watch now VIDEO 2:06 02:06 Shipowners cautious about sending vessels through the Strait of Hormuz Closing Bell: Overtime Iran ratcheted up its rhetoric against the U.S. on Sunday, a day after it said it had reasserted control of the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump confirmed peace talks with Iran are continuing, while warning Tehran not to try to use blackmail. Iran's parliament speaker an...
watch now VIDEO 2:06 02:06 Shipowners cautious about sending vessels through the Strait of Hormuz Closing Bell: Overtime Iran ratcheted up its rhetoric against the U.S. on Sunday, a day after it said it had reasserted control of the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump confirmed peace talks with Iran are continuing, while warning Tehran not to try to use blackmail. Iran's parliament speaker and top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said talks to end the war with the U.S. and Israel are continuing but that his country stands ready to resume the conflict and warned the U.S. against using a naval blockade against its ships in the strait. "It is not the case that we think just because we are negotiating, the armed forces are not ready," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in televised remarks late Saturday according to a report on Iranian state media. "Rather, just as the people are in the streets, our armed forces are also ready." Ghalibaf also reiterated Iran's intentions to restrict traffic through the strait, a key energy chokepoint. "It is impossible for others to pass through the Strait of Hormuz but not us. If the U.S. does not abandon the blockade, traffic in the Strait of Hormuz will certainly be restricted," he said. Trump announced the blockade on April 12, after complaining that Tehran has not appeared to reopen the strait, one of his conditions for agreeing to the fragile two-week ceasefire that is currently in effect. Gunboat diplomacy Two gunboats from Iran's Revolutionary Guard opened fire on a tanker transiting the strait, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said Saturday. It reported the tanker and crew as safe, without identifying the vessel or its destination. Shipping sources told Reuters at least two other vessels reported coming under fire while trying to transit the waterway. The confusion over the strait's status has left ship operators in a state of limbo. Video footage from ship-tracking firm Kpler showed t...
From a statistical standpoint, Wall Street has thrived under President Donald Trump. When Trump's first, non-consecutive term concluded on Jan. 20, 2021, the ageless Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) , benchmark S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) , and tech-powered Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) had gained 57%, 70%, and 142%, respectively. The annualized returns of these indexes were hi...
From a statistical standpoint, Wall Street has thrived under President Donald Trump. When Trump's first, non-consecutive term concluded on Jan. 20, 2021, the ageless Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) , benchmark S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) , and tech-powered Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) had gained 57%, 70%, and 142%, respectively. The annualized returns of these indexes were higher under Trump than under most presidents . Until seven weeks ago, Trump's second term was shaping up similar to his first, with the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq enjoying double-digit gains. But it's amazing how quickly a narrative can shift on Wall Street. Although several catalysts have helped fuel the Trump bull market , one gigantic figure, totaling nearly 8.2 trillion, looms large and points to the stock market's good times coming to an unceremonious end. Continue reading
Nestea06/iStock via Getty Images It has been a while since I last covered my largest holding by far, British American Tobacco ( BTI ), to which I'm going to refer as BAT going forward. For those who didn't follow my previous coverage , I bought the stock at the height of the tobacco bear market a couple of years ago, when the shares offered close to double-digit dividend yields. With the rising sh...
Nestea06/iStock via Getty Images It has been a while since I last covered my largest holding by far, British American Tobacco ( BTI ), to which I'm going to refer as BAT going forward. For those who didn't follow my previous coverage , I bought the stock at the height of the tobacco bear market a couple of years ago, when the shares offered close to double-digit dividend yields. With the rising share price and valuation, I have downgraded the rating from "Strong Buy" to "Buy". Momentum investors might disagree with me here, but in my opinion, that's the right approach, especially when it comes to low-growth businesses like tobacco companies. We have to be bullish when prices are low and dividend yields are high, and we become more cautious once the valuation rises. Whenever investing in "boring" consumer staples, the dividend is a major factor in total returns over the very long term. Naturally, we want our starting yield to be high and the valuation to be low. That way, we not only profit from juicy dividend yields but also from potential multiple expansion. And that's exactly what happened with British American Tobacco. Total returns have been staggering from its bear market lows, even outpacing the NASDAQ. Data by YCharts But the past is the past, so where do we stand now? After the correction over the last few weeks, BAT is once again trading at a 6% dividend yield and a P/E ratio of 11.69. It still offers a margin of safety, even though the shares have risen by ~100% from their bear market lows! That's how undervalued the company really was. Data by YCharts My estimate of BAT's intrinsic value is around 14 to 15 times earnings. At that valuation, the shares would yield around 4.6% to 5%. Add conservative low-to-mid-single-digit growth in EPS and dividends, and we'd still arrive at a return that's in line with the markets over the long term. But here's an important point that's often forgotten in today's exuberant markets: as investors, we don't want to pay fair...
Exactly two months after the Supreme Court struck down most of President Trump's tariffs, the U.S. government has set Monday as the day when some companies can begin requesting refunds. (Image credit: Nickolai Hammar)
Exactly two months after the Supreme Court struck down most of President Trump's tariffs, the U.S. government has set Monday as the day when some companies can begin requesting refunds. (Image credit: Nickolai Hammar)
🔥 AVGO from "Cyclical Stock" to "AI Platform": When Meta and Google lock in capacity with 5-year contracts, this valuation logic has fundamentally shifted. The market's previous understanding of AVGO was more akin to a semiconductor company that fluctuate Moomoo
🔥 AVGO from "Cyclical Stock" to "AI Platform": When Meta and Google lock in capacity with 5-year contracts, this valuation logic has fundamentally shifted. The market's previous understanding of AVGO was more akin to a semiconductor company that fluctuate Moomoo