Tag: Motley Fool

  • Woolworths (ASX:WOW) opens new Sydney store customers can’t go to

    supermarket asx shares represented by shopping trolley in supermarket aisle

    Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) has opened its biggest-ever ‘dark store’, just in time to cater for massive Christmas demand.

    But customers will not be allowed in, as the western Sydney facility is purely dedicated to fulfilling online orders.

    The Lidcombe store is 15,000 square metres, which is roughly 4 times the size of a normal full-service supermarket (or 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools, as Woolworths likes to say).

    The year of COVID-19 has seen an explosion in electronic grocery shopping. Online sales for Woolworths were up 100% year on year in the period between July and September this year.

    Online business is now 8% of Woolworths’ total supermarket sales.

    “We’re seeing more and more of our customers turn to the ease and convenience of online grocery delivery in western Sydney,” Woolworths director of e-commerce Annette Karantoni said.

    “To keep pace with demand, we’re investing in new online infrastructure to offer our customers more delivery windows and an even more reliable service. This is particularly important as we head into Christmas, when customers are busy and looking for ways to reclaim time with their loved ones.”

    How do dark stores work?

    The new fulfilment centre will add more than 20,000 delivery slots for online customers in Sydney. Up to 900 new jobs will be created by the need for personal shoppers.

    Dark stores have wider aisles and more shelf space to allow personal shopper staff to pick items more efficiently. And of course, they don’t have to worry about bumping into regular customers.

    The Lidcombe facility will allow personal shoppers to pick from 20,000 products. Woolworths already has dark stores running in Brookvale in northern Sydney and Botany in the south-east.

    Woolworths shares were up 1.94% on Monday, to close trade at $38.45 but have dipped 0.23% lower in early trade today. The Woolworths share price was as high as $43.60 just before the COVID-19 market crash in March.

    Shares for the supermarket giant, similar to other consumer staples, fell 4% last month while the rest of the market boomed. Major brokers, however, retain price targets between $40.80 and $44.00 for Woolworths.

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    Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Woolworths 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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  • ASX small caps could get a boost with the Aussie dollar hitting 28-month highs

    man standing with arms crossed in front of giant shadow of body builder representing asx small cap stocks

    The rebound in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) might be grabbing headlines with its dramatic rebound, but it’s the ASX small caps that’re outperforming.

    What’s more, the market minnows might keep their lead as we head into 2021 with the Aussie dollar hitting a more than two-year high.

    ASX Small caps outperforming ASX large caps

    The top 200 stocks are at just about breakeven since the start of the year as they rapidly recovered from the COVID‐19 sell-off. But that isn’t as impressive as the S&P/ASX SMALL ORDINARIES [XSO] (Index:^AXSO), which has gained 6.5%.

    Some of the best small cap performers include the Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) share price, Race Oncology Ltd (ASX: RAC) share price, Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) share price and Pointerra Ltd (ASX: 3DP) share price.

    2021 outlook for ASX small caps

    The outperformance of ASX junior stocks could continue into 2021 as long as risk appetite remains strong. One reason for my optimism is the strong Australian dollar, which touched US74.53 cents overnight. It’s since pulled back but it’s still trading above US74 cents.

    What’s more, the Aussie battler could strengthen further in 2021. Currency experts believe that the US dollar will be on the backfoot in the year ahead for a few reasons, reported CNN.

    Stronger Australian dollar a tailwind

    One reason is growing confidence in the global recovery from the COVID economic shock. When investors are feeling confident, they typically shun safe heavens like the US dollar.

    The US Federal Reserve is another reason why the US dollar could stay weak relative to other currencies, including the Aussie. These central bankers are quick to pull the trigger on stimulus to keep the American economy out of trouble. Such money-printing measures will weaken the greenback.

    Then there’s the transition to a Biden presidency from Trump. Tariffs have been a weapon of choice for outgoing President Donald Trump, particularly against China. Tariffs tend to strengthen the US dollar as geopolitical tensions rise.

    Joe Biden is seen as a more moderate leader, and even if he doesn’t unwind Trump’s tariffs, Biden may be reluctant to impose new ones. He is after all seen as a peacemaker.

    Stronger local economy better for ASX small caps

    But there is another tailwind for ASX small cap stocks in 2021, in my view. This is to do with Australia’s economy, which is outperforming the US and many other Western nations.

    Our stronger domestic economy is attributed to Australia’s ability to control the pandemic. ASX small caps typically do better in such an environment as they are more leveraged to the local economy and are net importers.

    A higher Australian dollar will make it cheaper for them to import goods and services to sell domestically.

    In contrast, ASX large caps tend to do the opposite. The stronger Aussie and weaker overseas markets are a double headwind for some of the big boys.

    Where to invest $1,000 right now

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    Brendon Lau has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

    The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Pointerra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pointerra 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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  • Why cannabis company Althea (ASX:AGH) is storming higher today

    cannabis leaves on a rising line graph representing growth of ASX cannabis shares

    The Althea Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: AGH) share price is storming higher on Tuesday morning.

    At the time of writing, the medical cannabis company’s shares are up 4.5% to 57 cents.

    Why is the Althea share price storming higher?

    Investors have been buying the company’s shares this morning following the release of a market update.

    According to the release, in November Althea achieved its highest monthly revenue of $847,499. This was driven by the company recording its highest number of new patients and new healthcare professionals (HCPs) per business day.

    In light of this and thanks to an excellent start to December, management revealed that it is on track to deliver its biggest quarter to date.

    How are its businesses performing?

    The release explains that Althea Australia recorded an average of 41.71 new patients and 2.24 new HCPs per business day. This was driven partly by a strong rebound in Victoria following a long COVID-19 lockdown.

    It led to its Australian operations posting $737,121 of unaudited revenue in November.

    Management expects its Australian growth to normalise in the coming months as the country’s economy continues to recover.

    Over in the UK, the company reported 48% month on month growth. This led to unaudited revenue of $110,378 for November.

    Althea continues to execute on its early mover advantage in the territory, with approximately half of its prescriptions generated from its wholly-owned subsidiary, MyAccess Clinics.

    Althea CEO Josh Fegan said: “I recently relocated permanently to London with my family to oversee the growth of the Althea brand in the UK and EU. With our market access strategy starting to resonate with UK prescribers and regulatory headwinds well and truly behind us, it is great to see our many months of hard work beginning to pay off.”

    “Our established Australian business continues to perform strongly, and we are looking forward to entering 2021 with fantastic momentum,” he added.

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    Returns as of 6th October 2020

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    Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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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  • I’d follow Warren Buffett’s tips to retire on a growing passive income

    Mirroring Warren Buffett’s insistence on purchasing high-quality companies could allow an investor to generate a larger passive income in retirement. Such companies may offer more impressive profit growth and higher returns than their peers in the long run.

    Furthermore, adopting his long-term focus may mean that compounding has a longer timeframe through which to positively impact on the value of a retirement portfolio.

    Meanwhile, his insistence on having cash savings at all times may mean it is easier to purchase undervalued shares in a stock market crash. This could have a positive impact on an investor’s retirement prospects.

    Warren Buffett’s focus on high-quality companies

    Warren Buffett has always sought to purchase high-quality companies that can go on to deliver impressive profit growth over the long run. His main focus has been on acquiring businesses that have wide economic moats, or competitive advantages, over their peers. For example, they may include businesses with a unique product or a large amount of customer loyalty that means they can enjoy higher margins.

    High-quality companies may experience a higher rate of profit growth over the long run. As such, this may mean that they command higher valuations that increase the size of a retirement portfolio. A larger portfolio may make it easier to generate a growing passive income in retirement.

    A long-term focus on cheap stocks

    Of course, Warren Buffett has also aimed to purchase high-quality companies when they trade at low prices. This provides a wide margin of safety that can mean strong capital appreciation prospects.

    However, in many cases, it has taken his holdings a number of years to deliver on their potential. In fact, some of his holdings have experienced significant disappointments along the way, or have been negatively impacted by weak investor sentiment at times.

    Warren Buffett has often provided such companies with sufficient time to deliver on their potential. In doing so, he has focused on the quality of the business and largely ignored how the share price is performing. And, since a company’s share price usually follows its bottom line higher, this strategy could lead to impressive returns over the long term that encourage an investor’s retirement portfolio to grow in size.

    Holding cash – but not for a passive income

    Warren Buffett has always held relatively large amounts of cash. Clearly, the returns on cash are unlikely to encourage a larger retirement portfolio that can offer a more attractive passive income.

    However, holding cash provides the opportunity to quickly react to buying opportunities across the stock market. For example, purchasing shares at low prices following a bear market can provide greater scope for capital growth over the long run. And, as the 2020 stock market crash showed, opportunities to do so can be short-lived. Therefore, having some cash on hand at all times may ultimately lead to a higher retirement portfolio valuation that can produce a more attractive passive income in older age.  

    Where to invest $1,000 right now

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes are the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they are great buys right now.

    *Returns as of June 30th

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    Motley Fool contributor Peter Stephens 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 this analyst thinks the Domino’s (ASX:DMP) share price is a ‘buy’

    asx pizza share price represented by hand taking slice of pizza

    Pizza delivery company Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd. (ASX: DMP) has had an impressive year. Despite the operational difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including delayed store openings across the Australia and New Zealand regions, Domino’s has still managed to deliver significant revenue growth in FY20.

    In its FY20 annual report, Domino’s reported global sales of $3.27 billion, an increase of 12.8% over FY19. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at a record $303 million, while net profit after tax grew by 3.3% year on year to $145.8 million.

    The strong result was driven by impressive gains in the Japanese market. Domino’s Japan delivered 25.9% growth in sales year on year, with 75 new stores opening across the country in FY20. Sales growth was a more modest 5.1% in Europe and 4.1% in Australia and New Zealand, with both of those geographies reporting small declines in year-on-year EBITDA.

    Domino’s has also responded well to the ‘new normal’ of doing business under COVID-19 restrictions. It invested heavily in personal protective equipment, boosted its digital sales channels, and pioneered COVID-safe strategies such as ‘zero contact delivery’.

    The rising Domino’s share price

    The company’s strong financial performance has had a positive impact on the Domino’s share price. Since bottoming out at a 52-week low of just $41.66 during the mid-March market crash, Domino’s shares have now skyrocketed more than 100%.  

    But there is the risk these big gains could cause the company’s shares to become too overvalued. After the recent surge in its share price, Domino’s is now trading at more than 50x earnings.

    Should you invest?

    Despite these ballooning valuations, Goldman Sachs remains bullish on Domino’s shares. The broker upgraded Domino’s to a buy at the beginning of December, and slapped a 12-month target price of $88 on the company’s shares. However, it is worth bearing in mind that, at the time of the Goldman Sachs recommendation, the Domino’s share price was trading at just $74.02, but has since climbed to $84.09. This means Goldman’s target price now only offers a 5% upside to Domino’s current share price.

    The analysts at Goldman Sachs thought Domino’s offered better growth potential than ASX fast-food peers like Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF), which operates KFC restaurants in Australia, Asia and parts of Europe, as well as the Australian Taco Bell network.

    Goldman Sachs was particularly impressed by the pizza chain’s expansion into the German and Japanese markets and argued this would continue to drive margin growth for Domino’s in FY21. The broker also noted that a return to a more stable operating environment post-COVID could accelerate pipeline growth.

    Goldman did, however, point to some downside risks to an investment, including Domino’s underperformance in France, where COVID-19 restrictions forced stores to close and had a much more severe impact on sales. If this market continues to lag in FY21, it could slow down the company’s overall business momentum.

    Where to invest $1,000 right now

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes are the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they are great buys right now.

    *Returns as of June 30th

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    Motley Fool contributor Rhys Brock has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Collins Foods Limited and Domino’s Pizza Enterprises 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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  • Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price in focus after business update

    BOQ, bank of Queensland

    The Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) share price could be on the move on Tuesday after the release of a business update ahead of its annual general meeting.

    How is Bank of Queensland performing?

    Bank of Queensland has started FY 2021 positively and is currently on track to deliver on the outlook it provided with its full year results.

    The bank’s Managing Director and CEO, George Frazis, commented: “BOQ continues to execute on its transformation program with the family and friends phase 1 launch of the Virgin Money digital bank going live this week. We reconfirm the FY21 outlook for BOQ to deliver broadly neutral jaws.”

    Broadly neutral jaws means that its revenue will increase broadly in line with costs. Positive jaws would be if its revenue was growing quicker than costs and vice versa for negative jaws.

    COVID-19 update.

    Management also provided an update on its COVID-19 banking relief package deferrals.

    According to the release, at the end of November, Bank of Queensland had 2,500 housing loans remaining in deferral with balances of $889 million. These balances represent 3% of its housing loan portfolio.

    In addition to this, the bank had 3,300 small to medium sized business (SME) loans remaining on deferral with balances of $390 million. These balances also represent 3% of its total SME lending.

    This represents an 80% and 82% reduction, respectively, since the end of June. At that point there was $4.5 billion of housing loans in deferral and $2.7 billion of SME loans in deferral.

    Mr Frazis commented: “It is really pleasing to see the vast majority of our customers who accessed the banking relief package resuming repayments. We will continue to work with the remaining 3% of customers still accessing our banking relief packages to support them in their recovery.”

    The bank remains committed to supporting customers throughout the challenging period. It advised that it is providing a range of options to customers as they reach the end of their loan deferral periods.

    Where to invest $1,000 right now

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes are the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they are great buys right now.

    *Returns as of June 30th

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    Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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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  • Top ASX shares to buy in December 2020

    santa sitting on beach looking up best asx shares to buy in december on laptop

    Our Foolish contributors have compiled a list of some of the ASX shares experts are saying to Buy in December.

    Here is what the team have come up with…

    Sebastian Bowen: Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF)  

    Collins Foods is not exactly a household name. But the primary business that Collins has a license to operate and franchise in Australia certainly is. Ever heard of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)? Yes, Collins runs KFC, as well as Taco Bell in Australia (as well as in a few other countries), and is doing a good job of it, if the numbers are anything to go by.

    For the six months ended 30 September, Collins Foods delivered an 11.3% increase in revenue, which included a 15.6% increase from KFC restaurants. Even in a pandemic, fried chicken is apparently an Aussie staple.  

    Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen does not own shares of Collins Foods Ltd.

    Brendon Lau: Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD)

    Expectations for a wetter than normal summer bodes well for agri-business Elders, which is among the ASX shares most leveraged to increased crop yield. Further, Citigroup noted the preliminary data from the latest Wool and Sheepmeat Survey reinforces the outlook for an accelerated sheep flock rebuild in 2021. While this will likely lead to a 5% decline in lamb prices, the increased volumes will offset this.

    Citi is recommending Elders shares as a ‘Buy’ with a price target of $13 per share. At the time of writing, the Elders share price is trading at $10.18.

    Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Elders Ltd.

    Tristan Harrison: Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH) 

    Pushpay is an electronic donation business servicing the medium and large church sector in the United States. The company has been benefitting from the shift away from cash to digital payments.  

    In its recent FY21 half-year result, Pushpay demonstrated its scalability with rising profit margins. Operating revenue increased 53% and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and foreign currency (EBITDAF) grew by 177% to US$26.7 million.  

    In FY21, Pushpay is aiming to more than double its EBITDAF and, in the long run, its goal is US$1 billion in revenue. At the time of writing, the Pushpay share price is valued at 24x FY23’s estimated earnings according to Commsec. 

    Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison does not own shares of Pushpay Holdings Ltd. 

    Rhys Brock: Dubber Corp Ltd (ASX: DUB) 

    Dubber develops cloud-based call recording software for corporate clients. While particularly useful in managing high volume call centres, Dubber’s software has a wide range of sophisticated applications. It even uses artificial intelligence and voice analysis to measure changes in customer sentiment. 

    Because Dubber’s cloud-based technology isn’t reliant on traditional telecommunications infrastructure, it has been uniquely placed to meet the new business demands created by the COVID-19 pandemic. FY20 saw record growth in Dubber’s customer numbers, as more companies transitioned to remote working arrangements. Annualised recurring revenues jumped 95% year on year in FY20 to $16.1 million. 

    Motley Fool contributor Rhys Brock does not own shares of Dubber Corp Ltd. 

    James Mickleboro: Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

    My December ASX share pick is this leading, cloud-based business and accounting software platform provider. Xero has really caught the eye this year after overcoming the pandemic to deliver an exceptionally strong first half result. Xero reported a 19% increase in subscribers to 2.45 million and a 21% lift in operating revenue to NZ$409.8 million. Things were even better further down the income statement, with operating earnings increasing 86% to NZ$64.9 million.

    One broker that is confident there is more to come is Goldman Sachs. It recently put a Buy rating and $157 price target on Xero shares. Goldman believes Xero can grow its subscribers to 7.4 million and revenue to NZ$3.4 billion by 2030.

    Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro does not own shares of Xero Limited.

    Bernd Struben: Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)

    The Transurban share price is no longer trading near the bargain levels we saw in March.

    The company’s shares were hit hard when lockdowns saw traffic on its toll roads evaporate. But as Brad Potter, Head of Australian Equities at Nikko Asset Management, writes, “Looking through the lockdowns, it was obvious that Transurban’s roads would be used again.”

    Nikko AM hadn’t owned shares in Transurban for many years. But the fund manager’s long-term, mid-cycle sustainable earnings process flagged the shares as a buy in 2020.

    While the Transurban share price is now up 38% from its 19 March low, it remains down 15% from 19 February. And as the world reopens, traffic will keep increasing.

    Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben does not own shares of Transurban Group.

    Where to invest $1,000 right now

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes are the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they are great buys right now.

    *Returns as of June 30th

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    The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of PUSHPAY FPO NZX and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Transurban Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Collins Foods Limited, Elders Limited, and PUSHPAY FPO NZX. 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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  • G8 Education (ASX:GEM) share price on watch after trading update

    The G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) share price will be on watch this morning after the release of a trading update.

    How is G8 Education performing?

    G8 Education has experienced a further recovery in its occupancy since the release of its half year results in August.

    According to the release, the childcare centre operator’s like-for-like occupancy currently stands at 75.5%. This represents an occupancy gap of 4.5 percentage points compared to the same period last year. It is also a 5.5 percentage points improvement from its April low at the height of the pandemic.

    Another positive is that G8 Education has managed to deliver wage efficiencies in line with its targets for the year. This was driven by the utilisation of its technology platform that forms part of its new rostering system.

    This means that on a year-on-year comparison, based on the same occupancy levels as last year, there has been a clear improvement in its wage costs.

    However, due to the decline in its occupancy rate, its wage hours per booking metric is currently higher than the prior corresponding period.

    Nevertheless, despite the challenges it is facing, G8 Education is still profitable.

    The release explains that the company has recorded underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $98 million for the first 11 months of calendar year 2020. This includes current year employment costs relating to its employee payment remediation program.

    Outlook.

    Management expects 2021 to be a recovery year due to the absence of additional government subsidies and the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on its occupancy.

    In addition to this, the absence of a 2020 fee increase (as stipulated by the government COVID-19 subsidiary arrangements) and its lower occupancy, is expected to see wages increase as a percentage of revenue.

    Gary Carroll, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Progress in our strategic focus areas has been pleasing. Together with our significantly strengthened balance sheet, this provides the group with confidence to increase the pace in our strategic focus areas as they will deliver significant benefits in the medium term. The program costs in 2021 will be carefully managed to ensure they do not result in a material drag to earnings in the near term.”

    Where to invest $1,000 right now

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes are the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they are great buys right now.

    *Returns as of June 30th

    More reading

    Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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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  • NSW and Victoria just had their credit ratings downgraded. Here’s what that means

    child making thumbs down gesture with grimacing face

    Late yesterday, we were treated to the news that the states of New South Wales and Victoria have lost their coveted ‘AAA’ credit ratings.

    According to reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR), it was the rating agency S&P Global (Standard & Poor’s) that issued the downgrades. NSW now has a credit rating of ‘AA+’, and Victoria now ‘AA’.

    The AFR reports that S&P had placed Victoria’s AAA rating ‘on-watch’ in August, but has re-rated the state due to its deteriorating budget position. The AFR quoted S&P as stating the following on the re-rating:

    The lowered rating reflects our view that the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt Victoria a severe economic and fiscal shock that has materially weakened its credit metrics more than domestic and international ‘AAA’ and ‘AA+’ rated governments… In our view, the Victorian government’s path to fiscal repair will be more challenging and prolonged than other states because of the significant increase in debt stock projected over the next few years.

    Meanwhile, NSW did manage to receive a higher rating of ‘AA+’ over Victoria, despite still receiving a downgrade. Here’s what S&P said about NSW:

    The downgrade primarily reflects our expectation that NSW’s debt burden will rise substantially during the next three years… We expect NSW to post a historically large after-capital-account deficit this fiscal year, though the deficit should narrow in future years. NSW has a higher degree of flexibility than its peers, with some potential upside to our deficit and debt projections from unbudgeted asset sales and expenditure reviews.

    So what does all of this mean? And what exactly is a credit rating to begin with?

    Credit where credit is due

    A credit rating is a rating usually issued by one of the ‘big three’ dominant credit rating agencies: S&P Global, Moody’s and Fitch Group (although others exist as well). These ratings agencies issue ratings for everything from corporations and bonds to sovereign governments. 

    The ratings essentially reflect the quality of the rated institution as a debtor. Think of it as a supercharged version of the credit check a bank will perform on a potential customer applying for a home loan.

    The ‘ratings’ these agencies issue reflect this paradigm. The ratings differ slightly from issuer to issuer, but generally speaking, they range from ‘AAA’ to ‘D’ or ‘DDD’. Sometimes (especially for bonds), the ‘BBB-‘ and above are referred to as ‘investment-grade’, whereas ‘BB+’ and below are ‘non-investment grade’ (sometimes called ‘junk’ or ‘subprime’).

    Usually, the credit rating an entity receives (whether it be a government or corporation) affects the kind of interest rates it can borrow at. Obviously, an entity with a ‘AAA’ rating is, in theory, a ‘safer’ investment to loan money to than a ‘D’ rated one. Hence, the higher the rating, the less expensive it is for the entity to borrow money.

    That’s why it’s a big deal of sorts when a state government gets a downgraded rating.

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  • ASX company boss accused of stealing

    asx company boss wearing hand cuffs

    A former managing director of Legacy Iron Ore Limited (ASX: LCY) has been charged with 13 counts of stealing from the company.

    Former Legacy boss, Sharon Kia Le Heng, appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Friday facing allegations of theft from the ASX-listed mining business.

    Karen Kwan, an ex-Legacy accountant, also appeared in court facing the same charges.

    Prosecutors claim the pair stole about $725,000 over a period of 17 months in 2012 and 2013.

    The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is accusing the two women of making 13 electronic transfers out of Legacy’s bank account into an entity called Regency Infrastructure Pty Ltd.

    Regency is allegedly a company controlled by Heng, with the corporate watchdog claiming there was “no legitimate basis” for the payments.

    The Motley Fool has contacted Legacy Iron Ore for comment.

    The court granted Heng and Kwan bail but with strict conditions they surrender their passports and not flee overseas.

    The case has been adjourned to 26 March.

    The Legacy share price was unchanged Monday, staying at 0.7 cents. 

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    Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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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