#BoardOfDirectors Waltz, Inc. Expands Board of Directors with Additions of Transit Titan Jay Walder and Leading… http://bit.ly/2ytTJUj
— Muzaffaruddin Alvi (@Muzaffar1969) October 17, 2017
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Showing posts with label 2017 at 08:22PM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2017 at 08:22PM. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
#BoardOfDirectors Waltz, Inc. Expands Board of Directors with Additions of Transit Titan Jay Walder and Leading… http://bit.ly/2ytTJUj
#BoardOfDirectors Concentric Analgesics Names Thomas B. King to Board of Directors – Business Wire (press relea… http://bit.ly/2x2Ycvy
#BoardOfDirectors Concentric Analgesics Names Thomas B. King to Board of Directors – Business Wire (press relea… http://bit.ly/2x2Ycvy
— Muzaffaruddin Alvi (@Muzaffar1969) October 17, 2017
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#BoardOfDirectors rue21 Forms New Board of Directors, Names Michael Appel Chairman of the Board and Interim CEO… http://bit.ly/2ytTb0H
#BoardOfDirectors rue21 Forms New Board of Directors, Names Michael Appel Chairman of the Board and Interim CEO… http://bit.ly/2ytTb0H
— Muzaffaruddin Alvi (@Muzaffar1969) October 17, 2017
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#BoardOfDirectors TSYS Appoints Two New Members to its Board of Directors – Business Wire (press release) http://bit.ly/2x1y5Ff
#BoardOfDirectors TSYS Appoints Two New Members to its Board of Directors – Business Wire (press release) http://bit.ly/2x1y5Ff
— Muzaffaruddin Alvi (@Muzaffar1969) October 17, 2017
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Sunday, June 11, 2017
Looking for Retail Diamonds in the Rough
Frequently, stock ranking screens are as good at picking out trends as they are at unconvering interesting investment opportunities.
For example, consider our two value-based ranked screens (known as “Spells”): the Magic Recipe Spell and particularly the Deep Value Spell.
Perusing the two lists of around 80 unique stocks, one stark trend jumps out: the sheer number of traditional, “brick-and-mortar” retailers whose stocks now trade at far below-market levels against their trailing 12 month earnings and free cash flows.
A full 20 stocks – about 25% of all the positions – are brick-and-mortar retailers.
This raises 2 questions. One, what is causing this “retail recession” and is it a trend likely to continue, abate, or even accelerate? And two, are any of these stocks “diamonds in the rough” – e.g., are any of these companies likely to survive or even thrive in the conditions leading to these depressed valuations?
What’s the Trend, Friend?
As to what is causing the “retail recession”, the answer is pretty simple to discern.
Retail sales overall are not declining. In fact, overall sales of hard goods in the U.S. grew almost 4% in 2016. So this is not a case of consumers pulling back spending in response to hard times. The market is growing, not declining.
But the market is also changing. And that change is away from physical store shopping and into online shopping.
Consider these facts. In 2007, e-commerce accounted for just over 3% of retail sales in the U.S. Last year, that rose to nearly 10%. E-commerce sales have been increasing at a rate exceeding 15% a year over that decade – with no signs of slowing (2016 came in at 16%).
OK, great. So the trend is towards online sales and away from stores. We can also discern that this is a trend that is likely to continue or even accelerate given the statistical history. That answers our first question. Now, what about the second?
Braving the Amazon
With the problem identified, the next question is: are any of the stocks in our value screens worthy of consideration and likely to survive or even thrive in the move to online retailing?
You might think this could be fairly easy. If we can identify which one of those 20 companies have a strong and growing e-commerce operation in place, we might have found some potential “diamonds in the rough”.
But this question is more complicated than that. Because there is a little more to the problem in the first place.
You see, there is one company that is gobbling up a lot of the growth in e-commerce sales. Yep, you guessed it: it’s Amazon.com (AMZN). Amazon grew retail sales over 30% in 2016 – about double market growth. It now accounts for 43% of U.S. online retail sales, up impressively from an already-dominant 25% in 2012.
This indicates that competing in online retail increasingly means competing with Amazon. So, we not only need to find strong and growing e-commerce businesses, but also ones that either exploit areas Amazon is not strong in, or have some reasonable competitive edge that Amazon cannot match.
Finding the Diamonds in the Rough
Let’s look at those 20 stocks. I’m going to start by quickly identifying the “no-nos”, the companies that don’t appear to even have a decent online strategy to compete with, despite carrying product categories that are moving online. Let’s throw out:
1) Macy’s (M)
2) Kohl’s (KSS)
3) American Eagle Outfitters (AEO)
4) DSW (DSW)
5) Gap (GPS)
6) Dillard’s (DDS)
7) Chico’s FAS (CHS)
8) Michael Kors (KORS)
9) Michael’s (MIK)
10) Sally Beauty (SBH)
11) GameStop (GME)
Great. That’s over half we are able to eliminate. These companies do not report any data about their online operations, which essentially means… they don’t have a very meaningful online operation, or are not focused on it. That is going to make it difficult to compete in this new era of retail.
That leaves a number of cheaply valued retailers that are actively pursuing an online presence as a core business focus. Here they are, along with their most recent quarter growth in online sales, and their percentage of online sales as total:
1) L Brands (LB) – -13% decline, 15% of total
2) Foot Locker (FL) – +12% growth, 14% of total
3) Best Buy (BBY) – +22.5% growth, 13% of total
4) Dicks Sporting Good (DKS) – +11% growth, 9.3% of total
5) Target (TGT) – +22% growth, 4.3% of total
6) Bed Bath and Beyond (BBBY) – “over 20% growth”, % of total not given
7) Urban Outfitters (URBN) – “double digit growth”, % of total not given
I’m going to go ahead and toss out those last two, as a company not willing to publish hard numbers on the size of their online business probably means it isn’t meaningful enough to do so.
That leaves #1-5 (LB, FL, BBY, DKS, TGT). Does that mean these 5 are the “diamonds in the rough” we are looking for?
Perhaps. 3 of these firms – FL, BBY, and DKS – all reported modest same-store sales growth last quarter, which usually lumps in online sales, meaning they continue to grow even in difficult times for retail. Foot Locker and Dick’s both compete against Amazon by having focused product categories from a limited number of suppliers, allowing them to offer greater selection. Best Buy is one that surprises a lot of people – myself included – but their price matching program seems to be the key to their success, eliminating one of the main drivers behind online purchasing of electronics.
As for the other two, the story seems less enticing. Target has no discernible competitive advantages that I can see, with product categories similar to Amazon, earns only 4% of revenues online, and facing strong physical competition as well from Walmart and others. L Brands is more difficult to get a read on. It has a strong consumer brand in Victoria’s Secret, but 30% of the business is in Bath and Body Works, a very competitive online category.
In addition to these, I left out two companies where their store retail operations are a minority part of the business. Both are office supply retailers. Office Depot (ODP) earns slightly over half of revenue from their direct-to-business delivery operations, while for Staples (SPLS) that number is closer to 65%. The direct shipping model is less susceptible to Amazon-like competition (as it is business-to-business focused), so these two stocks might be two to dig deeper into as more “Amazon-proof”.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the shift in retail is clearly moving to online sales, and retailers are going to need a strong online presence to survive. A lot of the retailers in our value screens do not. Not good.
On the other hand, I think that a handful of these – FL, BBY, DKS, ODP, and SPLS – could represent potential bargains at current valuations. These retailers have all shown an ability to operate successfully online, and/or have other competitively advantaged businesses outside of store retail.
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June 11, 2017 at 08:18PM
from
Morning Ethics Warm-Up: 6/11/17
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J
And when it is clear that the news media and the Democrats are coordinating in an “Anti-Trump” party, what is a responsible stance for the Trump Administration regarding news organizations who wave the anti-Trump banner at the expense of fair reporting?
June 11, 2017 at 08:20PM
from Jack Marshall
Sunday, June 4, 2017
Are GCC businesses ready for IFRS? – Zawya
Zawya |
Are GCC businesses ready for IFRS?
Zawya All companies listed in Saudi Arabia will be required to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) starting this year, following the lead taken by the UAE in 2016. Furthermore, starting in 2018, unlisted companies will be required to … |
June 04, 2017 at 08:19PM
from
Monday, May 22, 2017
Feast It lets you book ‘street food’-styled catering for your next corporate or social event
http://ift.tt/2rIxgyX
May 22, 2017 at 08:18PM
from Steve O'Hear
Capitol Hill Update: May 22, 2017
Schedule:
The House and Senate are in session this week.
House:
Let’s start with the American Health Care Act. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) will release the cost-estimate for the House-passed version of the bill on Wednesday afternoon. It was reported last week that the House hasn’t transmitted the American Health Care Act, H.R. 1628, to the Senate. The bill passed the House on Thursday, May 4.
The reason the House hasn’t sent the American Health Care Act to the Senate is because it may fall short of its deficit-reduction target of $2 billion, which was set by S.Con.Res. 3 to begin the reconciliation process. The CBO’s March 23 report estimated $150 billion in savings over ten years. But changes to the bill made before the May 4 vote may require the House to vote on the bill once again to meet its $2 billion deficit reduction target. If it doesn’t meet that target, the bill would violate Senate rules and lose privileged status. House Republican leadership insist, however, that they’re holding the bill out of an abundance of caution until the updated CBO score.
It’ll be a busy week for the House Ways and Means Committee. On Tuesday, the committee will hold its second hearing on tax reform. This hearing, entitled “Increasing U.S Competitiveness and Preventing American Jobs from Moving Overseas,” is expected to touch on parts of the House Republican blueprint, such as creating a territorial tax system and the border adjustment tax. The witness list hasn’t been released. In case you missed it, the first hearing on tax reform is available here. FreedomWorks President Adam Brandon submitted a statement to the committee for the first hearing, which can be found here.
On Wednesday, the committee will hold a hearing on President Donald Trump’s FY 2018 budget proposal. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin will testify before the committee. The President’s budget hasn’t been warmly received on Capitol Hill by either party, making the hearing an opportunity for Secretary Mnuchin to present a public case for the administration’s priorities.
Additionally, the House Budget Committee, on Wednesday, will hear testimony from White House OMB Director Mick Mulvaney on President Trump’s FY 2018 budget. Like Secretary Mnuchin, Director Mulvaney has an opportunity make a case for the budget proposal in an open setting. The committee is expected to begin marking up the FY 2018 budget soon.
The House begins legislative business on Monday, and the theme for the week is, generally speaking, children and juveniles. There are six bills on the suspension calendar on Monday, including the Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act, H.R. 1188, introduced by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and the Targeting Child Predators Act, H.R. 883, introduced by Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.).
The House will consider 12 bills on the suspension calendar on Tuesday, including the Juvenile Justice Reform Act, H.R. 1809, introduced by Rep. Jason Lewis (R-Minn.). This bill reauthorizes the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 and includes provisions to improve the juvenile justice system, such as evidence-based programs that reduce recidivism and phasing out the detention of status offenders. Other bills on the suspension calendar for Tuesday include the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act , H.R. 1329, introduced by Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) and the Put Trafficking Victims First Act, H.R. 2473, introduced by Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.).
There are a couple bills on the suspension calendar for Wednesday. The main bill of the day, however, is the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act, H.R. 953, introduced by Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio). The bill would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and states from requiring permits for the discharge of registered and regulated pesticide under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. The Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act does carve out some exceptions, such as ensuring water quality.
On Thursday, the final day of legislative action before the Memorial Day recess, the House will consider the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse Act, H.R. 1973, introduced by Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) and the Protecting Against Child Exploitation Act, H.R. 1761, introduced by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.). Both bills are subject to a rule to limit or prevent amendments. In many cases, USA Gymnastics failed to notify police of the allegations.
The Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse Act would make it a federal crime for the governing bodies of United States’ Olympic sports to fail to report sexual abuse against a minor. The bill is a response to news reports that 368 young gymnasts accused USA Gymnastics employees, including coaches, of sexual abuse.
The Protecting Against Child Exploitation Act addresses a Fourth District Court of Appeals decision in which judges said that an individual convicted of child sexual assault who had images on his phone lacked the relevant level of intent to commit sexual assault against a minor. The intent standard under the statute in 18 U.S. Code § 2251(a) is “knowingly.” The Protecting Against Child Exploitation Act retains the relevant mens rea standard but closes the loophole, ensuring that an individual who produces is punished.
Senate:
There was some good news out of the Senate last week. The Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, S. 21, introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and the Midnight Rules Relief Act, S. 34, introduced by Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), were moved out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday on party-line votes. Democrats on the committee from states President Trump won in 2016 —
Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) — voted against both bills.
While the REINS Act faces an uphill climb for passage, with so many Senate Democrats willing to deference to the regulatory state, the approval of the bill by the committee is notable. The REINS Act has never made it this far in the Senate. The House passed the version of the bill, H.R. 26, introduced by Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) in January.
On Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), will hold a hearing on President Trump’s FY 2018 budget request and the White House’s tax reform proposal. Secretary Mnuchin will testify. The budget may be part of the agenda, but a release from the committee indicates that tax reform may be the main focus of the hearing.
Also on Thursday, the Senate Budget Committee will hold a hearing featuring testimony from OMB Director Mulvaney on President Trump’s FY 2018 budget request.
The Senate’s business for the week will begin with the confirmation of Gov. Terry Branstad (R-Iowa) to serve as the ambassador to China. Cloture was invoked on Thursday, in a 86 to 12 vote. A handful of subcabinet nominations could see movement this week, as well as an appellate court nominee. Judge Amul Thapar, who currently serves on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, is President Trump’s nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He has already been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee has seven appellate court nominees currently awaiting action.
The Senate is awaiting the CBO report on the American Health Care Act, as well as formal transmission of the bill from the House. It’s hard to guess at the timeline for action on the bill in the upper chamber, but the rumor is that the Senate wants to have the bill back to the House by the end of July, before the August recess.
May 22, 2017 at 08:17PM
from jpye
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Ford to invest $350 million in Livonia transmission plant in Michigan
May 21, 2017 at 08:13PM
from
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
One Stone, No Birds: California Greenhouse Gas Policy
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Capping greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at individual facilities is a bad idea whose time, unfortunately, may have come in California. Unlike a statewide cap or tax on emitting GHGs, facility-specific caps have essentially zero support among environmental economists, as I discussed in a blog in January. Capping GHGs at specific facilities would undermine California’s leadership […]
The post One Stone, No Birds: California Greenhouse Gas Policy appeared first on The Energy Collective.
Click headline for full article
May 16, 2017 at 08:18PM
from Severin Borenstein
Can a California Electric Vehicle Initiative Modeled on the State’s Successful Solar Program Electrify the EV Market?
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California has longstanding vehicle electrification goals in place. The state is actively implementing its ambitious Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate and is hoping to reach Gov. Brown’s goal of 1.5 million ZEVs on the road by 2025. While more Californians are choosing cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles, challenges remain. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) estimates that […]
The post Can a California Electric Vehicle Initiative Modeled on the State’s Successful Solar Program Electrify the EV Market? appeared first on The Energy Collective.
Click headline for full article
May 16, 2017 at 08:18PM
from Advanced Energy Perspectives
Chemed Corporation Holds Annual Meeting of Shareholders; Board Declares Quarterly Dividend
Each of the directors continues from the prior term. Shareholders ratified the continuation of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the Company’s independent accountants for 2017.
May 16, 2017 at 08:11PM
from
A top psychologist says ‘never give up’ is bad commencement speech advice
More than 40% of students on graduation day hear from their commencement speakers to “never give up” on their dreams, according to University of Pennsylvania psychologist Adam Grant.
But as Grant recently said during his own commencement speech at Utah State University, the maxim turns out to be bad advice.
“Sometimes,” he said, “quitting is a virtue.”
Grant, along with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, is the co-author of a new manifesto on grief called “Option B.” The book helps people understand how to build resilience after devastating loss.
As Grant told the USU crowd, that could be the loss of a football game or the loss of a loved one, as was the case with Sandberg, whose husband died unexpectedly a couple years ago.
Part of building resilience is understanding that having grit doesn’t mean committing unconditionally to a goal, Grant says.
“Grit doesn’t mean ‘keep doing the thing that’s failing,'” he explained to the crowd. “It means ‘define your dreams broadly enough that you can find new ways to pursue them when your first and second plans fail.'”
Recent graduates might have a hard time landing a job in the exact field they envisioned for themselves, but they might have an easier time pinning down what fulfills them and casting a wider net to achieve that goal.
In Grant’s case, he never realized his dream of becoming an NBA star, but he did fulfill the dream of becoming a star athlete by reaching the junior Olympic nationals in diving — twice.
“Sometimes resilience comes from gritting your teeth and packing your bags,” he said. “Other times it comes from having the courage to admit your flaws.”
So stay persistent. But the second it turns to mindlessness, be wise and quit.
SEE ALSO: A top psychologist says will power is overrated — here’s how you really build good habits
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: A psychologist reveals a simple exercise that can make you happier
May 16, 2017 at 08:18PM
from Chris Weller
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Protectionism can blunt US firms’ efficiency, says Arun Jaitley
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The Finance Minister said trade is going to find ways and means either by way of multilateral, unilateral or bilateral arrangements.
May 06, 2017 at 08:20PM
from
Friday, May 5, 2017
Surreal photos of China’s failed ‘city of the future’
The once flush-with-cash town of Ordos, China, has been called the world’s largest ghost town.
In the early 2000s, a coal-mining boom led local government to throw money at urban development there, in the hopes of creating a new epicenter of culture, economy, and politics.
Ordos New Town, also known as Kangbashi, would hold 1 million residents and be known for its massive abstract architecture projects, residential towers, and state-of-the-art sports venues. (Developers later scaled back the concept-city to accommodate 300,000 residents.)
But high property taxes and poor construction deterred people from settling in Ordos. In 2016, some 100,000 people lived and worked there — leaving the city two-thirds empty.
“The whole city feels like a post-apocalyptic space station straight out of a science fiction movie,” says photographer Raphael Olivier, who captured the city in a series titled, “Ordos – A Failed Utopia.”
Olivier shared some of his spectacular images with us. You can check out more on his website.
SEE ALSO: These 7 charts show what life will be like in the year 2300
Located in the remote province of Inner Mongolia, Ordos sits on one-sixth of China’s coal reserves — making it an attractive center for development.
Source: The Huffington Post
In the late ’90s and early 2000s, private mining companies got the rights to dig into those deposits. The influx of new business generated lots of tax revenue.
Source: The New York Times
“The local government decided to build this overly ambitious city from scratch,” Olivier tells Business Insider. In 2005, it began investing hundreds of millions into real estate and infrastructure.
Source: The Huffington Post
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
May 05, 2017 at 08:18PM
from Melia Robinson
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