• U.K. Stores Reopen as Government Eases Restrictions

    U.K. Stores Reopen as Government Eases RestrictionsJun.15 — Retail outlets in England selling non-essential items are opening today for the first time since March, as the government eases restrictions put in place to curb the coronavirus. Kyle Monk of the British Retail Consortium assesses the outlook for the sector in an interview on “Bloomberg Markets: European Open.”

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  • AT&T Mulls $4 Billion Sale Of Gaming Division- Report

    AT&T Mulls $4 Billion Sale Of Gaming Division- ReportAT&T (T) is considering selling its Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment gaming unit for around $4 billion to reduce its heavy debt burden, people familiar with the matter have told CNBC.According to the sources, potential buyers include major gaming companies Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO), Electronic Arts (EA) and Activision Blizzard (ATVI). However, they added that no deal is assured or imminent at this point.One option for a deal could include a commercial licensing agreement which would allow AT&T to continue to drive revenue from its intellectual property, CNBC reported.However VentureBeat reported a separate source suggesting a price closer to $2 billion because the gaming division does not own some of the key franchises at the core of its major games like “Harry Potter” and “Game of Thrones.”Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is made up of 10 game studios including TT Games, and owns the “Mortal Kombat” and the “Scribblenauts” series. It was snapped up by AT&T as part of the $109 billion Time Warner deal which closed in 2018 and left T struggling to manage a $150 billion debt.Ex WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey will replace Randall Stephenson as CEO at AT&T on July 1. He takes the helm of America’s second-largest wireless service provider at a notably challenging time.Shares in T are currently trading down 22% year-to-date, with AT&T recently reporting soft first quarter earnings alongside ~ $433M ($0.05 per share) of EBITDA headwinds due to COVID-19 disruptions.“AT&T will continue to slash expenses and is aiming for $6B over the next three years” commented Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan. He has a buy rating and $47 price target on the stock explaining “Importantly, the dividend seems safe and debt reduction can continue with what we and the company estimate to be a 60% payout ratio.”Overall, analysts have a Moderate Buy T consensus, with 8 recent buy ratings, 12 holds and 2 sells. Meanwhile the average analyst price target of $34 indicates 11% upside potential from current levels. (See T stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: Activist Investor Jana Partners Builds 5.9% Stake in Perspecta; Stock Jumps 9% In Pre-Market Lululemon Drops 5% in Extended Trading After Quarterly Results Miss Bankrupt Hertz Pops 51% In Pre-Market On $1 Billion Share Sale Plan More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Extraction Oil & Gas Files For Bankruptcy; Announces $125M Funding Plan * Israel Is Said To Be In Talks To Buy Moderna’s Covid-19 Vaccine Candidate * First Majestic Seeks Help In Mexico Tax Dispute, As Analyst Applauds Springpole Deal * Amazon Now Also Under Investigation By Washington State – Report

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  • BP Writes Off Billions as Covid Redraws Rules of Oil Demand

    BP Writes Off Billions as Covid Redraws Rules of Oil Demand(Bloomberg) — BP Plc will make the biggest write down in a decade on the value of its business, as the British oil major predicts the coronavirus pandemic will hurt long-term demand and accelerate the shift to cleaner energy.The company sees oil and gas being about 20% to 30% cheaper than before on average, and also expects the cost of carbon emissions to be more than twice as high.In response, BP is undertaking a review of its projects that could result in some oil discoveries being left in the ground. This risk, of so-called stranded assets, is an issue of growing importance as the industry grapples with fundamental shifts in energy consumption trends.Under its new Chief Executive Officer Bernard Looney, BP has been quicker than many of its peers to acknowledge and plan for these changes. Yet moves toward a more sustainable future bring financial pain today. BP’s latest actions will lead to non-cash impairment charges and write-offs in the second quarter, estimated to be in a range of $13 billion to $17.5 billion post-tax. They also renewed questions about the sustainability of its dividend. Shares of the company fell 4.4% to 308.7 pence as of 9:14 a.m. in London.Enduring Impact“BP now sees the prospect of the pandemic having an enduring impact on the global economy, with the potential for weaker demand for energy for a sustained period,” the company said in a statement on Monday. “The aftermath of the pandemic will accelerate the pace of transition to a lower carbon economy.”In February, BP outlined its ambitions to become a “net-zero” company by 2050. The company acknowledged that production will decline in the long term, and said whatever is pumped in 2050 “will have to be de-carbonized.” Peers including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA and Equinor ASA have also set out agendas for what’s becoming an existential challenge for the oil industry.Two of those companies — Shell and Equinor — cut their dividends last quarter. A growing number of analysts expect BP to follow. ”It does now look increasingly likely that BP will reduce the dividend alongside the second quarter results,” Barclays said in a note. “With the shares trading on a 10% dividend yield, this already seems to be factored into the share price.”Cheaper OilBP’s revised investment appraisal long-term price assumptions from 2021 to 2050 now average $55 a barrel for Brent crude, down from $70 previously, and $2.90 per million British thermal units for Henry Hub gas, compared with $4 before.It expects the cost of emitting a ton of carbon dioxide to be $100 in 2030, up from a previous assumption of $40. These new prices are “broadly in line” with the Paris climate goals, BP said. “This huge dent in BP’s balance sheet suggests it has finally dawned on BP that the climate emergency is going to make oil worth less,” Charlie Kronick, senior climate adviser for Greenpeace U.K., said in a a statement. “BP must protect its workforce, and offer training to help people move into sustainable jobs in decommissioning and offshore wind.”The company is scheduled to publish its second-quarter results on Aug. 4. Looney will give a more detailed road map for BP’s transition to clean energy and net-zero emissions in September. (Updates with changes to price assumptions in second paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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  • Masks But No Social Distancing: EasyJet Returns to Skies

    Masks But No Social Distancing: EasyJet Returns to SkiesJun.15 — EasyJet Plc Chief Executive Officer Johan Lundgren discusses the low-cost airline’s return to service, health measures inside cabins and the outlook for load factors. He speaks on “Bloomberg Markets: European Open.”

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  • Extraction Oil & Gas Files For Bankruptcy; Announces $125M Funding Plan

    Extraction Oil & Gas Files For Bankruptcy; Announces $125M Funding PlanExtraction Oil & Gas (XOG) has announced that it has voluntarily filed for petitions for relief under chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Shares are now falling 30% in Monday's pre-market trading.“After months of liability management and careful analysis of our strategic options, we determined that a voluntary chapter 11 filing with key creditor support provides the best possible outcome for Extraction,” said Extraction CEO Matt Owens.At the same time, XOG revealed that it has obtained a committed $125 million debtor-in-possession financing facility, with $50 million in new money, up to $15 million of which will become immediately available upon the Bankruptcy Court’s order, and a “roll up” of $75 million of revolving loans under Extraction’s existing revolving credit agreement.The DIP Facility is underwritten by Wells Fargo Bank, National Association and the $50 million in new money is financed by certain existing lenders.According to Extraction Oil & Gas, this funding would provide sufficient liquidity during the chapter 11 cases to support its continuing business operations and minimize disruption.And to ensure a ‘swift exit from chapter 11’, XOG also announced a restructuring support agreement with certain of its unsecured noteholders.This includes a restructuring plan with significant deleveraging of the balance sheet through a debt-for-equity swap, which XOG says will leave the debtors’ unsecured noteholders with the majority of equity while still providing a meaningful recovery to junior stakeholders.“Though the company was unable to obtain consensus across its entire prepetition capital structure prior to filing, the company plans to use the chapter 11 process to build consensus for a comprehensive restructuring transaction” XOG stated.Shares in Extraction have plunged 70% year-to-date, and the stock shows a bearish Moderate Sell Street consensus. The average analyst price target of $0.6 indicated that shares had room to fall even further. (See XOG stock analysis on TipRanks).“While the company has some solid assets in the DJ Basin, we think it is not fundamentally designed for oil prices below $50/bbl” RBC Capital’s Brad Heffern wrote back in May after the company provided some cautionary language about its value as a going concern and revealed that it had hired strategic advisors to help pursue a restructuring.“We see XOG struggling to cover debt maturities in 2024+, and transportation commitments limit the company’s ability to substantially curtail uneconomic drilling” he added.Related News: First Majestic Seeks Help In Mexico Tax Dispute, As Analyst Applauds Springpole Deal 2 Dividend Stocks Yielding More Than 5%; RBC Says ‘Buy’ RWE, Thyssenkrupp Plan Hydrogen Production Partnership – Report More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Israel Is Said To Be In Talks To Buy Moderna’s Covid-19 Vaccine Candidate * First Majestic Seeks Help In Mexico Tax Dispute, As Analyst Applauds Springpole Deal * Amazon Now Also Under Investigation By Washington State – Report * Blackstone To Invest $337 Million In Medtronic’s Diabetes Programs

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  • American Express Scores China Go-Ahead In Milestone Moment

    American Express Scores China Go-Ahead In Milestone MomentAmerican Express (AXP) has announced that its joint-venture in mainland China has received approval from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) for a network clearing license.This makes American Express the first foreign payments network to be licensed to clear RMB transactions in mainland China. The company expects to begin processing transactions later this year.“We look forward to welcoming millions of new consumers, businesses and merchants in China to American Express, as well as continuing to enhance our support for our global customers when they travel to the region” AXP commented.Express (Hangzhou) Technology Services Company Ltd is American Express’ joint venture with Lianlian DigiTech Co., Ltd, a Chinese fintech services company. The new joint venture has already built a network to clear domestic transactions charged on American Express cards, and is also compatible with the key mobile wallet players in China.“We are pleased to be the first foreign company to receive this license. This approval represents an important step forward in our long-term growth strategy and is an historic moment, not only for American Express but for the continued growth and development of the payments industry in mainland China,” cheered Stephen J. Squeri, CEO of American Express.Shares in AXP have plunged 18% year-to-date, and analysts have a cautiously optimistic Moderate Buy consensus on AXP’s outlook. This is made up of 8 recent buy ratings, 8 hold ratings and 1 sell rating. Meanwhile the average analyst price target of $102 is in-line with the current share price. (See American Express stock analysis on TipRanks).RBC Capital analyst Jon Arfstrom has a hold rating on the stock but recently bumped up his price target from $85 to $105. “Overall billings activity remains depressed from softer global travel, though non-T&E (travel and expense) spending is gradually improving” he explained, adding that non-T&E activity should continue to accelerate through June.Related News: Activist Investor Jana Partners Builds 5.9% Stake in Perspecta; Stock Jumps 9% In Pre-Market Lululemon Drops 5% in Extended Trading After Quarterly Results Miss Bankrupt Hertz Pops 51% In Pre-Market On $1 Billion Share Sale Plan More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Extraction Oil & Gas Files For Bankruptcy; Announces $125M Funding Plan * Israel Is Said To Be In Talks To Buy Moderna’s Covid-19 Vaccine Candidate * First Majestic Seeks Help In Mexico Tax Dispute, As Analyst Applauds Springpole Deal * Amazon Now Also Under Investigation By Washington State – Report

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  • $3,000 invested in these 2 shares could make you a fortune over the next 10 years

    Happy young man and woman throwing dividend cash into air in front of orange background

    Investing in great ASX growth shares can make you a fortune over the next 10 years. Starting with $3,000 can compound into a much larger number if you invest well.

    Take A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) for example. At the end of 2015 the A2 Milk share price was around $1. Today the share price is $17. That would have turned $1,000 into $17,000. I think A2 Milk still has plenty of growth left, but it’s now a pretty large business. Good growth gets harder as businesses increase in size.

    Here are two ASX shares that I think could potentially make very good returns over the next decade:

    Share 1: Bubs Australia Ltd (ASX: BUB)

    Bubs is an ASX growth share that’s following in the footsteps of A2 Milk. It’s an infant formula company that specialises in goat milk products.

    The company has successfully expanded its domestic distribution network. Bubs is now sold at Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW), Coles Group Limited (ASX: COL) and Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN) stores. It’s also sold on important Asian ecommerce sites. I like how Bubs has secured its supply chain with acquisitions, which includes the largest goat herd in Australia.

    I think that the growth Bubs is delivering is excellent. In the FY20 third quarter to 31 March 2020, Bubs achieved record quarterly revenue of $19.7 million, up 67% on the prior corresponding period and up 36% on the previous quarter.

    In the last quarter the ASX share’s infant formula range saw a 137% rise in revenue year on year and a 33% rise quarter on quarter. Chinese revenue more than doubled compared to the prior corresponding period. ‘Other markets’ revenue rose by almost 20 times.

    The positive quarterly operating cashflow of $2.3 million was a pleasing surprise.

    Rising profit margins and exciting international growth are key for this ASX share making a fortune for your portfolio.

    Share 2: Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH)

    Pushpay is another ASX growth share that has a very exciting future. The electronic donation business is targeting a US$1 billion annual revenue opportunity from the large and medium US church sector.

    In its recent FY20 result the ASX growth share achieved US$129.8 million of revenue. This represented growth of 32%. Excluding the Church Community Builder acquisition, the Pushpay operating revenue rose by 28% to US$123.1 million.

    The difficult circumstances caused by COVID-19 has led to more electronic donations and Pushpay management expect this trend to continue in FY21. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and foreign currency (EBITDAF) is expected to come between US$48 million to US$52 million – this would be approximately double FY20’s figure. I think that would be impressive growth. 

    I believe the growing profit margins are very attractive. The ASX share’s gross margin rose from 60% to 65% in FY20. Total operating expenses only increased by 5% in FY20, compared to the 33% increase in operating revenue. This slow expense growth saw the ratio of total operating expenses to operating revenue improve by 13 percentage points from 65% to 52%.

    The company is becoming increasingly profitable as it scales. Economies of scale is a key feature for some ASX growth shares generating big returns for investors.

    Pushpay is now comfortably cashflow positive. In FY20 its operating cashflow improved by US$26.3 million to US$23.5 million. FY19 saw negative operating cashflow of US$2.8 million. Becoming cashflow positive is an important step for a growth share.

    If Pushpay can be successful in another not-for-profit sector, outside of US churches, then it could open another exciting growth runway.

    Foolish takeaway

    I think both of these ASX growth shares have exciting prospects over the next decade. I’d probably go for software-based Pushpay over Bubs today, but I’d love to have both of them in my portfolio.

    Some other top quality ASX growth shares to consider investing in are these leading picks…

    5 ASX stocks under $5

    One trick to potentially generating life-changing wealth from the stock market is to buy early-stage growth companies when their share prices still look dirt cheap.

    Motley Fool’s resident tech stock expert Dr. Anirban Mahanti has identified 5 stocks he thinks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $5 a share!

    *Extreme Opportunities returns as of June 5th 2020

    More reading

    Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of BUBS AUST FPO and PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BUBS AUST FPO and PUSHPAY FPO NZX. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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  • Is the ANZ share price a buy today?

    city building with banking share prices, anz share price

    Is the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) share price a buy?

    ANZ’s share price has been on a bit of a rollercoaster in recent months. During the first COVID-19 share market crash it fell by 48% to $14.10 in March. It then rose 49% to peak at $21 last week. Interestingly, the ANZ share price has fallen 12% from that post-crash high last week.

    ASX investors may have pushed the ANZ share price a little too far. There is certainly a lot of positive news around. Australia’s coronavirus, infection numbers are very low. The cost of jobkeeper was overestimated by $60 billion, which means the economy didn’t need as much support as first feared.

    ASX banks like ANZ are an important part of the Australian economy. A good economy is important for the performance of the banks. The other large ASX banks of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) are also key parts of keeping Australia’s economic cogs turning.

    ANZ recently announced its initial estimation of the expected effects on COVID-19 on its profit. The ANZ share price has fallen so hard because of the fears about the coronavirus impacts.

    In the recent ANZ half-year result the major ASX bank announced that statutory profit was down 51% compared to the prior corresponding period. The decline was driven by credit impairment charges of $1.674 billion, which included increased credit reserves for COVID-19 impacts of $1.031 billion. In that same result ANZ reported that its (continuing) cash profit dropped by 60% to $1.4 billion.

    The large decline in profit and uncertainty caused by COVID-19 caused the ANZ board to defer the decision about the dividend to a later date. This may mean there is going to be a large dividend cut later, particularly as APRA wants banks to manage their capital this year.

    Is the ANZ share price a buy?

    The ANZ share price is currently trading at a level we saw during some parts of the GFC, though ANZ went as low as $12 in early 2009.

    Warren Buffett once said some wise words for times like this: “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” The market seems to be fearful with the ANZ share price, so perhaps it is a medium-term opportunity?

    However, I’m not totally convinced that it is a good opportunity. It seemed like a more obvious bet at under $15.

    The RBA interest rate is now 0.25%. The lower the official interest rate, the harder it is for banks to maintain their net interest margin (NIM). Transaction accounts are a good example of this effect. Banks aren’t likely to charge customers for keeping cash in the bank, so a reduction of the official rate by 0.25% means less margin for the bank if it reduces the loan interest rate for borrowers.

    The dividend was an alluring reason for income-focused investors to buy ANZ shares. But it’s hard to say what the bank’s dividend policy will be going forward. More cash profit retained should translate into more earnings growth and a higher ANZ share price. However, large fully franked dividends are a good way to reward shareholders. It’ll be interest to see what the ANZ board does. 

    If I were part of the bank’s leadership I’d consider a 50% dividend payout ratio. That could be a fair balance between dividends and future growth.

    Foolish takeaway

    I don’t think the ANZ share price is a bargain right now. But I don’t think it’s expensive either. Pleasingly, Australia’s economy seems to have moved into the recovery phase now, so hopefully the worst of the COVID-19 effects has passed. However, I believe the best way to growth your wealth could be to pick shares with better growth prospects. ANZ is already a large, mature business with a big market share of the mortgage market. 

    Instead of ANZ, I’m thinking about ASX shares like these top hot picks to produce good returns…

    3 “Double Down” Stocks To Ride The Bull Market

    Motley Fool resident tech stock expert Dr. Anirban Mahanti has stumbled upon three under-the-radar stock picks he believes could be some of the greatest discoveries of his investing career.

    He’s so confident in their future prospects that he has issued “double down” buy alerts on each of these three stocks to members of his Motley Fool Extreme Opportunities stock picking service.

    *Extreme Opportunities returns as of June 5th 2020

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    Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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  • Why MOAT is my favourite ASX ETF

    hands holding up winners cup, asx 200 winning shares

    Here’s why the VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT) is my favourite ASX exchange-traded fund (ETF).

    ETFs come in all shapes and sizes. The cheapest and most popular tend to be plain Jane index funds like the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS). Most investors would be fine just sticking to these kinds of funds for simple and cheap passive investing.

    But I like to think outside this box when it comes to ETF investing. And VanEck’s MOAT delivers a unique combination of active and passive investing that I think will continue to deliver for investors.

    Why MOAT is my favourite ASX ETF

    MOAT is slightly different from your average ETF in that it tracks an ‘actively managed’ index rather than a market-weighted passive index like the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). This index is managed by Morningstar, which chooses a basket of US-listed shares that display characteristics of a ‘wide moat’.

    A moat is a term first coined by Warren Buffett and refers to the concept of an intrinsic competitive advantage that a company can have that protects it from the competition (much like a moat protects a castle).

    Think about how Apple’s brand enables the company to charge more than its competitors for its iPhones. Or how Coca-Cola is the most popular cola drink, as well as the most expensive. Or how some people will only fly on Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) planes.

    MOAT aims to only hold companies with this kind of pricing power. On its most recent update, this ASX ETF names Amazon.com, Nike, Facebook, Pfizer and American Express as among its top holdings. When we look at these companies, they all have some unique advantage over any potential competition – whether it be branding, monopolistic market share or exclusive drug patents.

    Having these unique advantages increases the chances of a company outperforming other shares in the market over time in my view.

    How does MOAT measure up?

    Talking the talk is all well and good, but does MOAT walk the walk?

    Well, over the past 5 years, MOAT has delivered an average annual return of 15.69% per annum. By comparison, the ASX 200 has delivered just 4.2% per annum over the past 5 years.  Even the US S&P 500 Index has returned 12.91% per year.

    I like those numbers, and it gives me confidence that MOAT will continue to bring home the bacon. This fund has a winning, market-beating strategy and will continue to sit in its well-deserved place in my portfolio as long as it keeps it up. That’s why MOAT is my favourite ASX ETF and one that I think merits consideration for any ASX investor.

    For some more shares that I’m looking to add to my portfolio, check out the 5 named below!

    5 ASX stocks under $5

    One trick to potentially generating life-changing wealth from the stock market is to buy early-stage growth companies when their share prices still look dirt cheap.

    Motley Fool’s resident tech stock expert Dr. Anirban Mahanti has identified 5 stocks he thinks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $5 a share!

    *Extreme Opportunities returns as of June 5th 2020

    More reading

    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. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of American Express, Coca-Cola, Facebook, Nike, Pfizer and VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Facebook and Nike. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Facebook, Nike, and VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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