Author: therawinformant

The Surefire Resources NL (ASX: SRN) share price is on fire today. Surefire shares are up 38.7% at the time of writing to 4.3 cents a share. Surefire shares closed at 3.2 cents on Friday last week, but opened at 4.7 cents a share this morning and shot as high as 5 cents before settling to the current price.

It’s been a spectacular trading day for Surefire, whose shares were essentially trading at zero for most of the year before jumping up in mid-July. Shareholders would be up 320% on their money between 31 July and today on current prices. As it stands, Surefire now has a market capitalisation of $32.1 million.

So why is this company appreciating in value so dramatically today?

Surefire gains?

Surefire put out some notices to the ASX after market close on Friday. These detailed that the company has issued 200 million new shares.

The gold miner released another announcement before market open today, this one titled “Spectacular Results from Yidby Gold project”.

Surefire only acquired the Yidby project in August this year. The project is located at the southern portion of the Yalgoo-Singleton Greenstone Belt, and rests on three exploration licences. These licenses cover 113.77 square kilometres, with “3 gold prospects hosting significant gold mineralisation”.

The Yalgoo-Singleton Greenstone Belt is reportedly an area of massive natural wealth, with several other gold and iron ore mines and operations surrounding Yidby. Surefire notes that many of these surrounding gold mines have potential reserves of more than a million ounces of gold.

Since August, the company has reportedly fast-tracked reviewing the [Yidby] project and is establishing a program of works with the [WA] Department of Mines, Industry, Resources, and Safety. In addition, it has “planned and executed its maiden drilling program”.

Here’s some of what the company had to say on the gold discovery:

Surefire Resources NL… is pleased to announce significant, high-grade intersections from drilling at the Yidby Road Prospect on its Yidby Gold Project, located 320km northeast of Perth in the mid-west region of Western Australia… Each of Surefire’s 2020 RC drillholes intersected gold mineralisation.

Some of these samples indicated gold concentration as high as 14.47 grams of gold per tonne of ore. One sample returning a grade of 26.57 grams per tonne of ore.

More reading

• Why the Mach7 (M7T) share price is closing in on a record high today
• Why is the Weebit Nano (ASX:WBT) share price dropping 7% today?
• Qantas (ASX:QAN) axes 2,000 jobs
• Why Platinum Asset’s healthcare fund doesn’t own CSL (ASX:CSL) shares
• Report finds Aussies keen to save tax cut money

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 Here’s why the Surefire (ASX:SRN) share price has rocketed up 38% today appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3fP7MJz

The Mach7 Technologies Ltd (ASX: M7T) share price is pushing higher on the day of its annual general meeting.

In afternoon trade, the healthcare technology company’s shares are up 3% to $1.25.

This leaves the Mach7 share price trading within touching distance of its record high of $1.28.

What happened at the annual general meeting?

At the event, management provided investors with a summary of its performance in FY 2020, an update on current market conditions, and its guidance for FY 2021.

Mach7 was a strong performer in FY 2020 despite the pandemic. For the 12 months ended 30 June, the enterprise imaging solutions provider delivered a 102% increase in revenue to $18.9 million.

Things were even better for its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). Margin improvements led to its EBITDA jumping 181% higher year on year to $3.3 million.

Current trading conditions.

Management notes that COVID-19 has had an unpredictable impact on hospital revenues across the globe.

However, it is seeing signs of image volume returning and hospitals reengaging with previously planned projects and investment.

And while it is difficult to predict the budgetary impact to its current and future customers, management notes that its products are well-placed in the current environment as they help to solve the ongoing issue of providing care from outside the walls of the hospital.

Pleasingly, the company’s pipeline is very strong in respect to late-stage deals, which management feels is alluding to a strong second half of FY 2021.

It also notes that it is experiencing continued strong partnerships with its largest clients. As of today, $10.8 million of sales orders (total contract value) have been recorded in FY 2021.

Finally, new marketing initiatives are kicking off this week to assist in bolstering its sales pipeline for FY 2022.

FY 2021 guidance.

Mach7 expects to deliver a minimum of $11.5 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) from its existing customer base in FY 2021. This represents >90% growth on FY 2020.

Management is also forecasting positive EBITDA growth for FY 2021. It notes that ARR provides 70% coverage of existing cost run rate, excluding one-off costs.

It also expects to deliver positive cash flows for the year. However, it advised that this will continue fluctuate quarter to quarter due to the irregular timing of cash receipts from license fees.

More reading

• 2 exciting small cap ASX shares to buy
• Fundie names 5 ASX shares with good growth prospects
• 2 ASX small cap shares tipped for big things
• Why the Mach7 (ASX:M7T) share price is zooming 9% higher today
• This under-the-radar ASX tech company’s shares are up 150% since March

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends MACH7 FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended MACH7 FPO. 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 Why the Mach7 (M7T) share price is closing in on a record high today appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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

Computer memory designer Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT) share price has retreated 7.27% today, paring back gains of more than 30% in November. Investors have bought Weebit Nano shares this month amid optimism around the company’s potential commercialisation of memory technology next year.

At the time of writing, the Weebit Nano share price has dropped lower to $1.85. 

Weebit Nano’s recent capital raising

Weebit Nano has progressed efforts recently to take its latest memory chip technology to market. 

On 20 November, the company announced it had raised $12 million for commercialisation and to accelerate research and development of its ReRAM technology. The money will be used to strengthen its sales team and increase marketing activities ahead of the product launch mid-next year.

That $12 million was priced at $1.70 a share, and is part of an overall $15 million capital raise. The placement was made to new and existing sophisticated and institutional investors, and did not require shareholder approval.

Meanwhile, the remaining $3 million targeted under the capital raise will come via a share purchase plan (SPP) in December. An SPP is a form of capital raising by a listed company that offers shareholders the opportunity to apply for new additional shares. Australian regulations currently limit the maximum application per shareholder under an SPP to $30,000.

Only last week, Weebit Nano also reported the expansion of its strategic agreement with French research institute CEA-Leti. The company says the expanded deal will strengthen its competitive advantage, and enables it to upgrade the applications of the ReRAM technology into a wider range of future products.

More about the company

Weebit Nano is an Israeli company founded in 2015, and trading on the ASX since 2016. It focuses on addressing the growing need for new and advanced memory chips. 

Weebit claims that its ReRAM product is cheaper, faster, and more energy efficient than the existing Flash technology. The company touts ReRam as an emerging memory technology that combines the advantages of both RAM and Flash, and believes its commercial usage will increase dramatically over the next few years.

In its first-quarter update for FY21, Weebit said that its ReRAM technology was on track to transfer to the semiconductor fabrication plant. This brings it a step closer to commercialisation.

About the Weebit Nano share price in 2020

The Weebit Nano share price has surged more than 350% as the market sees its product nearing commercialisation. It has a 52-week high of $2.47, and currently commands a market cap of $212 million.

More reading

• This cheap ASX share is supplying US giants: fundie
• Which small cap ASX shares were the best performers in October?

Motley Fool contributor Eddy Sunarto 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 Why is the Weebit Nano (ASX:WBT) share price dropping 7% today? appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3qfh9XE

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) told 2,000 employees on Monday morning that their jobs would be terminated.

Staff were informed their ground crew roles across 10 airports would be outsourced.

The decision came after the airline started an evaluation of outsourcing options back in August.

The move would save Qantas about $100 million a year, it estimated.

Qantas has now sacked 8,500 of what used to be a 29,000-strong workforce before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is another tough day for Qantas, particularly for our ground handling teams and their families,” Qantas domestic and international chief Andrew David said.

“Unfortunately, COVID has turned aviation upside down. Airlines around the world are having to make dramatic decisions in order to survive and the damage will take years to repair.”

The Qantas share price was flat at the time of writing, trading at $5.52.

Union bid ‘falls well short’

The evaluation process saw external service providers bid for the ground handling work to see how cheap they could perform the currently in-house functions. 

The Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) also had a right to put in a bid of its own, but the airline ultimately rejected that proposal.

“The TWU’s in-house bid claimed that significant savings could be made but it failed to outline sufficient practical detail on how this might be achieved, despite us requesting this information multiple times throughout the process,” said David.

“Even with the involvement of a large accounting firm, the bid falls well short of what the specialist external providers were able to come up with.”

The Motley Fool has contacted TWU for comment.

Qantas revealed that a number of other third parties submitted bids that met all the requested objectives. Some of the bids saved as much as $103 million annually.

The winning bidders will be notified on Monday, with the transition to outsourcing to take place in the first quarter of next year.

“We have used these specialist ground handlers at many Australian airports for decades and they’ve proven they can deliver a safe and reliable service more efficiently than it’s currently done in-house,” David said.

“This isn’t a reflection on our people but it is a reflection of economies of scale and the urgent need we have because of COVID to unlock these efficiencies.”

Qantas will have its domestic operations return to 60% of pre-COVID levels by Christmas. International flights are a long way off, although the airline’s chief executive Alan Joyce indicated last week mandatory passenger vaccinations might provide a shortcut.

“International travel isn’t expected to return to pre-COVID levels until at least 2024,” David said.

“We have a massive job ahead of us to repay debt and we know our competitors are aggressively cutting costs to emerge leaner.”

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• Is the Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price heading to $7.00?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 next week
• Is the Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price flying closer to recovery?
• Why the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price is soaring 6%

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns shares of Qantas Airways Limited. 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 Qantas (ASX:QAN) axes 2,000 jobs appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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

If you haven’t bought any shares of CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) yourself, you likely still own part of the company via your super fund.

With a market capitalisation just shy of $138 billion, the Aussie-based, global biotechnology company is the second largest share trading on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

It’s been a volatile year for the company’s shareholders, who watched the CSL share price plunge 21% during the COVID-19 market panic in late February and early March. Since then, a series of sharp ups and downs have delivered a year-to-date gain of 10%.

Over the past 2 years, the CSL share price has soared 71%.

Advantage Moderna

Despite CSL’s strong performance history and major blue chip status, Platinum Asset Management’s unlisted international healthcare fund doesn’t own any shares.

Platinum’s data reports that the fund returned 25.7% net of fees over the 12 months to October 2020, a period where the ASX 200 lost more than 10%.

So why doesn’t the fund own any shares of CSL?

Bianca Ogden, head of Platinum’s international healthcare fund believes CSL is a great company, but explains it may not be spending enough on R&D to keep up with the advancements made by competitors, particularly in the cutting-edge field of mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid).

Ogden prefers Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA), which the fund has held since 2018.

According to the Australian Financial Review, Ogden was impressed by its mRNA vaccine technology, stating: 

What does [the mRNA technology] mean to the vaccine industry – to the incumbents? That has been one of our major investment ideas since 2018 and why we went with mRNA. What can it do to the vaccine industry?

The Moderna share price leapt 16% higher in Friday’s trading on hopes its COVID vaccine will soon roll out across the world. Shares are now up 561% year to date.

According to Ogden:

A lot of people don’t actually understand . . . how it’s much more dependent on your manufacturing set up and your supply, than on drug risk.

But we also found that I can buy a plasma business at Takeda [Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd (TYO: 4502)] for a lot less than if I buy a CSL. And when I then look at Takeda’s activity and changes that are happening to their R&D organisation, I find that more exciting.

The takeaway for CSL?

Lift research and development spending or risk losing market share.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 on track for a top month
• Why AstraZeneca’s potential vaccine is more exciting than you think
• 10 fantastic ASX shares to buy in December
• Why Moderna Is Less Risky Than You Think
• 2 ASX 50 shares to buy today

Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL Ltd. 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 Why Platinum Asset’s healthcare fund doesn’t own CSL (ASX:CSL) shares appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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

In many ways, 2020 has been a year of paradigm shifts when it comes to saving and spending money. On the one hand, we have had the coronavirus pandemic, which shuttered countless businesses, even entire industries, for months on end earlier in the year. Unemployment spiked, with uncertainties over the future of our economy still with us today.

On the other, 2020 has seen an unprecedented level of government spending in the economy. Think back to 2019, and the idea of a government-funded employment subsidy of $1,500 a fortnight seemed ludicrous. And yet that’s what we’ve seen this year with the JobKeeper program, which has been credited with saving thousands of jobs during the worst of the lockdowns. On top of that, we have also seen generous one-off payments to pensioners and other welfare recipients, as well as the coronavirus supplement. This supplement increased the level of money one could expect to receive on the JobSeeker (formally NewStart) unemployment benefit effectively double in 2020. Most of these programs are being slowly unwound as the economy recovers. But most won’t be fully tapered off until March 2021 (which could change in the future, of course).

And on top of all that state-sponsored spending, the federal government also brought forward billions of dollars in tax relief in this year’s budget. The ‘stage 2’ tax cuts that were originally scheduled for FY2022 have now been backdated to FY2021 (from 1 July 2020).

So how are Aussies planning on using these tax cut dollars? Well, a report from wealth manager Colonial First State sheds some light on this matter today.

Spending vs saving

The report has analysed how Australians are planning to spend (or not spend) these tax cut dollars. It makes for interesting reading.

Firstly, the report notes that 57% of the people surveyed do not intend to spend the money at all. They are reportedly more keen to slot the extra dollars away in savings accounts, rather than the 22% who want to spend the extra dosh, perhaps by hitting the Black Friday sales. This is especially true of young people aged between 18-34, and also with women. Apparently, 66% of young Australians want to save this money, against an average of 57%. It also finds that women are 10% more likely than men to try and save the cash as well.

However, the proportion of those persons who want to invest the extra tax money is a lot lower. The report finds that just 17% of those surveyed want to put the extra money towards their mortgage. An even lower figure of 16% plan on investing the money in the share market, and an even lower again 6% want to top up their superannuation funds.

Of the 22% who plan on spending the money, 33% of those people intend to spend it on life’s essentials like bills, groceries and insurance. Another 24% plan on going shopping for things like clothes and electronics, whereas 10% are putting it towards the Christmas fund.

Since the intended aim of the tax cuts was to help stimulate the economy through increased spending, the federal Treasurer might not be too keen on the findings of this report.

More reading

• Why Platinum Asset’s healthcare fund doesn’t own CSL (ASX:CSL) shares
• 4 ASX growth shares to buy in December
• Why Kathmandu, Resolute, Select Harvests, & Treasury Wine Estates are dropping lower
• What Australia’s recovery from the COVID recession means for the Santa Rally
• Flexigroup rebrands to Humm (ASX:HUM) on the ASX today

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 Report finds Aussies keen to save tax cut money appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/33qq5Qc

We’re nearly into the final month of the year. Time will tell if there’s a Santa rally or not. But there are some ASX growth shares rated as a buy by a Motley Fool investment service.

Here are those ASX growth share picks:

Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK)

This is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) which looks to give investors exposure to global cybersecurity giants, as well as emerging players, from a range of global locations.

As of last week, its largest positions were: Crowdstrike, Okta, Zscaler, Accenture, Cisco Systems, Cloudflare, F5 Networks, Palo Alto Networks, Leidos and Science Applications.

Since inception in August 2016, its net return has been 16.8% per annum. That’s after the annual management fee of 0.67% per annum.

BetaShares said that with cybercrime on the rise, the demand for cybersecurity services is expected to grow strongly for the foreseeable future.

The Motley Fool Pro service currently rate the Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF as a buy.

Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH)

Pushpay is an electronic donation business that largely services the faith sector, namely being large and medium US churches.

The ASX growth share is aiming to reach a market share of around 50% which would see it generate US$1 billion of annual revenue.

Pushpay recently said it expects “significant operating leverage to accrue as operating revenue continues to increase, while growth in total operating expenses remains low.”

In FY21 Pushpay is aiming to more than double its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and foreign currency (EBITDAF) to a range of between US$54 million to US$58 million.

The company just went through a share split, which is why the Pushpay share price looks like it has fallen from where it was last week.

Pushpay is currently rated as a buy by the Motley Fool Pro service.

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

Kogan.com is an e-commerce website that sells a wide variety of products and services. TVs, computers, phones, appliances, furniture and clothes are just some of the products that it offers. It also sells various services that a household may want such as energy, mobile plans, insurance, credit cards, home loans, superannuation and internet.

The ASX growth share also offers a membership service that includes free delivery and discounts available only to members.

Mr Kogan, the founder of the company, has spoken about the benefit to the company of its growing number of people using its loyalty scheme: “The Kogan First community of members grew exceptionally during the second half, and importantly these loyal members on average purchase and save much more often than non-members, demonstrating loyalty to the platform, and also demonstrating the significant savings and other benefits available through the loyalty program.”

Kogan.com is currently rated as a buy by the Motley Fool Share Advisor service.

Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP)

Bapcor is an auto parts business, the biggest in Australia and New Zealand. It has a variety of brands including trade business Burson Trade, retail chain Autobarn and various wholesale specialists.

The ASX growth share recently gave a trade update. Burson Trade revenue was up 10%, with same store sales growth of 7.7% – it was up 17% excluding Victoria. New Zealand revenue grew by 6% on same store sales growth of 4%. Retail revenue soared 47% higher, with Autobarn same stores sales going up 36%. Finally, specialist wholesale revenue went up 45%, though excluding acquisitions revenue went up 18%. Overall, group revenue went up by 27%.

However, due to the uncertainty, Bapcor wasn’t able to give any guidance for the rest of the year.

The Motley Fool Dividend Investor service currently rates the Bapcor share price as a buy.

More reading

• Is the Bapcor (ASX:BAP) share price a buy?
• Why these All Ords shares have been smashed this month
• The NAB (ASX:NAB) share price is up 25% in November
• 10 fantastic ASX shares to buy in December
• 4 great ASX growth shares to buy

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of BETA CYBER ETF UNITS and PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Bapcor and Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended PUSHPAY FPO NZX. 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 4 ASX growth shares to buy in December appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2HTMi1M

In early afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week on a disappointing note. The benchmark index is currently down 0.65% to 6,559 points.

Four shares that have fallen more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping lower:

Kathmandu Holdings Ltd (ASX: KMD)

The Kathmandu share price has dropped 5% to $1.16 after announcing the exit of its CEO. According to the release, Xavier Simonet is resigning from the company to take up a senior role with the Australian Public Service. Mr Simonet will serve a six-month notice period before leaving to become the head of Austrade.

Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG)

The Resolute share price is down 4% to 75.7 cents. Investors have been selling Resolute and other gold miners on Monday after the price of the precious metal pulled back on Friday night. Softening demand for safe haven assets has been weighing on the gold price. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index is down 1.7%.

Select Harvests Limited (ASX: SHV)

The Select Harvests share price has fallen 4% to $5.96. This follows the release of the almond producer’s full year results this morning. Select Harvests reported a 52% decline in net profit after tax to $25 million. This was driven by a fall in global almond prices and delayed shipments, which offset a record almond crop.

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)

The Treasury Wine Estates share price is down 7.5% to $8.53. Investors have been selling the wine company’s shares after it responded to news that China is placing tariffs on Australian wine exports. Management expects demand for its portfolio in China to be extremely limited because of these tariffs. This is bad news given that China contributed 30% of its earnings in FY 2020. Management is aiming to limit the damage by reallocating its Penfolds Bin and Icon range from China to other key luxury growth market.

More reading

• ASX 200 drops 0.5%: Treasury Wine sinks, Zip flat after AGM update, Bega Cheese rises
• The Select Harvests (ASX:SHV) share price is sinking 6% lower today. Here’s why.
• Treasury Wine (ASX:TWE) share price sinks 12% after responding to China export tariff
• Kathmandu (ASX:KMD) share price on watch after CEO resigns
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 on track for a top month

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Treasury Wine Estates Limited. 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 Why Kathmandu, Resolute, Select Harvests, & Treasury Wine Estates are dropping lower appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3qcCOzW

Australia is set to officially emerge from its first recession in 19 years as economists rush to upgrade their September quarter estimates ahead of the ASX Santa Rally.

The big four ASX banks are forecasting gross domestic product (GDP) growth of between 3% and 4.1%, reported the Australian Financial Review.

If the numbers are on the money, it will mark Australia’s highest growth since 1976!

Santa Rally reaching escape velocity

ASX investors have another reason to feel more confident about this year’s Santa Rally even as the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) gave up early gains to trade 0.5% in the red.

A strong GDP number will prompt Treasury to upgrade its mid-year forecasts next month. And this means a better than expected federal government budget position.

We will only know for sure if we have escaped the technical recession this Wednesday when the government reports the latest quarter GDP numbers.

Recovery from the COVID recession

But the signs are good. Strong retail spending data, a faster than expected jobs recovery, a record bounce in consumer confidence and rebounding house prices are tailwinds.

To some extent, it’s a non-event as the share market was already predicting this outcome when bottomed in March.

Equity markets have a habit of predicting the end of a recession around six months in advance.

What is the Santa Rally?

But confirmation that the worst has past will still be supportive of the ASX as we head into Christmas.

The two weeks before Christmas and the month after, a period affectionately called the Santa Rally, tend to see share markets rise.

There aren’t any clear fundamental reasons for this seasonal phenomenon, but it’s one of the most reliable patterns for share investors. Bases on historical data, there is around a 70% chance of a Santa Rally happening in any given year.

Can we expect a Santa Rally this year?

While the strong gains in November with the ASX sitting on a whopping 10% gain at the moment. Such gains usually represent a full year’s return on the market – not a month.

This could dampen gains during the end-of-year hoorah. But with global economic indicators pointing to better times ahead in 2021 despite the resurgence of COVID‐19 around the world, it’s hard to see a sell-off in the near-term.

The expected arrival of at least one, if not more, effective vaccines against the pandemic should offset the risks of another global economic shutdown.

RBA protecting the rear

What’s more, central banks around the world are acting as a safety net for markets. They are ready to pump even more liquidity into the financial system if any more cracks appear.

On that note, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) meeting tomorrow will be closely watched. Not for its interest rate decision as it can’t go lower, but for hints on how much harder it’s willing to pull on the quantitative easing (QE) lever.

More reading

• ASX 200 drops 0.5%: Treasury Wine sinks, Zip flat after AGM update, Bega Cheese rises
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 on track for a top month
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 next week
• Are gold and bitcoin both ‘safe havens’?

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau 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 What Australia’s recovery from the COVID recession means for the Santa Rally appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3fRZgcL

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) player Flexigroup Limited (ASX: FXL) has rebranded today, officially changing the company name and ASX ticker to Humm Group Limited (ASX: HUM), effective immediately.

Today’s move follows shareholder approval two weeks ago after the company first announced its intention to rebrand back in August. At the time of writing, the Humm share price is trading higher at $1.30.

Why did the company rebrand?

The rationale for the rebrand was the growing status and brand recognition of the company’s Humm product. This has become synonymous with digital, interest-free finance for more than 2.2 million customers across Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.

Humm says the rebrand also resulted from a successful simplification initiative, where the company reduced its 23 products to four. Since starting the restructure, the company has launched Humm; Bundll, its BNPL product; and most recently Humm90, its long term interest free product.

Today’s rebranding also follows overwhelming support from shareholders at the annual general meeting on 19 November, where 99.69% of votes cast were in favour of the company name change.

Humm chief executive Rebecca James, said:

Today marks another big milestone for the business as we rebrand to our most recognised and loved brand, Humm.

Our mission is to revolutionise the way people buy. With a single platform serving everybody from Generation Z and millennial spenders through to young families, Humm finances everything from life’s little luxuries through to significant purchases.

We’re excited about the growth opportunities ahead of us as we leverage the strong Humm brand into new products, new verticals and new markets in the years ahead.

Quick take on Humm

Humm is a diversified financial services group. It provides a range of digital finance products to consumers and businesses through a large partner network of more than 18,000 retailers.

The buy now, pay later company currently services 2.2 million customers in Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. In Australia, the company offers terms of up to $30,000.

In September, the then Flexigroup advised the market it has launched its Humm product in New Zealand, following the success of its BNPL brand Oxipay. Through Humm, the company says it is the first BNPL company to offer terms of up to NZ$10,000 in New Zealand.

About the Humm share price in 2020

The Humm share price has lost almost 30% this year. It began the year at $1.79, its 52-week high. At the current share price today, the company commands a market value of $631 million. 

More reading

• Why Afterpay, Bega Cheese, Humm, & Telix shares are storming higher
• ASX 200 rises on mixed Thursday
• Why ALS, BlueScope, FlexiGroup, & Perpetual shares are charging higher
• FlexiGroup (ASX:FXL) share price surges 10% higher on Mastercard deal and trading update
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price underperforming after ASIC finds more BNPL customers falling behind

Motley Fool contributor Eddy Sunarto has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended FlexiGroup Limited. 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 Flexigroup rebrands to Humm (ASX:HUM) on the ASX today appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/39pXcrf