Hong Kong homebuyers snapped up new flats on offer on Saturday, fuelling optimism that the bull run in the city’s property market will continue. All 154 units at Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Lime Spark project sold out as of 4.30pm, while 147 homes, or 93 per cent of the 158 flats available at Henderson Land’s Highwood Phase 2 project, found buyers, according to real property agents. “Home prices have...
Hong Kong homebuyers snapped up new flats on offer on Saturday, fuelling optimism that the bull run in the city’s property market will continue. All 154 units at Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Lime Spark project sold out as of 4.30pm, while 147 homes, or 93 per cent of the 158 flats available at Henderson Land’s Highwood Phase 2 project, found buyers, according to real property agents. “Home prices have climbed by nearly 8 per cent this year, and prospective buyers are likely to find that a delay in...
J Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images I last covered Block Inc. ( XYZ ) back in November when I said that I wasn't buying the dip . I was skeptical of their Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) exposure, CashApp's lackluster growth, and their position within the fintech market with all the competition for Square and its adjacent products. But since its bottom earlier this year, Block has recovered, and it warra...
J Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images I last covered Block Inc. ( XYZ ) back in November when I said that I wasn't buying the dip . I was skeptical of their Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) exposure, CashApp's lackluster growth, and their position within the fintech market with all the competition for Square and its adjacent products. But since its bottom earlier this year, Block has recovered, and it warrants reinvestigation after it jumped over 6% following its Q1 earnings call. Data by YCharts Block Q1 Review The headline was mostly positive, the only miss being the GAAP EPS; they beat on non-GAAP, and they beat on revenue by only a modest amount. Seeking Alpha Block has made a point to shareholders that their goal is to maximize gross profits at the end of the day, to churn out as much as possible in that department. It's so important that it's the first slide in their investor presentation . Gross profit was up both QoQ and YoY, mostly carried by the financial solutions category, i.e., Square and Cash App. Due to the lower price of bitcoin and generally lower bitcoin trading activity, the ecosystem actually contracted year over year and majorly contracted quarter over quarter. Block High gross profits are great for something else: EBITDA. Block's adjusted figure looks great in Q1, cresting $1B for the first time and posting a 24% year-over-year growth figure. The problem is that adjusted EBITDA and gross profits tell you nothing about the operating expenses. Q1 saw a sharp loss in net income. Block The reason for the loss will make a lot of sense when I get to the last section of this and talk about Jack Dorsey and AI. Effectively, there was a massive expense made to restructure the company, and it saw 40% of its workforce laid off . Unlike a lot of firms that are using AI as cover for tightening financial conditions, I actually don't believe Dorsey. I think Block is different in this way. Let's go over there and look at the financials, and then we'll circle back to this...
Investors have compelling anecdotal evidence that they should be cautious about the market. The Shiller P/E ratio, an indicator of the market's long-term valuation, is at 41, its highest level since the dot-com bubble. Moreover, Warren Buffett's former company, Berkshire Hathaway , holds almost $397 billion in liquidity, a record level, and more than the nearly $330 billion value of its stock port...
Investors have compelling anecdotal evidence that they should be cautious about the market. The Shiller P/E ratio, an indicator of the market's long-term valuation, is at 41, its highest level since the dot-com bubble. Moreover, Warren Buffett's former company, Berkshire Hathaway , holds almost $397 billion in liquidity, a record level, and more than the nearly $330 billion value of its stock portfolio. That could indicate it is accumulating cash in anticipation of a discounted market. However, investors should note that Berkshire remains heavily invested in stocks, and certainly, some stocks can offer value in the current market, particularly among dividend payers. Knowing that, these three consumer names are probably a good place to invest cash while earning generous dividend payments. Continue reading
Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) has one of the fastest-growing artificial intelligence (AI) businesses on the planet, and as more clients want a piece of its proprietary data analytics platform, growth has been accelerating. The company just reported outstanding first-quarter performance, trouncing Wall Street's expectations, but Palantir stock remained roughly flat after the report, and it's...
Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) has one of the fastest-growing artificial intelligence (AI) businesses on the planet, and as more clients want a piece of its proprietary data analytics platform, growth has been accelerating. The company just reported outstanding first-quarter performance, trouncing Wall Street's expectations, but Palantir stock remained roughly flat after the report, and it's 29% off its all-time high. Let's see what's happening and try to predict where it might be in five years. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Stories filled with tragic bravery, outrage at heedless officials and horror as loved ones perished were among those shared by 24 residents of the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court estate, as they testified at a public hearing investigating Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades. Over multiple sessions that began on March 19, some told the presiding committee how their repeated efforts to raise bid-rigg...
Stories filled with tragic bravery, outrage at heedless officials and horror as loved ones perished were among those shared by 24 residents of the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court estate, as they testified at a public hearing investigating Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades. Over multiple sessions that began on March 19, some told the presiding committee how their repeated efforts to raise bid-rigging and safety concerns about the estate’s exterior renovation fell on deaf ears, well before the...
Ambitious plans are being scaled back – but film and TV industry point to big existing investments in British production Hollywood blockbusters including the eagerly anticipated Beatles biopics and big-budget TV series such as Bridgerton have been keeping the UK’s film and TV studio facilities packed. But as the streaming wars recalibrate having passed “peak TV” , a slowdown in the content arms ra...
Ambitious plans are being scaled back – but film and TV industry point to big existing investments in British production Hollywood blockbusters including the eagerly anticipated Beatles biopics and big-budget TV series such as Bridgerton have been keeping the UK’s film and TV studio facilities packed. But as the streaming wars recalibrate having passed “peak TV” , a slowdown in the content arms race is prompting property developers to switch to building datacentres amid the AI boom. Continue reading...
Women’s sport is in its high-growth phase. With surging salaries and new – or even revived – teams, the league has plenty to reflect on and to look forward to Opening night typically pulses with anticipation rather than gushes with nostalgia, but the New York Liberty wore a “court origins” uniform that alludes to their history as one of the WNBA’s eight founding members when they hosted the Connec...
Women’s sport is in its high-growth phase. With surging salaries and new – or even revived – teams, the league has plenty to reflect on and to look forward to Opening night typically pulses with anticipation rather than gushes with nostalgia, but the New York Liberty wore a “court origins” uniform that alludes to their history as one of the WNBA’s eight founding members when they hosted the Connecticut Sun on Friday. Protracted and pugnacious negotiations between the players’ union and the league threatened to delay or even wreck the new season. But an accord that hands the players significant pay rises means the league has much to look forward to, as well as plenty to reflect on, as it celebrates 30 years. Continue reading...