The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price is edging higher on Wednesday.

The world’s fourth-largest iron ore producer has kept relatively quiet over the past few weeks. However, since the beginning of November, the company’s shares have soared by 28%, highlighting renewed investor confidence.

In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) registered a 0.6% gain over the same timeframe.

In early morning trade today the Fortescue share price reached $18.07, trading back at September levels. At the time of writing, Fortescue shares are up 2.44% to $17.84.

What’s driving Fortescue shares higher?

News that energy behemoth AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) will team up with green energy Fortescue Future Industries has excited investors.

Both companies have entered into a memorandum of understanding to develop a hydrogen hub for the Hunter Valley coal plants. Namely, this relates to the Liddell and Bayswater coal-fired power stations, which AGL plans to transform.

The Liddell coal-fired power station is scheduled to close down in 2023, with Bayswater going offline in 2025.

Notably, Fortescue boss Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest will be involved with the development, which will consist of a 12-month feasibility study.

Furthermore, Fortescue’s primary commodity, iron ore, has rebounded from its lows last month, leaping to US$108.04 a tonne today. This represents a big difference from when the steelmaking ingredient was exchanging hands for US$91.98 a tonne.

The price of iron ore has been on a rollercoaster ride in 2021, rising to a record US$229 in May to recent year-to-date lows.

What do the brokers think?

This month a couple of brokers rated the company’s shares with varying price points.

Global investment bank Citi downgraded its outlook on the Fortescue share price from buy to neutral. The broker noted that China steel production cuts may persist through to the 2022 Chinese New Year on 1 February. Furthermore, it believes that a strong destock cycle is underway.

While this may seem negative at first, Citi continued on saying that China is now starting targeted monetary policy easing. This leads the broker to assume an increasing likelihood of a strong post-Chinese New Year recovery in iron ore demand.

Nonetheless, the broker retained its original 12-month price target on Fortescue shares at $18 apiece.

In addition to Citi’s assessment, JP Morgan weighed in, downgrading the company’s shares to neutral from overweight. It followed suit, cutting its outlook on Fortescue by 9.1% to $20 a share.

Fortescue share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Fortescue shares have declined close to 20% in value. However, when looking at year to date, its losses are further in the red by 25% for the period.

Fortescue commands a market capitalisation of roughly $54.31 million, and has over 3 billion shares on its registry.

The post Here’s why the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price is having a green day appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why ASX 200 mining shares are flying higher
• These were the 5 best-performing ASX hydrogen shares of November
• Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) and Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share prices hit by broker downgrade
• Why did the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price outperform its sector today?
• Why has the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price had such a lousy start to December?

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 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 Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) share price has declined by around 40% over the last six months. What’s going to happen next?

There have been various factors that have turned some analysts sour on the funds management business including investment fund underperformance and fund outflows.

But the latest event that investors have to wrap their heads around was the surprise exit of the Magellan CEO, Brett Cairns.

CEO departure

Earlier this week, Magellan announced that Mr Cairns had resigned as CEO for “personal reasons” and will be leaving the company.

Mr Cairns has been involved with the business since 2007 when he started as a non-executive director and eventually became CEO in 2019. He was “instrumental” in developing Magellan’s exchanged-traded products as well as developing the retirement product called Futurepay.

Taking the role of interim CEO is Ms Kirsten Morton, who has been the chief financial officer for over eight years. Magellan stated she has a detailed understanding of Magellan and its operations, having joined the senior management team in 2013.

The Australian reported on speculation that there had been a rift between Mr Cairns and chair and co-founder Hamish Douglass, though Magellan denied that was the case.

Whilst the Magellan share price is currently up 2.5%, it’s still down around 8% this week.

Latest funds under management (FUM) update

On the morning of the CEO’s resignation announcement, the fund manager revealed that its FUM had increased $1.6 billion over the month of November 2021.

Analysts at UBS calculated that whilst Magellan seemed to benefit from net inflows during the month, it was lower margin institutional inflows that offset higher margin retail outflows.

Continuing with UBS’ thoughts on the business, the broker still believes that Magellan’s revenue growth could be challenged from potential outflows and lower management fees. That’s one of the main reasons why UBS currently rates the Magellan share price as a sell, though the price target is $29.50.

Valuation

Based on UBS’ numbers, the Magellan share price could be valued at 12x FY22’s estimated earnings with a partially franked dividend yield of 7.5% in FY22.

However, whilst investors are questioning the funds management side of Magellan, the business has been diversifying its business recently.

Magellan Capital Partners

Magellan Capital Partners has been created to make investments that could bring strategic benefits to the company and enhance Magellan’s intellectual capital.

The three major investments it has made are FinClear, Barrenjoey and Guzman y Gomez (GYG).

FinClear provides trading infrastructure, services and technology solutions that support businesses in wealth management and stockbroking. It owns iBroker, a post-trade system that underpins more than 15% of all transaction value traded on the ASX and Chi-X exchanges, including all that is executed through CommSec. Magellan owns 15% of FinClear which cost $23 million.

GYG is a fast service Mexican food restaurant which has operations in Australia, Singapore, Japan and the US. Global sales last year were $445 million. It’s planning to open another 30 stores next year and Magellan says that it has a long pathway ahead, with large global growth potential and good drive-through economics. Magellan invested $103 million for a 12% stake of GYG.

Barrenjoey is a new full-service financial services business that operates across corporate finance, equities, fixed income and research. Magellan said that it believes it’s “highly likely that Barrenjoey will become very valuable to Magellan over time”. It spent $156 million for a 40% economic stake in Barrenjoey.

However, at the moment analysts aren’t attributing much value to these investments within the Magellan share price.

The post The Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price has lost 40% in 6 months. What now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why Carsales, Magellan, Nickel Mines, and Sigma shares are dropping
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Zip update impresses, BOQ rises
• Why the Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price is sinking to 52-week lows
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of 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 Advanced Human Imaging Ltd (ASX: AHI) share price is having an incredible run this week.

Shares are swapping hands at $1.10 at the time of writing, up 27.5% since the close of trade on Monday.

Advanced Human Imaging is a company developing human scanning technology for smartphones.

What’s the latest?

The Advanced Human Imaging share price was off and racing last week with no new news released.

The company listed on the Nasdaq in November, so let’s take a look at its recent performance on the United States exchange for more perspective.

Shares in the company’s US-listed ticker (NASDAQ: AHI) surged 36.2% on the first trading day of the week in the US to $6.02.

Also on Monday, the company informed investors it had accelerated the rollout of new technology as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for access to remote care.

The company has developed patented technology that enables people to check, track and assess health data using a smartphone “via the combining of body dimensions, body composition and vital signs”.

Advanced Human Imaging said it has improved its mobile-device risk assessment, advanced 2D-3D capturing and was now offering real-time personalised health data.

The company will also launch derma scanning on the skin using artificial intelligence at a Las Vegas technology conference in January 2022.

What did management say?

CEO Vlado Bosanac said:

We accelerated the rollout due to the increase we have seen in the telemedicine and telehealth industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are addressing an immediate need posed by incoming enquiries and new partner opportunities across the health, mHealth and insurance sector.

Advanced Human Imaging share price snapshot

It has been a bumpy ride for the company of late. The Advanced Human Imaging share price has lifted 10% in the past 12 months but is down around 14% this year to date.

In contrast, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned nearly 10% in the past year.

The post Up 27% this week, what’s with the Advanced Human Imaging (ASX:AHI) share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The Advanced Human Imaging (ASX:AHI) share price is leaping 46%. Why?
• What sent the Advanced Human Imaging (ASX:AHI) share price down 18% today?
• Here’s why the Advanced Human Imaging (ASX:AHI) share price is frozen

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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Shares in mineral exploration company Marquee Resources Ltd (ASX: MQR) are charging up with authority today, currently trading at 12 cents apiece.

Shares in the company rallied as much as 13% in early trading before retracing back to their current gain of 9% on the day.

Marquee shares are catching bids as investors respond positively to a company announcement on the West Spargoville Project. Here are the details.

What did Marquee Resources announce?

The company advised that, after recent drilling and geological review of the site, it has identified potential to identify lithium bearing lithium-ceasium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites within the project area.

Marquee has subsequently received the final results from a 55.5 line-kilometre, Deep Ground Penetrating Radar (DGPR) survey that was recently completed at the site.

DGPR is a contemporary geophysical tool for imaging the earth’s subsurface. The company says it works in a comparative manner to the “seismic velocity-depth method, utilizing variable wavelength radar pulses which experience refractions, reflections and diffractions at geological boundaries where the dielectric constant change”.

It has gained traction as a preferred method in field studies in recent times due to its rapid acquisition and cost efficiency.

Marquee says the DGPR interpretation provides a “strong basis for favourable structure in the area as well as identifying numerous target features for follow up drill testing”.

The Company is also nearing completion of a 3,200 hole auger program. Sampling will be completed within the “coming days”, per the release.

Due to the increased demand placed on laboratories during the current quarter, assay results have been delayed, however, first results should be delivered in the second week of December, according to the announcement.

Aside from this, Marquee Resources also announced that the remuneration of the company’s Executive Chairman, Charles Thomas, has increased from $150,000 per annum to $240,000 per annum – a 60% increase in yearly salary.

This change in remuneration is to “recognise Mr Thomas’s increased workload and also to bring his remuneration into line with industry standards”.

 Management commentary

Speaking on the announcement, Thomas said:

We are very excited about some of the targets that have come out of the DGPR data. The geophysicists are particularly excited about what have been interpreted as “layered anomalies” which may represent large targets and should be drill tested as soon as possible. This is in addition to multiple pegmatite-like structures that have been mapped throughout the survey area.

Thomas continued:

We are also days away from completion of the auger geochemistry program with results expected imminently, so it has been a busy period of exploration at West Spargoville. During the auger campaign the field crew have also been mapping and sampling numerous outcropping pegmatitesso piece by piece we are unlocking the lithium potential of the Project. The Company is perfectly positioned to drill test some exciting targets first thing in the new year.

Marquee resources has climbed almost 67% in the last 12 months after rallying another 85% this year to date.

In the past month, it has gained more than 4% and is flat on the previous week of trading.

The post Marquee Resources (ASX:MQR) sprints 13% higher on lithium update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Marquee Resources (ASX:MQR) share price leaps 17% on ‘spectacular’ drilling results

The author has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has 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 Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price is not joining the market rally this morning after the bank unveiled a new fintech platform.

Shares in the big ASX bank have dropped 0.36% to $27.36 in early trade, while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has jumped 0.78%.

ANZ announced today that customers can register for its digital banking service called ANZ Plus. The mobile app will be available from early 2022.

New tech to support ANZ Bank’s share price longer-term

ANZ Plus is one of the offerings on the bank’s new technology platform ANZx that’s aiming to help the bank better compete in the digital space. It’s a move to shore up its position amid new fintech upstarts and even other big banks like the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) which have been stealing its market share.

The new app aims to give customers better oversight and control over their money. Customers can manage spending, get detailed transaction data, set saving goals, be alerted to upcoming bills and more.

But there’re a few interesting takeaways from ANZ Bank’s digital transformation that investors should be aware of.

Trying to regain the IT edge

The new tech platform is seen as ANZ’s bid to compete with the IT prowess of CBA, regarded as the tech leader in the domestic banking space. It is CBA’s tech superiority that accounts for much of its valuation premium to other ASX banks.

While CBA rebuilt its core IT systems more than 10 years ago, ANZ hasn’t committed to such a major upgrade.

The workaround is ANZx which builds on the bank’s existing systems and, reportedly, allows it to become “future ready”.

The new platform is much cheaper to build and is funded from efficiency savings from other parts of ANZ Bank’s operations. The possible downside is that it may be riskier given inherent difficulties in getting new systems to work seamlessly with the old.

The 10-minute loan from ANZ

ANZ Bank is counting on the new platform to help it turn around its struggling mortgage processes. The bank is the only one of the big four ASX banks to lose market share for mortgages. This is largely because it takes a sluggish 51 days (median) for the bank to approve loans.

According to the Australian Financial Review, the bank’s new app should be able to cut this down to just 10 minutes.

It can do that because app users will essentially be giving the bank significant oversight of their personal details and finances.

Users may have to decide how comfortable they are about privacy boundaries. In any case, it will still take about a year for that feature to arrive on the app.

Fight back for the ANZ Bank share price

There’s another key reason behind ANZ Bank’s large digital investment that may not be as obvious. This relates to its over-dependence on mortgage brokers.

The app has the potential to circumvent this channel which will go a long way in helping the bank protect its precious net interest margin.

No one likes paying trailing commissions – not even banks.

The post ANZ Bank (ASX:ANZ) spruiks $400m tech rebuild with mortgage approval in 10 min appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• ASX 200 retail shares lift as Aussies head into Christmas with $240bn in savings
• RBA maintains interest rate but removes 2024 reference. What could this mean for ASX shares?
• CBA share price struggling today amid sliding home buying intentions
• Here are the 3 heaviest traded ASX 200 shares this Tuesday so far

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Limited and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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

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

What happened 

There was a big bounce in cryptocurrencies on Tuesday as investors bought risk assets in a big way. Not only is the S&P 500 up 2.1% at 11:30 a.m. ET, the Nasdaq Composite is up 2.8% and many high-growth stocks that have been beaten up over the past few weeks are up double digits. 

Three of the most notable moves in cryptocurrencies are Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) trading 6.9% higher over the past 24 hours, Polkadot (CRYPTO: DOT) gaining 14.7%, and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) rising 3.5%. Those are nice moves for investors, but keep in mind that the cryptocurrencies are down 11.1%, 15.3%, and 3.9%, respectively, over the past week. 

So what 

I see two major reasons for today’s move, with the biggest being the market overall moving higher. Cryptocurrencies have actually traded right along with tech and growth stocks over the last few months although often exaggerating the market’s moves, and today is no different. This is part of what’s known as a “risk-on” trade in the market because investors are bidding up risky assets. 

More important long term is the fact that India is discussing legislation that would put rules around the cryptocurrency industry. According to a report from Bloomberg, assets would need to be declared and would be taxed like other securities, but there were indications that India wouldn’t try to create its own cryptocurrency or ban crypto altogether. 

Investors are trying to determine what the rules of the crypto market will be long term. As huge markets like China and India set out their rules it could potentially bring billions of people into the crypto market or block them altogether, as China has done. For now, it appears that people in India will be allowed to enter the crypto market, even if there are some rules for their investments. 

Now what 

The sell-off of cryptocurrencies that began about a month ago seems to have paused as values rise again. But I’m cautious about being too bullish on crypto assets at the moment. The Federal Reserve and Congress don’t seem keen on adding more money or stimulus to the market right now, and that could remove some money from the market. 

Panic selling is never a great idea, but this is a great time to take a step back and look at the value cryptocurrency is adding to the market long term. In the case of Cardano, Polkadot, and Solana, their leaders are thinking about utility and lower transaction costs, which I think will add long-term value. This may be a rocky ride as volatility continues, but for cryptocurrencies that can add real value to users and businesses — not just an asset to trade — there’s still upside ahead for investors holding these cryptocurrencies long term. 

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

The post Why Cardano, Polkadot, and Solana all popped on Tuesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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

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Hydrogen has taken the ASX by storm in 2021, boosting shares involved with the energy source into the spotlight, and it was no different in November.

Last month brought plenty of news from hydrogen producers, researchers, and developers. But some hydrogen-focused ASX shares managed to outperform the crowd.

Here are the 5 stocks that outperformed their peers in November.

5 best-performing ASX hydrogen shares of November

A quick note; this list only contains companies with market capitalisations of more than $50 million.

Environmental Clean Technologies Ltd (ASX: ECT) – gained 211%

The Environmental Clean Technologies share price soared from just 1.7 cents at the end of October to 5.3 cents at the final close of November.

The company operates two hydrogen-focused legs: HydroMOR, which works to create lignite-based, hydrogen-driven iron-making technology, and COHgen, which is looking to produce hydrogen from lignite.

Over the month just been, the company purchased the site on which it plans to build its headline net-zero emission hydrogen refinery project.

It also established a $1.96 million research and development loan facility with InvestVictoria for financial year 2022.

Pure Hydrogen Corporation CDI (ASX: PH2) – gained 33%

Pure Hydrogen had a particularly busy month on the ASX.

First, it completed its purchase of a 24% stake in hydrogen-powered vehicle manufacturer H2X Global.

Together, the companies have established Pure X Mobility, which Pure Hydrogen later announced will be bringing 7 hydrogen fuel cell trucks to Australia to transport building waste in parts of South East Queensland.

It also entered into an agreement to build waste hydrogen plants in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. It later announced the Brisbane plant will be operational in 2022.

The Pure Hydrogen share price ended October at 37 cents. As of 30 November, it was trading at 49.5 cents.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) – gained 22%

While Fortescue Metals doesn’t seem like an obvious inclusion on this list, it squeezes in through its subsidiary Fortescue Future Industries (FFI).

In November, FFI announced that planning approval for its Global Green Energy Manufacturing Centre had been given the green light.

FFI also announced it is converting a shipping vessel to run on green ammonia and is working to enable aviation to run on green hydrogen.

Additionally, it agreed to conduct studies with the Kingdom of Jordan and develop multiple green energy and hydrogen projects in Papua New Guinea.

Finally, chair of Fortescue Metals and FFI Andrew Forrest met with global leaders, while FFI CEO Julie Shuttleworth addressed them at COP26 last month.

The Fortescue Metals share price grew from $13.93 to $17.01 through November.

Sparc Technologies Ltd (ASX: SPN) – gained 16%

Sparc Technologies had a great month on the ASX despite not releasing any news to the market.

However, late in October, the company announced it is working with the University of Adelaide to create ‘ultra-green’ hydrogen.

Together the companies are aiming to produce hydrogen using just solar radiation, scrapping the use of electrolysers entirely.

After ending October trading at $1.32, the Sparc Technologies share price finished November at $1.54.

Lion Energy Ltd (ASX: LIO) and Province Resources Ltd (ASX: PRL) – flat

Finally, these two companies just make the list of top-performing ASX hydrogen shares. Coming in joint fifth place is Lion Energy and Province Resources.

Both companies’ share prices recorded no meaningful gain, or fall, for November.

However, if one was to be technical, Province Resources came out on top with a 0.5 cent gain. That’s compared to Lion Energy’s 0.1 cent fall.

Lion Energy ended the month trading at 7.7 cents, while Province Resource’s shares were swapping hands for 16 cents apiece.

The post These were the 5 best-performing ASX hydrogen shares of November appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why ASX 200 mining shares are flying higher
• Why the Pure Hydrogen (ASX:PH2) share price is powering 22% ahead today?
• Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) and Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share prices hit by broker downgrade
• Why did the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price outperform its sector today?
• Pure Hydrogen (ASX:PH2) share price plunges 9% despite ‘excellent results’

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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up a healthy 0.7% in morning trade.

By the ASX 200 miners are trouncing those gains.

The Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) share price is up 2.3%; shares in Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) are up 2.61%; and the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is up 1.75%.

So, what’s lifting the big miners?

Why are ASX 200 mining shares outperforming today?

The ASX 200 miners listed above all appear to be getting a boost from resurgent iron ore prices.

Iron ore leapt 8.3% higher overnight to trade for US$111.34 (AU$156.22) per tonne.

This came as new customs data revealed iron ore imports from China – the world’s biggest consumer of the metal – increased 14.6% in November from the previous month.

According to Mining.com, China imported 104.96 million tonnes of iron ore in November, 6.9% more than it did in November 2020 and the highest level in 16 months.

Commenting on the leap in imports, Michelle Lam, greater China economist at Société Generale said, “The surprise in import growth was driven by a rebound in commodity volume, probably reflecting improving infrastructure capex demand as local governments stepped up stimulus toward the turn of the year.”

In a note of caution as to import levels in the months ahead, Tang Binghua, an analyst with Founder CIFCO Futures said, “It is unlikely that high levels of imports will continue, as consumption is weak after China stepped up output controls on mills during the heating season and ahead of the Winter Olympics.”

Should import volumes fall and the iron ore price retreat, it will throw up some headwinds for the ASX 200 miners.

How have the big miners been performing?

It’s been a volatile year for the leading ASX 200 miners.

After soaring on rising iron ore prices, the BHP share price is now down 4% over the past 12 months as the price of the metal retreated in recent months.

The Rio share price has fared even worse, down 16% since this time last year.

And the Fortescue comes in at the bottom of the list, down 17% over the full year.

The post Here’s why ASX 200 mining shares are flying higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) share price could be a bargain buy
• Morgans names 2 high yield ASX dividend shares to buy now
• RBA maintains interest rate but removes 2024 reference. What could this mean for ASX shares?
• Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) and Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share prices hit by broker downgrade
• Could the BHP (ASX:BHP) dividend be set for a boost?

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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ASX-listed buy now, pay later (BNPL) shares are squarely in focus today as the government announces new payment system reforms.

The fear of regulation has long plagued the BNPL sector since Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) entered the scene in a meaningful way in 2017. Early on, traditional banks argued it wasn’t a level playing field as the interest-free instalment offering curbed the definition of credit.

Now, the booming BNPL industry looks set to be caught in the crossfire of the government’s latest reforms.

Payment systems regulation gets 21st century refresh

A growing trend in Australia — and much of the world — is payments being made through and being facilitated by big tech companies. This is a world away from what payments used to look like 25 years ago. Yet, the current governing regulation is the Payment Systems Act 1998.

A number of policy reviews have recommended modifications to the regulation to encapsulate current trends. This includes the involvement of ASX-listed BNPL shares, cryptocurrency, and international tech giants in Australia’s financial system.

To do this, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will broaden what defines a payment service in Australia through new legislation next year. As a result, big tech and BNPL companies are expected to be treated equally under the umbrella of payment systems.

Furthermore, the change comes at a time when digital wallets are taking a large share of transactions in Australia. Presently, there is more than 5 million active buy now, pay later accounts in Australia. Remarkably, around 20% of all online retail transactions by value are now conducted via BNPL companies.

The Treasurer’s move to encompass ASX-listed BNPL shares and other fintechs under the new definition is for two purposes. Firstly, it will create a more level playing field for the major banks that have plowed capital into Australia’s payment infrastructure, only for international tech companies to make use of it at no cost.

Secondly, it will give more power to regulators to address concerns of a destabilised financial system at the hands of digital payment companies.

Challenging conditions for ASX-listed BNPL shares

The past 10 months or so have been fraught with challenges for the likes of Afterpay and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P). More recently, ASX-listed BNPL shares came under pressure following Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) raising the alarm on the sector.

On Monday, the FCA called upon the Australian Government to review the framework under which BNPL companies operate after it reported a surge in people in financial distress using BNPL services. The organisation found 84% of its surveyed counsellors reported that more than half of their clients had BNPL debt.

ASX-listed BNPL shares such as Afterpay and Zip have underperformed the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) in 2021. The payment companies have fallen 16% and 10% respectively since the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, the benchmark index has gained 10%.

Despite concerns about what it could mean for the industry, BNPL shares are in the green on Wednesday morning. At the time of writing, Afterpay and Zip are up 4% and 9.9% respectively.

The post Here’s why ASX BNPL shares are in the spotlight today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why did the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price go backwards in November?
• Here are the 3 heaviest traded ASX 200 shares this Tuesday so far
• Why Bank of Queensland, Imugene, Webjet, and Zip shares are pushing higher
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Zip update impresses, BOQ rises
• Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price jumps 9% after hitting $10 billion milestone in November

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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

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

What happened

The metaverse trend is one that appears to have some real legs. Today, top metaverse cryptocurrencies Decentraland (CRYPTO: MANA), Alien Worlds (CRYPTO: TLM), and The Sandbox (CRYPTO: SAND) each appear to have regained lost momentum. 

As of 2:15 p.m. ET, Decentraland, Alien Worlds, and The Sandbox appreciated 8.7%, 3.1%, and 3.8%, respectively, over the past 24 hours.

So what

The metaverse is a generic term to describe virtual worlds. These cryptocurrencies each provide exposure to metaverse games, built on top of (or in combination with) blockchain technologies. Accordingly, investors bullish on the future of the metaverse, as well as the direction crypto is headed, will like the double-dip of aggressive growth exposure these digital tokens provide.

A number of Wall Street analysts have jumped on the metaverse as a place to invest. While most of the Wall Street coverage of the metaverse is restricted to stocks such as Meta Platforms and Roblox, the overall thesis boils over to the crypto sector as well.

Analysts believe that the metaverse could be a major disruptive force, perhaps far in excess of what the market is pricing in today. Visualizing the future of internet-based communication is difficult. However, the growth of virtual economies is staggering, and something analysts are keeping a close eye on.

Now what

The idea of having a second place to engage, communicate, and transact with other individuals is something that’s enticing to many. Given the tailwinds provided by the pandemic, there’s a reasonable amount of optimism baked into metaverse-related stocks or cryptocurrencies.

Much of this sentiment relates to the future growth of digital assets being traded on the metaverse. Whether it’s NFTs or digital real estate, there’s money to be made in grabbing a piece of what could be “reality 2.0.”

It’s perhaps easy for some investors to brush off blockchain-based metaverse games and crypto tokens as likely to lose out to companies like Roblox and Meta. Maybe that’s a fair assessment. However, for now, investors appear content to hedge their bets and grab a slice of this entire sector. Personally, I think the metaverse in its entirety is likely to remain a hot commodity for some time. Accordingly, there’s no doubt investors will be keeping a close eye on these three tokens for the foreseeable future. 

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

The post Wall Street’s bullish take on the metaverse fuels big moves in these 3 cryptocurrencies today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• What are Metaverse stocks and why is everyone talking about them?
• Why multiple experts are HOT on this ASX tech share right now
• ASX 200 tech shares in focus as Nasdaq plunges 1.7%
• Why is the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX:VGS) off to such a great start in November?

Chris MacDonald has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Meta Platforms, Inc. and Roblox Corporation. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Meta Platforms, Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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

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