The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price is up 3% since this time yesterday. That puts the world’s leading crypto up 4% over the past week.

One Bitcoin is currently trading for US$23,924 (AU$34,085).

The last week’s move higher will be welcomed by crypto investors. However, the Bitcoin price remains down 50% year-to-date and down 62% from the record highs reached on 10 November last year.

That timing didn’t exactly work out well for El Salvador’s government.

The Bitcoin price hit its record high two months after El Salvador became the first nation in the world to adopt the crypto as legal tender. President Nayib Bukele made the virtual groundbreaking announcement on 10 June 2021. The legislation took effect in September 2021.

Unswayed by Bitcoin price retreat

According to calculations by Bloomberg – based on Bukele’s tweets – the 2,381 Bitcoin El Salvador bought with public funds are worth about 50% of what the government paid for them.

Despite the big retrace in the Bitcoin price, El Salvador’s finance minister, Alejandro Zelaya, stood by the decision.

According to Zelaya (quoted by Bloomberg):

For some, it’s something new and something they don’t entirely understand, but it’s a phenomenon that exists and is gaining ground and will continue to be around in the coming years.

Zelaya was also unswayed by surveys indicating the majority of businesses and households continue to preference fiat currency over the crypto:

We aren’t going to have results overnight. We can’t go to bed poor and wake up millionaires. New technologies have shown how people in previous years were afraid of things like websites and digital business, but it’s been shown through time that reality imposes itself.

Crypto-backed bond still in the pipeline

Not everyone is as enthusiastic about the nation designating Bitcoin as legal tender.

The IMF counts among those critics. Yet El Salvador’s government intends to move forward with its plans for a US$1 billion Bitcoin-backed bond even as it negotiates a US$1.3 billion extended fund facility with the IMF.

Zelaya said the Bitcoin price crash had only delayed the rollout of the crypto-backed bond, not derailed it.

“I believe in the traditional, international monetary system just as I believe that new technologies are going to help human beings in the future,” he said.  “So, I think making that transition is vital and it would be wrong of us to not pursue financial innovation that could benefit El Salvador.”

The post Why El Salvador is doubling down on Bitcoin despite the 2022 price crash 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. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin. 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 Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) share price is lifting into the green during afternoon trade on Friday.

At the time of writing, the share is trading 0.3% higher at $32.07 on no news. In broad market moves, the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) is up 0.43% on the day.

It’s also proving a good day for Woodside’s ASX oil share peers. The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is up 1.04% in late afternoon trade, while the Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) share price is rising 1.11%.

Meanwhile, Brent Crude is trading around 0.24% down at US$106 per barrel after moving in sideways territory throughout July.

The oil benchmark is now down from its 9 June highs of US$120 per barrel, pointing to a potential cooling in prices.

What does this mean for the Woodside share price?

Despite its recent volatility, forecasts remain strong for the price of oil, which could weigh on the Woodside share price.

“Shell CEO Ben van Beurden told Bloomberg TV on Thursday that there is more upside than downside for oil prices as ‘demand hasn’t fully recovered yet and supply is definitely tight’,” Trading Economics reports.

“TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne shared the same view, saying oil production could not keep up with recovering demand,” it added.

Meanwhile, the risk of recession continues to be a weighting factor on global oil markets. With the US Fed raising its policy rates another 75 basis points this week, talk of economic slowdown has grown.

“It certainly feels like we are back in trade-off mode again, where sentiment is shifting between recessionary risks in H2 and a fundamentally undersupplied market,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management told Reuters.

The movement of the oil price has been reflected in the Woodside share price over the past 12 months, as seen on the chart below.

Woodside has gained more than 46% this year to date and is up 45% for the past 12 months.

The post Oil has retraced from June highs. What’s this mean for the Woodside share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
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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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Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares are gaining alongside the broader market rally today.

CBA shares closed yesterday trading for $99.89 and are currently changing hands for $101.12, up 1.2%.

Barring any late afternoon selling action, today should mark the third day of share price gains for the big four bank. CommBank closed lower on Monday and Tuesday, then rallied on Wednesday and again on Thursday in the wake of the US Fed’s 0.75% interest rate hike decision.

All up the big bank’s share moves this week leave it up 3.4% since last Friday’s close.

Now here’s what put CBA shares in front of the media this week.

CommBank rolls out new tech

On Tuesday, CommBank reported that commencing early next month, customers will be able to use its app to track their carbon footprint. In a first for Aussie banks, the emissions estimate will be based on their spending data.

The tech behind the app was developed in partnership with sustainability Fintech startup Cogo.

Commenting on the carbon tracking app rollout, Ben Morgan, general manager strategy investments and transformation said:

The combination of customer data and Cogo’s capabilities, means we can now provide personalised and granular information to customers about how their spending translates to a carbon footprint.

A customer’s carbon footprint is an estimate that considers things such as personalised spending data and transaction behaviours.

CBA shares were back in the news on Thursday when the bank unveiled its latest technology hub in Melbourne’s central business district.

The centre can support some 400 software developers, cloud engineers and cyber specialists, which the bank says will help create fresh opportunities for Victoria’s growing digital economy workforce.

Commenting on the new tech hub, Brendan Hopper, CBA’s chief information officer for technology said:

Establishing a tech hub in Melbourne puts us in a great position to tap into Victoria’s digital technology industry, which is not only internationally recognised, but incredibly robust and competitive thanks to support from the government and the education sector,

CBA recently opened a tech hub in Adelaide and operates another tech centre in Sydney. The bank intends to open more tech hubs across Australia to tap into those states and territories’ technology skills.

How have CBA shares been performing longer term?

CBA shares have outperformed the benchmark over the past 12 months, gaining 2% while the ASX 200 fell 6%.

At the current share price, CBA also pays a trailing dividend yield of 3.9%, fully franked.

The post Here’s what’s happening with CBA shares this week 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 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 good week for the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO), and these shares are making the most of it, rocketing home on Friday.

The index has gained 2.5% since the end of last week, driving it to trade at a seven-week high this afternoon.

Let’s take a look at three shares leaping towards the finish line.

3 ASX All Ords shares surging higher on Friday

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

It’s been a good week for the ASX All Ords Index, but its performance has been nothing compared to that of the Temple & Webster share price.

It’s lifting another 11.01% today to trade at $5.04 – 33% higher than it closed last Friday.

There’s been no news to explain the online homewares and furniture retailer’s recent gains. However, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released data detailing another record level of Australian retail turnover in June.

Additionally, an insider recently suggested online retailers might actually benefit from rising inflation, as my Fool colleague Tristan Harrison reports.

Adriatic Metals Plc (ASX: ADT)

It’s also been a good day for precious and base metals explorer Adriatic Metals.

The All Ords share is leaping 8.9% so far to trade at $2.08 on the back of the company’s quarterly results.

The company said it has inflationary pressures under control, its project is still on schedule to begin concentrate production in the second quarter of 2023, and it held US$83.4 million in cash as of 30 June.

EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML)

The EML Payments share price is also ending the week on a strong note, up 9.28% to $1.06. Sadly though, it’s not enough to boost the All Ords share back into this week’s green.

Monday saw the stock plummet 22% on news the Central Bank of Ireland isn’t impressed with the company’s remediation program.

EML Payments is now making further changes in a bid to get the central bank’s final approval next year.

The post 3 ASX All Ords shares having a stellar end to the week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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 EML Payments and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended EML Payments. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Temple & Webster Group Ltd. 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 Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price is ending the week on a positive note.

In late trade, the investment bank’s shares are up almost 2% to $181.95.

Can the Macquarie share price keep rising?

The good news is that one leading broker sees room for the Macquarie share price to keep rising.

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts remain neutral rated but see decent upside ahead of the company’s shares with their trimmed price target of $194.03.

Based on the current Macquarie share price, this equates to upside of almost 7%

And that’s before dividends. Goldman is forecasting a $5.85 per share dividend in FY 2023. This represents a forward yield of 3.2% and brings its total potential return to ~10%.

What did the broker say?

Goldman was pleased with Macquarie’s performance during the first quarter. Particularly given the difficult trading conditions it was facing. It commented:

MQG 1Q23 performance was solid, which despite difficult conditions, was up on a strong pcp with annuity style businesses up significantly and capital markets facing businesses up slightly. That said, management noted conditions did soften during the quarter and did update its divisional guidance, which implied broadly consistent Group NPAT to our previous forecasts.

The broker also believes that the bank’s growth outlook is strong. However, due to the company cycling an even stronger period a year earlier, it suspects that Macquarie will still report a decline in profits in FY 2023.

So, with its shares trading at a premium to long term averages, it is sticking with its neutral rating for now. Goldman concludes:

MQG’s solid 1Q23 performance combined with yet again higher business capital requirements suggests a strong growth outlook for the group. However, against this, divisional guidance implies FY23 earnings will likely fall, with our forecasts currently down 13%. We highlight that the stock is trading on a 12-month fwd PER of c.16x, which is c.15% above its long-term average of 13.5x, and with the stock offering only 12% [now 7%] upside to our revised TP, we stay Neutral.

The post Broker gives its verdict on the Macquarie share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Macquarie share price lifts as CEO spruiks ‘very good inflation protection’
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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 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 AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) share price is edging higher in afternoon trade on Friday.

At the time of writing, investors have bid the share nearly 1% into the green despite no market-sensitive news.

In broad market moves, the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) is trading more than 2% higher on the day. Returns for both for the past 12 months are seen below.

What’s up with the AGL share price?

Whilst it’s been quiet in AGL’s camp, elsewhere it’s been more of a ruckus. US Natural Gas futures have rebounded towards yearly highs and now trade 51% higher on the month.

Moreover, the outlook for energy markets continues to strengthen for suppliers, a positive inflection point for the AGL share price.

This sentiment was echoed by analysts at JP Morgan who are bullish on the AGL share price.

In a recent note, the broker upgraded its average wholesale electricity prices by 93% to $208 megawatt per hour.

It expects these trends to continue into FY23 and FY24 with similar upgrades to forecasts in those years as well.

As a result, the broker anticipates AGL to print net profit of around $240 million in FY22, expanding to $555 million in FY23 and $1.32 billion in FY24.

Meanwhile, AGL is rated as a buy from 44% of the brokers covering the share, with the remainder tilted towards a hold, per Refinitiv Eikon data. There is just 1 sell rating.

The consensus price target from this list is $9.06 per share. Meanwhile, AGL has secured a 36% gain this year to date.

The post What’s been impacting the AGL share price this week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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The share price of online retailing juggernaut Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) has surged more than 13% in post-market trading in the US.

At the time of writing, Amazon shares are resting at $122.28 apiece, having closed the US session higher in extended trading after the company released its Q2 FY22 earnings.

Amazon share price roars post-market after earnings

The key standout for Amazon for the period was its $121 billion in quarterly revenue. In what appears to have been good news for the Amazon share price, this beat analysts’ expectations by more than $2.04 billion.

Advertising revenue was particularly strong this quarter, growing 18% year on year to around $8.8 billion.

Meanwhile, operating cash flow decreased 40% to $35.6 billion, whereas free cash flow decreased to an outflow of $23.5 billion.

Notably, Prime members purchased more than 300 million items on Prime Day and saved more than $1.7 billion — more than any other Prime Day event.

Moreover, Amazon style was on show this quarter as it launched Virtual Try-On for Shoes, “where shoppers can virtually try on thousands of sneaker styles”.

The company also reaffirmed that customers in California and Texas will be among the first to receive Prime Air drone deliveries.

“Customers will have the option to receive free and fast drone delivery on thousands of everyday items,” Amazon stated.

These results actually overshadowed a net loss of $2 billion for the quarter. The result gives a loss on earnings per share (EPS) of 20 cents, below analyst estimates of a positive 12 cents EPS.

However, the bottom-line result appeared to be skewed somewhat, as it reflects an approximate $4 billion charge related to Amazon’s equity stake in electric automaker, Rivian Automotive.

Management commentary

Speaking on the results that have boosted the Amazon share price, CEO Andy Jassy said:

Despite continued inflationary pressures in fuel, energy, and transportation costs, we’re making progress on the more controllable costs we referenced last quarter, particularly improving the productivity of our fulfillment network.

We’re also seeing revenue accelerate as we continue to make Prime even better for members, both investing in faster shipping speeds, and adding unique benefits such as free delivery from Grubhub for a year, exclusive access to NFL Thursday Night Football games starting September 15, and releasing the highly anticipated series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on September 2.

What’s next for Amazon?

The strong result saw management reinstate third-quarter guidance of net sales between $125 billion and $130 billion, calling for growth of 13-17%.

With this result, it also expects some unfavourable impact from foreign exchange rates. Meanwhile, Amazon also forecasts operating income of $3.5 billion at the upper end.

The Amazon share price is down 28% this year to date, and 32% in the past 12 months.

The post Amazon share price surges 13% after hours on revenue beat appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. 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 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.

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The Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) share price is surging on Friday afternoon.

This comes after the medical device company’s shares tumbled almost 20% this week before staging a mini-comeback yesterday.

At the time of writing, the medical device company’s shares are swapping hands at $1.62, up 7.29% – slightly under last Friday’s close of $1.725.

Let’s look at what the company announced to the market today.

Polynovo bolsters leadership team

Investors are snapping up Polynovo shares after the company revealed it had secured the services of an experienced pharmaceutical leader.

In today’s release, Polynovo advised Swami Raote has been appointed as company CEO with immediate effect.

This sees acting CEO Max Johnston exit the role after serving since November 2021.

Polynovo noted Raote’s achievements, particularly his 30-year career at global pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson.

During his time there, Raote earned a reputation as a transformation growth leader across fast-moving consumer goods, over-the-counter products, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.

He also held senior leadership positions at Johnson & Johnson across various geographies of interest to Polynovo. This includes Indonesia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), India, China, South Korea, and the United States.

Raote is currently “an advisor to the prime minister of a major Asian country that is building a digital health platform”, according to his biography.

Furthermore, he’s in several other advisory roles, which Polynovo will review to consider potential market opportunities.

Management commentary

Polynovo chair David Williams welcomed the news, saying:

Swami has successfully run fully integrated businesses including research and development, regulatory, manufacturing, and sales and marketing. That experience along with hands on experience in many geographies and markets will position Polynovo for an exciting new era of growth, innovation, and operational excellence.

On a lighter note, Williams added:

Swami is 58 years old and given he is significantly younger than me, I judge he has more than enough energy for the challenge.

Polynovo share price snapshot

Despite its recent gains, the Polynovo share price has plummeted 30% over the last 12 months.

The company’s shares hit a 52-week low of 83.5 cents on 5 May and have been treading upwards since.

Based on today’s price, Polynovo commands a market capitalisation of more than $1 billion.

The post ‘Transformation growth’: Polynovo share price jumps 7% on new leadership appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 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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It’s been a pretty decent end to the trading week so far this Friday for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). The ASX 200 has added a healthy 0.82% so far today to 6,946 points. But the Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is doing even better.

Santos shares are currently up an index-beating 1.10% at $7.32 a share. That comes after this ASX 200 energy share rose as high as $7.44 in earlier trading, a rise worth more than 2% at the time.

So how is Santos managing to be an ASX 200 winner today?

Well, since Santos is an ASX oil share, our first port of call should be the crude oil price itself. According to Bloomberg, oil prices have been rising for the last few days. Back on 26 July, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures was US$94.98 a barrel.

But, at the time of writing, these WTI futures are now going for US$96.69 a barrel. So there has been a definite uptick in the value of crude oil over the past few days.

This could be behind the strong performance of the Santos share price this Friday.

Santos and ASX energy shares rise on higher oil price

But it’s not just Santos shares that are enjoying a day in the sun today.

Take the Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) share price. Woodside is the largest energy share on the ASX 200. Its shares are also up today, having risen by 0.88% to $32.10 each.

Looking at the Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) share price and we see a similar pattern. Beach has risen by 1.39% so far today to $1.82 a share.

So we are seeing some fairly consistent moves in the ASX oil shares space, which points to an industry-wide trend. As such, we can conclude that it is probably the strength in the oil price itself which is largely responsible for the outperformance of the Santos share price so far today.

At the current Santos share price, this ASX 200 energy share has a market capitalisation of $24.61 billion, with a dividend yield of 2.66%.

The post Why is the Santos share price beating the ASX 200 on Friday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 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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Whilst ASX 200 bank basket continues to outperform, one smaller lender has shone through today.

Shares of online business lender Prospa Group Ltd (ASX: PGL) are surging into the green today following the release of its quarterly update today.

At the time of writing on Friday, the Prospa share price is currently trading 11.54% higher at 87 cents apiece.

Prospa share price prospers following quarter

Key takeouts from the rival to the big 4 ASX 200 banks include:

• Full-year EBITDA of c.$12 million1 (FY21 $0.5 million) Originations of $245.7 million in 4QFY22, up 35% on the prior corresponding period (pcp)
• Prospa’s highest month ever recorded for originations reaching $104.6 million in June 2022
• Revenue reached $53.9 million, up 61% against pcp
• Total active customers increased to ~16,100, an additional ~2,100 from the prior quarter
• Credit losses expected to remain within the board-mandated loss rate range of 4-6%.

What else happened this quarter for Prospa?

It was a strong period for loan originations, recording $104 million in June alone.

As a result of this originations growth, the closing loan book increased to $701.3 million, an increase of 20% from the prior quarter.

Gross Loans reached $633.4 million for the quarter, an increase of 16% from the prior quarter’s $546 million.

Total active customers increased to approximately 16,100 last period as well. This represents a gain of around 2,100 from March 2022.

The company achieved this result “while maintaining an industry-leading Net Promoter Score above 80”.

In accordance with its buyback program announced in February 2022, Prospa has now repurchased 690,876 ordinary shares up to 30 June 2022.

Management commentary

Speaking on the results, Greg Moshal, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Prospa said:

We are incredibly pleased with the momentum and outcomes the team has achieved. Each quarter
this year, they’ve come back with greater enthusiasm. Their hard work has translated to recordbreaking results, including the $104.6 million originations in June.

Our partners have played an integral role in the achievement of Prospa’s results, placing trust in our
products and advocating them to their small business clients. It gives us great satisfaction to know
that our funding solutions are supporting small business owners to achieve their business goals. The
success stories reaffirm our commitment to keep small business moving, and keep us focused on
closing the funding gap for small businesses as a strategic priority.

Prospa is now pushing higher alongside the ASX 200 bank share basket, securing a 21% gain this year to date.

The post Move over Big four! This ASX non-bank lender just had a record quarter, and its share price is soaring 12% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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