The Humm Group Ltd (ASX: HUM) share price is shooting higher on Thursday morning.

At the time of writing, the consumer finance products provider’s shares are up 8% to 97 cents.

Why is the Humm share price shooting higher?

Investors have been bidding the Humm share price higher today after it announced the receipt of a takeover approach from Latitude Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: LFS) for its Humm Consumer Finance (HCF) business.

According to the release, the two parties have entered into a non-binding heads of agreement that will see Latitude acquire the HCF business for approximately $335 million. This comprises a consideration of 150 million Latitude shares (worth $300 million based on a $2.00 Latitude share price) and $35 million cash for HCF.

Should the deal go ahead, Latitude intends to combine HCF with its existing BNPL and instalments businesses.

Humm’s Chair, Christine Christian, said: “HUM’s Board and Management are committed to maximising shareholder value. In this context, we believe that the Latitude proposal is potentially attractive to HUM shareholders and warrants due diligence and detailed negotiation.”

Humm notes also that by receiving Latitude shares as consideration, shareholders could further benefit from any potential enhanced scale and efficiencies of Latitude’s enlarged consumer finance platform. Latitude has indicated it expects significant synergies to arise from the combination.

What will be left of Humm?

If the deal proceeds, Humm will be left as a pure play Commercial business, with HUM shareholders retaining full exposure to this high growth segment.

It notes that it has purposefully reoriented FlexiCommercial, focusing on broker-originated SME lending. This has resulted in both positive operating performance, with the Commercial business delivering cash NPAT of $22.3 million in FY 2021.

It also highlights its strong forward momentum, noting a 100% increase in volumes in the first quarter of FY 2022.

Management believes that as a standalone ASX-listed Commercial business, its market position across Australia and New Zealand would be underpinned by robust standalone operational and technology platforms and an appropriate capital base.

The post Humm (ASX:HUM) share price shoots 8% higher after BNPL takeover approach appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the 5 top performing ASX BNPL shares of 2021
• Why 4DS, Healius, Helloworld, and Humm shares are dropping today
• Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) hoses down Humm (ASX:HUM) takeover rumours
• Why Anteotech, Bega Cheese, Humm, and Syrah shares are racing higher
• Why Afterpay, Humm, Namoi Cotton, and Pilbara Minerals shares are falling

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 Humm 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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The Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) share price powered through 2021 amid asset sales and a dragged-out takeover.

After ending 2020 trading at $4.95, the Boral share price grew to close 2021 at $6.10. That represents a 23.23% gain.

Let’s take a closer look at what the building products company got up to last year.

What drove the Boral share price higher in 2021?

Boral ended last year with a new owner after Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW) scrapped together 69.6% of its outstanding stock.

Seven Group bid $6.50 for all Boral shares it didn’t already own in May. Boral’s board quickly recommended its shareholders reject the bid, but that wasn’t enough to stop Seven.

It upped its bid to $7.30, or $7.40 if its stake in Boral increases by at least 34.5%, the following month.

Boral’s board once more rejected the offer, stating an independent expert found that its shares were worth between $8.25 and $9.13 apiece.

Nonetheless, enough of the company’s shareholders voted ‘yes’ to Seven’s takeover, seeing the investment group walking away with control over Boral.

At the time of the takeover, the Boral share price was $7.34.

Meanwhile, the building supplies company was selling off chunks of its North American businesses.

In 2021, it sold its fly ash business for US$755 million, its 50% stake in the USG Boral joint venture for US$1.015 billion, and its North American building products business for US$2.15 billion.

Including the divestment of its share of the Meridian Brick business in 2020, which saw the company with another US$125 million, its milked more than $4 billion through North American divestments.

It also sold its Australian timber business for $64.5 million.

Over the course of 2021, the Boral share price hit a high of $7.44 in July and a low of $4.77 in January.

It has gained another 2.95% since the start of 2021 to finish yesterday’s session trading at $6.29.

The post How did the Boral (ASX:BLD) share price manage to climb 23% in 2021? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• What are these top brokers betting for Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) shares in 2022?
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• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today

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 Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) share price had a disappointing year caused by weakened market conditions.

The company holds the title of owning and operating some of Australia’s largest gold and copper mines. While the company appears solid on paper, its shares have suffered as a result of macroenvironmental headwinds.

For the past 12 months, Newcrest shares lost around 5% in value. While this may not seem much, the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gained 13.5% over the same period.

At yesterday’s market close, Newcrest shares closed 1.27% higher at $24.80 apiece. It’s worth noting that its shares have been on a rebound in the last month, leaping by almost 10%.

Why did the Newcrest share price sink?

A common theme with gold mining companies, the Newcrest share price has been dumped amid the deterioration of gold prices.

Traditionally, investors flock to the yellow metal as a safe-haven asset when there is uncertainty in the market. However, with the world moving past COVID-19, among renewed investor confidence across the US dollar and inflation numbers, gold has lost its value.

In the past year, the price of gold soared close to the US$2,000 barrier but has since fallen wayside. At current, one ounce of gold is fetching for US$1,817.64.

Compared to the start of the year, the precious metal had been fetching for US$1,951.34, down 7% from today’s levels.

The United States Federal Reserve has indicated its intent to raise interest rates at least 3 times in 2022. This is because inflation had accelerated to 6.9% last year, the highest rate in nearly four decades, and unemployment levels being down.

Supply and demand imbalances due to COVID-19 along with the reopening of the economy have led inflation to spike.

As such, the Reserves Bank of Australia is expected to follow suit, with two rate hikes for the current 2022 year.

Rising interest rates drag down the price of precious metals, and it appears investors are bracing for the worst.

Is this a buying opportunity?

The good news for investors is that a number of brokers believe that the Newcrest share price is attractively valued.

Multinational investment bank, Macquarie lifted its 12-month price target by 13% to $34 for Newcrest shares. This implies an upside of around 37% based on the current share price.

In addition, Swiss investment firm, UBS lowered its assessment on Newcrest shares by 19% to $27. Its analysts clearly believe that there is still significant value in the gold mining company and that a recovery is inevitable. This represents a potential upside of 9% from where it trades today.

The post Own Newcrest (ASX:NCM) shares? Here’s how the share price performed in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy
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• Is it a buy? Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) share price outlook in 2022
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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 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 ASX 200 tech sector looks set to be a bloodbath on Thursday after a selloff on the Nasdaq index overnight.

The illustrious tech-focused Nasdaq index had its worst session in almost a year after falling 3.3% overnight.

Why did the Nasdaq sink?

Investors were selling down tech shares following the release of minutes from the US Federal Reserve which suggested that tighter U.S. monetary policy was coming.

The Fed commented: “Almost all participants agreed that it would likely be appropriate to initiate balance sheet runoff at some point after the first increase in the target range for the federal funds rate.”

This runoff has been classed as “the key risk for the year” by Jay Hatfield from Infrastructure Capital Management.

Hatfield told CNBC: “If the Fed starts shrinking the balance sheet that’s going to be disastrous. I assume that they’re going to keep the balance sheet flat, but it is possible if inflation stays really hot that they start letting the balance sheet run off. It’s not just that they’re not injecting liquidity, they’re taking liquidity out.”

“You don’t want to be in the stock market when the Fed is taking liquidity out of it — it’s like being in Coke when Warren Buffett is selling his position,” Hatfield added.

ASX 200 tech shares to fall

Given how the Australian tech sector tends to follow the lead of the Nasdaq index, this doesn’t bode well for ASX 200 tech shares this morning.

This is particularly the case for the Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price. It looks likely to fall to a new 52-week low on Thursday after the Block share price sank over 8% during overnight trade.

And with fellow BNPL provider Affirm falling 7%, this could mean an equally bad day for the Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price.

Elsewhere, Intuit shares fell 4%, which could be a bad sign for the Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price, and Autodesk, which attempted to acquire Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) last year, saw its shares fall 5%.

The post ASX 200 tech shares on watch after Nasdaq selloff appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
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• What are some key lessons for ASX share investors at the end of 2021?
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts on Wednesday
• Why Afterpay, Kogan, Premier Investments, and Pro Medicus shares are dropping

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 Afterpay Limited, Altium, Xero, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Afterpay Limited and Xero. 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 fallen approximately 60% over the past year. Is the fund manager now a bargain buy after all of its troubles?

Magellan shares have been drifting lower for quite a long time. Worries about its investment fund performance caused concerns regarding funds under management (FUM) retention and the ability to maintain its management fees.

It was a week before Christmas that Magellan received the news that its biggest client was pulling its funds out.

Loss of St James’ Place mandate

Magellan was notified on 17 December 2021 that St James’ Place had terminated its mandate.

That mandate, which was a separate account and not an investment in any of Magellan’s retail global funds, represented approximately 12% of its current annual revenue and is anticipated to have an impact of around 6% on the FY22 revenue.

Due to the timing to the mandate loss, the impact will be immaterial to the company’s half-year result to 31 December 2021.

Magellan co-founder Hamish Douglass noted in a video that no other client amounts to more than 3% of its revenue. The Magellan business, Mr Douglass noted, was diversified and in a strong financial position with strong assets and cash. It continues to have high profit margins and good cashflow.

The Magellan share price has dropped 28% since this news dropped.

Resignation of CEO

About a month ago, Magellan announced that its CEO, Dr Brett Cairns, was resigning for personal reasons and will be leaving the company.

The chief financial officer (CFO) of Magellan, Ms Kirsten Morton, has been appointed as the interim CEO. She has been CFO for eight years and has a “detailed understanding of Magellan and its operations” after joining the senior management team in 2013.

Mr Hamish Douglass will remain as Magellan’s executive Chair.

Is the Magellan share price an opportunity?

There are a mixture of views on the business.

Despite the heavy decline of the share price, UBS thinks there could be further declines on the potential loss of other clients. The broker has a price target of $17, which would suggest a potential drop of around 20%. UBS is expecting more than $20 billion of net outflows of funds under management over the next few years and increased pressure of management fees.

Morgan Stanley also reckons that Magellan is a sell/underweight with a price target of $17.50. It is concerned that the underperformance could lead to a decline in the management fees that it charges the retail clients.

However, not every analyst is pessimistic about where the Magellan share price is headed. Morgans currently rates Magellan as a hold, but it has a price target of $24.15 – that’s 15% higher than where it is right now. But, fee pressure and net outflows are also a concern for Morgans.

Whilst the core equity strategy may be under pressure, Magellan has pointed to various other parts of the business which have growth potential in the coming years including its Australian equity strategies, its retirement product called Futurepay, its sustainable investing strategies and its investments in other businesses like Barrenjoey and Guzman y Gomez.

The post Down 60%: Is the Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price now a bargain? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the 5 worst performing ASX 200 shares in 2021
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in December
• ASX 200 falls on Friday but records 13% gain in 2021
• Is the Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price a beaten-up buy?
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell

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 Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW) share price has risen by around 30% over the past year, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) by around 16% over that same time period.

There are three (or four) different sections to the Brickworks business. It has an Australian building products division, a US building products division, a property trust investment and a shareholding of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL).

Each section has its own influence on the Brickworks share price and results. These are some of the recent comments from the company and analysts on the business:

The property division is expecting a big result

Brickworks is expecting to report record property earnings in the first half of FY22. Property earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), assuming no further transactions, is expected to be in the range of $290 million to $310 million. This compares to property EBIT of $253 million in FY21.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated industry trends towards online shopping and increased the importance of well-located distribution hubs and sophisticated supply chain solutions.

Brickworks’ managing director Mr Lindsay Partridge said:

In order to meet the strong customer demand, development activity within the property trust has also continued at pace. At Oakdale West, construction of the start of the art Amazon facility is due to reach practical completion at the end of December. The completion of this facility, together with others at Oakdale South, will result in significant development profits, also included in the record first half earnings.

In the second half of the financial year, Brickworks is expecting to complete additional developments at the Oakdale Estates in western Sydney and the Rochedale estate in Brisbane.

Brickworks is also selling 75 hectares of excess land at Oakdale East, resulting in a “significant” one-off land sale profit and extending the development pipeline in order to meet the unprecedented demand for industrial development.

This is increasing the underlying backing for the Brickworks share price.

Building products

Several weeks ago, the business held its annual general meeting (AGM) and outlined how both of its building products businesses were performing.

In Australia, it said that it was experiencing strong demand, though the first quarter of FY22 was disrupted by COVID-19 restrictions. First quarter revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was “slightly ahead” of the prior corresponding period. It said there is strong underlying demand across the country, with a large backlog of detached housing construction work in the pipeline.

In North America, sales have been buoyed by the recent brick distributor acquisition, though margin pressures remain. Thanks to the acquisition of the Illinois Brick Company (IBC), the sales uplift was “significant”.

Soul Pattinson

After the merger with Milton, Brickworks now owns 26.1% of Soul Pattinson.

Mr Partridge said:

The merger provides WHSP with increased scale, diversification and liquidity to pursue additional investment opportunities, and we expect WHSP to continue to deliver superior long-term returns and consistent dividend growth well into the future.

Is the Brickworks share price a buy?

Ord Minnett currently calls Brickworks a buy, with a price target of $26.20. Whilst the broker notes the ongoing performance of the property division, which is benefiting from higher valuations, the Soul Pattinson share price has been declining and hurting the underlying value of Brickworks shares over the last few months.

The post What’s the outlook for the Brickworks (ASX:BKW) share price in 2022? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Brickworks and 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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It’s not easy to find ASX dividend shares with yields of more than 8%.

Some may be yield traps where the last 12 months of dividends are not going to be the same as the next 12 months.

However, analysts have had a go at estimating where they think dividends and yields are going to be for the upcoming financial year.

With that in mind, these are two businesses expected to pay big dividends over the next 12 months:

Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO)

Rio Tinto is one of the biggest mining businesses in the world. It’s currently rated as a buy by Citi, with a price target of $115. That’s around 15% higher than where it is today.

Based on the FY22 dividend estimate, the Rio Tinto share price could have a grossed-up dividend yield of 13.2%.

Whilst Rio Tinto is facing difficulties in getting its Serbian lithium project to the next stage, it has made another lithium play in Argentina.

The mining business is buying the Rincon lithium project for $825 million.

Rincon is a large undeveloped lithium brine project located in the heart of the lithium triangle in the Salta Province of Argentina, which Rio Tinto called an emerging hub for greenfield projects. The miner said the project has a long life and is a scalable resource.

Once the acquisition is completed, the project will be subject to the completion of studies to confirm the resource and various other steps.

The ASX dividend share’s management said this acquisition is aligned with its strategy of prioritising growth capital in commodities that support decarbonisation and to continue to deliver attractive returns to shareholders.

The direct lithium extraction technology proposed for the project has the potential to significantly increase lithium recoveries as compared to solar evaporation ponds.

Adairs Ltd (ASX: ADH)

Adairs is a leading retailer of homewares and furniture in Australia and New Zealand with its Adairs, Mocka and Focus on Furniture.

It’s currently rated as a buy by Morgans with a price target of $4.80. That suggests a potential increase of the Adairs share price of around 20% over the next year.

Morgans thinks that the ASX dividend share could pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 8.1% in FY22 (and 10.2% in FY23).

Not only do management and analysts like the acquisition of Focus because of the growth potential and synergies, but Adairs is judged to have attractive organic growth potential.

One area of growth is its membership called Linen Lovers. Adairs says that membership growth is a key driver of sales. Member retention initiatives and the facilitation of online signups through upgrading its digital platform in FY22 offer “significant upside” for growth rates, according to management.

Members account for over 80% of sales and spend around 1.5x more than non-members in each transaction. Each new member adds around $400 in total sales.

Adairs also notes that there is a relationship between store sales and retail floor space. Growing store floor space through new and up-sized stores will continue to drive store sales. Each additional square metre of retail space typically adds around $4,000 of store sales.

The ASX dividend share is expecting to grow its floor space by at least 5% per annum over the next five years.

Morgans thinks the Adairs share price is valued at 11x FY22’s estimated earnings.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares with yields of more than 8% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s what brokers are saying about the Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) share price
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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended ADAIRS FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended ADAIRS 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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gained 13% in 2021.

While some ASX 200 mining shares did far better – we’re looking at you Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) – others fell well behind that benchmark. Namely, the big gold miners.

Below we look at the five worst-performing ASX 200 mining shares to have held in the year just past.

The fifth and fourth worst performers

Starting with the fifth-worst performer, we have Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX).

Westgold Resources’ share price fell 22.7% over 2021, closing on 31 December at $2.04 per share.

The gold explorer and miner is primarily active in Western Australia and faced some headwinds from a sliding gold price over the course of the year. The gold price started 2021 at US$1,999 per troy ounce and finished at US$1,829 per ounce, a decline of 8.5%, according to data from Bloomberg.

With 425.5 million shares outstanding, Westgold has a current market cap of $838 million.

Moving on to the fourth-worst performing ASX 200 mining share, we arrive at Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST).

Northern Star’s share price finished the year at $9.41, down 25.9% from the 31 December 2020 closing price.

Northern Star is an active gold miner and producer in Western Australia and was also impacted by retracing gold prices. The miner has 1.16 billion shares outstanding, giving it a current market cap of $11 billion. Northern Star pays a dividend yield of 2%, fully franked.

Coming in at number three and number two

Moving into steeper losses, the third-worst ASX 200 mining share to have held throughout 2021 is St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM).

St Barbara’s shares lost 37.7% throughout the year, closing on 31 December at $1.47 per share. The gold miner and explorer is active in Australia and Papua New Guinea.

With 709.5 million shares outstanding, the miner has a current market cap of $1 billion. St Barbara pays a 4.1% dividend yield, fully franked.

This brings us to the second worst-performing ASX 200 mining share of the year gone by, Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL).

Regis Resources closed the year trading at $1.95 per share, down 45.8% from 31 December 2020.

The gold miner and producer has active projects in Western Australia with prospective projects in New South Wales. The company has some 754.8 million shares outstanding, with a current market cap of $1.4 billion. Regis Resources pays a dividend yield of 3.5%, fully franked.

The worst performing ASX 200 mining share of 2021

And that leaves us with the worst-performing ASX 200 mining share of 2021, Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG).

As with the other companies on the list, Resolute is primarily involved in gold exploration and mining, with projects in Senegal, Mali, and Ghana.

The Resolute Mining share price fell 51.3% in 2021, closing the year at 39 cents per share.

With 1.1 billion shares outstanding, Resolute has a current market cap of $414 million. The company last paid a dividend in August 2018.

The post These were the 5 worst ASX 200 mining shares to hold in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
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• Why Elixir Energy, Kogan, St Barbara, and Zip shares are dropping
• Why is the Northern Star (ASX:NST) share price having such an unhappy new year?
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Pilbara Minerals hits record high, energy shares rise

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 last 12 months have seen cryptocurrencies creep increasingly into the domain of mainstream investing.

But amid the hype, it’s easy to forget that the industry is still largely unregulated. The whole concept of cryptocurrency was born out of a desire to circumvent centralised banking, so this shouldn’t be entirely surprising.

As such, there are nefarious types that prey on investors looking to make a quick buck.

Australian crypto exchange platform Coinjar recently listed 3 of the most common scam mechanisms out there.

“The best thing you can do is approach everything involving your crypto with a healthy degree of scepticism,” the Coinjar team said in a memo to clients.

That’s a crypto platform saying this, folks.

Take a look at these scams — and be careful out there:

Rug pulls

A ‘rug pull’ is perhaps the most blatant rip-off in the crypto world.

A new currency is created, promising the world. Investors put their hard-earned into buying the tokens, hoping they will make lots of money from being early adopters.

Then the development team becomes silent. Sometimes even, the crypto’s website is taken down overnight.

“Rug pulls occur when the developers behind a crypto project disappear, taking with them the millions of dollars worth of crypto that investors have given them to buy unreleased tokens or as contributions to token liquidity pools,” stated the Coinjar memo.

“These projects will often have white papers, development timelines and slick-looking websites to make them seem legit.”

In the short term, the currency value may rise spectacularly.

“However, if you scrape the surface there are usually warning signs,” read the Coinjar memo.

“They’ll typically be meme-based tokens, capitalising on market FOMO or pop culture frenzies. They’ll often have anonymous development teams, staffed by people with no LinkedIn profiles or professional history.”

Another huge warning sign is that currency holders cannot sell their tokens.

A recent example of a rug pull is the Squid token, which jumped from 1 cent to US$2,856 almost overnight on the back of the popularity of the Netflix series Squid Game.

The developers then ran off with an estimated US$3.38 million, according to Gizmodo.

Celebrity investment schemes

If a famous wealthy person invests in something then it must be fine, right?

Scammers have exploited this logic for time immemorial, and it continues in the age of cryptocurrencies.

“You’ve probably all seen the ads or emails about high-profile celebrities – Hugh Jackman! Nicole Kidman! – promoting Bitcoin investment platforms that promise guaranteed 1,000% profits,” read the Coinjar memo.

“Click through and you’ll be taken to a legitimate seeming website and asked to register your interest.”

Once they have your details, there will be high-pressure tactics applied to entice you to “invest”. The scammers will then have a fake online portal showing how your money is supposedly growing in real-time.

“The number will keep on going up and up, until you try and withdraw your newfound gains and discover that they were only ever numbers on a screen,” the memo read.

“Investment schemes have long been the biggest single part of the scam landscape and cryptocurrencies are driving it to new heights – almost $100 million has been lost to investment-based scams so far this year.”

Romance scams

The universal desire for companionship has been exploited online by criminal enterprises for decades now.

The scammers generally find their victims on social media or on dating platforms.

“Once an initial connection is made, the scammer will lavish you with attention and compliments. Victims often report chatting to their scammers online for hours each day, developing a relationship that feels profound and real,” read the Coinjar memo.

“Some planned to marry – as soon as they were able to meet face-to-face.”

After months of an online relationship that feels very real, the scammer will suddenly request crypto.

“‘I need money to get back to Australia to be with you’; ‘My mother is sick and we can’t pay her hospital bills’; ‘I’ll pay you back as soon as I get this job’,” the Coinjar team cited as some examples.

“Usually a small amount first, but over time the requests can build to tens of thousands of dollars. And then, at the first trace of suspicion, they disappear.”

The post Warning: These are the 3 most common crypto scams appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• 2 ASX dividend shares tipped as buys this month

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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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Are you looking for dividend options to supplement your income in 2022? If you are, you may want to look at the ASX dividend shares listed below.

Here’s why analysts rate them as buys:

Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)

This baby products retailer could be a good option for income investors. This is due to its attractive fully franked yield and strong growth potential. The latter is being driven by its strong position in a less discretionary category with around 300,000 births a year in Australia.

But management isn’t resting on its laurels and is aiming to cement its position by almost doubling its store network in the future.

The team at Citi is positive on Baby Bunting and has a buy rating and $6.11 price target on its shares.

Citi commented: “We reiterate our Buy rating and see the company having a range of multi-year growth strategies including rollout (target of 110+ stores, with 68 expected by end of FY22e), exclusive/private label growth and supply chain efficiencies.”

As for dividends, the broker expects fully franked dividends per share of 16 cents in FY 2022 and 20 cents in FY 2023. Based on the current Baby Bunting share price of $5.55, this will mean yields of 2.9% and 3.6%, respectively.

Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL)

Analysts at Morgans believe this energy producer could be a dividend share to buy. Particularly given its impending merger with the petroleum assets of BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP). The broker believes the deal is transformative and feels Woodside is getting the better deal.

Morgans currently has an add rating and $29.95 price target on the company’s shares.

It commented: “From an economic standpoint we think WPL is clearly getting the better of the deal, with synergies not baked into deal metrics and BHP willing to accept a discount. The deal is transformative, lifting WPL into being a top 10 global E&P with +2 billion barrels of 2P reserves, with EBITDA of US$4.7bnpa and growth options.”

Morgans expects fully franked dividends of $1.21 per share in FY 2022 and then $1.06 per share in FY 2023. Based on the current Woodside share price of $22.77, this will mean yields of 5.3% and 4.7%, respectively.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares named as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Baby Bunting. 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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