in Japan. Places like Taiwan and India are also customers of Australian coal. Indeed many Asian countries buy Australian coal. 

    It’s concerning to see that China is pressuring Australia over the coronavirus inquiry, particularly if China has entirely banned Australian coal. But in terms of what effect this might have on ASX coal miners, it’s not as much as what a ban on iron ore would do.

    Coal miners are certainly priced cheaply at the moment. The coal price isn’t as high as it once was and coal usage in most countries is expected to fall over the next couple of decades.

    I’m not looking to buy shares of coal miners, but brave investors who don’t mind owning coal shares may be able to make a decent return if coal prices rise.

    But I’d rather invest in quality shares that don’t largely rely on a commodity price to do well.

    NEW! 5 Cheap Stocks With Massive Upside Potential

    Our experts at The Motley Fool have just released a FREE report detailing 5 shares you can buy now to take advantage of the much cheaper share prices on offer.

    One is a diversified conglomerate trading 40% off it’s all-time high, all while offering a fully franked dividend yield of over 3%…

    Another is a former stock market darling that is one of Australia’s most popular and iconic businesses. Trading at a <strong>significant discount</strong> to its 52-week high, not only does this stock offer massive upside potential, but it also trades on an attractive fully franked dividend yield of almost 4%.

    Plus, this free report highlights 3 more cheap bets that could position you to profit in 2020 and beyond.

    Simply click here to scoop up your FREE copy and discover the names of all 5 cheap shares.

    But you will have to hurry because the cheap share prices on offer today might not last for long.

    YES! SEND ME THE FREE REPORT!

    More reading

    Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

    The post Has China banned Australian coal? appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

    from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2LOvasz

  • 7 High-Yield Dividend Value Stocks to Buy

    from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2WQeNSD

The Latest

Sorry, but nothing was found. Please try a search with different keywords.