PETALING JAYA: Investors should accumulate Public Bank Bhd (PBB) shares, which are currently experiencing some overhang due to the passing of its founder, the late Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow. “We see this as an opportunity to accumulate on weakness as the bank’s strategic focus remains intact, led by a strong management team,” UOB Kay Hian (UOBKH) Research told its clients in a report. Maintaining its “buy” call on the lender, the research house said valuations remained attractive and it had a target price of RM5.10 on it. In the report, the research house said PBB’s share price had modestly underperformed the KL Finance index since the passing of its founder. The weakness in its share price may be attributed to concerns including the lack of management succession planning and uncertainty of the transfer of ownership of its late founder’s stake. “It remains hard to predict the outcome of Teh’s 23.4% stake currently valued at RM19.5bil, as we are not privy to the arrangement of his shares and the plans of the individuals inheriting his shares. “As such, we can only hypothesise a number of potential scenarios and attempt to draw a conclusion as to how it may impact […]
AI and Video Editors: Threat or Opportunity?
AI and Video Editors: Threat or Opportunity? 3 AI and Video Editors: Threat or Opportunity? 4 Artificial intelligence (AI) is a rapidly growing field that has the potential to revolutionize many industries, including the field of video editing. However, despite the advancements in AI technology, it is unlikely that it will threaten the jobs of video editors. First and foremost, AI is still in its early stages of development and is not yet advanced enough to fully replace human editors. While AI can assist in certain tasks such as color correction and motion tracking, it still lacks the creativity and human touch that is necessary for high-quality video editing. Additionally, the field of video editing is constantly evolving, with new technologies and techniques being developed all the time. This means that even if AI were to become advanced enough to replace human editors, it would still need to be constantly updated and trained on the latest techniques. Another important factor to consider is that video editing is not just about technical skills, but also about creativity and storytelling. Human editors bring a unique perspective and understanding of storytelling to the editing process, which AI is currently unable to replicate. […]
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Governor Carney Announces Raises for Delaware Teachers, Investments in Opportunity Funding, WLC
DOVER, Del. – Surrounded by teachers, administrators, members of the General Assembly, and advocates, Governor Carney on Tuesday announced significant investments in public education across Delaware. Investments that will be included in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget are: A 3 percent raise for all who work in public education. A total of a 9 percent raise for teachers. An increase of $15 million to Opportunity Funding, totaling $53 million. A $3 million investment in the Wilmington Learning Collaborative, totaling $10 million. “I was raised by two educators. I know the difference a good teacher can make in the life of a student,” said Governor Carney . “That’s why teachers are central to all our efforts in education. And our goal with these investments is pretty straightforward. We want to retain and recruit the best teachers into Delaware schools. The competition for those teachers is intense, but I’m confident we can get this done.” “We are excited by the Governor’s plans to increase funding and classroom-based support for Delaware public schools,” said Dr. Mark Holodick, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Education . “Combined with other resources that have been directed to schools during this administration, including Opportunity Funding and […]
Lemonade Stock (NYSE:LMND): A Potentially “Perfect” Speculative Opportunity
While technology-driven insurance provider Lemonade took a beating throughout 2022, it’s also possible that with a few important tweaks, LMND stock could make for intriguing speculation during these uncertain times. By most measures, insurance company Lemonade ( NYSE:LMND ) seems too risky. Nonetheless, for risk-tolerant investors, LMND stock could potentially be a “perfect” speculative wager, given its ability to thrive in various economic scenarios, along with its support from analysts and hedge funds. Leveraging the power of artificial intelligence to offer critical insurance coverage through a convenient app, Lemonade contrasts sharply with its traditional rivals. Still, with a few tweaks, LMND stock could be worth purchasing. To be fair, LMND won’t be an ideal stock for everyone. Perhaps most glaringly, shares gave up 50% of their value in the trailing year. No matter how an optimist might frame this erosion, good companies don’t suffer this magnitude of loss without reason. Further, while the company’s earnings performances have been decent relative to expectations, the issue is the numbers themselves: they consistently slip into negative territory. Nevertheless, Wall Street analysts remain hopeful about LMND stock. At the very least, they’re willing to exercise patience with the underlying enterprise. It’s easy to […]
Q1 2023 Fixed Income Outlook: Opportunity Amid Volatility
DNY59/iStock via Getty Images As we enter 2023, our macro outlook for fixed income markets revolves around three main drivers: Elevated inflation Restrictive monetary policy Rapidly slowing growth In 2022, historically high inflation led global central banks to make a series of bold tightening moves. In 2023, we believe this may result in a significant slowing of global growth and, in the U.S., a likely recession by the middle of 2023. U.S. outlook In the U.S., it’s our view that inflation may gradually move toward the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) 2% goal over the year. Core goods inflation has already made enormous progress over the course of 2022, driven by a softening in used auto, apparel, and furnishings prices. Services have been stickier, due in large part to the long lags in shelter/owners’ equivalent rent. Further, timely measures of new lease signings suggest that it’s only a matter of time before rent/services inflation makes substantial progress towards the Fed’s goal. In the meantime, the Fed continues to hike into a slowing economy, based on inflation metrics that lag the policy rate by as much as 18 months. Already, recession warnings are seen in many leading indicators, including: • The yield […]
Edwards Lifesciences: Short-Term Growth Worries Have Created An Opportunity
Written by Mainly looking for companies that can grow earnings per share for a long period of time. I generally have a… Summary Edwards Lifesciences is a high quality business by any and all measures. Edwards has an excellent financial profile, a history of organic growth as opposed to growth via M&A, and a history of returning cash to shareholders via share repurchases. Now that the earnings multiple for the stock is more reasonable, I believe investors could potentially achieve a 12.5% IRR over the next 5 years with an investment today. The biggest risk to this forecast is the hospital staffing shortage issue. I discuss why I think Edwards can grow despite this. I will also compare Edwards to Adobe. Both have similar margin profiles and expected growth rates, so think this exercise is constructive to show just how high quality of a business Edwards is. ipopba Edwards Lifesciences Corp (NYSE: EW ) is a proven, high quality business with long-term tailwinds. Despite this, the stock is down about 40% from its peak in early 2022. This drop can be attributed to short-term growth concerns and subsequent multiple compression. These short-term concerns are not unwarranted; growth has declined […]
Is There Now An Opportunity In The AZEK Company Inc. (NYSE:AZEK)?
Source: Shutterstock The AZEK Company Inc. ( NYSE:AZEK ), might not be a large cap stock, but it saw a significant share price rise of over 20% in the past couple of months on the NYSE. With many analysts covering the mid-cap stock, we may expect any price-sensitive announcements have already been factored into the stock’s share price. However, what if the stock is still a bargain? Today I will analyse the most recent data on AZEK’s outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists. What’s The Opportunity In AZEK? AZEK appears to be expensive according to my price multiple model, which makes a comparison between the company’s price-to-earnings ratio and the industry average. In this instance, I’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. I find that AZEK’s ratio of 45.72x is above its peer average of 15.12x, which suggests the stock is trading at a higher price compared to the Building industry. If you like the stock, you may want to keep an eye out for a potential price decline in the future. Given that AZEK’s share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price […]
Egypt’s Economic Crisis Is a Golden Opportunity
With inflation at 21% and the pound in free fall, Egypt has been shut out of international financial markets and forced to seek an IMF bailout. But rather than cutting food and fuel subsidies, the government should use this crisis to root out cronyism and reduce the military’s outsize role in the economy. WASHINGTON, DC – Egypt is on the brink of a financial and economic abyss. The portfolio inflows that fueled its sovereign debt market have dried up , repeated currency devaluations have driven the Egyptian pound off a cliff , and inflation is at 21% , following the rapid erosion of the country’s foreign-exchange reserves. After initially recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Egyptian economy has been hit hard by the fallout from the war in Ukraine. As the world’s biggest wheat importer , the country has suffered from supply disruptions and soaring prices, with food and beverage costs increasing by 37.2% over the past year. While the impact of rising oil import costs on Egypt’s external balance has been mitigated by fast-growing exports of natural gas , the surge in energy and food prices has taken a heavy toll on Egypt’s population. Rising wheat prices, together […]
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How used car exports to Africa could become the development opportunity of the decade
The Big Picture Crowdsource Innovation Used cars are often exported to lower income countries after 10-15 years in developed markets, meaning their emission levels tend to be higher. Air quality degradation is driven by old cars in Africa, home to 40% of global used vehicles, and 80% of these do not meet basic emissions standards. As we transition to electric vehicles, public-private collaboration is key to ensure this happens equitably in both the Global North and Global South. In areas where government budgets for public transport infrastructure and operations are limited, the ability to move people and goods depends on the availability of affordable vehicles. Motorized transport is thus a lifeline, providing access to health services, to education and work, and to new opportunities. While individual mobility is mostly covered with two- and three wheelers in large parts of low- and medium-income countries (LMICs), cars and vans, especially as taxis and other communal modes of transport, help offer mobility – and with it, social mobility. High-quality used cars imported into LMICs could be (and already are) therefore an opportunity for such countries. However, the costs are becoming ever more visible: carbon emissions and air pollutants are on the increase, […]
UPS Releases First Jobs and Opportunity Report
ATLANTA, Jan. 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — UPS (NYSE: UPS) this morning released its inaugural U.S. Jobs and Opportunity Report. The report debuts shortly after UPS welcomed 100,000 seasonal employees in roles that become stepping stones to professionally and personally fulfilling career and economic opportunities. The compensation and benefits offered to UPS employees are inextricably linked to the value and trust consistently seen in the UPS-customer relationship. In fact, UPSers delivered a 97.5% on-time delivery rate in the U.S. this past holiday season. “Our business is built around our superior on-time performance, our ability to deliver innovative, market-leading solutions and our purpose-driven UPSers who deliver what matters every day,” said Carol Tomé, Chief Executive Officer, UPS. “Whether they want a part-time role with tuition reimbursement, extra money to fuel entrepreneurial passions or a long-term career, UPS jobs change lives and families for the better. UPSers want a company where they are valued and offered opportunities to grow. We deliver that and more in the U.S. and around the world.” Highlights from the inaugural UPS Jobs and Opportunity Report include: Industry-leading Wages and Benefits. UPS offers industry-leading compensation packages for full-time package delivery drivers, who average $95,000 a year in […]
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