Just as you thought it was safe to bargain hunt ASX 200 iron ore miners, a leading broker warns that the calm won’t last.

The share prices of ASX iron ore shares have been under strain recently as the price of the commodity tumbled from its peak.

The steel making ingredient was fetching over US$200 a tonne before crashing around 25% in three weeks.

ASX 200 iron ore miners finding renewed favour

Price of the ore seems to be stabilising at around US$150 a tonne. That’s prompting ASX investors to buy the Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price, BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price.

These ASX shares not only delivered record or near record profits, but they are a key contributor to Australia’s $38 billion dividend bonanza this reporting season!

But this could be as good as it gets. UBS took a deeper look at what caused the iron ore price to sink from its record high and it believes the mineral is heading lower in the coming months.

Why iron ore was knocked off its perch

What sparked the rout was China’s decision to ensure the country’s steel production stayed flat in 2021.

If this comes to pass, Chinese crude steel production is set to fall 59 million tonnes in the second half of this year compared to the same period in 2020.

China’s pig iron output (a cheap substitute used to make low quality steel) is down around 6% in July compared to June. UBS also noted that key steel producers, including China Baowu Steel Group Corp., Ltd., have also announced plans to cut production in the current half.

Mixed signals cloud outlook

“This has resulted in mills destocking and iron ore prices falling sharply in a thin spot market,” said UBS.

“Other policy developments are mixed: the govt remains focused on controlling the leverage of developers and property prices but is taking measures to accelerate infrastructure construction.

“This has resulted in steel prices lifting while iron ore prices fall.”

Another mixed outcome is iron ore output. Exports of the commodity have not yet lifted materially from Australia or Brazil, although Vale SA and Rio Tinto’s guidance suggest supply will increase by circa 60Mt in this half.

ASX 200 miners brace for more iron ore pain

“We expect the China’s steel curtailments to be targeted in 4Q when demand slows seasonally and air pollution is in focus (especially ahead of the Winter Olympics in Feb-22),” said UBS.

“And as a result, we expect prices to stabilise in Sept/Oct before continuing to fall back <$100/t in 2022.”

Foolish takeaway

If the broker is right, we could see ASX 200 iron ore miners come under renewed pressure in the coming months.

The silver lining is that analysts and governments don’t have a very good track record in forecasting commodity prices. ASX investors will be hoping this remains true.

The post ASX 200 miners beware as UBS warns iron ore will sink under US$100 in 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• The BHP (ASX:BHP) share price is down 14% in a month. Here’s why
• August hasn’t been a great month for the Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) share price
• Top broker gives its verdict on the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price
• Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price bounces despite looming iron ore supply outlook

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of BHP Billiton Limited, Fortescue Metals Group Limited, and Rio Tinto Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Regional Express Holdings Ltd (ASX: REX) share price is in positive territory during late afternoon trade. This comes after the regional airline company dropped its full-year results for the 2021 financial year.

At the time of writing, Regional Express shares are travelling 2.54% higher to $1.21.

Let’s take a look at how the company performed for the period.

Regional Express share price moves ahead despite mixed performance

Investors are adding the Regional Express share price to their holdings following the company’s latest results. Here are some of the key operational highlights:

• Group total revenue of $256.2 million, down 20.4% on the prior corresponding period (FY20 $321.8 million);
• Underlying operating loss before tax of $18.4 million, up 33% (FY20 loss of $27.4 million);
• Statutory profit after tax (PAT) loss of $4.9 million, up 34.6% (FY20 statutory PAT loss of $19.4 million);
• No dividend declared

What happened in FY21 for Regional Express?

The company reported mixed numbers for its scorecard for the 2021 financial year. However, this hasn’t affected the Rex share price, and its peers alike. In fact, most travel shares are up today as the Australian government accelerates its vaccination program.

For the 12 months ending 30 June 2021, Regional Express recorded passenger revenue of $125.2 million, down 41.3%. This is a stark contrast from the $213.2 million achieved in FY20.

Management managed to keep costs down with expenses, excluding fuel, coming in at $249.7 million, down 20.9%. In comparison, this time last year, costs not including aviation fuel were at $315.6 million.

This led to Regional Express registering an underlying operating loss before tax of $18.4 million, up 33% (FY20 loss of $27.4 million).

What did management say?

Regional Express executive chair, Lim Kim Hai touched on the result, saying:

The airline industry has never been as badly ravaged in its entire history as today with a staggering drop of 56% in passenger numbers globally. To understand the magnitude of the devastation, the drop in global passenger numbers was 16% during the Global Financial Crisis. Rex’s passenger numbers fell by 29% in the past financial year.

FY22 outlook for Regional Express

Looking ahead, Regional Express noted the first half of FY22 will be impacted by the current lockdowns and domestic border closures. Furthermore, given the unpredictable nature of the pandemic, new waves of infection could hit Australian shores.

Given this outlook, Regional Express is pessimistic about the recovery of the aviation market. While snap travel restrictions and border shutdowns can happen at any time, the company moved against providing a profit guidance.

The post Regional Express (ASX:REX) share price up on 33% net loss after tax improvement appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price slips despite Rex (ASX:REX) agreement
• Why the Regional Express (ASX:REX) share price is down
• Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price wobbles as rival questions staff layoffs

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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There are a few ASX tech shares that could be long-term opportunities at the current prices.

It’s often businesses in the technology sector that are delivering new services or introducing a new way of doing things.

If a technology business can grow revenue quickly then that may come with good profit margins.

These two ASX tech shares could be good prospects for the long-term:

VanEck Video Gaming and Esports ETF (ASX: ESPO)

This exchange-traded fund (ETF) is about businesses in the video gaming and e-sports sector, if you hadn’t already guessed from the name.

There are currently 26 names in the portfolio. These are the top ten positions at the moment: Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, Sea, Tencent, Unity Software, Activision Blizzard, Nintendo, Electronic Arts, Bandai Namco and Roblox Corp.

To qualify for the portfolio, businesses have to generate a “significant” portion – at least 50% – of revenue from the video gaming sector.

Holdings include video game and related hardware and software developers, streaming services, companies involved in e-sports events and so on.

E-sports, which now get very large digital crowds, has created multiple new revenue streams from game publisher fees, media rights, merchandise, ticket sales and advertising.

VanEck says that video gaming revenue has grown by an average of 12% per year since 2015. This is helping underlying profit grow too. VanEck says this industry could be a long-term growth story.

Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL)

Redbubble is currently rated as a buy by the broker Morgans.

This ASX tech shares sells products with artist designs on them such as wall art, clothing, stationery and phone cases.

Morgans is attracted to the long-term outlook for the business, though the short-term could be difficult. The broker thinks that the business can grow its earnings over the coming years.

Redbubble saw marketplace revenue increase by 58% to $553 million. This led to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) soaring 930% to $53 million. It also made $31 million of net profit after tax (NPAT), compared to a loss of $9 million in FY20. Operating cashflow was $55 million for the year, up from $47 million in FY20.

The number of unique customers rose 40% to 9.5 million, with 67% growth in purchases from repeat customers, contributing 42% of marketplace revenue. It had 44 fulfiller locations across the network, up from 41 at the end of FY20.

Over the next few years, Redbubble is aiming to reach $1.25 billion of marketplace revenue. The first half of FY22 is expected to show a decline of marketplace revenue because of a very strong prior corresponding period. But the second half is expected to show a return to growth.

In the medium-term, the ASX tech share is going to invest heavily for growth to drive an increase in users, orders and repeat buying.

Over the longer-term, the Redbubble EBITDA margin is expected to increase as its operating leverage strengthens.

The post 2 ASX tech shares that could be buys in September 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• 2 ASX shares I like from reporting season: expert
• 3 reasons why the Redbubble (ASX:RBL) share price could be a buy
• Why Ampol, NIB, Redbubble, & Sonic shares are dropping
• 3 excellent ASX ETFs for investors

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended VanEck Vectors ETF Trust – VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Pan Asia Metals Ltd (ASX: PAM) share price has jumped into the green during afternoon trade on Tuesday.

Pan Asia shares are on the move today after the company released an announcement just before the market open.

Let’s investigate what happened.

A quick refresher on Pan Asia Metals

Pan Asia Metals is a minerals exploration company that has tungsten and lithium projects in Thailand.

It has a suite of specialty metals projects located in the Southeast Asian Tin–Tungsten belt, where a plethora of resources has been located over the years.

At the time of writing, Pan Asia Metals has a market capitalisation of around $19 million.

What did Pan Asia announce?

In what investors deemed a positive for the Pan Asia Metals share price, the company reported it had lodged a number of “geothermal lithium and hard rock lithium and tin exploration block applications”.

Specifically, it lodged five “special prospecting licence applications (SPLA)” in southern Thailand, at a site known as the “Kata Thong Lithium Project”.

According to Pan Asia, two of the SPLAs “contain geothermal fields” that are “highly prospective” for geothermal-style lithium.

Four of the SPLAs also are highly prospective for “lepidolite-style lithium and tin”, where each SPLA contains “at least 1 historic tin mine”.

As a result of the applications, and exposure to the Kata Thong lithium project, Pan Asia is a “potential low to zero carbon emitter” via the use of geothermal energy. This is coupled with “nearby” energy from the Rajjabrabha Hydro-electric power station, as per the release.

Pan Asia also stated Kata Thong “potentially positions (the company) to have a zero carbon footprint”.

Investors have relished the news today and are buying Pan Asia shares in droves. They have pushed the Pan Asia Metals share price 134.4% higher on the day.

Pan Asia shares are now exchanging hands at 34 cents apiece, well above the opening price of 16.5 cents.

Pan Asia Metals share price snapshot

The Pan Asia Metals share price has posted a year-to-date return of around 150%.

This sits well ahead of the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)’s return of around 14% since January 1.

The post Pan Asia Metals share price soars 130% on lithium project update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• Why is the Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price 7% higher today?
• How China is fuelling demand for this leading ASX ETF
• Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) share price crashes 16% to 52-week low on cash concerns
• What’s been moving the Nasdaq 100 in August?

The author Zach Bristow 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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On Monday I looked at three ASX shares brokers have given buy ratings to this week.

Unfortunately, not all shares are in favour with them right now. Three that have just been given sell ratings are listed below. Here’s why these brokers are bearish on these ASX shares:

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

According to a note out of Morgan Stanley, its analysts have retained their underweight rating and $18.55 price target on this iron ore giant’s shares. Although Fortescue delivered a full year result in line with its expectations, it isn’t enough for a change of rating. The broker remains bearish due to concerns over the iron ore cycle turning negative, widening low grade discounts, and higher capital expenditure. The Fortescue share price is currently trading at $21.08.

InvoCare Limited (ASX: IVC)

A note out of Citi reveals that its analysts have retained their sell rating but lifted their price target on this funerals company’s shares to $11.00. Citi notes that InvoCare delivered a strong first half result, which was well ahead of its forecasts. However, it fears that a lot of this could be undone in the second half due to lockdowns. In light of this, it is holding firm with its sell rating. The InvoCare share price is fetching $12.27 today.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

Another note out of Citi reveals that its analysts have retained their sell rating but lifted their price target on this conglomerate’s shares to $49.00. Citi was pleased with Wesfarmers’ performance in FY 2021 and the announcement of a $2.3 billion capital return. However, due to valuation concerns, the broker isn’t in a rush to change its rating. Particularly given supply chain disruptions, rising freight and commodity costs, and increasing investment in digital and automation. The Wesfarmers share price is trading at $60.13 today.

The post Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Top broker gives its verdict on the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price
• Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price bounces despite looming iron ore supply outlook
• ASX company’s crack unit rakes in 1600% revenue growth
• ASX 200 rises, Altium sinks, Fortescue climbs
• Which ASX companies are starting off the week as the top movers in the ASX 300 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. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended InvoCare 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 Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price has surged more than 7% in today’s trading session.

Despite releasing its full-year results last week, shares in the e-commerce company are in hot demand today.

Let’s take a look at why investors are bidding the Kogan share price higher today.

What’s pushing the Kogan share price higher?

Kogan hasn’t released any price-sensitive news that could explain today’s bullish price action.

As a result, there could be several catalysts moving the Kogan share price.

Firstly, shares in the e-commerce giant could be bouncing as investors digest the company’s full-year results.

Shares in Kogan tanked more than 15% last week after releasing a disappointing FY21 report.

In addition, a bullish note from leading broker Credit Suisse could also be pushing the Kogan share price higher today.

Analysts from the broker retained an outperform rating on the e-commerce company.

Despite the inherent risks, analysts cited Kogan’s strong medium term growth prospects.

In addition, it is also important for investors to note that Kogan is one of the most shorted companies on the market.

According to the most recent data, Kogan’s share registry has a 9% short interest.

As a result, today’s price action could be short-sellers cashing in their profits.

How did Kogan perform in FY21?

Kogan released a dour full-year result last week, highlighted by an 87% reduction in net profit after tax of $3.5 million

Despite an increase in revenue, inventory management issues weighed down the company in FY21.

Other highlights from Kogan’s FY21 report included;

• Gross sales increased 52.7% to $1,179 million
• Revenue jumped 56.8% to $780.7 million
• Gross profit rose 61% to $203.7 million
• Adjusted net profit after tax up 43.2% to $42.9 million
• Reported net profit after tax down 86.8% to $3.5 million
• Kogan.com active customer base up 46.9% to 3,207,000, Mighty Ape up to 764,000
• Cash balance of $12.8 million and no final dividend

Snapshot of the Kogan share price

Last year, the Kogan share price was a market darling as consumers flocked to online retailers.

However, the company has failed to replicate its success into the new year.

Since the start of the year, shares in Kogan have plunged more than 39%.

Shares in the e-commerce giant were up more than 7% earlier today after hitting an intra-day high of $11.86.

At the time of writing, the Kogan share price is poised to close 3% higher for the day at $11.38.

The post Why is the Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price 7% higher today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Which ASX shares are leading the way on the ASX 300 today?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: A mixed bag of earnings dominates ASX
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week

Motley Fool contributor Nikhil Gangaram owns shares of Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Kogan.com 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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Hackers have been active on the internet since the earliest days.

That’s led to a range of new business opportunities for companies working to safeguard our digital information.

These days, the business of securing internet data from malicious attacks is worth tens of billions of dollars annually. And growing.

This growing need saw the launch of Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK) in September 2016.

HACK, an exchange traded fund (ETF), offers ASX investors exposure to 39 leading global cyber security shares. The fund’s top holdings include Zscaler, Crowdstrike Holdings, Accenture, and Cisco Systems.

There currently aren’t any ASX listed cyber security firms among the ASX ETF’s holdings, as the market caps of the Aussie shares are still too small.

How China is fuelling this ASX ETF

While many hackers work independently, there are also massive state-backed cyber teams. Some work for good while others work to disrupt internet systems in nations on their naughty lists.

China, while officially denying these allegations, has been named as one of the top state-backed hacking sources. And Australia has been one of the biggest victims.

The reason is said to be Australia’s leading role in demanding an independent international probe into how COVID-19 came into being. Prime Minister Scott Morrison first made that demand in April 2020.

Not much later, Bloomberg reports, “Chinese bots swarmed on to Australian government networks.”

The bots ran hundreds of thousands of scans, apparently looking for vulnerabilities that could later be exploited. It was a massive and noisy attack with little effort made to hide the bots’ presence, said Robert Potter, chief executive officer of Internet 2.0, an Australian cybersecurity firm that works extensively with the federal government.

You likely remember the wave of cyber attacks that followed. Among others, those targeted were the Australian government and healthcare agencies, the department of defence, alongside multiple businesses and universities.

As who’s to blame? While the Aussie government has been careful not to aggravate matters by directly pointing fingers, according to Bloomberg:

While Beijing denied any involvement, cybersecurity experts traced much of the activity to systems used by China-based advanced persistent threat groups or APTs, a term often used to describe state-sponsored hackers.

How has HACK performed?

The ASX ETF has had a strong run over the past 12 months, gaining 40%. By comparison the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 25% over that same time.

HACK has continued to outperform the index this year and is up 6% over the past month.

The post How China is fuelling demand for this leading ASX ETF appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 excellent ASX ETFs for investors
• 3 popular ETFs that could be top options for ASX investors
• 2 exciting ASX growth shares that are rated very highly
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• 3 excellent ASX tech shares that could be buys

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended BETA CYBER ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BETA CYBER ETF UNITS. 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 Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB) share price has come under significant pressure on Tuesday.

In afternoon trade, the biotechnology company’s shares are down almost 16% to a 52-week low of $1.67.

This means the Mesoblast share price is now down 68% over the last 12 months.

Why is the Mesoblast share price crashing lower?

Investors have been selling down the Mesoblast share price today following the release of its full year results.

For the 12 months ended 30 June, Mesoblast reported revenue of US$7.45 million, down 77% year on year. Things were even worse on the bottom line, with the company posting a loss after tax of US$98.8 million for the year.

This left the company with cash on hand of US$136.9 million at the end of the period.

What else happened?

Another thing that appears to be weighing heavily on the Mesoblast share price was news that it will have to run another Remestemcel-L COVID-19 ARDS phase 3 trial in the US before being considered for emergency use approval.

This is a big blow as, not only does it push things back further, the trial comes at a significant cost to the company.

It also adds to uncertainty over the major license and collaboration agreement it has signed with Novartis. Almost a year after signing the agreement, it remains subject to certain closing conditions, including time to analyse the results from the COVID-19 ARDS trial.

Does Mesoblast have the cash to survive another year?

Perhaps the biggest weight on the Mesoblast share price are concerns that the company will need to raise funds again.

Management advised that this will depend on whether it can form strategic partnerships or restructure existing loan agreements.

In the company’s report, it commented: “Over the next twelve months in order to meet our forecast expenditure, including repayment of the Hercules debt facility, cash inflows will be required. Management and the directors believe we will achieve this given plans to complete either one or more strategic partnerships or restructure existing loan agreements, and have prepared the financial report on a going concern basis.”

“The dependency on these planned objectives indicates material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt on our ability to continue as a going concern and that we may be unable to realize our assets and discharge our liabilities in the normal course of business,” it added.

The post Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) share price crashes 16% to 52-week low on cash concerns appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Bubs, Harvey Norman, Mesoblast, & Regis shares are dropping
• ASX 200 midday update: Harvey Norman’s record profit, PointsBet posts large loss
• Which ASX shares are leading the way on the ASX 300 today?
• Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) share price slides 10% following FY21 earnings
• Why the Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) share price is edging higher on Tuesday

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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Earlier today, we discussed the performance of the popular Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) over the month of August. But while VAS is a popular ETF, it only covers the performance of the Aussie share market. But another ASX exchange-traded fund (ETF) which is also very popular with Aussie investors is the BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ).

Rather than tracking any Australian shares, NDQ is an ETF that instead mirrors the American NASDAQ-100 (INDEXNASDAQ: NDX) Index. The Nasdaq is one of the two major stock exchanges in the United States of America. Since it’s a lot younger than its older sibling the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq tends to hold the newer, hipper US companies. You’ll find all 5 of the FAANG stocks on it, as well as other trendy companies like Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), Adobe Inc (NASDAQ: ADBE) or NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA).

So how has this index fared over the month of August? Investors in NDQ are certainly used to a high bar when it comes to performance. After all, NDQ has returned an average of 27.23% per annum over the past 5 years. In contrast, the ASX-based VAS ETF has returned 10.08% over the same period.

How has the BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF performed over August?

So let’s check out NDQ’s performance over August. Remember, since NDQ holds US shares, and is unhedged, the fluctuations of the Australian dollar against the US dollar will affect its value for we Aussie investors, as well as the price movements of the underlying shares as well.

So NDQ units started August at a price of $32.09 a unit. Today, on the last day of August, this ETF is commanding a unit price of $34.09 at the time of writing. That means that NDQ units have enjoyed a gain of approximately 6.23% for the month.

Conversely, the ASX-based VAS ETF has returned around 2.1% for the month. Once again, NDQ beats it out.

So what has moved this Nasdaq-based ETF over the past month? Well, the Australian dollar has fallen around half a percentage point for the month, which would have given NDQ units a small valuation boost.

But we can’t look over the performance of NDQ’s underlying holdings.

FAANGs bared

So this ETF’s top shares are (in order) Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Tesla, NVIDIA, PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL), and Adobe.

Apple has enjoyed gains of around 5% over the past month.

Microsoft is up 6.5%.

Alphabet (Class A) has gained 7.3%.

Amazon has appreciated by 2.8%.

And Facebook has risen by 6.8%.

So already we can see where the vast majority of NDQ’s August gains have come from. And since the month just passed has been very kind to most markets, we can probably assume that the majority of NDQ’s other holdings have also had a good month.

But with an ETF that’s averaged 27.23% per annum over the past 5 years, this is just another notch on the belt.

The BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF charges a management fee of 0.48% per annum.

The post What’s been moving the Nasdaq 100 in August? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 top ETFs for ASX investors in September
• 3 excellent ASX ETFs for investors
• 2 strong ASX tech shares that might be good buys
• ASX investors can’t get enough! ETF inflows hit new record high
• Afterpay and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Alphabet (A shares), Facebook, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Apple, BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS, Facebook, Microsoft, Nvidia, PayPal Holdings, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Adobe Inc. and has recommended the following options: long January 2022 $75 calls on PayPal Holdings, long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple, and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Adobe Inc., Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Apple, Facebook, Nvidia, and PayPal Holdings. 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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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is slipping in recent trading, down 1.5% over the past 24 hours to US$47,220 (AU$64,685).

That brings Bitcoin’s loss over the past 7 days to 4.4%.

Meantime, Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), the world’s second largest crypto by market cap, is in the green for the day, up 2.4%. Though Ether remains down 2.5% over 7 days.

In fact, all 7 of the top valued cryptos are in the red over the last 7 days, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Gold, on the other hand, is up a slender 0.8% over that same time. One ounce of gold is currently worth US$1,815.

Bitcoin to zero and gold to shine?

I bring up gold here for a reason.

The decade-old debate about whether gold, Bitcoin, or other cryptos are the best way for investors to hedge against potential spikes in inflation is heating back up.

Billionaire investor John Paulson, for one, doesn’t waffle in his outlook for both the yellow metal and intangible cryptos.

You may have heard of Paulson. He made a fortune betting against the United States’ housing market in the lead up to the GFC.

In fact, as Bloomberg reports, Paulson netted some US$20 billion for investors, and his own pockets, when US subprime mortgage bonds imploded.

Now Paulson is spruiking gold as a hedge as he sees massive government spending potentially sending inflation rates higher than central banks, and most analysts, are forecasting. He says the 25% increase in the US money supply last year spells significant price rises ahead.

Hence Paulson’s recommendation on gold:

We believe that gold does very well in times of inflation. The last time gold went parabolic was in the 1970s, when we had two years of double-digit inflation.

The reason why gold goes parabolic is that basically there’s a very limited amount of investable gold. It’s in the order of several trillion dollars, while the total amount of financial assets is closer to $200 trillion. So as inflation picks up, people try and get out of fixed income. They try and get out of cash. And the logical place to go is gold. But because the amount of money trying to move out of cash and fixed income dwarfs the amount of investable gold, the supply and demand imbalance causes gold to rise.

As for Bitcoin?

Paulson didn’t pull any punches on his long-term views for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

“I wouldn’t recommend anyone invest in cryptocurrencies,” Paulson said on an episode of Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein.

I would say that cryptocurrencies are a bubble. I would describe them as a limited supply of nothing. So to the extent there’s more demand than the limited supply, the price would go up. But to the extent the demand falls, then the price would go down. There’s no intrinsic value to any of the cryptocurrencies except that there’s a limited amount.

Cryptocurrencies, regardless of where they’re trading today, will eventually prove to be worthless. Once the exuberance wears off, or liquidity dries up, they will go to zero.

With that kind of forecast, investors may be tempted to short Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.

If you’re thinking along those lines, Paulson offered these words of caution when asked why he deosn’t go short, “[E]ven though I could be right over the long term, in the short term, I’d be wiped out. In the case of Bitcoin, it went from $5,000 to $45,000. It’s just too volatile to short.”

How to access gold on the ASX

If you believe Paulson is right and inflation is likely to push the gold price higher, there are a number of exchange traded funds (ETFs) on the ASX that offer investors a means to track the gold price.

One such ETF worth investigating is ETFs Metal Securities Australia Ltd (ASX: GOLD).

As the ticker implies, GOLD provides investors access to physical gold, in that each share is backed by 0.10 troy ounces of gold, held by by JP Morgan Chase Bank in London.

The ETF moves in line with the gold spot price, minus management fees. It’s down 7.6% over the past 12 months, similar to the declining gold price over that time.

Bitcoin, if you’re wondering, is up 305% since this time last year.

Which explains Paulson’s refusal to short the token.

Whether or not he’s right and Bitcoin will go to zero along with the rest of the cryptocurrencies once ” the exuberance wears off” remains to be seen.

The post Billionaire investor: Bitcoin going to zero but this ASX share should shine appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• The next Bitcoin? Why investors are bullish on fast-rising altcoin Cardano
• Bitcoin rockets past US$50,000 as analysts eye October price catalyst
• Up 50% in a month! Bitcoin is back over US$50,000
• 1 smart way to invest in Dogecoin without buying cryptocurrency

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. 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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