Year: 2019

  • Tesla’s Claims Fall Short – Again

    Tesla’s Claims Fall Short – Again

    2 min read

    Tesla drops lawsuit against critic

    When ordered to produce evidence of alleged danger presented by a short-seller, Tesla withdraws its request for a court-ordered restraining order. Tesla’s claims fall short once again.

    Earlier this year Tesla has filed a request for a restraining order against a member of short-seller community TSLAQ known as “skabooshka”, real name Randeep Hothi, to the Alameda County Superior Court in Alameda County, California. In filing Tesla has claimed that Mr. Hothi has injured a security guard at Giga Factory in a hit-and-run incident, and also nearly caused a traffic accident while pursuing a test model of Model 3 during a test run on April 16. Upon being granted a temporary injunction by the court, Tesla was requested to provide audio and video recordings of those two incidents as evidence.

    Surprising turn-over

    But, in a surprise move the car producer has withdrawn request for the restraining order on July 19.

    In the letter to the court, Tesla’s lawyers have expressed the opinion that the request of the audio and video recordings of the incidents are an undue imposition on the privacy of their employees, stating that such materials contain personal and private conversations. They have expressed a belief that “restraining order against Mr. Hothi is necessary and appropriate to protect its employees at their workplace.” Further claiming that the company was forced to choose between employees’ safety and exposing their personal conversation to the public. Thus, the document states, the company has decided to pursue the safety of its employees “by other means”.

    And what those other means could be should make people worried, as the history of Tesla’s retaliation against its critics illustrates.

    Tesla’s claims fall short

    Shortly after the Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting has published a piece alleging that Tesla is under-reporting the work-related injuries, one of the CIR’s insiders have alleged retaliation. Said doctor alleged that a complaint to the relevant Medical Board was lodged against her, while also an anonymous call was placed to state’s Child Protection Service accusing her of negligence to her children and requesting that her kids be placed under the protective care of the state.

    But such false accusations look to be the modus operandi of Tesla when handling the critique.

    Tesla model 3

    Last year Ars Technica has published a story about the alleged attempt of a mass shooting at Giga Factory by a whistleblower Martin Tripp. At that time the Tesla representative has told Ars that they have received an anonymous call at Giga Factory by a male caller claiming that Mr. Tripp is “extremely volatile” and “heavily armed”. But according to the information provided to Mr. Tripp’s attorney and then to Ars the alleged call was made to Tesla’s call center in Las Vegas and then forwarded to Giga Factory’s head of security, Sean Gourthro. Gourthro then has texted to Story County Chief Deputy Tony Dosen that an anonymous female caller has alerted them that Mr. Tripp is en route to “shoot up Tesla”, per Story County Sheriff’s Office report. According to an in-depth investigation by Bloomberg, when police officers have tracked down Mr. Tripp they have discovered that he presents no danger for Tesla’s employees. 

    He said he was terrified of Musk and suggested the billionaire might have called in the tip himself. A sheriff’s deputy attempted to cheer up Tripp and then called Tesla to tell the company that the threat, whoever had made it, was bogus.

    Bottom line

    Since we wrote so many times that any news may have an influence on the stock price of some company, it will be interesting to make a comparison in stock price before and after incidents like this one. Do investors take care of how companies treat their employees? Is the company’s public outlook important for them? We will see. Today Tesla’s stock looks like this:

    Tesla stock target price: $890.00

    Current price: $255.68

    Stay tuned and follow the market

  • Stocks To Buy To The End Of The Year

    Stocks To Buy To The End Of The Year

    4 min read

    Stocks To Buy To The End Of The Year

    Would like to know where to invest in the second half of this year? What stocks to buy to the end of 2019? Yes, we know that the market circumstances are not so good. Uncertainty comes from trading war, this bull market has lasted almost eleven years and the matter of moment when the disturbing calculation will arise.

    What we, in Traders-Paradise, want is to offer you a closer insight into some stocks to buy to the end of this year.

    We have several suggestions about the stocks to buy to the end of 2019. We picked some that are paying a dividend, some utilities, but you will see. The main criteria were to find low-rates because these stocks are able to produce profits when rates climb.

    Dominion Energy (D)

    Yield: 4.7% 

    Revenues: $13.8 billion

    Market Cap: $62.1 billion 

    12-Month Range: $67.41-$79.47

    Why this company from Virginia, US? They have about 7,5 million clients, users of its electricity and natural gas. This company is one of the major producers and suppliers of energy in the US. 

    It has approximately $100 billion of assets.

    Its stock grows at approx 6% from the beginning of this year. Last year Dominion had cash dividend growth of 10% and it is up 10% this year. Domino reported first-quarter net operating income of $873 million which is less for 17,8% in comparison with last year. But, as we said billion times, everything may influence the revenue or stock price, in one word the market. This time it was unusually warm and sunny weather. That decreased this utility’s earnings by approximately $0.06 per share. But its stock is qualified at the 15%-20% rate. Don’t pay more than $85 for them.

    Citigroup (C)

    Stocks To Buy To The End Of The Year

    Yield: 2.8% 

    Revenues : $72.6 billion

    Market Cap: $161.2 billion 

    12-Month Range: $48.42-$75.24

    Some investors believe that this is the best time for the main banks. Citigroup is one of them but it is the sole bank that continues 30%  under its pre-financial crisis top market value. Its stock is much lower than the other three of the four main banks. The global big four are JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup.

    Citigroup improved and develop good relations with its clients, increase client support by digital developing, and has enough capital to invest in the franchise.  It is very possible the share buybacks can double Earnings Per Share which is a guarantee that share price can be doubled too. That sounds good. Buy up to $75.

    Amazon (AMZN)

    Yield: 1,21% 

    Revenues : $59.7 billion 

    Market Cap: $977,589 billion 

    12-Month Range: $1812,97-$1985.63

    Amazon reported earnings for the first fiscal quarter of this year: the revenue $59.7 billion, net income $3.6 billion, and earnings per share  $7.09. Its international sales increased 9% to $16.2 billion. That was much over analysts expectations. Amazon revealed second-quarter revenue direction in the range of $59.5 billion and $63.5 billion. Its current price is $1985.63 in July this year.

    Amazon Web Services is growing 41% in sales to $7.7 billion. It is about 13% of its total revenue. There is a possibility to raise more. Pay up to $1990,00, after that price it will raise more, above $2,000,00, so you could make a good return.

    Vici Properties (VICI)

    Stocks To Buy To The End Of The Year

    Yield: 5.2% Revenues: $893.7 million

    Market Cap: $10.0 billion

    12-Month Range: $17.64-$23.27

    Vici Properties is a spinoff from Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. Vici controls 22 gaming businesses over the U.S. Also, Vici holds almost 15,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and Atlantic City and 4 golf fields. There is also some land but undeveloped for now. The last ownership is great potential.

    Leasing revenue for the first quarter of this year, was $206.7 million, a 6.4% increment related to first-quarter 2018. Net income increased 34% to $150.8 million. Last year it was $112.1 million.

    Its adjusted funds from operations increased 21.6% to $151.5 million from 2018. Current price is $21.60. The yield is well-covered and Traders-Paradise expects future dividend hikes. Buy up to $22,00. The predictions are that the price could easily hit $ 23.804 to the end of the year.

    Kraft Heinz Company (KHC)

    Yield: 5.2% 

    Revenues: $26.3 billion

    Market Cap: $38.5 billion 

    12-Month Range: $26.96-$64.99

    Kraft Heinz is one of the largest packaged food companies in the world.

    The cheese (Kraft) and ketchup (Heinz), bring this company to the portfolio of over 200 brands internationally sale. Revenues remain stable (if not growing), backed by still-popular brands and products. Its profit margins generate important cash flow. It had some problems in the US market, but foreign effects were better.

    The $0.40 per share quarterly dividend is covered and provides a 5,2% yield. In order to stimulate its debt paydown, Kraft Heinz Company could cut the yield.

    KHC’s stock price could provide significant gains. Current price is $31,63. The target price is $45. Buy up to $42.

    Bottom line

    The trade wars, real wars, elementary catastrophes, all around the globe.

    So, it isn’t so hard to recognize possible risks that could turn over the bullish trend. It is possible for the long-interest rates to go higher even they went down from the beginning of this year.  

    What you have to follow in order to choose stocks to buy to the end of this year?

    The indicator of industrial production.

    It is usually presented as an index in volume terms. The annual difference is shown in percentage and reveals the change in the volume of industrial output in comparison with the prior year.

    Why is this matter?

    Annual variation in industrial production presents the status of the economy in one country. If you notice the decreasing in production of consumer durables and capital goods you can be sure that the economic downturn is here.

    The indicator of industrial production is a principal symbol of GDP growth. It is incredibly sensitive to consumer demand and interest rates.

  • Passive Investing is a Good Choice

    Passive Investing is a Good Choice

     

    Why Passive Investing is a Good Choice?
    Passive investing is the way to force your money to work for you.

    By Guy Avtalyon

    Passive investing has become a significant part of the market. Finally! The low-cost index funds or exchange-traded funds are popular. However, there are still a lot of investors who are trying to achieve an excellent return through active investing. The question is why they are doing that when passive investing provides a better alternative.

    What is passive investing?

    It is investing your assets in funds that mimic a market. The main task of fund managers is to purchase the security in the precise proportion of a particular index to copy it. It is a passive investment. Sometimes you will hear the term  “indexed investing.” It is the same.

    Let’s consider a bit more the act of active and passive investing strategies. Three years ago, the S&P500 had a total return of 9.54%. What did every passive investor make? Precisely 9.54%.  On the other hand, an active investor gained 12,5%, but the other made just a 1,9%, or some made losses of -27%.

    How is that possible?

    The passive portion returned 9.54% and the total market returned 9.54%.  But returns before the cost is not what should be counted. You should count what you actually earn. And what is that? The returns after cost and after-tax.

    So, where is the catch?

    Passive management is cheaper than active. Active management is more costly. If you know that the cost of managing an index fund is between 0,15% and 0,50% rely on the market replicates, you will find that an active investing will have a minimum of 1% higher costs than passive investing.

    That 1% is 100 basis points and may not sound a lot.

    But let’s consider the following situation.

    Let’s say you put your money in the bank account instead of buying stocks because you don’t want to pay that 1% of costs. You are short immediately 5-6%. Your wealth is worthless. Actually, if you invest that amount in stocks there is a chance to gain more. With putting money in the bank account you will lose 15-16% of your net profit from potential investments in the stock market. In only one year. Over time this difference could considerably decrease your wealth. It will surely lower your standard when retirement. 

    The costs of active investing are not only fees. The activity by nature adds more costs. The active trades create capital gains more often than passive investing. So, why wouldn’t you avoid them entirely? It is simple math. If you want active investing you would pay more. Just take into account the taxes and costs. 

    So, we have to say, index funds and passive investing can be a better option than actively managed funds. 

    Passive investing in index funds has changed the investment world.

    In 1975, Jack Bogle, the father of passive investing, introduced the index fund. His radical idea showed the financial sector regularly cheated the individual investor with the unknown and opposed fees.

    This doesn’t mean that everyone should be indexed. Of course not. Active managers’ choices hold prices closer to values. That allows indexing to operate. Index investing means to leverage their trade without paying the costs. The majority of investors decide to index part of their money, some do it with all of them. But the others want to explore the less-priced securities.

    Let’s consult the statistic, in 2017, the percentage of securities owned by passive fund portfolios was about 5% of the total in the global market. The biggest part it took in the US where it was 15 %.

    When it comes to investing, you can choose between active and passive investing.

    Picking the right is crucial to your investing profit. If you make a mistake, you can end up with money loss. With the right one, you are the winner and you can make a big success in the stock market.

    How to find the right passive investing opportunity?

    Passive management requires buying investments that track an underlying index or making asset allocation and holding to it for the long term.

    One form of passive investing is the mutual fund investment because the mutual fund’s purpose is to return what the S&P 500 returns every year. The advantages of passive investing are numerous.

    Passive funds don’t require you to make trades and adjust holdings daily. The management fees are much cheaper, which is a benefit in the long run. You will always get the same percentage as the market returns. Good or bad, but the same.

    Passive investing is easy. You just have to pick some investments and that’s all. There is no need to monitor the market every second and make changes or to try to catch price swings. But passive investing is not for investors who want to beat the market. Yes, you can do it from time to time, but all the time. So, probably, if you are not a professional you will make big losses.

    Passive investing is more than set up your portfolio and don’t touch it anymore. You have to monitor your portfolio and make corrections as the market moves. You have to rebalance.

    Say the stocks increase in price, bonds are falling. If you have a 60% stock and 40% bond in your portfolio, this price movement requires an adjustment to 70% stock and30% bond in the portfolio. In case you never make these changes in your portfolio you will take on too much or too little risk. You will not achieve your targets. So, some monitoring has to be done. In the first place, you have to think about your money. The money is not just a piece of paper. Having money means that you are free and safe.

    You have to force your money to work for you. Passive investing is for sure a good way.

     

  • Is the Usage of Robo Advisors a Good Choice?

    Is the Usage of Robo Advisors a Good Choice?

    3 min read

    Is the Usage of Robo Advisors a Good Choice?

    For many investors, robo advisors are the future. 

    That’s because the robo-advisers give an investment chance that grows in reputation and popularity.

    First of all, there is no need to have financial education if you want to use robo advisors. They are available online and all you have to do is to fill out a brief application regarding your investment intentions. An algorithm will take care of the rest.

    Moreover, they are not expensive, and you will have an all-in-one: a diversified portfolio with assets you want and according to your risk sensitivity.

    But still, you can find a lot of many robo-skeptics. The question is why? There is no reason. The robo advisors supported by advanced platforms, provide you many advantages, more than human advisors. As we said, they cost less and, moreover, you will pay fewer taxes.

    Robo advisors employ high-quality portfolios

    But let’s make a brief comparison between human and robotics. When you choose a human advisor, that person can advise you based on his/her experience and very individual knowledge which can be questionable sometimes. For example, you are new in the market and they can advise you a very complex portfolio by experts. And adjusted for different investor plans. But every investor is unique and you would like advice adjusted to your goals, your temperament, your personal aims. 

    A traditional investment manager will guide your investment to particular stocks and that could not be in your best interest. Also, you have to pay a substantial sum for that opportunity. Yes, you can find a fiduciary adviser, such will work in your best interest. 

    But all they can give you are portfolios backed by historical data of previous investment. Also, a human advisor has limited time for the clients and for the research.

    But robo-advisor will give you a high-quality portfolio made with someone like you in mind. For example, the best robo-adviser will use low-cost ETFs with a powerful experience.

    Robo advisor never trade based on emotions

    Is the Usage of Robo Advisors a Good Choice?

    Humans will follow their abilities and wish a risky investment. It may be successful but it might be a disaster. A human can not avoid emotions while investing. Are you able to recognize when the price of some asset is enough low to be worthy of buying? Or high enough to sell it and profit from it? Evry of these decisions are led by emotions. Very often they are guided by the emotion on what you like or not, what you suppose to happen.

    The computer doesn’t have emotions when making decisions for you. So, be honest, which is better for your money?

    Even beginners know that emotional investing can produce big losses. With robo advisors, you don’t have that problem. They will pick the best investment suitable for you. 

    Will robo advisor predict the market downturns? Some are able, we are preparing the advanced algorithm for you. In a few weeks, you will be able to test it.

    Yes, robo advisor will predict the turbulence in the market but it will suggest you hold your investment until the market recovers. As you already know, when the market is a downturn you should not sell in panic, it is the worst thing you can do. Robo advisor will never tell you to do that. Rather it will advise you to stay in your investment and wait for the price swing back up when the recovery comes.

    Robo-advisers use low-fee funds to build your portfolio and low-fees to handle it

    The fund’s that robots uses have fees from 0.10% to 0.23%.

    The majority of robo-advisers invest only in low-cost ETFs. That provides your portfolio with low fees and high liquidity.

    When a computer manages your investments, you will pay a lot fewer fees. Also, you can find fee-free robo-advisor that charge nothing for advising assistance.

    Instead of paying about 1% for a human advisor for managing your portfolio, the robot will charge you from 0,25% to 0,35%.

    Moreover, robo advisors provide automated tax-loss harvesting.

    A human can’t actually follow this action the way a processor can manage tax-loss harvesting. The best part is that for more extensive portfolios, robo-advisor can add up to notable tax savings.

    Robo-advisers and automated trading are the future of investing

    The high-quality providers grant you investments suitable to your individual requirements.

    Robo advisors perform notably better than human financial advisers. The added advantage, they will cost you less and your all-in costs are more economical with this automated investment option. 

    Don’t diminish this difference. It can be worth thousands to your portfolio.

    Think about it. Maybe this is the right time for you to get in this developing trend. We, in Traders-Paradise, truly believe that automated trading and robo advisors are the future of investing.

    So, don’t be too conservative and take your place here. It is time.

  • Who Controls The Libra

    Who Controls The Libra

     

    Who Controls The Libra currency
    Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had a dispute with Facebook’s crypto boss, David Marcus.

    By Traders-Paradise Team

     

    The subject was about who controls the Libra currency

    Two days of US congressional hearings were quite enough for everyone to reveal what problems may arise with a new cryptocurrency named Libra. We are not sure it is crypto at all, by the way. 

    AOC asked Marcus about who are the members of the Libra Association and how did they selected, trough election or on some other way. He answered that they are not democratically elected instead governed by membership criteria.

    Ocasio-Cortez concluded that Libra is “a currency controlled by an undemocratically-selected coalition of largely massive corporations.”

    Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez centered on a commentary David Marcus, CEO of Calibra. He said he would trust all of his assets in Libra.

    “You said yesterday you would be comfortable taking 100 percent of your pay in Libra. In the history of this country, there is a term for being paid in a corporate-controlled currency,” and asked, “Do you know what that term is?”

    Marcus’ answer was negative.

    Who controls the Libra

    Ocasio-Cortez proceeded,

    “It’s called ‘scrip.’ Do you think there’s a risk in taking your pay this way?”

    There was no answer from Marcus again.

    What is ‘scrip’?

    Scrip is a replacement for the government-issued legal tender. Some companies practice this to pay their workers. It is possible to use scrip only at those companies’ shops. For example, recently Amazon gave to their top-employees “Swag Bucks” and they could make purchasings only Amazon-themed merchandise.

    This tactic is well-known from the past. It was used to pay miners in the faraway mining camps where the cash was rare. And, of course, the price in such stores are under the control of the company.

    So, TP may conclude the Libra is fake currency. But, who controls the Libra is still unknown.

    Business insider published a transcript of their conversation in the US House Financial Services Committee. 

    The full article you can read HERE

    The other AOC’s attack happened when she asked Marcus about who support Facebook’s Libra digital currency.

    He said that Libra will be supported by real financial assets, particularly pointed to the US dollar, the euro, and government securities.  To pacify the audience, Marcus has accentuated that Libra will be conducted by a consortium of organizations.

    “So we are discussing a currency controlled by an undemocratically selected coalition of largely massive corporations,” AOC concluded.

    We have to say that national currencies are under the competence of governments. Do Marcus claims and Facebook’s plans show their influence on broad of governments or they want to say that their Libra, even declared as digital money isn’t crypto in essence. 

    This aspect of Libra could become a stumbling rock for Facebook.

    Who will trust it? 

    About Traders-Paradise’s doubts, you can read HERE

    Jamie Dimon, The CEO of JP Morgan Chase, said that he thinks Facebook’s future cryptocurrency Libra will not have a short-term influence on the bank. 

    When asked about Facebook’s approach to the financial sector by creating its own cryptocurrency, he said: 

    “We’re going to be talking about Libra three years from now. I wouldn’t spend too much time on it. To put it in perspective, we’ve been talking about blockchain for seven years and very little has happened.”

    Anyway, JP Morgan has its own plans connected to crypto. They plan to employ JPM Coin, but internally in order to speed up transactions, as he said.  Is this script too? We’ll see.

     

  • Investing in Bonds – How to Start

    Investing in Bonds – How to Start

    Investing in Bonds
    Bonds as an investment are not free of risks. For many investors, the bonds market is still mysterious.

    By Guy Avtalyon

    Investing in bonds isn’t as easy as you might think. Anyway, read this post to its end and things will be more clear. 

    If you are OK with the lower return but with considerably fewer risk sounds as a good investment for you, it’s time to invest in bonds. Reducing risk is essentially what bonds will provide you.

    Bonds are securities. They are very similar to loans. They are issued by governments or companies. And you can buy them. Governments and companies issued them because they want to fund some new projects, to continue the realization of plans, or some other reasons can be on the scene. 

    The issuer gives periodic interest payments and compensates for the full investment at the end of a prearranged time frame. The bond ends “maturity” when the investor can expect the principal will be returned, plus all accumulated interest.

    How to start investing in bonds?

    It is not so simple

    You can’t simply purchase bonds and hope you have a low-risk investment. Bonds are complex instruments in comparison with stocks. There are some risks involved. For example, the bond can be less worth after some time if the interest rate rises. If the interest rate rises continuously until the maturity of the bond, the value of your bonds will be lower even worthless in some extreme situations. That is the interest-rate risk. 

    There is no bond protected from interest-rate risk. So it is likely to get a lot of risk with bonds. And it is not the case with low-grade bonds issued by the company with financial problems. The risk of investing in bonds may appear with high-grade bonds too because of interest-rate changes. 

    Bonds are assumed to be the firm and low-risk part of your portfolio, but the bond investing is still full of traps.

    Let’s find them!

    Are bonds risky?

    Bonds Market is still enigmatic.

    It’s hard to recognize are you aiming at a good price. Let’s say you want to buy individual bonds. You have to be sure you are not overpaying. If you buy stocks, your broker will charge a commission.

    But when you buy bonds, instead of a commission, you will pay an unrevealed margin on the cost of the bond.

    What is most important when investing in bonds?

    You have to reveal is the closing price you are paying for your bonds matches the price which other investors are giving for the same security. But even institutional investors with lots of money have the same problem: to identify pricing data. The reason is simple. Almost all bonds are traded over-the-counter not on some exchange.

    Bonds are rarely traded. Individual investors will hold bonds until they mature. So prices based on recent sales usually don’t even exist. They are changed or invisible. 

    High liquid Treasury bonds and notes are some other stories. Their prices are broadly announced. But this kind of market is the exemption to the rule.

    The issue price of a bond

    It depends on the relation between the interest rate that your bond pays and the market interest rate on the same date. 

    You have to determine the interest paid by the bond. For instance, a bond pays a 5% interest rate per year. That means on an amount of $1,000, the interest payment is $50.

    How to find the present value of the bond? Say the bond matures in five years, its present value factor is 0.74726, as taken from a table for the present value of 1 due in n periods, and based on the market interest rate of 6%.

    Investing in Bonds

     

    The present value of the bond is, therefore, $747.26.

    Now, calculate the present value of interest payments. The present value of an average annuity of 1 at 6% for five years is 4.212.

     

    When you multiply this factor by the annual interest payment of $50, you will come to a present value of $210.62 for the interest payments.

    Now, calculate the bond price. The result should be $957.88. That is the amount of the present value of the bond repayment at its maturity in five years, and the present value of the associated with future interest payments.

    You see, the price of the bond is lower than its face value. So we can say that the interest rate on the bond is below the market rate. Investors are therefore offering its price below. In order to reach an effective interest rate that equals the market rate. 

    Hence, if the result of this computation a higher price than the face value of the bond, then the interest rate on the bond would be more expensive than the market rate.

    So, we can easily conclude, as interest rates rise, current bond prices normally fall. But these modifications do not change all bonds fairly. It is a matter of duration. Duration regulates how a bond’s price will change in interest rates. Interest rates also affect the duration. The higher the interest rate, the lower the duration.

     

  • Microsoft stocks are worth to buy and hold

    Microsoft stocks are worth to buy and hold

    Microsoft stocks are worth to buy and hold

    by Gorica Gligorijevic

    Microsoft stock has increased this year which is the great news for investors. It is the most valuable company in the US, which the sparrows on the trees already know. The question is should you buy its stocks? If you want you should hurry. This year it is up 36%. But, more important, Cowen & Co. analyst Nick Yako initiated coverage of Microsoft with an outperform rating and $150 target price. 

    He recognizes the potential for Microsoft to gain a gradually increasing $100 billion in revenue by fiscal 2025. His prediction is based on Microsoft’s Office 365 and Azure cloud businesses. Yako is expecting those two to be the main growth generators. 

    Moreover, traders support Cowen’s opinion on Microsoft. Last week on Thursday, it scored a new all-time intraday high of $139.22.

    Microsoft stocks will grow more

    Microsoft stocks will grow more

    Not only Nick Yako is convinced that Microsoft stocks will grow. There are other experts too. For example, Pete Najarian from Institute.com truly believes that the great potential for this company comes from its Windows. 

    “By the way, we all want to say Windows is dead. Windows is not dead. That continues to grow as well,” he said.

    The co-founder of Najarian Family Office, Jon Najarian, also recognizes Microsoft as a great potential for growth. But he thinks that it is all about LinkedIn.

    “It’s all about LinkedIn for my mind and for my money from here, rather than just focusing completely on the cloud.” 

    Microsoft bought the LinkedIn 3 years ago for $27 billion. This social network has about 610 million subscribers and its participation in the company’s revenue is more than 5%.

    Pete and Jon Najarian are traders.

    Pete Najarian is an options trader and market analyst. He is also the founder of optionMONSTER. This company provides market news and trading strategies.

    Jon Najarian is the founder of an online brokerage, tradeMONSTER. This brokerage provides trading information through the web without demanding clients to download trading software. It is a rival with other brokerage companies.

    Despite this optimism shown, they have some concerns.

    Microsoft’s P/E is high which can be “a signal that the stock is getting ahead of itself.” Pete Najarian still holds it’s stock and call options. But he is keeping an eye on the rising valuation.

    Microsoft’s share of the market went up to 13% from 10%. But Amazon continues to be the obvious leader with 33%.

    Hence, Najarian alerted in his comment for CNBC, “Microsoft is a deep distant second. But if they can claw some of that market share back, then absolutely, I think this stock can go higher.”

    Bottom line

    The Microsoft stocks hit the $1 trillion level in market capitalization in June. So, we can say that this company stays along with Apple and Amazon.

    This pre-internet pioneer of the PC era, Its operating systems, and software are used by computers all over the world. It owns LinkedIn, Skype and GitHub.  There are it’s Windows, which is developing, and the Xbox gaming, and also Office 365 businesses. Microsoft is a leader in cloud-computing services, artificial intelligence, and productivity tools. It is a true rival to  Amazon and Alphabet’s Google. So, we can say Microsoft stocks are worth to buy and hold.

    Microsoft stock has increased by almost 37% until July 11this year. It went ahead of the Nasdaq and doubled the year-to-date earnings for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrials.

    Microsoft stocks revealed a reasonable buy spot. Its stock has great long-term growth potential. 

    Generating growth possibilities in the highly competing tech area needs proactive management. Microsoft has it. Its CEO Satya Nadella has succeeded to shift to a business model that focuses on subscription-based products and services with constantly recurring revenue.

    The shareholders received a 1,5% dividend yield.

    And shareholders in this elite business, who also enjoy a 1.5%  Microsoft has a firm cash flow, which is a definite part to consider for dividend investors.

  • Greece announced the bond issue

    Greece announced the bond issue

    Greece announced the bond issue

    Greece announces bond issue under the new government. According to the Associated Press, the new government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mistotakis plans to issue of a 7-year bond. It will be the first under the new government.   

    In a report published Monday, 15. July, Public Debt Management Agency of Greece listed banks on the control of running the auction. PDMA reports are usually presented on the eve of the auction.

    Greece is deemed to establish a 2.5 billion-euro ($2.8 billion) goal for its latest bond issue. That should complete market borrowing requirements for this year.

    The previous bond auctions were successful. The government under Syriza and ex-prime minister Alexis Tsipras issued 5-year and 10-year bonds.

    Greece rose funds on bond markets after a series of three consecutive international bailout programs.

    Low yields in EU countries were helpful.

    The new prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has chaired his Cabinet’s first meeting. He promised to reform the system of governance. The main goal is to improve the everyday lives of Greeks, he said. Also, he urged the other members of the new government to follow this intention.

    Greece’s conservative New Democracy party won the national election on July 7, 2019. This party defeated the ruling Syriza party.

    New Democracy returned to power with decent success in snap elections. Prime Minister-elect Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he had a definite mandate for change, promising more investments. Also, he promised to decrease taxes.

    “I am committed to fewer taxes, many investments, for good and new jobs, and growth which will bring better salaries and higher pensions in an efficient state,” Mitsotakis said.

    Greece had a positive result after analysis by its EU partners who loaned Greece billions.

    The economic matters in Greece

    Greece announced the bond issue

    The focus is on Mitsotakis’s choice for the key economics ministries – finance, energy, and development. The minister of Foreign affairs come along with them. 

    Mitsotakis inherits an economy that is growing at a moderate growth. It is at a 1.3% annual pace in the first quarter of this year.

    The public finances may fall below the targets accepted with lenders.

    The Bank of Greece predicts that 3.5% of GDP primary surplus target without debt servicing outlays is possible to be missed this year. Its prediction is that Greece can reach 2.9% of economic output reasonably.

    The fiscal policy of the new government has to be rigorously watched.

    But, the true test will be next year’s budget.

    People in Greece live on the financial edge.

    The young people are leaving the country in order to find jobs outside their country, in the EU.

    Greek unemployment of 18% is the highest in the EU.

    Greece remains under monitoring from lenders guarantee to avoid potential future fiscal slippage. 

    The economic growth has returned since Greece wrapped up its last economic adjustment program in 2018.

    New Democracy has promised to create well-paid jobs. Honestly, they will have a hard job to answer the activities in some parts of Athens, where powerful anti-establishment movement is alive.

    Living in Greece is difficult

    The average monthly salary in Greece is about 600 euros. People, especially the young, are struggling to find decent jobs because of the absence of big international companies.

    The expense of living in Greece is relatively lower than in the rest of Europe. But despite romantic expectations, it is difficult and struggling.

    The per capita income is 18,613.42. That is almost 1/5 of Switzerland’s, for example. Yes, goods are cheaper there than in the rest of Europe. But the average salary isn’t enough so the people are hard to survive from pay-check to pay-check.

    The new government has a great challenge.

     

  • Bitcoin Price Falls Under $10,100

    Bitcoin Price Falls Under $10,100

    2 min read

    Bitcoin Price Falls

    Bitcoin price dropped $1.4K in 24 hours and hit a 2-week low. Majority of the top 20 cryptocurrencies are recording losses on the day we are posting. Bitcoin (BTC) fell under the $10,100 mark.

    Monday seems not to be a good day for cryptocurrencies.

    Take a look at its weekly chart, the coin is dropped by 10.14%.

    Some traders are awaiting the price to fall under $10,000. They say it will be time to buy.

    Bitcoin price

    Since June 27, the bitcoin price has fallen from almost $14,000 by more than 22%against the U.S. dollar in an almost large pullback. That led to the crypto market to fall. All major cryptocurrencies recorded a decrease in value.

    Yes, this is a drop-in price, but the bitcoin price grows more than 210% in comparison with its value last year. The other main cryptos tend to be more volatile. The exceptions are Litecoin and Binance Coin.

    A possible scenario: bitcoin price falls below $10,000

    The bitcoin price has moved from $4,000 to almost $14,000 in a time frame of four months. So, the huge reversals from the current price continue to be a possibility.

    The bitcoin price slips to recover behind $10,000, a pullback to the $9,000 zone is possible.

    Say, the trend of bitcoin is bullish. There are some important factors to study that could work as incentives in the next few months. For example, the block reward halving of bitcoin.

    Also, after US President Donald Trump recent comments bitcoin, it’s price recorded a small increase, but now we have this drop.

    It is about $1,000 less than where it was 24 hours ago. 

    The US President identified currencies like Facebook Libra as untrustworthy. He also said that it carries no value and that it doesn’t hold on a firm platform. He also said that he doesn’t care for cryptocurrencies and that they usually pull illegal action and that the cryptocurrencies are not real money.


    Do Trump’s words have any influence on Bitcoin price?

    We don’t think so. After Trump’s comments, the next few days bitcoin has maintained its position despite his words. But, despite the first expectations to rise more and more, the price falls quickly and drastically. The coin has scored its lowest rate since June.

    But the bitcoin price is higher than in April. Given it has retained its force, it is reasonable to expect price spikes in the following days.

    Since the bitcoin price fell around 10%, many alternative crypto assets like Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, fell by 4 to 9% against the U.S. dollar.

    Bitcoin is down by around 43% from its highest price at about $20,000. The alternative crypto assets are down too, some by 80%, the other even to 90% from their greatest highs.

    Three months ago trader and cryptanalyst Josh Ranger recommended that the Bitcoin accumulation phase will last until mid-July 2019. And then there will be a steady price increase.

    According to the historical overview, the current price dynamics is alike to that seen in 2015. After Bitcoin hit the bottom, the growth period lasted 216 days. 

    This price drop is good for those who would like to buy Bitcoin. 

    According to CoinMarketCap data, the move down was also followed by a small rise in total trading volume of $2.8 billion over 24 hours. The traders wanted to gain profit and quick exit the markets because of declining prices.

    Moreover, the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies experienced a $20.1 billion loss for 24 hours. It is one of the biggest losses in one day. The same happened on June 27, 2019.

    In the short term, volatile will continue. 

    Sebastian Sinclair in his recent article for Coindesk wrote:

    “…so BTC could experience a bounce on today’s momentum, but that will need to be accompanied by strong levels in growing (bullish) volume in order to end the recent sell-off still being felt from July 10.”

     

  • Tesla Shares are Rising on the New Plans

    Tesla Shares are Rising on the New Plans

    2 min read

    Tesla Shares are Rising on the New Plans

    Tesla shares are rising. After Tesla (TSLA) reported a  record second-quarter car delivers, Jerome Guillen, its automotive president, announced the firm has a plan to make a big jump in production of electric cars. They are opening new hirings. 

    Bloomberg revealed Guillen’s email to employees: “The electric-car maker is “making preparations” to raise output at its factory in Fremont, California, Jerome Guillen, Tesla’s automotive president, wrote Tuesday. “While we can’t be too specific in this email, I know you will be delighted with the upcoming developments.”

    “As we continue to ramp up production, please tell your friends and neighbors that we have lots of exciting new positions open, both in Fremont and at Giga,” Guillen wrote in the email to employees.

    According to Guillen’s email, the previous problems with Tesla cars are fixed. In this email, he wrote the Tesla:  “hit new records in all production lines for output and efficiency,” and added that “quality is also reaching record highs.”

    In the first six months of this year, Tesla sold more than 67,500 new Model 3 in the US market. Tesla’s rivals sold at the same time from 3,500 to 8,500 units of their hybrids. 

    This new email can be a terrifying moment for them.

    As a consequence, Tesla shares are rising on that Guillen’s report that it will boost production.

    In the last trading day, Friday,  last week Tesla’s shares rose to $245,06 from Thursday’s close of $238,60 a share.

    Tesla shares are rising

    But nothing is so easy with Tesla.

    Tesla Inc. and Apple Inc. both assume they were betrayed by an engineer who defected to the same Chinese startup. They both accused an engineer who operated on its Autopilot program of taking the extremely secret files when he quit and start to work for.

    XMotors.ai is the U.S. research unit of Guangzhou-based Xpeng.

    A few days ago, Tesla asked for Apple’s cooperation in a prosecute. Tesla sued the mentioned engineer.

    The lawsuit is filed to a court last week.

    Tesla requires insight into the engineer’s emails and forensic examination on his electronic devices. The company revealed that it has also assisted the iPhone maker with a subpoena.

    The documents Tesla asks from Apple aren’t specified in the filing, it is obvious that they have a mutual opponent in Xpeng.

    Last July, one of Apple’s hardware engineers was prosecuted for similar reasons, he shifted to work for this Chinese company and took the secret data with him. The engineer has declared not guilty.

    Guangzhi Cao, the former Tesla engineer, confirmed in a court filing that he downloaded Tesla’s Autopilot-related source code to his private iCloud account, but rejected wrongdoing.

    Elon Musk’s automaker overcame Wall Street expectations. Tesla is expected to report second-quarter earnings on Aug. 7.

    “While we can’t be too specific in this email, I know you will be delighted with the upcoming developments,” Guillen said.

    Tesla Motors increased 2.72% in the last trading day, Friday, 12th Jul 2019. The share price rose from $238.60 to $245.08. 

    Moreover, the share price increased at 9.98% in the last 2 weeks. 

    Along with the price, the volume has grown too. In total, 1.62 million more shares were traded in comparison wit the day before.

    This exactly means, 9.08 million shares were traded for almost $2 224.42 million.

    The bottom line

    Tesla shares are rising and Traders-Paradise opinion about Tesla as an investment is positive. Yes, we know, Tesla had some problems.

    If you are seeing the stocks with a solid return, Tesla can be a valuable investment choice.  Based on their plans we anticipate a long-term gain. For five year investment, your return can be almost 13%, meaning if you invest $100 now, after 5 years your investment will be about $113 worth.

    Billionaire investor Ron Baron predicted that Tesla’s stock will touch $1,000 by 2020. 

    This means that Tesla’s stock could be traded between $500 and $600 next year. This indicates that there is an upside potential of at least 35%.

    As we wrote about a month ago Tesla shares drop but it could a 50% grow within a month