With much of America -- and the world -- working and studying from home under quarantine in the first half of 2020, there's been a boom in demand for semiconductors to power individual notebook PCs, and also the server farms that make possible those PCs' connection to the internet. It's primarily for this reason that 5-star Nomura analyst David Wong recommended investors focus on semiconductor makers winning in business notebooks and "data centers" -- with success in game consoles and automotive computers being of only secondary concern.Which stocks does Wong recommend most strongly? Chip giants Intel (INTC) and AMD (AMD). In contrast, the analyst suggests investors "reduce" their exposure to NVIDIA (NVDA). As Wong explains, semiconductor sales within Intel's data center business grew 43% year over year in Q1 2020 -- and AMD enjoyed 50% sales growth. Believe it or not, NVIDIA actually grew faster than either of its rivals, with...
(Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. President Brad Smith said it’s time for antitrust regulators in the U.S. and Europe to discuss tactics that app stores use to take advantage of those who want to distribute their software.Smith was referring to Apple Inc.’s App Store, a Microsoft spokesperson said, though he didn’t specify the iPhone maker in his remarks. European antitrust regulators on Tuesday opened an investigation into Apple’s policies, saying developers may be forced unfairly to provide a share of app store revenue to the company.Some app stores create a far higher barrier to fair competition and access than Microsoft’s Windows did when it was found guilty of antitrust violations 20 years ago, Smith said Thursday at an event hosted by Politico.“They impose requirements that increasingly say there is only one way to get on to our platform and that is to go through the gate that we ourselves have created,” Smith...
(Bloomberg) -- Hertz Global Holdings Inc. called off efforts to raise cash by selling potentially worthless stock after U.S. regulators questioned its highly unusual approach to paying off creditors.The bankrupt car renter’s board decided it was in the company’s best interests to terminate the offering, according to a Thursday regulatory filing. Hertz said on Wednesday that the stock sale had been suspended while it dealt with issues brought up by Securities and Exchange Commission officials.“There is a reason this hasn’t been done before,” said attorney Thomas J. Salerno, who represented owners of the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team when the NHL property was sold in bankruptcy. “How can you take sell stock and then take the position later that you can’t pay all your creditors? It’s either fraud in plain sight, or an admission that the company isn’t really insolvent.”Hertz now will look for other sources of funding, said people familiar with...
(Bloomberg) -- Oil continued its comeback, buoyed by signs of increasing demand as cities emerge from lockdown. But fears of a second wave of the virus, combined with record-high stockpiles in the U.S., are limiting the rally.Top trading houses Vitol SA and Trafigura Group said global oil demand is recovering rapidly from its historic nadir. They cautioned, however, that a renewed outbreak of the coronavirus is clouding the long-term outlook. In the U.S., consumption is improving, but rising cases of Covid-19 in Texas and elsewhere has raised the possibility of lockdowns resuming. And a stubborn supply glut has further capped gains, with higher prices prompting some shale producers to restart wells just weeks after shutting them.To sustain the rebound, shale companies should avoid investing in new drilling, said Stewart Glickman, an energy analyst at CFRA Research. “That will help on the supply side from the U.S.,” he said. “The best way...
Yahoo Finance's Jared Blikre joins Myles Udland to break down the day's price action in stocks as well as a long in Intel (INTC), a Yahoo Finance Premium Investment Idea....
As markets begin to regain confidence, some companies that have taken some lumps from the coronavirus have started to recover. Managing Partner at Polaris Greystone Financial Group Jeff Powell joins The Final Round panel to break down why investors should shift to value stocks and move away from growth stocks
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Investment firm B. Riley FBR has been looking at dividend yields, and is telling investors that now is the time to buy in. The reason is simple: even after the market rally that began on March 23, many equities remain affordable.It may also be something of an artificial situation. The coronavirus crisis pushed economies into a freefall, and markets followed suit. The result was depressed stock prices and inflated dividend yields. We’re well past the market bottom, but how far from the top remains uncertain. And this is where B. Riley FBR is finding both high dividend yields and buying propositions.We’ve used the TipRanks database to pull up the data on three of the firm’s recent recommendations. They are low-cost dividend plays that are yielding 9% or better.Nordic American Tanker (NAT)We start in the oil business, specifically, oil tankers. Petroleum and its by-products provide the motive power of the modern economy, and remain...
