The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price traded rangebound today, closing 0.22% in the red at $26.99.

NAB shares started the year well before sliding off the cliff face in June. Investors have dragged the stock from a high of $31.55 on 1 June, bringing losses to 13% in a month.

In broad market moves, the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) closed down 40 basis points on Wednesday.

Is the NAB share price about to hit back?

ASX bank shares have been beaten down in 2022 amid concerns over the sector’s exposure to mortgages, rising interest rates, and the Australian property market.

Analysts at JP Morgan recently updated their modelling following NAB’s completion of the Citi Australian consumer business acquisition on 1 June.

“This has driven a [less than] 1% increase to FY22E cash NPAT [net profit after tax] and ~2% increase to FY23/24 cash NPAT,” the JP Morgan team said.

It has an overweight rating on the bank and prices the share at $34.50 apiece, providing around $7 upside at the time of writing. JP Morgan notes:

We have an [overweight] recommendation on NAB reflecting stronger-than-peer revenue growth prospects, likely sound cost control, leverage to rising rates, and ongoing capital management.

The stronger revenue profile reflects NAB’s tilt towards small business banking, which should insulate it from ROE [return on equity] pressures in retail banking, as well as strong execution in its market leading SME [small to medium enterprise] franchise where it continues to take market share.

The broker also sees NAB’s pre-provision profit growth outshining its peers, and its valuation reflects the present value of the bank’s dividend stream plus a multiple of its tangible book value.

Meanwhile, 46.7% of brokers each have NAB rated as a buy and hold respectively, according to Bloomberg data. The remaining ~7% say to sell.

The consensus price target from this list is $32.23, meaning there’s still room for NAB to grow should this play out.

In the last 12 months, the NAB share price has held onto a 0.97% gain, despite sliding 6.4% into the red this year to date.

The post Is the NAB share price about to hit the comeback trail? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• ‘Price makers’: 3 ASX 200 shares that can pass on rising costs in an inflationary environment
• Worried about a US recession? Here’s what the ASX 200 banks are forecasting
• How does the Macquarie dividend stack up against the ASX big four banks?
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• Why are ASX 200 bank shares having such a cracking start to the week?

JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow 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.

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN)’s stock split has come and passed, and the company is now trading on a split-adjusted basis. Given the newly lowered share price, it is an excellent time to consider the bear and bull case for investing in Amazon’s stock. 

The bear case will center on its rapidly rising costs amid decelerating revenue growth. Meanwhile, the bull case will focus on higher-profit segments taking a more meaningful share of the revenue, making the stock arguably cheap. Let’s dive deeper. 

Bear case: Slowing revenue and rising costs is a poor combination

Amazon came through in the clutch for hundreds of millions of households when the coronavirus pandemic forced non-essential businesses to close their doors to in-person shoppers. Sales surged for Amazon as it became a prominent alternative for folks looking to avoid shopping at bricks-and-mortar stores. Indeed, revenue jumped $106 billion higher in 2020 from 2019.

Fulfilling an increase of that magnitude is no easy task. It required Amazon to double the size of its fulfilment network in 24 months.

AMZN Total Operating Expenses (Quarterly) data by YCharts.

Those investments in capacity are now weighing on profits as revenue growth is decelerating from pandemic highs. In its most recent quarter ended on March 31, revenue increased by 7%, or less than $8 billion from the same quarter in the year prior — its slowest rate of growth in several years. Meanwhile, total operating expenses rose by over $13 billion.

Unfortunately, management projects this trend to continue while it works to balance capacity with sales. Amazon forecasts revenue to grow by an even lower 5% in its second quarter. Worse yet, it expects operating income to fall to $1 billion, down from $7.7 billion in the same quarter last year. The estimates are midpoints.

There is no telling how far revenue growth will decelerate as economic reopening gains momentum, which will continue weighing on operating income in the near term. 

Bull case: More profitable segments are growing faster 

Amazon’s revenue growth is slowing after the surge at the pandemic’s onset. Internally, however, Amazon’s more profitable segments are taking more importance. Its Amazon web services segment accelerated growth to 37% in its most recent quarter, up from 32% in the prior year. That segment boasted an operating profit margin of 35% in Q1. Amazon is a leading force in the cloud services industry, which is estimated to reach $495 billion in spending in 2022.

Moreover, Amazon has developed a burgeoning advertising business. Revenue in this segment grew by 25% in Q1 to reach $7.9 billion. Marketers spent $763 billion globally in 2021, and it is reasonable to expect Amazon can take a more meaningful share of this market. Hundreds of millions of shoppers visit Amazon’s website, looking to spend money. Advertisers would love the opportunity to influence those decisions.

AMZN PE Ratio data by YCharts.

The rise of these more profitable revenue sources has improved Amazon’s operating profit margin from 0.2% in 2014 to 5.3% in 2021. Finally, to make the case more compelling, Amazon’s stock is as cheap as it’s been in a long time. At a price-to-earnings ratio of 51, it’s near the lowest in the previous five years.

Bulls win out 

Overall, the bull case is stronger than the bear. The temporary imbalance between capacity and sales will eventually balance. On the side of the bulls, the growth in Amazon’s web services and ad businesses will likely last long term. Couple that with an inexpensive valuation, and it makes Amazon stock an excellent buy right now.

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

The post Amazon stock post-split: Bear vs. bull appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Nasdaq bear market: Where to invest $1,000 right now
• Why Meta, Amazon, and Apple shares were falling today
• Why Amazon stock crushed the market today
• 2 Warren Buffett stocks to buy and hold forever
• Amazon Just Split Its Stock: Here’s What Comes Next

Parkev Tatevosian has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Amazon. 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 Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) share price continued to sink to multi-year lows today.

For the first time since 2016, the buy-now pay-later (BNPL) company’s shares closed at less than 50 cents apiece.

To be precise, Zip shares lost 11.43% today to finish at 46.5 cents each, just marginally up on their intraday low of 46 cents apiece.

Why is there no end in sight for Zip shares?

With the S&P/ASX 200 Financials (ASX: XFJ) index also recording a 0.42% loss today, Zip shares seemed to bear the brunt.

It appears fears surrounding more interest rate hikes from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) are weighing down investor confidence.

In the March quarter, inflation rose 5.1% which was the highest rate in many years.

Ultimately, this impacts consumer spending on discretionary items as the cost of debt increases on such expenses as mortgages and credit cards.

Some economists are predicting the RBA will further lift the official cash rate up to 2.5% by mid-2023. This is considerably higher than the current 0.85% interest rate that’s on offer for now.

Similarly, other shares in BNPL companies finished in the red today.

The Block Inc CDI (ASX: SQ2) share price finished 4% off its all-time low, closing at $84.63, down 1.59%.

As well, shares in Splitit Payments Ltd (ASX: SPT) and Humm Group Ltd (ASX: HUM) ended the day down 12.5% and 3.81%, respectively.

Zip provides business update

In a late afternoon release to the market, Zip provided more clarity on how it is tracking in the current trading environment.

Management noted that the company’s underlying business remains strong, with new onboard merchants as well as growth in customers and transaction volumes.

Importantly, the company said it is focusing on driving its credit losses below the 2% threshold of total transaction volumes (TTV).

Furthermore, Zip said that it is well placed to weather the current storm of rising interest rates with a number of initiatives underway. These include consumer fee increases, merchant repricing, increased customer repayment velocity, and more.

As of 31 March, Zip had $303 million available in cash and liquidity.

Zip share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Zip share price has plummeted by 94%, with year-to-date down more than 89%.

In February 2021, the company’s shares reached their all-time high of $14.53 each.

Zip currently presides a market capitalisation of around $319 million.

The post Zip share price dives 11%, closing below 50c for first time in 6 years appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why Blackmores, Lake Resources, St Barbara, and Zip shares are dropping
• ASX 200 midday update: St Barbara and Zip drop to multi-year lows
• The Zip share price is down 90% in 2022. Why I won’t be buying
• Zip share price falling again as market experts argue for UK and US exit
• Why A2 Milk, Bubs, Evolution, and Zip shares are rising despite the selloff

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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 ZIPCOLTD FPO. 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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ASX coal shares are on a rollercoaster as a new Queensland tax is adding to the volatility brought on by surging coal prices and climate concerns.

But there’s one ASX coal company that’s standing apart from its peers today — that’s Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB). Its share price rocketed 21.43% to close at 25.5 cents today.

The gain is in contrast to fellow Queensland coal miners that are reeling from the shock news that the Palaszczuk government is hiking coal royalty rates.

ASX coal miners getting burnt in Queensland

The South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) share price tumbled 1.7% to $4.09 while the Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price lost 1.67% to close at $4.70. Both have coal operations in Queensland.

But that is also true for the Bowen Coking with its flagship project in Queensland’s Bowen Basin.

New Hope for the Bowen Coking share price

Having said that, the project is still some way away from shipping its first coal. Bowen Coking announced yesterday that it had secured a US$55 million debt facility to fast-track its Burton Mine.

The facility, provided by Taurus Mining Finance Fund No. 2, will primarily be for the rebuilding of the Burton infrastructure.

Further, the company signed a A$70 million secured performance bonding facility agreement with New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC), with an additional A$40 million via convertible notes.

The total funding of around A$190 million will enable the ASX small cap miner to complete the acquisition of 90% of the Lenton Joint Venture (JV). The JV owns the Lenton Project and the Burton Mine.

ASX coal miners up in arms

South32 and Whitehaven are less fortunate as they will feel the impact of the royalty hike announced on Tuesday.

Royalties could go up as much as 40% when ASX coal miners receive more than $300 a tonne for their coal.

Coal miners in Queensland have been scathing of the state government’s decision which, they say, was implemented without industry consultation.

Windfall tax rattles industry

The higher royalty regime has three tiers. The first is a 20% tax for prices above $175 a tonne, then 30% above $225 a tonne, and 40% when it’s more than $300 a tonne.

The windfall tax could reap the Queensland government an extra $4.5 billion in the next three months alone if current spot prices are maintained.

ASX oil and gas shares will also be watching nervously. There’s debate about whether they too should be hit with extra taxes due to the surging prices of their commodities.

Is this a bullish sign for coal?

But it isn’t all bad news for coal miners. Last year’s power crisis in China due to a shortage of coal could repeat this year.

The Asian giant is trying to cap coal prices to avoid power blackouts this summer, according to reports by the Australian Financial Review. This is in response to surging demand and a lack of supply.

As we discovered the previous time Beijing tried that, price caps don’t work. If anything, this could be a signal for ASX coal share bulls to keep betting on the sector.

Meantime, Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will likely be rubbing her hands in glee.

The post Down 40% Tuesday, up 21% today, what’s going on with this ASX coal share? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• How big will the South32 dividend be in 2023?
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• Are these coal miners shaping up to be underrated ASX dividend shares?

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau has positions in South32 Ltd. 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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It’s been a big week for the BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) share price this week. On Monday, BrainChip shares officially joined the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

The ASX 200 is of course the flagship index covering ASX shares. It represents the largest 200 companies on the ASX, weighted by market capitalisation. But an ASX share’s market cap changes every trading day (i.e. when its share price moves). As such, the index has to be continually rebalanced to ensure that it accurately reflects the ASX’s largest 200 companies.

The index provider S&P Global does this rebalancing every three months. And the latest rebalance took effect on Monday after being announced back on 3 June.

So yes, this was when BrainChip shares joined the ASX 200, alongside other ASX 200 newcomers like Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE) and Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO). These companies took the place of shares like Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) and Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV), which were kicked out of the ASX 200.

Conventionally, joining an index like the ASX 200 is viewed as a potentially positive catalyst for a company’s share price for a number of reasons. But has this been the case for Brainchip?

How has BrainChip’s first week as an ASX 200 share been?

It’s going well so far. Upon joining the ASX 200 on Monday, the BrainChip share price lifted. It ended its first day as an ASX 200 share up 1.1% at 92 cents. 

But since then, BrainChip shares have drifted lower. They just closed at 89 cents each, down 3.26% on yesterday’s close. So overall, BrainChip has lost ground since becoming a member of the ASX 200 index.

But this is a company that routinely gives investors spades of volatility. The BrainChip share price has now lost almost 30% over the past month alone. But even so, it remains up more than 35% over the past six months, and up close to 70% over the past year. 

At the company’s closing share price of 89 cents today, BrainChip shares have a market capitalisation of $1.57 billion. 

The post How has the BrainChip share price performed since joining the ASX 200? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Has 2022 proven Woolworths is a defensive ASX share?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 Appen Ltd and POLYNOVO FPO. 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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Owners of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) shares may want to know how the big four S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank share is planning to get ahead of rivals with technology.

There is a lot of competition in the space. Not only are there the other big four ASX banks like Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), but there are other challengers as well. Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) and Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) are two other competitors.

But, ANZ is hoping to win customers while doing nothing. It’s putting effort and money towards upgrading its technology.

Maile Carnegie, group executive of ANZ’s Australian retail, wrote in a recent blog post:

While a rising interest rate environment will provide a temporary reprieve for banks, in the longer-term other trends will have more bearing on returns.

Those trends include intense competition in the lending market place, rising regulatory and compliance costs and capital overlays. We don’t see any sudden lessening in competition, quite the opposite. And it’s also unlikely we’ll suddenly be able to cut our regulatory and compliance costs.

Technology focus

ANZ is trying to improve its offering to customers by improving its speed of product to market, such as getting home loans to customers more quickly.

The big four ASX 200 bank share has been trying to simplify processes and “make it more friendly” for customers. The bank has had to fundamentally rebuild itself with its ‘ANZx’ program.

Carnegie said:

The ANZ Plus platform we launched recently is a result of that rebuild and is about providing better, faster, cheaper and more effective controls for this business as well as keeping pace with what our customers need.

We decided to rebuild half a century of systems technology and processes rather than wallpapering over the cracks. We did this because we knew tacking on automated controls to legacy systems just wasn’t going to work. It required a different solution.

The rebuild of the underlying technology is now complete and we are starting to see the rebuild of the customer applications that sit on top, starting with ANZ Plus savings and transaction accounts.

ANZ is expecting to be able to give customers more features and functionality in the coming weeks, followed by other offerings, including home loans. The big four bank plans to have beta testing for loans in late 2022.

The ASX 200 bank share thinks the new offering and underlying technology will help customers.

Latest view on the bank

One of the most recent opinions has come from Morgan Stanley. It reduced its ANZ share price target to $24.30, with a rating of ‘equal-weight’, which is like a hold rating.

The broker noted that ANZ’s net interest margin (NIM) could rise as the RBA increases interest rates. However, it could cause problems for the loan book in terms of arrears.

The post How ANZ plans to fend off competition from other ASX 200 bank shares with fresh tech appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why are ASX 200 bank shares having such a cracking start to the week?
• Experts rate these ASX 200 blue chip shares as buys

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 and Westpac Banking Corporation. 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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If you’re looking for growth shares to buy, then you may want to consider the two listed below that brokers are bullish on.

Here’s what you need to know about these growth shares:

Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG)

The first ASX growth share to look at is Breville. It is a leading appliance manufacturer behind a range of brands.

It has been growing at a solid rate over the last decade and this is expected to continue in FY 2022. In fact, a recent presentation reveals that Breville expects its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in FY 2022 “to be consistent with the markets’ consensus forecast of ~$156m.” This will be a 14.3% increase from FY 2021’s EBIT of $136.4 million.

Morgans is a fan of Breville and believes it is well-placed for strong growth in the coming years.

In our opinion, BRG deserves to trade at a premium multiple. It is positioned to deliver double-digit sales growth consistently over the next few years as it grows its market share, notably in geographies into which it has recently launched. Our rating remains ADD.

The broker currently has an add rating and $32.00 price target on its shares.

Nitro Software Ltd (ASX: NTO)

Another ASX growth share that analysts rate highly is Nitro. It is a technology company that provides businesses of all size with integrated PDF productivity and eSignature tools.

Its shares have been hit hard this year due to weakness in the tech sector, which has been felt hardest among loss-making companies. And while Nitro is still some way from being profitable, it has a strong balance sheet.

Goldman Sachs is bullish due to Nitro’s long term growth potential. It commented:

We appreciate that a material re-rate likely requires a change in sentiment towards unprofitable tech companies, however we think NTO screens attractively relative to tech peers and on a longer-term view. Our focus now shifts to NTO’s execution on its pipeline of new business and e-sign cross-sell opportunities, with concerns over balance sheet now eased. We see NTO as an attractive long-term growth opportunity at a discounted valuation.

The broker currently has a buy rating and $2.35 price target on the company’s shares.

The post Experts have named these top growth shares as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Nitro Software 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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Are you looking to make some additions to your portfolio? If exchange traded funds (ETFs) are of interest to you, then you may want to look at the three listed below.

Here’s what you need to know about them:

BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK)

The first ETF for ASX investors to look at is the BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF. This ETF gives investors exposure to the leading companies in the growing cybersecurity sector. This includes companies such as Accenture, Cisco, Cloudflare, Fortinet, Okta, Splunk, Zscaler, Crowdstrike.

With cyberattacks continuing to grow as more infrastructure shifts online, demand for cybersecurity services has been increasing strongly. The good news is that this trend is expected to continue in the future, which puts these companies in a strong position for growth.

BetaShares Global Energy Companies ETF (ASX: FUEL)

Another ETF to for ASX investors look at is the BetaShares Global Energy Companies ETF. This ETF provides investors with access to a group of global energy companies. Among the 50+ shares included in the fund are energy giants such as BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Royal Dutch Shell.

Given how high oil prices are at the moment due to supply issues, these shares look well-placed to deliver bumper profits and dividends in the near term. The ETF also currently trades with a 3.5% trailing dividend yield.

VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF (ASX: ESPO)

A final ETF for investors to look at is the VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF. This ETF gives investors exposure to the largest companies involved in video game development and hardware. This includes Activision Blizzard, AMD, Electronic Arts, Nintendo, Nvidia, Roblox, and Take-Two.

VanEck believes that these companies are well-placed to benefit from the increasing popularity of video games and eSports. This could make the ETF a top long term option for investors.

The post 3 highly rated ETFs for ASX investors to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 positions in and has recommended BETA CYBER ETF UNITS and BetaShares Global Energy Companies ETF – Currency Hedged. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BETA CYBER ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended VanEck Vectors ETF Trust – VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF. 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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Crypto investors take note.

The 2022 financial year is fast drawing to a close.

And the Australian Tax Office (ATO) is well aware that ever more Australians bought and sold Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and a wide range of other altcoins over the past 12 months.

The ATO recently revealed it would be paying special attention to capital gains realised from crypto sales.

As posted on the ATO website, “If you are involved in acquiring or disposing of cryptocurrency, you need to be aware of the tax consequences. These vary depending on the nature of your circumstances.”

As circumstances can and do vary widely, we asked Lee Daniels, market analyst at CoinSpot, what investors might not know about crypto tax in Australia.

Crypto is viewed as an asset subject to capital gains taxes

“Like shares or property, crypto is viewed as an asset. Every time you sell, swap, spend or gift crypto, it counts as a capital gains event”, Daniels told The Motley Fool.

As the name implies, you need to pay a capital gains tax (CGT) if you’ve gained money by selling Bitcoin, an altcoin, or a non-fungible token (NFT) during the financial year. That gain represents your selling price minus your buying price.

However, that won’t apply if you’re holding onto your digital assets. “If you have held your crypto, even if the value has increased, you will not need to pay CGT,” Daniels said.

And there are exemptions to be aware of:

When paying CGT, there are exemptions that may apply, including using crypto to purchase goods or services. Donating crypto to a registered charity is also not considered a capital gains event. You can even claim the amount on your tax return.

Keep track of your holding period

A second handy tip Daniels shared was to be sure to note how long you’ve held your crypto before selling or spending it.

“If you hold crypto for over 12 months, you will only pay tax on 50% of your capital gain,” he said.

Importantly, that 50% discount won’t apply to traders.

According to Daniels:

One key thing that crypto holders should consider is whether they are an investor or a trader. The ATO differentiates between the two. And how you handle your taxes can entirely depend on which classification you fall under.

Put simply, an investor is someone who is primarily buying and selling digital assets for personal investment using personal funds.

A trader is someone whose primary cryptocurrency activities revolve around business income. Therefore, a trader’s profits or losses may be subject to the relevant type of income tax, rather than capital gains tax.

Lost money on your crypto investments, pay less tax

Digital assets have come under tremendous pressure this calendar year amid fast rising interest rates. In fact, you have to go back to December 2020 to find Bitcoin, the top token by market cap, trading for less than it is today.

Which could mean you can write off some of that pain via a capital loss.

“A capital loss is when the value of your crypto is worth less at the time it is sold than when you bought it,” Daniel said. “Capital losses can offset capital gains either in the same financial year or in subsequent financial years.”

If you made a $5,000 profit selling Bitcoin early in the year but lost $5,000 in a later transaction, you wouldn’t owe any tax.

“If your coins have been lost or stolen, you may also be able to claim a capital loss,” Daniels added.

Trading within digital assets

Some investors and traders steer entirely clear of fiat currencies like the Aussie dollar and trade entirely via digital tokens.

But this won’t get you off the hook with any potential taxes owed.

According to Daniels:

Although trading from crypto-to-crypto means any profit you made has not involved Australian dollars, CGT still applies.

When trading crypto-to-crypto, you are receiving an asset rather than money. In this case, you will need to keep track of all of your trades to calculate any capital gains or losses for your tax return.

Don’t ignore those NFT sales

NFTs have soared in popularity over the past year. And if you’ve sold some of this digital artwork for a gain, the ATO wants to know about it.

“Generally, the same rules apply for NFTs as crypto when it comes to income tax,” Daniels said.

He explained:

An income tax treatment depends on whether you use the NFT as part of a business, as a personal asset or as a capital asset of a business. If you are buying and selling a large volume of NFTs, you may be considered to be operating as a business.

If you purchase an NFT as part of your overall investment portfolio, then the ensuing sale of that NFT will likely count towards your CGT. If you hold an NFT for at least 12 months, then the 50% general CGT discount is also available to you.

The post The ATO is collecting crypto taxes. Here are 5 handy expert tips come tax time appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 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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The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price has been one of the worst performers on the ASX 200 on Wednesday.

In afternoon trade, the lithium developer’s shares are down 14% to 86.5 cents.

Why is the Core Lithium share price being hammered?

The selldown of the Core LIthium share price has been driven by broad weakness in the lithium industry today, which is being felt hardest among developers rather than producers.

For example, lithium developer, Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE), which also joined the ASX 200 this week with Core Lithium, is down materially today along with Argosy Minerals Limited (ASX: AGY), Liontown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR), and Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA).

What’s behind the weakness?

Investors appear to have been selling lithium shares on Wednesday amid news that Germany is planning to defy the European Union by backtracking on future plans to ban internal combustion engine (ICE) cars.

The Financial Times reports that Germany’s finance minister, Christian Lindner, has rejected plans for the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035. This could have a major impact on the number of electric vehicles on European roads in 2035, especially if other countries follow its lead.

Less electric vehicles mean less demand for the lithium that goes into their batteries. And given that there are already concerns floating around about increasing supply of the battery making material, this may not bode well for long term lithium prices.

Though, a lot can certainly change between now and then.

The post Why is the Core Lithium share price down 14%? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
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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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