Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) often makes financial headlines for its wild price swings.

Sometimes for leaping higher. Sometimes for plummeting lower.

But investors – and your faithful media – are also increasingly taking note of the massive amount of energy soaked up by Bitcoin miners.

By some estimates, the vast amounts of computing power required to run the blockchain networks that enable the crypto’s transactions as well as mine new tokens, already uses as much energy as all of the Netherlands.

And the world’s biggest crypto by market cap could soon surpass the energy use of all of Australia.

With the world increasingly focused on decarbonising, you can see how this could pose an image problem.

Enter ‘green Bitcoin’.

Renewables to the rescue

While the overall energy use required to run the blockchain networks isn’t likely to fall anytime soon, the source of that energy is increasingly carbon neutral.

And that, according to Dan Roberts, CEO of Iris Energy Ltd (NASDAQ: IREN), is seeing more corporates and “semi-government institutions” express an interest in investing in sustainably mined Bitcoin.

According to Roberts (quoted by The Age):

It’s something that will take three to six months to play out. But specific things are being worked on with specific organisations and semi-government corporates who are now quite interested in procuring green sustainable bitcoin directly from a miner.

Iris runs its crypto mining operation out of Canada solely off renewable energy.

Roberts said that the greening of the token is helping stoke institutional investor interest. But he noted it’s already proven to be an attractive investment, even with its currently significant carbon footprint:

Bitcoin is selling itself with its scarcity attributes and the central banks are selling it on its behalf by continuing to debase the currency. The whole renewables side of that is just the next overlay for investors to think, ‘What are the stakeholders? Are we being socially responsible? What’s the right way to go about a transition to a different asset class?’

Bitcoin price slide no huge concern

As far as the performance of Iris, Roberts said the fall in the token’s price since November’s all-time highs isn’t a big concern.

According to Roberts (quoted by The Age):

On a day-to-day basis … it’s zero effect. We believe in bitcoin. We’re building 30-year infrastructure, we control our own destiny. Bitcoin is volatile, but it’s volatility within an asset that’s been going up 10x every two years on average.

The post Here’s why these deep-pocketed investors are eyeing green Bitcoin appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Could Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) be eyeing off a $150,000 future?
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• The best cryptocurrency exchanges for Australians
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The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Bitcoin. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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If you’re a fan of small caps, then you’re in luck because there are a number of exciting ones with huge potential on the Australian share market.

Listed below are two small cap ASX shares that analysts rate highly. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART)

The first small cap ASX share to consider is Airtasker. It is a growing online marketplace for local services which has an estimated $600 billion global total addressable market across Australia, the US, and the UK.

Management estimates that it has only captured a 0.3% slice of the Australian market at present, which clearly gives it a long runway for growth over the next decade and beyond in just the domestic market. And with the US market 10 times larger, there’s a mouth-watering opportunity for Airtasker over there.

Morgans is very positive on Airtasker. It highlights that the company’s product works for both sides of the marketplace, has attractive unit dynamics with healthy gross and contribution margins, an enormous TAM in the early stages of ecommerce adoption, and a large international expansion opportunity.

The broker has an add rating and $1.27 price target on the company’s shares.

Whispir Ltd (ASX: WSP)

Another small cap share to watch is Whispir. It is a software-as-a-service communications workflow platform provider. Whispir’s platform allows businesses and governments to deliver actionable two-way interactions at scale using automated multi-channel communication workflows.

Whispir has been growing at a strong rate over the last few years. This led to the company’s Annualised Recurring Revenue (ARR) growing 26.6% during the first half to $60 million. And while this is a large number, it is still well-short of its market opportunity. For example, management estimates that it has a TAM of US$4.7 billion in the just United States.

Ord Minnett is a fan of the company and has a buy rating and $3.45 price target on its shares.

The post 2 exciting small cap ASX shares with enormous potential appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 3 highly rated small cap shares with heaps of potential
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• Why Airtasker, ARB, Bubs, and Sezzle shares are pushing higher
• Why the Airtasker (ASX:ART) share price is rocketing 17% higher today

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

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Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) failed to continue its streak of positive performances. At the end of the session, the benchmark index finished 0.98% lower at 7,217.3 points.

It was a sorry old day for tech shares as the sector tumbled 3.8%. The move followed a similar affair across tech names on Wall Street last night after US inflation hit the highest level in 40 years at 7.5%. Fortunately, mining giants held up the ASX to some extent.

However, the question is: which shares delivered the biggest returns to investors on the ASX today? Here are the top ten stocks that came through for investors:

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the coal mining company rallied 4.95% without any new information floating through the grapevine. Find out more about Yancoal Australia here.

The next biggest gaining ASX share today was Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG). Shares rose 4.18% following the release of the general insurance company’s FY22 half-year results. Uncover the latest Insurance Australia Group details here.

Today’s top 10 biggest gains were made in these ASX shares:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL)	$3.18	4.95%
Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG)	$4.74	4.18%
Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO)	$122.36	2.86%
ALS Ltd (ASX: ALQ)	$12.30	2.67%
Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG)	$22.83	2.47%
Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)	$20.83	1.46%
BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)	$48.86	1.20%
Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL)	$3.18	0.95%
Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA)	$7.12	0.85%
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)	$22.78	0.71%

Our top 10 ASX shares today countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to ensure you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check-in at Fool.com.au after the market has closed during weekdays to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares this Friday
• Why IAG, Rio Tinto, Unibail, and Westpac shares are pushing higher
• Here’s why the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price is charging 4% higher today
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: IAG upgrades guidance, Magellan sinks again
• IAG (ASX:IAG) share price on watch amid earnings miss but guidance upgrade

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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 owns and has recommended Insurance Australia Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel 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 Bruce Jackson.

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Global investment bank Goldman Sachs is now predicting that there could be as many as seven interest rates in 2022. What could this mean for the (ASX) share market?

Interest rate prediction

Goldman Sachs now thinks that the US Federal Reserve is going to need to increase the interest rate even faster, according to reporting by Bloomberg. It was previously thinking that there would be five interest rate hikes.

Why the big change?

The inflation picture continues to change rapidly. The US consumer price index report for January came out, showing a 7.5% annual increase. It isn’t been this strong for four decades. Inflation is widespread in numerous areas like food, energy, household furnishings and health insurance.

Is a 0.50% hike coming next month?

There has been a lot of talk about how much the US Federal Reserve is going to increase interest rates this year. An increasingly important question is – should the Fed increase the rate by 0.50% as its first move?

Goldman Sachs doesn’t think so. Instead, the investment bank’s economists believe that the Federal Reserve is going increase the rate in seven meetings in a row.

There is lots of inflation and wage growth, with more expected. But from what Goldman Sachs has seen, policymakers seem to be indicating that steady moves will be the most likely choice:

Most Fed officials who have commented have opposed a 50 basis points hike in March. We therefore think that the more likely path is a longer series of 25 basis points hikes instead.

Whatever happens, the (ASX) share market could be in for a bumpy ride in 2022.

However, there are still other economists and prominent financial people, such as the former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, that think interest rates could jump 0.50% in March.

Why do interest rates matter so much?

Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) has a very relevant quote from Warren Buffett at the 1994 Berkshire Hathaway annual general meeting, where he said about interest rates:

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.

Time will tell what this means for the (ASX) share market. And indeed most assets.

The post Are there going to be SEVEN interest rate hikes in 2022? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Should Telstra (ASX:TLS) really ‘be worried’ about its major competitor’s new asset?
• Oh Dear…This ASX share just shocked the market with delisting news, and then crashed 60%
• The Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price has ‘run hard’: What’s next?
• Healthy income… Is CSL (ASX:CSL) still an ASX 200 dividend growth share?

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

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The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price finished in the red today despite no news from the company.

The company’s share price finished at $4.02 today, a 0.74% fall. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dropped 0.98% today.

Let’s take a look at what might be going on at this ASX200 telco.

Competitor news

Telstra may not have released any major news today, but its major competitor certainly did. Optus announced it had appointed former premier NSW Gladys Berejiklian to its executive team. Berejiklian served as Premier of NSW from January 2017 to October 2021.

Telstra “would be quaking in their boots”, Macquarie Telecom executive Luke Clifton said in comments reported in the Financial Review.

Clearly, Telstra has had the lion’s share of the NSW state government telecoms expenditure. And she is going to be able to open some serious doors in NSW government for Optus.

Meanwhile, the current NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet also chipped in with praise for his former colleague and some words for Telstra.

Not only is she a strong leader but she achieves great outcomes and her professionalism and her diligence will service her very well.

If you’ve got an issue with Optus’ reception and you’ve got Glad’s number, you can give her a call…

I think Telstra will be worried.

However, Telstra has reported plenty of positive news of its own lately. Early this week, the company share price climbed amid news of a $100 million Internet of Things deal.

Last week, the company reported to the market details of an investment of $1.6 billion in ‘nation-building’ projects.

As my Foolish colleague James reported yesterday, Morgans recently rated Telstra as a “buy” with a price target of $4.56.

Berejiklian also served as transport minister and treasurer before becoming Premier of NSW. In her role as transport minister, she had responsibility for infrastructure including telecommunications.

Commenting on her new role, Berejiklian said:

I am excited and proud to join an organisation that impacts the lives of millions of Australians every day and prides itself in providing outstanding customer service.

Telstra share price snap shot

The Telstra share price has gained nearly 24% over the past year but it has fallen 4% this year to date. It has fallen 0.74% since last Friday’s close, while it has dropped nearly 3% in the past month.

For perspective, the ASX 200 has returned about 5% over the past year.

Telstra has a market capitalisation of about $47.2 billion based on the current share price.

The post Should Telstra (ASX:TLS) really ‘be worried’ about its major competitor’s new asset? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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Zebit Inc (ASX: ZBT) has formally applied to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) to be removed from the official listing of companies on the ASX. It has in effect requested a voluntary delisting.

The Delisting will be put forward for shareholder approval at a general meeting that’s set to be held on 16 March 2022.

The company broke the news in an announcement today, sending its shares hard to the floor and finishing more than 55% down on the day at 8.6 cents.

Why is Zebit delisting from the ASX?

Zebit believes delisting will be in the best interest of the company for a number of reasons. These are primarily centred around the lack of liquidity in the trading of its securities, as well as administrative costs in maintaining the listing.

Essentially, “the costs and administrative burden of remaining listed on ASX outweigh any benefits associated with remaining listed”, it says.

Zebit is listed on the ASX in the first place as a chess depositary interest (CDI), an instrument that allows foreign companies to raise capital and list on the exchange and trade on the secondary markets. Its shares are listed on a 1:1 ratio, meaning one CDI is equivalent to one Zebit share.

However, trading in these CDIs has been thin over the last few years, leading the company to conduct a re-evaluation of its capital structure.

Zebit had 1,375 CDI holders at the beginning of February, and of this amount, approximately 46.47% or 639 CDI holders had small positions of A$500 or less.

“The Company’s low liquidity levels have resulted in limited trading opportunities for securityholders seeking to exit their positions and for new ones to acquire CDIs”, Zebit said. “It is not anticipated that trading levels/liquidity will improve in the near future”.

Not only that, but Zebit reckons it could put the costs assigned to maintaining its listing to better use in other alternatives. It estimates the delisting will save around US$140,000 per month in the next year, annualised to US$1.68 million per year.

“Legal, accounting, insurance, and other expenses incurred in satisfying ASX filing, reporting, and compliance requirements have proven burdensome for the Company in recent times, given its limited cash reserves”, the company said in regards to its listing costs.

But Zebit also reckons it will have a difficult time in raising new capital from Australian investors in FY22 – and the company needs to raise capital, non-negotiable. It is doubtful that investors are willing to commit more of their hard earned capital via public equity offerings.

Finally, the board reckons that investors are unfairly punishing the stock, leading it to “question whether the market is fairly valuing the company”.

“Since the company’s IPO debut, the board has observed ongoing fluctuations in the quoted price of the company’s CDIs and noted that the value attributed to a CDI has been largely independent of news flows, even when positive news has been released.

“The Board believes that being an unlisted Company would allow a more objective and independent appraisal of valuation to take place, without concern for any illiquid public market”.

What does this mean for Zebit shareholders?

Good question. One might assume the company would commit to repurchasing its own stock, or at least arranging a third party buyer off-market.

But it appears the ASX granting Zebit its voluntary surrender is contingent on a few outcomes, notwithstanding a full process for shareholders to unload their holdings.

Zebit must show compliance to a “statement to the effect that if security holders wish to sell their securities on ASX, they will need to do so before the company is removed from the Official List”.

However, “if they do not, details of the processes that will exist after the company is removed from the Official List to allow a security holder to dispose of their holding and how they can access those processes”.

The full consequences of being removed from the Official List will be detailed in full during the planned notice meeting later this month.

Very importantly for Zebit shareholders, is that its CDIs will no longer be publicly quoted or traded on the ASX, and “it will be more difficult for a securityholder to dispose of their securities”, the company says.

Investors will only be able to “sell the converted, underlying shares in off-market private transactions requiring securityholders to identify and agree the terms of sale”.

After the suspension date that’s planned on 19 April, investors “wishing to trade their securities will be entitled to transfer their securities off-market to a willing third party purchaser in accordance with the Company’s By-laws”.

Naturally, investors are running for the hills in fear of being the one left catching the falling knife, or at least being left with un-tradable, illiquid stock.

The board also acknowledged it will surely face backlash from stakeholders given the timing of its decision, but offered some assurance and said:

In addition to a right to participate in, and vote at, the meeting, shareholders have the right to assert various claims against Zebit and its directors under US federal law as well as under Delaware state law being, including for breach of fiduciary duties, fraud, self-dealing and a variety of acts.

The Delisting is subject to securityholder approval (as a special resolution at the general meeting proposed to be held on 16 March 2022. Further details relating to the Delisting, including potential advantages and disadvantages for securityholders, will be included in the notice of meeting which will be dispatched to securityholders shortly. All securityholders will be entitled to vote on the resolution.

The anticipated delisting date is 22 April 2022, following a notice of meeting on 21 February and the special meeting on 16 March. If all goes ahead, everything should be wrapped up by 27 April.

The post Oh Dear…This ASX share just shocked the market with delisting news, and then crashed 60% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Is the beaten-up Cettire (ASX:CTT) share price a compelling idea?
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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 Bruce Jackson.

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Earlier this week the Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price charged higher after its third quarter operational update impressed the market.

In case you missed it, the investment bank revealed that it had a record quarter thanks to its market-facing Commodities and Global Markets and Macquarie Capital businesses. While not releasing any actual figures, management advised that their combined profit contribution was up “substantially” on the prior corresponding period.

All in all, this led to analysts across the country upgrading their profit expectations for the full year.

Is the Macquarie share price good value?

The team at Morgans has been running the rule over the update and has given its verdict on the Macquarie share price.

However, unfortunately for shareholders, the broker believes that the company’s shares are trading at a fair value now and sees limited upside in the near term.

According to the note, the broker has retained its hold rating and $200.00 price target on the company’s shares. This suggests potential upside of 3.5% for investors based on the current Macquarie share price of $193.28.

Morgans commented: “Overall MQG produced a record result in 3Q22, with FY22 outlook commentary more favourable than previously. The operational briefing was more longer-term focused, but again it reinforced MQG’s favourable growth profile. We upgrade FY22F/FY23F EPS by ~17% driven by an uplift to forecasts in MQG’s markets facing businesses.”

However, for valuation reasons, the broker isn’t shifting from its hold rating.

It concluded: “MQG is a quality franchise exposed to structural growth areas, and the company is clearly firing on all cylinders with a favourable operating environment. However, MQG’s share price has run hard, and with MQG now trading on ~19x FY22F PE, we see the stock as closer to fair value – HOLD.”

The post The Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price has ‘run hard’: What’s next? 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 Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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A multi-decade battle to resume production at what was once one of the world’s largest copper and gold mines could be nearing its end. The news appears to have sent the share price of ASX mining stock Bougainville Copper Limited (ASX: BOC) on a rollercoaster ride.

This afternoon, the Bougainville Copper share price exited a trading halt to hit 99 cents, 147.5% higher than its previous close. It ended the day at 89 cents, up 122.5%.

Also today, the Autonomous Bougainville Government announced it’s reached a resolution to re-open the Panguna Mine for the first time since 1989.

The company believes the government’s announcement could be the reason behind its share price’s surge.

Let’s take a look at what may have got the market excited about the $209 million would-be miner.

A walk through history

Nearly 33 years ago, Bougainville Copper – a then subsidiary of Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) –  was forced to walk away from the Panguna Mine after a civil war was born out of the company’s practices.

According to the Human Rights Law Centre, Bougainville Copper discharged waste from the mine into the island’s river systems.

Doing so is said to have caused major and ongoing environmental devastation.

Meanwhile, the island’s residents felt the profits of such practises were being unevenly distributed.

The resulting civil war is estimated to have cost the lives of between 15,000 and 20,000 people.

Bougainville Copper states 62% of the cash from the project was given to the Papua New Guinean government, representing around 17% of Papua New Guinea’s internally generated revenue over its 17-year production life.

The company’s mining licence was removed in 2014 and replaced with an exploration licence.

Rio Tinto ultimately devested from Bougainville Copper in 2016, handing its 53.8% shareholding to a trustee.

From there, it was spread between the Autonomous Bougainville Government – for the benefit of Panguna landowners and Bougainville residents – and the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.

In response to a report by the Human Rights Law Centre, Rio Tinto agreed to predominantly fund an assessment of the legacy impacts of the Panguna Mine last year.

Nowadays, Bougainville Copper’s website states:

Bougainville Copper’s main objective is to work cooperatively towards realising the vision of resuming active exploration and sustainable … mining at Panguna.

What’s going on with the Bougainville Copper share price today?

Fast forward to today, the Bougainville Copper share price rocketed before being put in the freezer this morning.

It has since exited said freeze after the company responded to today’s news: The Autonomous Bougainville Government – which become independent in 2020 – has announced it’s resolved to reopen the Panguna Mine.

The joint resolution was signed by clan chiefs and representatives from the 5 major clans of the Panguna area – Basikang, Kurabang, Bakoringu, Barapang, and Mantaa.

The nation’s president, the honourable Ishmael Toroama, said, “Today marks the ending and the beginning of a new chapter, a chapter to realise Bougainville’s independence.”

Proceeds from the mine are expected to boost the nation’s economic future and guarantee its independence.

In response to the government’s announcement, Bougainville Copper said:

[T]his would appear to demonstrate unity amongst the landowners and, would also boost confidence in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville as it pursues economic independence…

[The company] was not involved in the landowner summit nor was it referenced in the [government’s release] article…

The Judicial Review of the ABG’s decision not to renew the exploration licence over Panguna remains in process and we anticipate proceedings to commence in the first quarter of 2022.

The post Here’s why this ASX mining share leapt out of a trading halt to launch 147% 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 no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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A few years ago, this writer penned an article examining the potential of CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) as a dividend growth share. At the time, we looked at CSL’s record of raising its dividend every year since 2013, making it an arguable dividend growth share. But that was two years and a pandemic ago.

So, how are CSL shares faring in the dividend stakes today?

CSL has, of course, been an ASX share that has had a share price stall in recent years. At the current price of $249 a share, CSL is still well below the all-time high of almost $340 a share that we saw back in early 2020. The company has been trading sideways ever since, and has had a rough couple of months recently. The CSL share price remains down more than 15% year to date, and down more than 21% since late November.

But all of that is immaterial to this company’s dividends. So, let’s take a look.

At the time of writing the aforementioned piece on CSL’s dividend back in 2019, CSL had just paid out its final dividend for the year. That was a US$1 per share dividend, which took its 2019 total to US$1.85.

So, how did CSL do in the year of the pandemic, 2020? That was a year that saw many ASX 200 blue-chip shares forced to slash their dividends. Those included Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and the other big four banks, as well as Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW).

Well, CSL managed to grow its dividend that year. It paid out two dividends, an interim payment of 95 US cents, as well as a final dividend of US$1.07 per share.

CSL shows its dividend chops

And 2021 was even better. CSL bumped its interim dividend to US$1.04 a share, and its final payment to US$1.18. Unusually for CSL, that final dividend also came with some franking credits, albeit only at 10%.

So that means CSL has now given its investors an annual dividend pay rise every year since 2013. That’s starting to become an impressive streak, in the ballpark of other ASX dividend royalty like Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL).

There is a caveat though. Although CSL has delivered a rising stream of dividends, these are (evidently) denominated in US dollars. The fluctuations ASX investors have seen in the Aussie dollar against the US dollar have not translated into an annual increase in Aussie dollar terms.

To illustrate, ASX investors would have received approximately $2.941 in dividends per share from CSL in 2020, but only $2.939 per share in 2021. Not too much of a difference, but enough to change the trend in Aussie dollar terms.

Even so, CSL arguably has an impressive record of raising its dividends. It will be interesting to see what 2022 throws up for investors. CSL will report its half-year earnings to the market on 16 February.

At the current CSL share price, this ASX 200 blue chip has a trailing dividend yield of 1.18%.

The post Healthy income… Is CSL (ASX:CSL) still an ASX 200 dividend growth share? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended CSL Ltd. and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The market may be a sea of red on Friday but that hasn’t stopped some shares from pushing higher.

In fact, the two ASX healthcare shares listed below have just climbed to new highs. Here’s why they are flying high today:

Anteris Technologies Ltd (ASX: AVR)

The Anteris Technologies share price climbed to a multi-year high of $19.92 on Friday. This brings its year to date gain to a sizeable 54%.

The catalyst for this recent gain has been the receipt of a confidential, non-binding proposal to merge with NASDAQ-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Medicus Sciences Acquisition Corp (MSAC). No financial terms have been revealed.

The release notes that MSAC currently has no commercial operations and was established as a blank cheque company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, or business combination with one or more businesses.

The SPAC appears to see potential in Anteris Technologies’ DurAVR 3D single-piece aortic heart valve replacement product. Management notes that this product addresses the needs of tomorrow’s younger and more active aortic stenosis patients by delivering superior performance and durability through innovations designed to last the remainder of a patient’s lifetime.

Cronos Australia Ltd (ASX: CAU)

The Cronos Australia share price climbed 13% to hit a new 52-week high of 39.5 cents on Friday. When the cannabis company’s shares reached that level, it meant they had almost doubled in value since the start of the year.

Investors have been bidding its shares higher in recent weeks thanks to a strong second quarter update last month. That update revealed cash receipts growth of 36% to $16.5 million for the quarter, which took its first half cash receipts to $28.5 million. This includes cash receipts from the CDA Health business, which it merged with at the end of last year.

Management described the merger with CDA Health as a “game changer for Cronos Australia and its shareholders.”

The post 2 ASX healthcare shares bucking the trend to hit new highs on Friday 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 no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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