The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is pushing higher on Tuesday morning.

At the time of writing, the energy producer’s shares are up 2% to $7.02.

What’s going on with the Santos share price today?

Investors have been bidding the Santos share price higher today after a positive announcement offset further weakness in oil prices.

According to the release, Santos has received a binding conditional offer from Kumul Petroleum to acquire a 5% project interest in PNG LNG for an asset value of US$1.4 billion (A$2.2 billion). This includes a proportionate share of project finance debt of approximately US$300 million.

Kumul Petroleum is Papua New Guinea’s national oil and gas company and an existing partner in the PNG LNG project.

Should the sale go ahead, it would increase the equity interest of Kumul Petroleum to approximately 22%. This supports the Papua New Guinea’s government objectives for the people of Papua New Guinea to have a greater equity interest in the development of their natural resources.

Santos will be left with a 37.5% interest in the project.

What’s next?

The offer is conditional on Kumul Petroleum obtaining the waivers of certain pre-emptive rights by all PNG LNG project participants under the project operating agreement. It is also subject to customary conditions including necessary regulatory approvals and Kumul Petroleum securing financing.

If it does complete, the proposed transaction will have an effective date of 31 December 2022. This will mean that Santos retains all 2022 cash flows.

Santos managing director and CEO, Kevin Gallagher, believes the sale represents an opportunity to build strategic alignment for the future development of PNG’s natural gas resources. He commented:

PNG LNG is a low-cost and low emissions intensity asset that contributes strong cash flows to the project participants and economic and social benefits to the nation. Following the transaction, Santos would maintain a 37.5 per cent interest in this world-class project. Santos has been a committed partner in PNG for over 40 years, involved in more than 30 different licenses and has significant community partnerships and projects across the nation.

As part of the deal, Santos and Kumul Petroleum will negotiate a heads of agreement to further collaborate on the development of Kumul’s regional capacity and capability. This includes carbon emission reduction opportunities to achieve net-zero operations.

The post Santos share price higher on $2.2 billion PNG deal appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Why is the Santos share price sinking 5% today?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 2 surprising ASX shares to buy for the energy transition: Wilsons
• Own Santos shares? Get ready to receive your dividends

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 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 Scott Phillips.

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As we near the end of the month, the number of companies in the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) turning ex-dividend is dwindling.

Nonetheless, there will be two high-yielding ASX All Ords shares going ex-dividend tomorrow.

In other words, these companies will be taking away entitlements to their upcoming dividend payments. Let’s check them out.

Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR)

First up, ASX retail share Myer will be trading tomorrow without a fully franked final dividend of 2.5 cents per share.

That means that today will be the last day to lock in this dividend. As of tomorrow, investors buying Myer shares will be doing so without entitlements to the upcoming dividend, which will be paid on 7 November.

But accordingly, Myer shares will likely drop tomorrow as the value of the dividend leaves the share price.

Myer operates on a slightly different financial calendar than the rest of the ASX. Its financial year ends in July, so the department store handed in its FY22 results a couple of weeks ago.

Despite 11% of trading days in lockdown, Myer achieved total sales of nearly $3 billion, up 12% from the prior year.

Adjusted net profit after tax (NPAT) more than doubled to $60 million, capped off by Myer’s best second-half profit result in the company’s history.

Prior to this year, Myer last doled out dividends in FY17. It reinstated dividends back in February when announcing its first-half 2022 results, with CEO John King commenting:

Myer will pay a dividend for the first time in four years, demonstrating our confidence in the momentum being built as we move into the second half, with a return to sales growth in the first five weeks of second half with trade up 15.2% and a strong platform of future initiatives that are yet to be delivered as part of the Customer First Plan.

In the end, Myer declared total dividends of 4 cents per share in FY22, fully franked. This means that Myer shares are currently spinning up an eye-catching trailing dividend yield of 7.1%. Including franking credits, this yield grosses up to 10.2%.

Cedar Woods Properties Limited (ASX: CWP)

Next up, property developer Cedar Woods is another ASX All Ords share going ex-dividend tomorrow. 

The company released its FY22 results last month, hiking its final dividend by 7% to 14.5 cents, fully franked.

Investors on Cedar Woods’ share registry at the end of today will receive this payment on 28 October.

FY22 was a year of growth for Cedar Woods. Revenue lifted by 11% to $333 million, while NPAT came in ahead of guidance at $37 million, up 14% from the prior year.

The company noted that its projects experienced ‘good’ demand during the year across the four states it operates in and most product types. However, sales rates have weakened in recent months in response to interest rate increases.

Nonetheless, the company entered FY23 with $500 million of presales contracts. Around 70% of these contracts are expected to settle in FY23.

The profit growth Cedar Woods achieved in FY22 translated to an uplift in dividends. Across the financial year, the company raised its total dividends by 4% to 27.5 cents, fully franked. This represents a dividend payout ratio of roughly 60% of NPAT.

Based on current prices, this ASX All Ords share is printing a trailing dividend yield of 6.7%. With the benefit of franking credits, this yield dials up to 9.6%.

The post Here are 2 ASX All Ords shares going ex-dividend tomorrow appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 3 ASX All Ords shares that marched higher on Friday
• Myer share price falls despite FY22 profit surge
• Why Leo Lithium, Myer, Neuren, and Peter Warren shares are rising today
• Down 80% since listing, could this ASX retail share be set for a mega-merger?

Motley Fool contributor Cathryn Goh 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 Scott Phillips.

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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

Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) climbed higher Monday morning, adding as much as 3.1%. As of market close, the stock was still up 1.2% — even as each of the major stock indexes slumped.

The catalyst that sent the e-commerce giant higher was reporting the company will hold a second Prime Day sale this year, which will kick off in just weeks.

So what

In a press release that dropped early this morning, the company introduced Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale, a shopping event exclusively for Prime members, which will be held on Oct. 11-12. “The new 48-hour event gives Prime members exclusive early access to holiday deals,” the company said in a statement. The sale will have items from popular brands, including Peloton Interactive, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTON) and New Balance, while also offering the lowest prices of the year on a variety of other products.

The sale will be available in 15 countries — including the U.S. — “giving members a chance to kick off the holiday shopping season early with hundreds of thousands of deals.” As part of the event, Amazon is providing a Top 100 list, which will include “the season’s most popular and giftable items.”

Furthermore, members will be provided with “early access” to check out the holiday gift guides and early deals beginning today. Initial promotions include a four-month free trial of Amazon Music Unlimited, a free one-year subscription to Just Eat Takeway.com‘s Grubhub+, or a third-generation Echo Dot for $0.99.

Now what

Since it was introduced in 2015 to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary, Amazon Prime Day has become a customer-favorite event, spawning a multitude of copycats and imitators. While the company keeps details about the financial results of the event quiet, estimates suggest that Prime Day (which is now a two-day event) generated record sales of $12 billion in 2022. It’s important to view that in context, however, as it’s just a drop in the bucket compared to the $470 billion in revenue Amazon generated last year.

Still, given the growing importance of its annual sale, it’s not too surprising that Amazon would double down on the event — much to the delight of its shareholders.

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

The post Why Amazon stock popped on Monday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• This stock market investment strategy made money 100% of the time over the last century
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• Is Tesla stock recession-proof?
• Why Amazon and these other leading tech stocks fell today

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Danny Vena has positions in Amazon and Peloton Interactive. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Amazon and Peloton Interactive. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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

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The Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ) has fallen far enough that I believe it’s a very worthwhile investment opportunity.

Aside from currency effects, this exchange-traded fund (ETF) simply tracks the combined return of 100 of the largest non-financial businesses on the NASDAQ stock exchange in the US.

At the time of writing, the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF has fallen by around 27% since the start of 2022. That’s a hefty decline for a large group of businesses in less than a year.

There are probably a few key reasons for the decline.

Inflation and interest rates

The share market is meant to have a bit of volatility sometimes. But, things have been particularly rough this year as inflation proved no longer to be “transitory” and remained stubbornly strong.

General price stability is one of the important factors for a good economy. Central banks don’t want to let inflation become entrenched. So, they are raising interest rates to try to bring things under control.

In January 1990, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) interest rate was 17.50%. During COVID-19, that dropped to just 0.1% (though there were a whole bunch of interest rate cuts in between).

Why do interest rates matter so much? Legendary investor Warren Buffett once said:

The value of every business, the value of a farm, the value of an apartment house, the value of any economic asset, is 100% sensitive to interest rates because all you are doing in investing is transferring some money to somebody now in exchange for what you expect the stream of money to be, to come in over a period of time, and the higher interest rates are the less that present value is going to be. So every business by its nature … its intrinsic valuation is 100% sensitive to interest rates.

In other words, interest rates have a key role in influencing asset prices.

Why I think it’s a good time to buy Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF

The Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF has fallen a long way this year. I like investing in businesses and investments that have good long-term prospects, at a good price.

In my opinion, a number of the businesses in the ETF’s portfolio are among the best in the world at what they do. We’re talking about names like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Nvidia, Costco, Adobe, PayPal, ASML and Moderna.

I believe that this group of businesses can continue to perform well over the long term as they maintain and grow their competitive advantages, expand into new geographies and launch new services or products.

When is a great time to buy shares? I think it’s when the asset price is at its lowest. Who knows if it’s going to go any lower? I don’t know, but I do think the current level is a good price for a long-term investment.

One of the attractive factors about this ETF is that its portfolio can steadily keep changing and evolving as new, promising businesses enter that top 100 list.

I’ve been buying shares this week, I think this could be a really useful time to be investing because of the lower prices.

The post Why I think right now is a great time to buy the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• You might be surprised by how much the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF pays in dividends
• Here’s why I think these ASX tech shares are buys in September
• 2 outstanding ETFs for ASX investors to buy next week
• Here’s why the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF has tanked 4% today
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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended ASML Holding, Adobe Inc., Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS, Costco Wholesale, Meta Platforms, Inc., Microsoft, Nvidia, PayPal Holdings, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Moderna Inc. and has recommended the following options: long January 2024 $420 calls on Adobe Inc., long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple, short January 2024 $430 calls on Adobe Inc., and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ASML Holding, Adobe Inc., Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Inc., Nvidia, and PayPal Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) share price has had a really tough time in 2022. Over the last six months, it’s down by 41%. Ouch.

Considering it’s one of the ASX’s biggest gold miners, that’s a painful drop.

Things are not turning out well for investors in gold miners this year. It’s strange because two factors are happening which are meant to help gold and gold miners shine.

Inflation is high, and gold is typically thought of as an inflation hedge. Gold is also seen as a defensive asset class that can provide stability while ‘risky’ assets like shares and property suffer. Both of those things are happening, yet Newcrest is languishing.

When looking at all of the returns this year within the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), collectively, gold miners have not done well. The ASX 200 index itself is down 15% this year, while the Newcrest Mining share price is down 35%.

Time to jump on the gold miner?

Expert Elio D’Amato from Spotee Connect certainly doesn’t think the Newcrest share price is an opportunity.

On The Bull, he rated the business as a sell. He explained:

The US dollar is expected to remain stronger for longer, so the gold bulls may have to wait for eagerly anticipated inflation trades.

Gold production guidance of between 2,100,000 ounces and 2,400,000 ounces in fiscal year 2023 is weaker than we expected. All in sustaining costs of between US$930 an ounce and $US1,070 an ounce is higher than we anticipated. Other stocks appeal more at this time.

In its FY22 result, Newcrest gave that guidance and also explained what was included in that all-in-sustaining cost (AISC) expenditure.

Newcrest said the cost guidance includes approximately 6% to 8% of inflationary impacts to operating costs, 12 months of costs relating to Brucejack and the impact on costs of increased mining and throughput rates at Cadia and Lihir.

The miner also stated:

Continued pressure on capital costs is expected due to competition for labour from infrastructure projects together with the acute inflationary pressures experienced globally across a range of input costs such as energy and steel, which has been factored into the FY23 guidance.

Newcrest uses multiple levers to manage operating and capital cost pressures in the current inflationary environment and continues to evaluate cost estimates as it progresses its feasibility studies.

This guidance comes after an 8% drop in revenue and a 27% decline in earnings per share (EPS) in FY22.

However, perhaps unsurprisingly, management is confident about the future. The leadership pointed to its global organic growth portfolio, with Cadia, Red Chris, Havieron and Lihir all expected to reach key study milestones throughout FY23.

It was also noted that the business has a “substantial and increasing exposure to copper”, which was described as a critical metal of the future with a “positive long-term outlook that will allow” the company to participate in the decarbonisation global shift.

Newcrest share price snapshot

Over the past month, Newcrest shares have fallen 9%. They are also down 31% over the past 12 months.

The post Newcrest share price hits 6-year low. Expert predicts more pain to come appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• The market has been hating on this ASX 200 share in 2022. Here’s why I still love it
• Why is the De Grey share price struggling this week?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Why Imugene, Link, Newcrest, and Zip shares are dropping

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 Scott Phillips.

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The Iluka Resources Limited (ASX: ILU) share price has struggled in the past month, but could there be better days ahead?

Since market close on 26 August, the company’s share price has fallen nearly 18% to $8.82.

Let’s take a look at the outlook for the Iluka Resources share price.

Can the Iluka Resources share price go higher?

Iluka Resources is a mineral sands explorer producing rare earth minerals for an electrified future. These include neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium, lanthanum, and cerium.

Spotee Connect managing director Elio D’Amato is recommending Iluka as a buy.

Commenting on the outlook for Iluka on The Bull, D’Amato highlighted Iluka delivered a “solid interim report” recently. He added:

Sales exceeded production, and all at high zircon prices. The company is expected to start its rutile mill in Western Australia by mid next year. 

D’Amato believes Iluka’s Eneabba rare earths refinery project in Western Australia is set to drive growth in the future. He said:

The Eneabba rare earths refinery will be a new growth engine, following recent approvals and a $1.25 billion non-recourse loan from the Australian Government to build it.

The Eneabba refinery will be the third of its kind outside China, as my Foolish colleague James reported recently.

Goldman Sachs has also recently placed a buy rating on the Iluka share price and a $13.30 price target. Goldman said: “We think ILU’s Eneabba RE refinery is a strategic asset considering it will be only the third western world RE refinery.”

Iluka reported a 186% increase in profit to $368,5 million in the first half of calendar year 2022.

Iluka share price snapshot

The Iluka share price has shed 4% in the past year, while it has fallen 11% year to date.

For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) has fallen 13% in the year to date.

Iluka has a market capitalisation of more than $3.7 billion based on the current share price.

The post Down 18% in a month, is the Iluka Resources share price a smart buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 2 ‘cyclical’ ASX shares about to take off: experts
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Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs. 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 Scott Phillips.

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Like many ASX tech shares, the Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price has been battered and bruised this year.

So much so that Xero shares are wearing a 46% fall since the beginning of the year. By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has dropped 15%.

Despite the recent turbulence, here are a few reasons why I’m holding onto my Xero shares for the long term.

Mission-critical products

I love investing in companies that offer mission-critical products. Companies with products that are so deeply embedded in their customers’ lives that they’re hard to give up.

These products are sticky, leading to high levels of customer retention and recurring revenue. Not only does this help companies to weather economic storms, but it can also give them lucrative pricing power.

I believe Xero fits this bill to a tee. Its software plays an integral role in the operations of its small to medium size business customers. 

Plus, there are also meaningful switching costs involved in moving to another cloud accounting provider. Users would have to learn an entirely new system, move all of their old accounts to another platform, and set up various processes and workflows all over again – a daunting and disruptive process.

So, Xero’s revenue is very sticky. And the company has consistently flexed its pricing power over the years, increasing the prices of its monthly subscriptions without drastically impacting the number of customers going out the door (also known as ‘churn’). 

It helps that Xero continues to roll out new features and integrations for its customers, providing more value while also embedding itself even further into customers’ workflows.

Attractive unit economics

This pricing power has helped Xero to increase its average revenue per user (ARPU) over time. Which, combined with stable churn, has boosted Xero’s customer lifetime value (LTV).

Put simply, LTV is the gross profit Xero estimates it will collect from a customer over the expected lifetime of that customer. I should add that Xero boasts high gross margins, which came in at 87% in FY22.

In my view, Xero is a company with very attractive underlying economics. The beauty of these economics is best seen through the relationship between its LTV and customer acquisition costs (CAC).

In other words, how much it costs Xero to acquire a customer compared to how much that customer is worth.

In FY22, Xero reported an LTV-to-CAC ratio of 6.9. This means that Xero estimates it gets NZ$6.90 back for every NZ$1 it spends to acquire a new customer.

So although Xero has a hefty marketing spend, it makes sense to invest in these channels at such attractive rates of return.

A large opportunity

Xero has nearly all but gobbled up its local markets of Australia and New Zealand. But the international opportunity remains large. And with many businesses overseas yet to shift to cloud accounting, this opportunity is ripe for the picking.

Competition is certainly fierce, especially in the US, where Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) reigns supreme.  But with a leading cloud-native product, more than 1,000 app integrations (where Xero now clips the ticket, à la Apple), a broad and growing set of tools, and heavy investment into product design and development, I believe Xero is in a strong position to gain market share as more companies take their business to the cloud. 

The UK and Canada are particular regions of focus, with low cloud accounting penetration and industry tailwinds blowing in Xero’s favour.

The opportunity for Xero lies in adding to its 3.3 million-strong subscriber base. And from there, continuing to extract more revenue from its existing customers. 

Where to from here?

Although it’s very capable of generating free cash flow, Xero continues to reinvest cash back into the business for future growth. So, it’s not a surprise to see market sentiment turn against Xero this year.

Xero is a business that will require patience. But, much like management, I believe it pays to think long term. 

In my mind, Xero is one of the highest quality businesses on the ASX. And as long as the economics remain attractive, and it continues to take market share, Xero is a business I’ll be happy to hold in my portfolio for many years to come.

The post Down 46% in 2022, why ASX 200 tech share Xero is still my hero appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 2 ASX 200 growth shares analysts rate as buys
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Markets move all the time. Why it’s important to ‘keep calm and focus on longer-term strategy’
• Here’s how I’d invest $2,000 in ASX shares if I’d just turned 18
• Xero share price is tumbling 5%, but could it be worth a buy?

Motley Fool contributor Cathryn Goh has positions in Apple and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Apple, Intuit, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price has been hurting over the last few weeks. It’s down 14% in the past month.

How does that compare to the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)? The ASX 200 has fallen 7%. That’s interesting considering BHP is such a large proportion of the ASX 200 — it’s around 10% of the index.

A lot of the fall happened yesterday when BHP slumped by more than 5%.

Can things turn around? Let me just consult my crystal ball here…

Volatile commodities

There are a few key things that affect BHP’s share price and profit.

General market sentiment can really affect the share price, as we saw during the COVID-19 crash. But then there are more specific things for BHP, such as commodity prices and its production volumes, that can also influence investor sentiment.

BHP has a portfolio of different commodities, including iron ore, copper, coal, and so on.

There are certainly concerns about what a global recession could do to resource prices. The iron ore price has dropped from above US$150 per tonne earlier this year to under US$100 per tonne. However, how much further are the commodity prices going to drop?

It’s hard to say. But, the longer-term outlook for some of its commodities looks promising in a decarbonising world. Copper and nickel are needed for electric vehicles and electrification, and potash is a ‘greener’ fertiliser.

Do experts think the BHP share price is an opportunity?

The broker Macquarie certainly does, with an outperform rating. Earlier in September, Macquarie increased its price target on BHP to $42, implying a rise of around 16% from the current level of $36.20. It notes that BHP’s earnings are benefiting from the strong coal prices.

Another broker, Morgan Stanley, is equal-weight on the business, which is like a hold. However, the price target is $43.20 – this implies a possible rise of almost 20%. The broker thinks that some miners look good value and that higher resource prices can help BHP.

However, Credit Suisse is not so convinced, with a price target of $36. That implies no movement over the next year. It is cautious about where copper and iron ore prices could move in the short term. The broker thinks that BHP wants to find an acquisition.

My take on the BHP share price

The last 12 months alone have seen plenty of volatility for the big resources business.

I think it’s great at what it does and, at the right price, I believe it’s worth thinking about because of its ability to make big profits in the good times. The low share price comes when there are shorter-term concerns about commodity prices and demand.

With a solid dividend expected even as profits fall, I think it could be worth owning BHP shares during this period of uncertainty.

The dividend per share estimate on CMC Markets for FY24 is $2.79, which equates to a grossed-up dividend yield of 11% at the current BHP share price. I think BHP’s greener-focused portfolio has a promising future, so I’d be happy to use the current weakness to buy a parcel of shares and consider buying more if it dropped further.

The post Down 14% in a month, what’s next for the BHP share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Why BHP, Costa, Link, and Syrah shares are dropping
• Why has the Macquarie share price been thrashed 10% in a fortnight?
• BHP share price dips 4% in miserable Monday for ASX 200 miners
• Why BHP might still have a chance at acquiring OZ Minerals shares

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The price of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is treading near its lowest level in the past 12 months. After failing to continue its rebound in August, demand for the weathered crypto asset has waned.

Today, Bitcoin is hovering around US$18,780, down a gut-wrenching 73% from its 52-week high. The harrowing fall has coincided with monetary tightening by central banks around the world. As a result, liquidity for this alternative has evaporated right in front of our eyes.

At the same time, greater scrutiny around proof-of-work (PoW) — Bitcoin’s consensus mechanism — has increased awareness of Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and its recently adopted proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism. The Ethereum network now uses approximately 99.95% less energy post-merge.

But here’s why I continue to hold Bitcoin… and no, I don’t hate the environment.

Why I still see value in Bitcoin

We have all seen them, the comparisons of Bitcoin’s network energy consumption relative to whole countries.

According to estimates by the University of Cambridge, the network is currently operating on annualised energy consumption of approximately 93 terawatt-hours (TWh). This would put the decentralised blockchain’s consumption roughly on par with all of Pakistan.

Though, I personally don’t consider this a negative if there is something of a corresponding value from it. In this case, the value proposition is a highly secure, immutable, and deflationary form of monetary exchange.

For context, YouTube demands around 244 TWh per year — pictured below — and no one bats an eye. Why is this? Because instant access to a library of content at your fingertips has value… immense value.

In the same way, I believe there is a huge need for a means of exchange that is governed by a decentralised cohort, accessible globally, and eliminates the inequality-inducing economic problem of inflation.

But why not Ethereum? And I agree, Ethereum has great value in its own right — bringing decentralisation to all forms of finances. However, in the process of converting to PoS, I personally believe the network removed an important tangible aspect.

To be fair, Ethereum has implemented some highly sophisticated tech that should maintain network security. However, there is something to be said for a network — such as Bitcoin’s — that is reliant on something that cannot be imitated, created, or destroyed… real and tangible energy.

I’m still in the process of understanding all the intricacies of Ethereum 2.0.

Simple and stable

Speaking of intricacies… another reason why I personally still hold Bitcoin is because of its relatively straightforward concept. As my engineering days taught me: the more parts, the more points of failure.

While Ethereum quite honestly needs to be complex to achieve its goal, a decentralised store of value doesn’t need to be. And, quite frankly, if I’m keeping a large sum of money there, I don’t want it to be either.

Each time a protocol undergoes a change, it presents a risk. Thankfully, Ethereum successfully completed ‘The Merge’ unscathed, but there were likely a few people sweating in the process.

In contrast, Bitcoin rarely makes substantial changes to its foundational code. Personally, this is another reason why I like it as an alternative store of value. It may not be as ‘smart’ as Ethereum, but it sure is reliable.

The post Bitcoin isn’t as ‘smart’ as Ethereum… and that’s why I hold it appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Check out this US stock if you’re worried about crypto and chip shortages
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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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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

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) climbed higher Monday morning, adding as much as 2.2%. By market close, the stock was still up 0.23%, even as the broader market slipped.

The catalyst that sent the tech giant higher was reporting that it had begun manufacturing some iPhone 14 models in India.

So what

Apple has long produced the vast majority of its iPhones in China. In recent years, however, the company has been working to diversify its manufacturing footprint, while also expanding its market share in India.

The company has been producing a limited number of devices in India for about five years, but assembly has been restricted to older models, including the iPhone SE. Apple global manufacturing partner Foxconn is producing the locally manufactured iPhones, which will be available to customers in India within days.

Apple issued the following statement: “The new iPhone 14 lineup introduces groundbreaking new technologies and important safety capabilities. We’re excited to be manufacturing iPhone 14 in India.”

Now what

There are a number of benefits to further expanding beyond its primary factory. Apple has been working to increase its market share in India, but those efforts have been hampered by lower-cost smartphones from competitors manufactured in that country. By increasing its production capacity in India, Apple could reduce the cost of the device for consumers in the local market, and it could also export iPhones to nearby markets, according to reports.

Apple has also been hampered by government efforts to curb the resurgence of COVID-19 in China, which has resulted in lockdowns and manufacturing delays due to shuttered factories. This has shined a spotlight on a potential weakness in Apple’s supply chain.

In a note to clients earlier this month, J.P. Morgan analysts posited that Apple would likely move 5% of its worldwide production of the iPhone 14 to India by later this year. Furthermore, Apple could make one-quarter of all iPhones in India by 2025, the analysts suggested.

This is a smart move, particularly since the company generates more than half its revenue from the iPhone. Not only will this provide Apple with additional production options, but also help it tap into the world’s second-largest population.

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

The post Why Apple stock rallied Monday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• This stock market investment strategy made money 100% of the time over the last century
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• Should you really buy Apple stock?
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• Why investors found Apple stock tempting today

Danny Vena has positions in Apple. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Apple. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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

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