Category: Stock Market

Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is currently trading for US$3,844 (AU$5,413).

That’s up 419% so far in 2021.

But it hasn’t all been uphill.

Ethereum hit all time highs on 10 November, touching US$4,865. Which puts the world’s number 2 crypto by market cap down 21% in just over a month.

That’s all virtual water under the bridge. Now crypto investors are casting their eyes to the year ahead.

What’s ahead for the number 2 crypto in 2022?

Josh Gilbert, crypto analyst at multi-asset investment platform eToro, told The Motley Fool:

Ethereum looks like it could be set for a strong year in 2022, following its roaring success in 2021. It underpins much of DeFi [decentralised finance] and NFTs [non-fungible tokens], arguably the hottest 2 crypto components right now.

Gilbert also pointed to an expected decrease in supply of the token in 2022:

The cryptoasset has also introduced a burn mechanism with the introduction of the EIP-1559 upgrade, which will slow the supply of Ether whilst demand continues to soar. In 2022, we will see further upgrades to the Ethereum network as part of the ETH 2.0 upgrade. These updates will improve the scalability and security of ETH.

What can investors expect from Ethereum 2.0?

With the rapid pace of innovations in the crypto world, you’d be forgiven for not being atop all the latest upgrades.

To get the inside scoop on what crypto investors can expect from the ongoing Ethereum 2.0 upgrade, The Motely Fool turned to Ray Brown, market analyst at crypto exchange CoinSpot.

Brown told us:

Ethereum 2.0 is the first major multi-phase upgrade of the Ethereum blockchain, intended to increase the Ethereum network’s speed, efficiency, and scalability while boosting security and making the network more sustainable.

Supporters of the ETH blockchain are likely to see a reduction in gas and transaction fees and increased transaction throughput which have been seen as limiting factors of the network’s success.

Essentially, with Ethereum 1.0, many investors identified a number of bottlenecks, including the need to increase the number of possible transactions per section (currently 15 to 45).

The 2 main structural changes of the upgrade, Brown said, are a transition to Proof-of-Stake from Proof-Of-Work and the introduction of sharding.

So what’s the difference between Proof-of-Stake and Proof-Of-Work?

According to Brown, among other things, it will significantly reduce the token’s carbon footprint:

Proof-of-Stake (PoS) is a consensus method that states a person can mine or validate block transactions based on how many coins they hold. The more coins a miner owns, the more mining power they have.

Switching to PoS from the current mechanism of Proof-of-Work (PoW) will make Ethereum significantly more environmentally friendly, given it will no longer require huge amounts of computing energy to crack mathematical equations that currently validate its blocks.

As for sharding, Brown explained:

Sharding is the splitting of a blockchain into multiple blockchains, also known as ‘shards’. Sharding is basically spreading the load across multiple portions, meaning reduced network congestion and increased transactions per second for ETH transactions.

Ethereum 2.0 has been rolling out in phases with smaller upgrades, Brown said. The 2.0 upgrade is expected to be completed around June 2022.

So, is Ethereum 2.0 going to be worth the effort?

“If executed correctly, it could be a complete game changer and will certainly be worth the wait,” Brown told The Motley Fool.

The post Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) is up 419% in 2021. Here’s what’s ahead for 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• After a wild 2021, what can crypto investors expect in 2022?
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• Why cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Polygon, and Terra fell today
• Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Cardano continue to recover from late-week selloffs

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum.  The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Earlier today, I looked at the bank shares that Bell Potter is recommending investors buy in 2022. You can read about them here.

On this occasion, let’s take a look at the tech sector and the shares that the broker believes are the top picks for next year.

Which tech shares does the broker like?

According to the note, Bell Potter is more cautious on the tech sector in 2022 than in previous years due to rising interest rates.

Analyst Chris Savage explained: “Such an environment is negative for high growth stocks which have low or negative cash flows/earnings now and only reasonable or meaningful cash flows/earnings in several years’ time.”

“With this in mind we are more attracted to stocks in the tech sector with reasonable cash flows/earnings now and which also have reasonable to strong growth outlooks. We believe these sorts of stocks will continue to perform well – even in a rising interest rate environment – given we are still also in a low growth environment,” he added.

Here are the picks:

Infomedia Limited (ASX: IFM)

Bell Potter has a buy rating and $2.00 price target on the shares of this leading provider of software solutions to the parts and service sectors of the global automotive industry. After a tough time during the pandemic, Infomedia returned to form in the second half of FY 2021 as lockdowns eased. Bell Potter believes it is onwards and upwards from here.

It commented: “We expect this good organic growth to continue into FY22 and this is consistent with the guidance which is for around 20% revenue growth (split roughly evenly between organic growth and an acquisition). The recent issue has been the sudden departure of the CEO but we don’t believe this means there is anything wrong with the company and, rather, when a new CEO is appointed we see this as a likely catalyst for the share price.”

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

Its analysts remain very positive on this app maker’s shares and have a buy rating and $16.25 price target on them. Bell Potter likes Life360’s freemium model and ability to convert its user base into paying subscribers. It expects this trend to continue and be supported by recent acquisitions.

The broker said: “The company has also recently announced two acquisitions – Jiobit and Tile – so that now it not only connects and protects people but also pets and things. Yes Life360 is currently not profitable but the unique positioning of the company means it is well placed to disrupt the safety and security market and so achieve strong top line growth for years to come.”

TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE)

Bell Potter also remains very positive on this enterprise software company. It currently has a buy rating and $15.00 price target on its shares.

Its analysts commented: “The key competitive advantage of the company is it has developed a fully integrated SaaS solution of its software and is now switching customers to this solution. The migration is now >50% complete and Technology One is starting to reap the benefits of greater recurring revenue and a higher margin. This combination will in our view drive double digit earnings growth for years to come and, as the migration of customers approaches 100%, we expect the multiple to re-rate to that of a pure SaaS company.”

The post Top broker names the best ASX tech shares to buy in 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns Life360, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Infomedia and Life360, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Infomedia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The stock market moved lower at midday on Monday, pulling back from some of its gains over the past week. As of 12:45 p.m. ET, the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) was down 146 points, or almost 1%.

Passive investing is a big part of what drives the stock market, and when it comes to Nasdaq stocks, the Nasdaq-100 index is among the most widely followed. Nasdaq made its announcement regarding the annual changes to the Nasdaq-100 over the weekend, and the implications for the stocks it added and the ones that it replaced are huge heading into 2022.

The Nasdaq-100’s annual reconstitution is based entirely on the market capitalization of the companies involved. Therefore, with some notable exceptions, stocks that have done well tend to replace stocks that haven’t been able to keep pace. Below, we’ll look at what happened and what to expect from the 12 Nasdaq stocks that got affected by the changes to the index.

Who’s in

As you’d expect with the Nasdaq, tech stocks were well represented among the additions. Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT), Datadog (NASDAQ: DDOG), Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW), and Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS) all got invitations to join the Nasdaq-100, with market caps between $40 billion and $60 billion. It was particularly interesting to see three companies so closely tied to cybersecurity and threat protection get the nod all at the same time, but that highlights just how important those services have become in light of the acceleration in digital adoption in the past year. Datadog’s data monitoring and analytics have also played a key role in helping businesses adapt to the changing environment.

By far the largest of the stocks to join the index was Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB), which went public right around the time last year’s reconstitution happened. With a market cap above $110 billion, the disruptive accommodations provider has held up reasonably well even amid ongoing challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finally, electric vehicle start-up Lucid Group (NASDAQ: LCID) also made the cut. Lucid boasts a $60 billion market cap and has also gone public recently, leading a group of companies looking to stake their claim in the fast-growing EV market.

Who’s out

Making room for these newcomers were six stocks that had seen mixed performance over the past year. In tech, perhaps the most surprising company headed out the door is IT services provider CDW (NASDAQ: CDW), whose stock has risen nearly 50% over the past 12 months. Nevertheless, with a market cap of just $26 billion, that just wasn’t enough to keep the company in. Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ: CHKP), meanwhile, had seen its stock fall 8%, failing to keep pace with its fellow cybersecurity peers.

The other four companies getting the boot were diversely spaced across industries. Cerner (NASDAQ: CERN) is technically a healthcare company, although its information management systems show its tech-heavy nature. Media giant Fox (NASDAQ: FOXA) (NASDAQ: FOX) was removed, as was online travel services provider Trip.com Group (NASDAQ: TCOM) and biotech company Incyte (NASDAQ: INCY).

What to watch

The interesting thing to consider about these 12 stocks is the extent to which the Nasdaq’s decision reflects past wins rather than future promise. For instance, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) is notorious for dropping companies that go on to outperform the stocks that they choose. This is often because the companies that get kicked out of the Dow tend to be solid value plays, with depressed share prices but blue-chip status to provide a foundation for a recovery. Meanwhile, companies that get added to the Dow are on high notes that leave them open for disappointment later.

In 2022, the Nasdaq-100 will look a lot different, and it’ll be counting on its six new additions to outperform the stocks it left behind. Shareholders might have a different perspective, though, and that should have you watching all 12 of these stocks over the next year. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post 12 Nasdaq stocks to watch in 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) is up 419% in 2021. Here’s what’s ahead for 2022
• Top broker names the best ASX tech shares to buy in 2022
• Citi upgrades CSL (ASX:CSL) share price to buy rating on Vifor Pharma deal
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price edges higher amid AGM resolutions
• MA Financial (ASX:MAF) share price remains frozen amid $145m acquisition

Dan Caplinger owns Datadog. The Motley Fool owns and recommends Airbnb, Inc., Datadog, Incyte, Palo Alto Networks, and Zscaler. The Motley Fool recommends Cerner, Fortinet, and Nasdaq. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price will be one to watch when it returns from its trading halt.

This follows the release of a broker note which is tipping the biotherapeutics company’s shares to shoot higher.

What’s happening?

In case you’re not aware, at present the CSL share price is paused while the company raises funds to make a major acquisition.

CSL has signed an agreement to acquire Swiss biotech giant Vifor Pharma for US$12.3 billion (A$17.2 billion) in cash. This will be funded through a combination of a fully underwritten US$4.5 billion placement, a US$534 million share purchase plan, new debt, and existing cash reserves.

Management notes that the deal expands its leadership across an attractive portfolio focused on Renal Disease and Iron Deficiency. Furthermore, it has a high quality pipeline and complements CSL’s existing therapeutic focus areas including Haematology, Thrombosis, Cardiovascular, and Transplant.

What did the broker say about the CSL share price?

The team at Citi is very positive on the acquisition. So much so, in response the broker has upgraded CSL’s shares to a buy rating with an improved price target of $340.00.

Based on the current CSL share price, this implies potential upside of 14% over the next 12 months.

Citi commented: “CSL has announced that the acquisition of Vifor Pharma – it is acquiring the company at CHF165.5 (US$179.25), a ~65% premium to where the stock was trading pre bid discussion and a ~37% premium to the three-month VWAP. We calculate the acquisition to be ~9% accretive to NPATA per share (NPAT before acquisition-related amortization) – a proxy for cash flow. Including amortization, the transaction is expected to be “modestly accretive” to EPS.”

“CSL is acquiring Vifor Pharma at roughly ~14x FY23 EBITDA (including the full run rate of US$75m in cost synergies). Time will tell if CSL has paid a full price given that the revenue is currently subdued because of the pandemic, and several new products are yet to launch, but the transaction should be ROIC dilutive in FY23. CSL’s management team presented the transaction as being strategically aligned with the existing business,” it added.

The CSL share price is up 4% in 2021.

The post Citi upgrades CSL (ASX:CSL) share price to buy rating on Vifor Pharma deal appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Buying ASX shares? Why the ‘when’ is just as crucial as the ‘which’: expert
• What’s the outlook for ASX biotech shares in 2022?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Shares in Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) are inching higher from the open today amid the outcomes of its annual general meeting (AGM) held earlier today.

In their addresses to shareholders, both Westpac’s CEO and Chairman acknowledged the series of systematic failures the bank has put stakeholders through over the previous years, resulting in a destruction of shareholder value.

For instance, since 2017, the Westpac share price has been on the gradual walk down having lost over 37% or $12.50 per share in value over that time.

As such, the bank touts 2022 as a key year of inflection, marking a turning point in its internal operations and management structure, in an attempt to reverse the long-term trend that’s been in situ.

Here are the key takeouts from Westpac’s AGM.

What did Westpac cover in its AGM?

The macroeconomic environment of 2021 saw Westpac raise its dividend to a full-year payment of 118 cents per share whilst committing to a $3.5 billion off-market buyback of its own stock.

However, as it was put today, these outcomes benefitted from “lower notable items and impairment charges which
obscured an overall decline in core earnings following significant and necessary cost increases to fund operational and regulatory improvements”.

Whilst mortgage growth saw a slight increase from these decisions, it was at the expense of the bank’s net interest margin (NIM), something analysts have been caning the company for this year.

“Overall, the result was disappointing, leading to a drop in our market value for which I apologise unreservedly on behalf of the Board” said Westpac’s chairman, John McFarlane.

As such, the bank has a plan to improve this performance, by instating a plan to reduce costs over the coming 3 years without jeopardising investment in infrastructure and revenue opportunities.

Most of the bearish commentary on Westpac is critical of the bank achieving this target, and many analysts think the company won’t be able to get there.

However, the bank is confident it can, and gave a high-level overview of why it thinks it can. For instance, it noted that last year’s total expenses were $13.3 billion – $10.9 billion when conveniently excluding ‘notable items’.

Backing out more one-off items on the ledger, then its cost base came in at approximately $9 billion, McFarlane says.

This means it needs to reduce its cost base by 11% on a net basis to achieve the $8 billion target by 2024.

Westpac’s chair also acknowledged the “many longstanding” challenges the bank has faced over the years, ranging from a lack of strategic focus to a thinning market share due to “bureaucratic management processes, alongside operational and technological complexity”.

Not only that, the bank still has to resolve a plethora of longstanding legal, risk and regulatory issues, in addition to discovering new issues as it conducts internal investigations.

Some of these issues have only recently been brought on by the regulator as well, including a 30 November announcement by ASIC noting it is launching multiple actions against the bank in the Federal Court.

The regulator alleges Westpac engaged in widespread compliance failures spanning across the entirety of Westpac’s business, including its former general insurance business. Some of the conduct is alleged to have occurred as far back as 20 years ago and to have continued until this day.

As such, many shareholders have opted to vote against the company’s remuneration structure this year, including the Australian Shareholders Association (ASA) voting by proxy against the same.

The ASA noted the bank’s remuneration framework “should support/facilitate positive behaviour and culture and WBC seems to have significant issues even though they are working towards resolving them”.

As the ASA notes, there are still significant issues on Westpac’s plate, and even with all its transformation programs, “as [it] turns over stones, more issues reveal themselves. It is considered that the problems have not been fixed fast enough”.

What to expect moving forward?

Aside from its obvious issues, Westpac says it is committed to changing the narrative. It has put a firm order on exiting thermal coal mining by 2030, with lending to coal mining and to oil and gas extraction declining by 33% over the last two years.

Further, any new oil and gas customers must have public Paris aligned business goals and disclosures, the bank says. With respect to lending to electricity generation, almost 80% is to renewables, and it has set emission intensity targets for electricity generation for 2025 and 2030, per the release today.

However, low interest rates and intense competition will continue to impact sector margins, even as both the Australian and New Zealand economies are poised to rebound strongly from the pandemic.

Time will tell if the banking giant can convert on its said promises, whilst enabling a more productive culture that would prevent further scandals and ensure shareholders see value over the coming decade.

The post Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price edges higher amid AGM resolutions appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Is it a buy? Leading brokers analyse the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price
• Could the CBA share price peak have been and gone?
• Is the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price a buy after falling 19% in 6 weeks?

The author has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The MA Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MAF) share price remains on hold today after the company confirmed rumours of a major acquisition.

Shares in the financial services company were trading at $8.45 apiece before the company called a trading halt yesterday.

Let’s see what MA Financial revealed to the market this morning.

What did the company announce today?

MA Financial has entered into a binding agreement to acquire 100% of BNK Banking Corp Ltd (ASX: BBC)’s mortgage broker network Finsure for $145 million.

Finsure is a leading Australian mortgage aggregator with a lending portfolio of $60.8 billion, focused on the home lending market.

The acquisition will provide MA Financial lenders with access to 2000 mortgage brokers and 4,800 loan products.

Finsure has experienced nearly 28% growth in the 12 months to September this year.

MA Financial will conduct an institutional placement to raise $100 million. Shares for the placement will be issued to the market at $7.75, an 8.3% discount on the company’s $8.45 closing price before the trading halt.

Meanwhile, a share purchase plan for retail shareholders will also be on offer to raise a further $10 million.

Eligible shareholders will be able to purchase up to $30,000 worth of new shares without brokerage fees.

The company has updated its guidance for FY21 in light of the acquisition. MA Financial expects its underlying earnings per share (EPS) growth to exceed the upper end of its 30-40% guidance range.

It also expects its FY22 underlying EPS to be up 15-25% on the FY21 figure, including the Finsure acquisition.

MA Financial Group share price snap shot

The MA Financial share price has soared 68% in the past 12 months, lifting 78% year to date.

While it’s slipped 3.54% in the last month, MA Financial shares gained 3.68% in the past week.

In contrast, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned nearly 11% in the past year.

MA Financial has a market capitalisation of more than $1.3 billion.

The post MA Financial (ASX:MAF) share price remains frozen amid $145m acquisition appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• MA Financial (ASX: MAF) share price halted amid ‘significant acquisition’

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

If you’re a crypto investor, or you’re considering jumping into the crypto space, it’s likely that you’ve already heard a lot about Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH). 

For one thing, it’s the second-most valuable cryptocurrency after Bitcoin. And, just as important for new investors, Ethereum could skyrocket in value in the coming years. 

Some projections estimate that the digital currency could reach $50,000 by 2030 — more than 10 times its current price. 

Of course, no one knows for sure what Ethereum’s price will be in the coming years, but there are at least two reasons this digital coin could be poised for tons more growth ahead. Let’s take a look.

1. It’s a core part of decentralized finance 

One of the single most important reasons Ethereum’s coin has the potential to increase in value is because the Ethereum blockchain has become a foundation of decentralized finance (DeFi).

DeFi apps are being built that allow people to exchange assets with each other, all without the need for traditional institutions (like banks) to facilitate the transactions. This idea could eventually revolutionize many aspects of financial transactions, and Ethereum’s blockchain is what most developers are using to build DeFi apps. 

There are already more than 3,000 of these Ethereum-based DeFi apps (or dApps) currently available. 

One prime example of Ethereum’s ability to create new DeFi markets is the expanding non-fungible token (NFT) market, in which digital assets (like images and music) are being bought and sold in marketplaces built on Ethereum’s blockchain. 

The DeFi market is worth an estimated $100 billion right now, making Ethereum’s blockchain technology a valuable part of this potentially massive market. 

2. Ethereum is about to get even better 

One of the drawbacks to Ethereum’s blockchain is that it uses a ton of energy to process transactions. That’s because any information recorded on the Ethereum blockchain (including transactions) occurs using a proof-of-work system. 

Put simply, proof-of-work means that a complex problem has to be solved in order for transactions to occur. This process takes up a lot of computing power, hence the energy usage, and also takes time to complete. 

The good news is that Ethereum is evolving and next year it’ll officially switch over to a proof-of-stake system that uses Ether token holders as validators for transactions. This will not only make Ethereum more efficient, but transactions will also process faster. 

With this improvement, Ethereum is proving that its blockchain can get better and adapt to new demands.

Keep this in mind 

Investors should keep in mind that the cryptocurrency market is still very volatile. Even Ethereum’s token, which is the second-largest crypto, can experience significant price swings. 

This means that before buying Ethereum, or any other cryptocurrency, you should understand the potential risks of the investment. 

Having said that, the potential for Ethereum and the broader crypto market is huge. More and more people and companies are beginning to see the value that digital tokens and blockchains have to offer in the financial space, and it’s unlikely that this market is going away anytime soon. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post This cryptocurrency could surge 10X by 2030 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and recommends Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) investors have been on another volatile ride in the year almost gone.

And we’re not exaggerating.

Over the past 12 months Bitcoin traded as high as its 10 November all-time high of US$68,789 (AU$96,882) and as low as US$19,080.

That’s some spread!

Crypto investors with cast iron stomachs who held onto their Bitcoin will be sitting on gains of some 61% since 1 January.

Those who bought at the 10 November record high will be nursing some significant losses yet.

That’s a look in the rear-view mirror for you.

But what can crypto investors expect from Bitcoin in the year ahead?

What’s next for Bitcoin in 2022?

That, of course, is a loaded question.

With myriad variables potentially pulling Bitcoin higher or lower next year, the crypto is likely to remain volatile. Though according to Josh Gilbert, crypto analyst at multi-asset investment platform eToro, that volatility could begin to smooth in 2022.

Asked on his outlook for the token in the year ahead, Gilbert told The Motley Fool:

We continued to see further adoption from Bitcoin in 2021, and we can anticipate that this will extend into 2022 as more tech companies such as Meta (WhatsApp) and Twitter integrate the cryptoasset into their functionality.

However, this is just the starting point for adoption, and it still has a long way to go.

In 2021, Bitcoin undertook its lightning upgrade which could really help the asset flourish in 2022, with now greater efficiency and privacy. I also believe that BTC’s volatility will start to decrease in 2022, as institutional adoption grows and the market matures.

Money managers will find it difficult to not allocate cryptoassets such as Bitcoin to their portfolios in 2022, given its significant performance in 2020 and 2021.

We already saw a lot of that institutional adoption happening Down Under this year. Including Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), which became the first Australian bank to offer crypto services to its customers, in an announcement made on 3 November.

Bitcoin investors will be keenly watching that space to see how things progress in 2022.

The post After hitting new record highs in 2021, what’s next for Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) in 2022? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) and Ethereum fall hard again. What’s going on?
• After a wild 2021, what can crypto investors expect in 2022?
• What is the better buy: Bitcoin vs. Ethereum
• Why cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Polygon, and Terra fell today
• Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Cardano continue to recover from late-week selloffs

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Bitcoin. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) share price isn’t going anywhere on Wednesday.

This morning the corporate travel specialist requested a trading halt.

Why is the Corporate Travel Management share price halted?

The Corporate Travel Management share price was placed in a trading halt this morning so the company could undertake a fully underwritten equity raising.

The company is seeking to raise $100 million via a $75 million institutional placement and a $25 million share purchase plan. The $75 million placement will be undertaken at $21.00 per new share, which represents a 5.8% discount to the Corporate Travel Management share price at the close of play on Tuesday.

Whereas shares under the share purchase plan will be issued at the lower of $21.00 per new share or the 5-day volume weighted average price on the closing date.

Why is the company raising funds?

Corporate Travel Management is raising funds after entering into a binding agreement to acquire the corporate and entertainment travel businesses in Australia and New Zealand of Helloworld Travel Limited (ASX: HLO).

Management believes the acquisition will be highly complementary to its existing Australian and New Zealand corporate travel management operations. Furthermore, it adds industry verticals which are expected to perform strongly as the recovery from COVID-19 continues.

The two parties have agreed a deal that implies an enterprise value of $175 million, which represents a transaction multiple of 8x normalised pro forma FY 2019 EBITDA. Not all of this will be paid in cash. The release explains that Helloworld will receive transaction consideration of $100 million in cash and $75 million in Corporate Travel Management shares. The latter will be escrowed for 12 months from the date of completion.

Based on the above, management expects the deal to be approximately 3% earnings per share accretive excluding synergies and 7% including full run-rate synergies.

Trading update

Corporate Travel Management took this opportunity to provide a short update on current trading.

Pleasingly, as of 30 November, the company has maintained positive monthly underlying EBITDA during the second quarter of FY 2022. This was despite being impacted by the onset of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

Furthermore, the company has maintained a strong balance sheet, with operational cash of $102 million and no debt drawn at 30 November.

The post Why is the Corporate Travel Management (ASX:CTD) share price halted? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why has the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price had such a lousy start to December?
• 3 ASX travel shares to buy while Omicron scares everyone
• Why have investors been saying goodbye to Helloworld (ASX:HLO) shares lately?
• Why is the Helloworld (ASX:HLO) share price tumbling 6% on Friday?
• Here’s why the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price is getting hammered on Friday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Corporate Travel Management Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

What happened

Around 5:30 a.m. ET today, Elon Musk woke up and chose peace. This time, rather than spouting his concerns about the environmental impact of crypto mining, or otherwise disparaging crypto, he chose to once again provide Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) speculators with something to cheer.

Elon Musk tweeted, “Tesla will make some merch buyable with Doge & see how it goes.” This single tweet resulted in Dogecoin jumping from $0.1593 to $0.1949 within a few minutes. As of 8:20 a.m. ET, DOGE trades at $0.2021, having peaked at $0.2129 earlier this morning. This amounts to a move of 24.3% over the past 24 hours.

So what

The timing of this move is certainly interesting for Musk. A day after being named the Person of the Year by Time magazine, perhaps Musk is feeling invincible. Or just happy. Or both.

Whatever the case, it’s also clear that Musk is currently in the midst of a number of battles right now. Crypto may be the one frontier Musk can win at — simply by issuing a tweet. This move to offer Doge merchandise is likely less about the revenue opportunity and more about changing the topic of discussion when it comes to Elon Musk.

Musk continues to battle Raptor engine production issues at SpaceX. Tesla has been embroiled in what has turned into multiple sexual harassment lawsuits. And Elon Musk has proven to be his own worst enemy, picking fights with the Securities and Exchange Commission and politicians like Bernie Sanders frequently in recent months. 

Now, all anyone is talking about when it comes to Musk is his love for dog-inspired meme tokens.

Now what

For investors in Dogecoin, perhaps an inundated Elon Musk is the best thing for this token. Should Musk focus more of his tweeting energy on this meme token, investors stand to benefit.

There’s seemingly no real value to this tweet from a purely fundamental perspective. Dogecoin stands to benefit in no other way from Elon Musk’s merchandise campaign, other than to raise awareness for this token. That said, as the original meme token, Dogecoin’s notoriety has proven to be the primary driver of its success. Accordingly, speculators now have something to cheer, once again. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Dogecoin jumps more than 20% in minutes on renewed Elon Musk backing appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 fundamental reasons Dogecoin is stabilising today
• Why cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Polygon, and Terra fell today
• An electric car ETF is coming to the ASX: Here’s what we know
• What this EV forecast could mean for top ASX 200 resource shares
• Is the RBA about to join the digital currency revolution?

Chris MacDonald has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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