Market Watch

Irina Gutyryak It has been a rough ride for WestRock (NYSE: WRK ) shareholders. The stock has declined 45% over the past five years and is down nearly 25% in the last year, significantly underperforming the broader market. Shares declined last week after the company withdrew full-year EBITDA guidance citing weakness in its global paper segment and an uncertain demand outlook (high customer inventories) given the economic environment. While the global paper segment, which represented ~30% of EBITDA (3 year average), is subject to greater volatility than the company’s consumer packaging and corrugated packaging segments, I believe the market has overly discounted WestRock shares which now sell for just ~8x current year (depressed) free cash flow per share. As I discuss below, I see modest upside even if the business continues to experience weak results and significant (+150%) upside should management achieve its 2025 targets. Reasons to like WestRock Improved industry structure following years of industry consolidation. Ten years ago, the top five players controlled less than 50% of the corrugated packaging market. After a decade of consolidation, the top 4 players now control 75-80% of the market which creates a much more favorable dynamic in terms of capacity […]

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Officials had to submit five places filmmakers might be interested in and those places included Riverfront Park, areas in downtown Beaumont and Tyrell Park. BEAUMONT, Texas — Southeast Texans who hope to work on film and television sets may soon see their dreams become reality right in Beaumont. City officials are hoping to jump on a trend sweeping the state and attract filmmakers through a new film production certification. They believe the idea could generate millions of dollars without costing the city a cent. Beaumont officials have already taken the steps to get certified through the Texas Film Commission. If the idea is approved, historical buildings in downtown Beaumont could become sound stages and lush views along Riverfront Park could become a backdrop for films. Officials had to submit five places filmmakers might be interested in and those places included Riverfront Park, areas in downtown Beaumont and Tyrrell Park. Beaumont officials came up with the idea in January. “It doesn’t cost the city at all once we become certified upon our council approval,” Miles Haynes, assistant to the city manager, said. The idea is expected to go in front of the Beaumont City Council soon. Haynes is leading the […]

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Source: Shutterstock Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. ( NASDAQ:AEIS ), 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 NASDAQGS. As a mid-cap stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. However, could the stock still be trading at a relatively cheap price? Today I will analyse the most recent data on Advanced Energy Industries’s outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists. What Is Advanced Energy Industries Worth? The share price seems sensible at the moment according to my price multiple model, where I compare the company’s price-to-earnings ratio to 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 Advanced Energy Industries’s ratio of 18.89x is trading slightly above its industry peers’ ratio of 17.55x, which means if you buy Advanced Energy Industries today, you’d be paying a relatively reasonable price for it. And if you believe that Advanced Energy Industries should be trading at this […]

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The Texas Legislature has a record amount of money to spend as it writes the next two-year state budget – but will it? In May 2022 file photo, a Super Flower Blood Moon eclipse rises over the Goddess of Liberty atop the Texas State Capitol in Austin. AUSTIN — Texas lawmakers have a stunning — some say unprecedented — opportunity to improve state residents’ well-being and educational attainment by tapping some of the nearly $70 billion that’s available this year for new initiatives. But will they? Why do they seem to loathe, at least initially, to propose much new state spending — other than to again buy down local school property taxes? As Senate hearings on the next two-year state budget kicked off last week, Comptroller Glenn Hegar spoke of a “historic and unprecedented” flow of money into the treasury since Texas emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. When the current budget cycle ends on Aug. 31, Hegar expects a $32.7 billion balance in the state’s general fund. But in addition to the whopping “revenue surplus,” as some call it, Hegar projects that $155.5 billion of general-purpose revenue will be collected in 2024-25. Compared with current spending of $119.2 billion, […]

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Despite difficult January 1st renewals, the outlook for agriculture business looks very promising for 2023, with growth opportunities for reinsurers, according to Aon’s January Reinsurance Market Dynamics report. Historically profitable markets saw only minor changes, but territories with recent losses experienced hardening terms, Aon analysts observed. These changes were driven by the outsized Brazil loss of 2021 – which developed and was quantifiable in 2022 -, the continued increase in commodity prices and the strengthening of the U.S. dollar. A shortage of capacity, along with the withdrawal of a major reinsurer and others having to reduce their agriculture portfolios, has also fuelled the hardening terms. Pro-rata capacity has been in short supply, as some reinsurers only offered pro-rata capacity in limited territories. Those continuing to support pro-rata were often able to improve terms and would only commit capacity if modelled margins showed a reasonable increase year-over- year. Despite these improvements, Aon noted, pro-rata treaties were difficult to fill out, and in certain territories, clients had to reduce their EPI to ensure full placement. On top of this, the strong dollar has meant that 40 percent more capacity is required over last year for the U.S., the world’s largest crop […]

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NYC Mayor’s Office | Flickr New York City launched applications for small businesses to receive pandemic relief funding through a new loan program called the “NYC Small Business Opportunity Fund” on Jan. 23. Through the city’s Department of Small Business Services, $75 million will be distributed to approximately 1,500 local businesses in the five boroughs.The Small Business Opportunity Fund is a part of a public-private partnership between Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Mastercard Inc. Additionally, eight different community development financial institutions are also a part of the partnership, according to Small Business Services Commissioner Kevin Kim in a news conference .Small businesses may apply for loans up to $250,000 at a market-leading rate of 4%. Businesses must make a revenue of less than $5 million and will be allowed to use the loan to refinance higher-interest debts. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the financial help arrives at a time when the city’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is reaching a crucial point in time. He added that the loan fund is the city’s way of “giving back” to the small businesses that kept the city going. “Our efforts to cut red tape and jumpstart our recovery are […]

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Twitter is reportedly planning to charge businesses $1,000 to keep gold checks. Social media consultant Matt Navarra first reported that Twitter is reaching out to businesses about the plan. There is reportedly no timeline for when non-paying accounts will lose their checks. Elon Musk also tweeted about other changes this week, such as removing "legacy" blue checks. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops — delivered daily to your inbox. Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you’re on the go. Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . In the latest revenue generating effort for Elon Musk’s Twitter, the social media giant is reportedly set to make businesses pay $1,000 per month to keep their gold verification check. Social media consultant Matt Navarra first reported the new charge, along with screenshots allegedly showing Twitter employees offering the price to businesses looking to sign up as a "Verified Organization." The Information confirmed the report Friday, adding that it is currently unclear when the […]

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Scientists at Auburn University injected alligator DNA into farm-raised catfish. The scientists found that the fish were more resistant to disease and less likely to reproduce. They hope the new and less disease-prone catfish will one day be sold for human consumption. Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you’re on the go. Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Life finds a way: Geneticists have created disease-resistant catfish using alligator DNA — and they may one day become a part of our diet. A group of scientists at Auburn University published a paper in January detailing their efforts to genetically modify catfish with the cathelicidin gene of an alligator. Cathelicidin, found in the intestines, is an antimicrobial peptide responsible for helping organisms fight diseases. The gene, which was added using CRISPR, heightened disease resistance among the catfish in comparison to wild catfish. Researchers noted that the survival rates of the […]

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OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) – An uprising trend of economic activity began last year as the nation came off the heels of the pandemic. One of those cities which have benefitted is Ocean Springs. Earlier this past week, we took a look at the new Bacchus on the Bayou restaurant, which opens this month. However, there are many more businesses that are preparing to open their doors this year in the City of Discovery. “2022 was a busy year,” said Daryll Stringfellow, an Ocean Springs building official. “It was surprising with the way the interest way was going. It was a very active year. We have several new businesses come into town and several new developments. One across from CVS will be a restaurant, and we’ll have four other businesses in there, one being a spa.” A quick dive around the city and you’ll see construction sites that will soon house new businesses. From Zaxby’s Chicken to the much anticipated return of Chef Scott’s, the city is more than happy to see this strong economic outlook. “In 2022, we actually brought in $378k in business permits,” said Stringfellow. “It show the growth of residential and business. It’s a big […]

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The Museum of the Future in Dubai The time is ripe for forward-looking Israeli start-ups to seek new markets for vertical growth, exports and expansion Since signing the historic Abraham Accords in 2020, we have seen a dramatic increase in bilateral trade between Israel and the UAE. We expect this new era of cooperation to see trade soaring to US$10 billion by 2027. The Middle East has long been renowned for trade, for innovation and as a center for global deals. Intra-nation trade reached $2.56 billion in 2022 – despite the pandemic – up from $1.19b. in 2021. That year also saw Dubai imports from Israel almost double, and Dubai re-exports to Israel grow significantly. Israel is known across the world as “ The start-up nation ”, a well-deserved title considering it now has around 100 ‘unicorn’ start-ups , with 42 new unicorns in 2021 and 23 in 2022. While innovation is firmly local, we know the vision of Israeli start-ups is global, with new market growth built into their business plans from the outset. How can Israeli start-ups achieve their global vision? While venture capital funding in Israel increased gradually toward 2021 – reaching a record of some […]

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