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Earth Is About To Enter A 30-Year ‘Mini Ice Age’ As A ‘Solar Minimum’ Grips The Planet

Earth is bracing for a solar minimum: a dormant period in which the Sun radiates less energy or heat at our planet than usual. Scientists have warned that as a result of the Sun’s inactivity, Earth is likely to witness a ‘mini ice age’ that could bring extreme winters and chilly cold storms over the next 30 years.

According to NASA, the Sun will reach its lowest activity in over 200 years in 2020. As it further goes into its natural hibernation phase, Earth will experience extremely cold spells which will trigger food shortages across the planet. The average temperatures could drop as much as one degree Celsius in a period lasting about 12 months. That might not sound a lot but a whole degree fall would have a significant impact on global average temperatures.

Solar minimums are part of the Sun’s natural life cycle and occur once every 11 years. However, 2020’s minimum is going to be a special case. That’s because it marks the start of a rare event known as a Grand Solar Minimum, in which energy emitted from the Sun plummets down even more than usual. These only occur once every 400 years or so.

As per Northumbria University expert Valentina Zharkova, the icy spells and wet summers could be around until 2053, when solar activity picks up again. She told The Sun that the onset of the Grand Solar Minimum is already evident in Canada and Iceland, “We will possibly get big frosts as is happening now in Canada where they see [temperatures] of -50 degree Celsuis.”

The last Grand Solar Minimum, according to the report, was the Maunder Minimum which lasted from 1645 to 1715. The cruel cold decades saw the Thames and Amsterdam canals to freeze from time to time, something which is quite unusual today. This cold spell was likely set off by a number of factors including a slew of massive volcanic eruptions. In the forthcoming GSM, scientists are expecting a shift in the global temperatures caused due to human activity like rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

News Team by — February 05, 2020 By News Team in Global News
Macy’s to close 125 stores, cut 2,000 corporate jobs, in hunt for growth

Stuck in a sales slump, Macy’s is shrinking to grow.

The department store chain announced Tuesday it plans to shut 125 stores over the next three years and slash about 2,000 corporate jobs, as it closes its Cincinnati headquarters and tech offices in San Francisco.

Macy’s said it plans to exit weaker shopping malls, and instead shift its focus toward opening smaller-format stores in strip centers. Macy’s has shuttered more than 100 stores since 2015.

Still, looking ahead three years from now, even with these changes, growth at Macy’s looks abysmal.

With a smaller base of stores, Macy’s said net sales in fiscal 2022 are expected to be within a range of $23.2 billion to $23.9 billion, while earnings per share, on an adjusted basis, will be between $2.50 and $3.00. Same-store sales, on an owned plus licensed basis, are forecast to be down 1% to flat.

“We are taking the organization through significant structural change to lower costs, bring teams closer together and reduce duplicative work,” CEO Jeff Gennette said in a statement. “The changes we are making are deep and impact every area of the business, but they are necessary. I know we will come out of this transition stronger, more agile and better fit to compete in today’s retail environment.”

Macy’s shares were recently down less than 1% in extended trading, after initially jumping more than 3% on the news. Over the past five years, Macy’s stock has lost well over half its value, and its market value has tumbled to $5.1 billion.

Meanwhile, other retailers, which have focused on value and have provided fast online delivery have grown. Walmart’s stock is up nearly 22% over the past year, while Amazon’s market cap topped $1 trillion Tuesday.

Macy’s planned closures and job cuts come ahead of a meeting with investors in New York on Wednesday, where it is expected to walk through its fresh multiyear plan.

The company has lost market share in core categories like apparel, and its profits have been pressured, as fewer shoppers take trips to malls, and instead are buying on Amazon and other online retailers.

The steps Macy’s is taking are expected to generate annual gross savings of about $1.5 billion, which will be fully realized by the end of 2022. This year, Macy’s expects to save roughly $600 million.

While the company plans to reinvest its savings back into its business, some of the cost cuts will flow to the bottom line this year in order to stabilize its operating margin.

Macy’s said its focus will be on growing its off-price business, known as Backstage, expanding outside of the mall and improving its online business.

Earlier Tuesday, Macy’s had confirmed with CNBC that it was closing its tech offices in San Francisco, consolidating these operations in New York and Atlanta.

As it also shuts its headquarters in downtown Cincinnati, and an office in Lorain, Ohio, the company said New York will become its sole corporate headquarters. It also is closing its Tempe, Arizona, customer contact center.

Macy’s said the 125 stores now planned for closure, which include the roughly 30 it already announced, account for roughly $1.4 billion in annual sales.

Meantime, Macy’s said it is planning to open an additional 50 Backstage stores within its existing department stores, along with seven freestanding Backstage locations, in 2020.

The roughly 2,000 jobs being cut represent about 9% of its corporate workforce, Macy’s said.

Macy’s said it expects the total costs related to these changes to amount to between $450 million and $490 million, the majority of which will be recorded in 2019.

‘A transition year’

Macy’s is calling 2020 a “transition year” and says it expects same-store sales to be negative, “due to the trajectory of the business over the past six months.”

Macy’s said Tuesday it expects revenues in fiscal 2020 to fall because of store closures. It is calling for net sales to be within a range of $23.6 billion to $23.9 billion, with same-store sales, on an owned plus licensed basis, dropping 1.5% to 2.5%. Analysts had been calling for net sales of $24.36 billion, according to a poll by Refinitiv.

While it hasn’t yet reported fourth-quarter and full-year earnings for 2019, Macy’s shared preliminary results ahead of its investor meeting.

Net sales for the fourth quarter, which includes the latest holiday season, are expected to be $8.3 billion, while net sales for fiscal 2019 are expected to be $24.5 billion, Macy’s said. It added it anticipates full-year earnings per share to be near the high-end of a prior outlook, of $2.57 to $2.77.

CH 20200203_macys_same_store_sales_through_q3_19.png

Same-store sales, on an owned plus licensed basis, are expected to drop 0.5% during the fourth quarter, and drop 0.7% for fiscal 2019, Macy’s said.

Macy’s is set to report fourth-quarter and full-year sales and earnings on Feb. 25.

“We will focus our resources on the healthy parts of our business, directly address the unhealthy parts of the business and explore new revenue streams,” Gennette said. “Over the past three years, we have shown we can grow the top-line; however, we have significant work to do to improve the bottom-line.”

News Team by — February 05, 2020 By News Team in Global News
It’s Okay To Completely Ignore Tesla’s Insane Stock Surge

There’s a scene in the 1994 screwball comedy Dumb And Dumber that can be converted into pretty bulletproof financial advice.

Stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels are on a cross-country journey in a fur-clad van designed to resemble a shaggy dog when they get into an argument. Carrey, to drown out Daniels, proceeds to stick his index fingers into his ears and shout, “La! La! La! La! La! La! . . . ”

It’s one of the most GIF-able moments of Carrey’s career, and in times when ultra-speculative assets are inexplicably soaring, the scene seconds as a financial approach that can save you money and is likely being deployed by the world’s greatest investors, like Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger.

You have the right and freedom as an investor to do exactly as Carrey does in Dumb And Dumber. You can stick your fingers in your ears, scream loud noises and attempt to ignore the hysteria. You won’t go broke by doing so, and your portfolio of investments won’t unravel before your feet as you miss out. In fact, odds are you likely will be far better off doing so than if you were to pay close attention to the theatrics.

In recent years, speculative surges in Bitcoin, pot stocks, fake meat stocks, blockchain penny stocks and, most recently, electric car company Tesla, have captivated investors. Some likely made good money in these surges, many others may have hurt their portfolios by buying at the height of the mania. On the other side, those betting against these speculative assets might have lost their shirts, or held on long enough to earn some profits, but it’s about as risky a way there is to try and make money.

On October 16, 2019, Tesla, led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, was a super innovative electric car company possessing a murky financial picture and legitimate questions about its leadership and production capabilities, and it owned a speculative $50 billion valuation on public markets. When Tesla opened trading on Tuesday morning, it was still a super innovative electric car company possessing a murky financial picture and the same questions into its business model, but this time it carried a $160 billion-plus market value, far more than the entire U.S. automotive industry combined.

In the interim ten weeks, a frenzy has taken hold and accelerated in 2020 as the company’s shares more than doubled in just over a month. You, as an investor, have a few options here if you don’t already own Tesla. You can try to join the mania and see if Tesla will rise further. You can try to short Tesla. Or you can perch on the edge of your seat watching financial television and every tick of Tesla’s volatile stock, shifting between pangs of “FOMO” and Schadenfreude, depending on where the stock heads. Or you can just ignore the whole ordeal and move on to other things.

I’d recommend the latter.

It is true, you will miss out if Tesla again doubles in February, or if it eventually rises to, say, $6,000 a share, as some large Tesla investors expect. That seems unlikely, given Tesla produced just 367,500 cars last year, generated a net loss, but did report positive cash flow to investors. A few good things have happened to Tesla over the last 16-months. In late 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission offered a soft resolution to a market manipulation probe against Elon Musk, which allowed him to keep his job with the company. Tesla began to build impressive production facilities in China. Some of the bottlenecks that had plagued its Model 3 rollout were fixed, causing its car production to surge 50% during the year. Even better, investor fears over the company’s cash balances seem to have abated after a mid-year capital raise.

But even if Tesla does continue to gain momentum as a business and see its stock soar, nothing bad will happen to you if you miss out.

Your investment money is likely held in a stock market index fund, or some blend of stocks and bonds. That’s done just fine even if your portfolio doesn’t own any Tesla. And, over the long term, it’s likely your portfolio will continue to do just fine, regardless of what happens to Tesla.

The S&P 500—which is the index that is tracked by trillions of dollars in American retirement assets (and likely your own portfolio)—rose nearly 30% in 2019. For older savers, or those who take a more conservative approach, balanced funds that blend stocks and bonds in a somewhat defensive manner returned about 20%. Over the past decade, the S&P 500 has returned 14%-plus, according to FactSet data. Go back 15 years to capture the highs and lows of the financial crisis era and the S&P 500 has returned 9%-plus, in line with the market’s 10% average annual return over the past century.

Unlike Tesla, the market isn’t in the grips of a speculative surge. Even after trillions of dollars have been made by retirement accounts tracking the S&P 500 during this long bull market, valuations aren’t anywhere near Tesla’s over 150 times price-to-free-cash-flow ratio.

As of Monday, the S&P 500 was trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 18.3 times, according to data provider Refinitiv. That multiple, while expensive, is within the realm of long-run averages and is tracking alongside soaring corporate profits, particularly among large-cap technology stocks like Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft, which are heavily weighted in the S&P 500. Better yet, if Tesla does turn into a consistently profitable and well-governed corporate giant, it will be added to the S&P 500 and to your retirement portfolio. You could miss out on some of the gains, but at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter.

A few years ago, at Forbes’ 100th birthday party, Warren Buffett articulated this point by offering an uncharacteristically striking stock market prediction. He predicted the Dow would exceed 1,000,000 by the time 2117 rolls around and Forbes turns 200 years old. It was a conservative forecast, which assumed a sub 5% annualized return over the ensuing century, about half of long-run averages. But it was part of a broader point Buffett has been trying to hammer home in recent years.

Investors can miss out on hot stocks, calling market bottoms or exiting at market tops, and odds are they will still do well. What’s more important than timing these market highs and lows, or correctly trading the next mania, is simply maintaining a long-term investment. The market will do the work for you. Put another way, though today’s hot stock may offer alluring short-term gains, the market’s return over time is sufficient for the average investor.

When Bitcoin surged to about $20,000 per coin, I recommended the very same response as in this column. Since then, Bitcoin’s fallen. It first fell sharply, but then recovered somewhat. Many people lost money. That was my hunch amid the frenzy, but no one can really predict these things, especially not me.

Even if Bitcoin had continued to soar, the S&P 500 did just fine, and you did just fine simply sticking with your existing financial plan. That was a piece of advice that had extremely high odds of working out in the end. Afterwards, Bitcoin speculators moved on to pot stocks like Tilray, which soared, then plunged. More often than not, these frenzies prove to be disappointing. Savings are drained. People get hurt.

Thankfully, the best option is also the easiest one to take. Just ignore it.

News Team by — February 05, 2020 By News Team in Markets
‘Parentese’ helps parents, babies make ‘conversation’ and boosts language development

Used in virtually all of the world’s languages, parentese is a speaking style that draws baby’s attention. Parents adopt its simple grammar and words, plus its exaggerated sounds, almost without thinking about it.

But if parents knew the way they speak could help baby learn, would they alter their speech?

A new study from the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, or I-LABS, at the University of Washington suggests they would, to baby’s benefit. Researchers examined how parent coaching about the value of parentese affected adults’ use of it with their own infants, and demonstrated that increases in the use of parentese enhanced children’s later language skills.

The study, published online Feb. 3 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that parents who participated in individual coaching sessions used parentese more often than control-group parents who were not coached, and that coaching produced more parent-child “conversational turns” and increased the child’s language skills months later.

“We’ve known for some time that the use of parentese is associated with improved language outcomes,” said Patricia Kuhl, I-LABS co-director and professor of speech and hearing sciences at the UW. “But we didn’t know why. We believe parentese makes language learning easier because of its simpler linguistic structure and exaggerated sounds. But this new work suggests a more fundamental reason.

“We now think parentese works because it’s a social hook for the baby brain — its high pitch and slower tempo are socially engaging and invite the baby to respond.”

Parentese is not what is often called “baby talk,” which is generally a mash-up of silly sounds and nonsense words. Instead, it is fully grammatical speech that involves real words, elongated vowels and exaggerated tones of voice. Spoken directly to the child, it sounds happy and engaged, and helps infants tune in socially to their parents and respond, even if only through babbling.

In a 2018 study, I-LABS researchers tracked use of parentese among adults and their 6-month-old infants, and found that babies whose parents participated in parentese coaching sessions babbled more and produced more words by age 14 months than infants whose parents were not directed in the technique.

The new study focuses on the long-term outcomes of parent coaching and how it led to changes in the parents’ language, in parent-child conversation, and eventually, in the child’s speech at 18 months.

“We had no idea that parents would respond so positively to information about how their own speech to the child affects the child’s language development. Parent coaching gave parents a measurement tool, almost like a Fitbit for parentese, and it worked,” said lead author Naja Ferjan Ramírez, a UW assistant professor of linguistics.

To assess child language output, all families in the study were given a lightweight recorder, which the child wore in a specially designed vest during four separate weekends at ages 6, 10, 14 and 18 months. The device recorded both parent and infant speech over the entirety of two consecutive days, so that researchers could measure parents’ use of parentese, parent-child conversational turns, as well as infant language production — either babbling or actual words. Parent coaching sessions occurred at 6, 10 and 14 months.

For the 48 families randomly assigned to receive coaching, the sessions provided guidance and feedback on specific communication strategies, such as using parentese, speaking directly to the child and engaging the child in back-and-forth exchanges known as conversational turns. In reviewing recordings with parents, researchers played back recordings of parents’ language behaviors and measured them against research-based targets for child language development. Parents were encouraged to include language as part of daily routines and were given language-interaction tips in the form of cards with “brain building” tips from Vroom, a program of the Bezos Family Foundation.

All parents in the study already used parentese at the beginning of the project, but their use varied greatly, the researchers said. Those in the coaching group learned more about the cognitive and social benefits of parentese, when and how to use it to promote interaction with their child, and the positive effects that parentese could have on their child’s language development.

The results show that parent coaching resulted in an increased use of parentese and infant vocalizations that continued to grow after the end of the parent coaching sessions. Between 14- and 18-months, coached families showed a drastic jump in conversational turn-taking and child vocalizations. Children of coached parents produced real words — such as “banana” or “milk” — at almost twice the frequency of children whose parents were in the control group. Parent surveys estimated that the children’s 18-month vocabulary averaged around 100 words among children of coached families, compared to 60 words among children in the control group.

“We know that language skills in infancy predict subsequent stages in language development, so enhancements in language behaviors in infancy could therefore have cascading effects on speech development over time,” said Ferjan Ramírez.

Kuhl added, “Language evolved to facilitate the social communication skills that are essential for survival of the species. In this study, we observe firsthand how parents’ language and social engagement can promote baby’s initial responsive coos, which become words, and then sentences — educating infants in the art of human communication.”

The study was funded by the Overdeck Family Foundation and UW I-LABS Ready Mind Project. Sarah Roseberry Lytle, outreach and education director at I-LABS, was a co-author.

News Team by — February 04, 2020 By News Team in Global News
3 Top Stocks That Will Make You Richer in February (and Beyond)

It may be a new year, but the stock market continues to do much of what it did last year – namely, head higher. Through this past Wednesday, Jan. 29, the benchmark S&P 500 was up 1.3% on a year-to-date basis, adding to its impressive gains of 29% in 2019 (not including dividends).

Such robust gains in the market might entice some investors to head to the sidelines. After all, the historic average annual return of stock market, including dividends, is only about 7% per year. But stepping to the sidelines now could cause you to miss out on a number of incredible deals.

Below, you’ll find three top stocks that should not only make you richer in February, but could also remain core holdings for years (or decades) to come.

Livongo Health

Easily one of the most exciting opportunities in the healthcare space is Livongo Health (NASDAQ:LVGO). With its stock down about 1% since the year began, the opportunity to buy into this data-driven healthcare solutions provider hasn’t passed retail investors by.

What specifically attracts me to Livongo Health is its core market of customers, as well as the way it differentiates itself from similar players.

Livongo’s core market is to help patients with diabetes and prediabetes better manage their health. As of 2015, there were more than 30 million people in the U.S. living with diabetes, and another 84 million who were considered prediabetic and on their way to being diagnosed with diabetes without lifestyle changes. Considering that 1.5 million adults alone were diagnosed with diabetes in 2015, it’s pretty easy to imagine this potential pool of patients growing, not shrinking, over time.

What Livongo brings to the table is its unique ecosystem of interconnected products that provides patients with hints and reminders that will incite behavioral changes. With diabetics often being their own worst enemy, Livongo combats this to help patients improve their testing regimens, insulin injection habits, and eating habits.

How’s it working, you ask? Over the past year, the company’s member count more than doubled to nearly 208,000, with sales rocketing higher by 148% in the most recent quarter. Given that Livongo is still in the process of building its customer base, it’s not profitable yet. However, it is worth noting that the company’s net loss since going public in July has been narrower than expected in both quarters. Investors in Livongo should expect exceptional growth and innovation for the foreseeable future.\

Pinterest

Despite having risen by 20% since the year began, social sharing website Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) looks to be just getting started.

For one, social media users seem to agree that Pinterest is gaining in popularity. According to a recent eMarketer report, Pinterest has now passed Snap‘s Snapchat to become the third-largest social media platform in the United States. This comes after Pinterest reported 87 million domestic monthly active users (MAUs) at end of September.

Although domestic users generate far more revenue for the company (right now) than international users, Pinterest is really a story about international sales growth. Management has made a concerted effort to push into foreign markets, and it’s certainly begun paying off in terms of MAUs and advertisers angling for those eyeballs. International MAUs increased grew by 38% in the fiscal third quarter to 235 million (that’s 73% of Pinterest’s user base), with average revenue per user (ARPU) more than doubling to $0.13. 

I’m aware that probably doesn’t sound like much, but there’s plenty of room for improvement, especially with Facebook generating $6.09 in ARPU outside of North America during the third quarter. Yes, Facebook has eight times as many MAUs, but Pinterest’s MAUs are heading in the right direction, which should lead to improving ad-pricing power. 

Best of all, 2020 should be the year that Pinterest pivots from losses to recurring profitability. Though this move could be a bit bumpy, especially with the company leaning on international growth, Wall Street is forecasting a more-than-doubling in sales (from 2019) and $0.56 in full-year per-share profits by 2022. That makes Pinterest quite the bargain.

Amazon

Sure, everyone knows about Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN). But they also know about Apple, and that didn’t stop the tech giant from more than doubling its valuation over the past 13 months. Investors looking for top stocks that will make them richer could do a lot worse than Amazon this month (and beyond).

Amazon has a lot of ways to generate sales and keep consumers within its ecosystem. Most people are probably familiar with its e-commerce site and its Prime membership, which gives buyers access to faster shipping, as well as offers members exclusive streaming content. With minimal overhead, Amazon has been able to use its size to undercut traditional brick-and-mortar stores on price, ultimately earning a larger percentage of retail revenue in the United States. According to eMarketer in June 2019, Amazon was forecast to be responsible for 38% of all U.S. e-commerce sales.

But what you may not realize is that Amazon’s leading sales segment isn’t its most important. Rather, Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company’s cloud services division, is by far its key operating segment. AWS offers considerably higher margins, and it’s growing much faster than traditional e-commerce. In other words, as AWS becomes a higher percentage of total sales, Amazon will see its cash flow generation and margins rise at a faster pace.

Another thing investors should realize here is that Amazon isn’t nearly as pricey as some would suggest. Despite being valued at nearly 70 times next year’s earnings, the company is only valued at 20 times Wall Street’s 2020 cash flow forecast, and just over 11 times the Street’s 2022 cash flow projection. Over the past five years, Amazon has been valued at closer to 30 times its cash flow. By all accounts, Amazon is cheaper than it’s ever been, and AWS’s growth is only further solidifying that thesis.

News Team by — February 04, 2020 By News Team in Markets
3 Monster Growth Stocks That Offer Some Serious Upside Potential

Market investing is all about growth – finding growth-oriented stocks, and growing the initial investment. The key, of course, is identifying the stocks that are going to climb higher. While past performance is no guarantee of future returns – an old cliché of investing – it’s natural to look at how stocks have performed before you put your money down.

We’ve used TipRanks’ Stock Screener to home in on three growth stocks – names that exceeded 90% growth in 2019, and that show an upside potential of 20% or more in the coming months. These are companies that outperformed the broader markets, and are considered likely to continue outperforming. In short, this is where to go to watch your investments grow.

Target Corporation (TGT)

We’ll start with an established name in retail, Target. To put it simply, this company performed quite spectacularly in 2019, gaining 98% over the course of the year. For comparison, the S&P 500 grew by 29%, and Target’s chief competitors, Walmart and Costco, rose by 20% and 58%, respectively.

The outperformance was clear from the quarterly reports, too. Target met or exceeded expectations in the first three quarters of the year, with Q3 showing a 15% earnings beat. The outlook for Q4 is also upbeat, with management predicting that full year same-store sales will increase by over 3%.

All the news isn’t rosy, however, as the holiday season was weaker than hoped. TGT shares have slipped 14% so far in January, as the Christmas shopping results have come in. Wall Street, however, views this as an opportunity – TGT is still considered a strong growth name, and the pullback makes the stock a better bargain.

This point of view was set out by 5-star analyst Christopher Horvers, of J.P. Morgan, in a recent note on TGT. He said that the decline in share price “due to disappointing holiday comps represents a key buying opportunity. The stock offers the best near- and medium-term risk-reward in the [retail] space…”

With this in mind, Horvers raised his price target to $144, a 44% boost, to back up his Buy rating. At its new level, his price target implies a possible upside of 30% to TGT.

Overall, Target stock has a Moderate Buy from the analyst consensus, based on 14 Buy ratings and 7 Holds. Shares are selling for $110.74, and the $138.22 average price target suggests an upside potential of 25% to the stock.

New Oriental Education & Technology Group, Inc. (EDU)

There is a strong industry of private educational and tutoring companies in China. With a market cap of $19 billion, New Oriental is one of the largest such companies, offering services in foreign language training, assessment test and college prep courses, and tutoring for primary and secondary level students. In addition, the company develops and distributes educational software as well as other technology.

Of the stocks on this list, EDU showed the highest 2019 growth rate – a whopping 121%. Not to mention recent quarterly numbers show that the company is still on an upward trajectory. In January, EDU reported results for fiscal Q2. EPS, at 36 cents, was 57% higher than anticipated, but even better, was up 147% year-over-year. Revenues, at $785.2 million, were up 32% year-over-year. Altogether, it was a superb performance, driven by large gains in enrollment.

Nomura analyst Jessie Xu sees a big year ahead for EDU. He writes, “We expect total revenue to increase by 26% y-y in FY20F, primarily driven by the strong revenue growth in K12 business (50%-plus year-over-year). This should be well supported by the K12 enrollment momentum (50%-plus year-over-year), in our view. We forecast U-Can and POP Kids enrollment to grow by 44% and 57% year-over-year in FY20F…”

Xu gives the stock a Buy rating with a new $158 price target, up from $135, indicating confidence in a 30% upside.

EDU gets a unanimous Strong Buy from the analyst consensus, with 4 recent Buy ratings. The $155.99 average price target suggests an upside potential of 28% from the current $121.55 trading price.

Constellium SE (CSTM)

Heavy industry sometimes gets dismissed in the information economy, but it can’t be forgotten. After all, raw materials must be acquired, and infrastructure must be built. Paris-based Constellium inhabits the industrial world, as a producer and provider of aluminum products to the aerospace, automotive, defense, industrial, packaging, and transportation sectors. The company is a leader in the development of advanced aluminum alloys, and its clients include Airbus, Audi, BMW, Boeing, and Ford.

Constellium saw over 5.7 billion Euros in revenue in fiscal 2018, while in 2019, the company saw its stock price grow by an impressive 91%. CSTM is expected to report Q4 earnings on March 11, and the consensus is for strong sequential growth – EPS of 6 cents, on sales of $1.4 billion. This will be a tonic for the company after a disappointing Q3.

Looking ahead at the coming year, Northland’s Gus Richard is bullish on CSTM. The 5-star analyst writes, “We see higher demand for Constellium’s aluminum products given shifts in beverage packaging and auto markets and also sees an opportunity for price increases as demand increases…”

In line with his optimism, Richard opened coverage of the stock at a Buy rating, with a price target of $19, suggesting an upside potential of 67%.

Richard’s review is the most recent on CSTM, making the consensus rating a Moderate Buy. The company shows a strong upside potential, and shares are currently a bargain at $11.36.

News Team by — February 04, 2020 By News Team in Markets
Scientists fear the ‘doomsday glacier’ is in even more trouble than we feared

A study by British and American scientists revealed that a massive sheet of ice known as the “doomsday glacier” is melting faster than experts previously believed—edging the world closer to a possible sea-level rise of more than 10 feet.

Researchers at New York University and the British Antarctic Survey drilled through nearly 2,000 feet of ice in the Thwaites glacier in West Antarctica, to measure temperatures at the 75-mile wide ice sheet’s “grounding line,” where the ice meets the ocean.

The water just beneath the ice was found to be 32º Fahrenheit—more than 2º above freezing temperature in the Antarctic region.

The findings have “huge implications for global sea level rise,” NYU scientist David Holland said in a statement.

350.org co-founder and author Bill McKibben was among the climate action campaigners who expressed alarm over the new study.

“Oh, damn,” McKibben wrote on social media.

The researchers expressed concern that the water beneath the glacier could be even warmer in other areas.

Scientists refer to Thwaites as the “doomsday glacier” due to the dire implications its rapid melting could have for the planet. Though a 10-foot sea-level rise would likely take years, the melting of the glacier could eventually mean the U.S. would lose 28,800 square miles of coastal land—pushing 12.3 million people currently living in those areas out of their homes.

“Warm waters in this part of the world, as remote as they may seem, should serve as a warning to all of us about the potential dire changes to the planet brought about by climate change,” Holland said.

The Thwaites glacier has lost 600 billion tons of ice over the past several decades, accelerating to as many as 50 billion tons per year in recent years.

“There is very warm water there, and clearly, it could not have been there forever, or the glacier could not be there,” Holland told the Washington Post of the recent findings, suggesting the water has gotten warmer recently.

Scientists are especially concerned about the Thwaites because its configuration is an example of “marine ice sheet instability.”

As Chris Mooney wrote at the Post:

Thwaites gets deeper and thicker from its oceanfront region back into its interior in the heart of West Antarctica. This is known to be an unstable configuration for a glacier, because as the ocean continues to eat away at its base, the glacier becomes thicker, so more ice is exposed to the ocean. In turn, that ice flows outward faster.

BBC released a short video detailing the scientists’ journey to the Thwaites glacier and their findings.

“The ice rises almost a mile from the sea bed and it’s collapsing into the sea at two miles a year,” the narration explains. “If Thwaites melts, it will increase sea levels worldwide by half a meter. But it sits in the middle of the Antarctic ice sheet and there’s three meters more of sea level rise locked up in there.”

“That is really, really bad,” Holland told the Post of the most recent discovery. “That’s not a sustainable situation for that glacier.”

News Team by — February 03, 2020 By News Team in Global News
Ryanair says MAX woes could delay growth plans by up to two years

Ryanair (RYA.I) may have to push back its long-term target of flying 200 million passengers per year by as much as two years due to delays in the delivery of Boeing’s (BA.N) 737 MAX jet, Europe’s largest low-cost carrier said on Monday.

Ryanair, one of the biggest customers of the grounded jet, with 210 on order, hopes to have its first 55 jets flying by summer 2021, a year later than originally planned, with 50 more planes per year due for each of the following three summers.

But Chief Executive Michael O’Leary suggested Boeing’s delivery schedule could ultimately be up to two years late – meaning it may hit its long-term 200 million passenger target by March 2026 rather than March 2024.

“What is likely is they will push out that delivery profile with Boeing by at least 12 months,” O’Leary said in a pre-recorded video presentation in which he was asked about the impact of Boeing’s decision to temporarily halt the production of the MAX.

“At best that means we will have to roll forward our plans to fly 200 million passengers per year … by at least 12 months, possibly 24,” he said.

Chief Financial Officer Neil Sorahan, asked by Reuters if there was any risk to its plans to take delivery of 55 planes by next summer, said: “I don’t believe so, but we have been disappointed before.”

Boeing in January said it did not expect the MAX, which was grounded after two fatal crashes, to return to service until mid-2020.

Ryanair, which does not take deliveries during its summer peak of June-August, said on Monday it did not expect to receive the first MAX jets until September or October 2020.

It will take a maximum of eight planes per month, or around 50 deliveries per year, O’Leary said.

The 737 MAX, Boeing’s fastest-selling aircraft, was grounded in March after 346 people died in two crashes attributed to the plane’s anti-stall software.

The executives were speaking after Ryanair reported profit after tax of 88 million euros ($97.63 million) for the three months to the end of December, the third quarter of its financial year, with average fares up 9% and revenue for optional extras like pre-booked seating up 21%.

The release came weeks after Ryanair raised its profit forecast to between 950 million and 1.05 billion euros ($1.17 billion) for its financial year to the end of March, versus the 800 to 900 million euro range it forecast in November, citing a better-than-expected performance over Christmas and New Year.

Analysts said the delay of MAX deliveries has reduced capacity in Europe, pushing up fares.

“The performance was even stronger than we had forecast,” Liberum analyst Gerald Khoo said in a note.

Ryanair said the MAX delays had forced it to close a number of loss-making winter bases, leading to some crew redundancies in Spain, Germany and Sweden, but CFO Sorahan said the number of redundancies was very small.

News Team by — February 03, 2020 By News Team in Global News
3 Top Mid-Cap Stocks to Buy Right Now

Mid-cap stocks, generally defined as stocks with market caps between $2 billion and $10 billion, can offer investors the best of both worlds. They have enough room to deliver serious growth but still offer investors a certain degree of security, as companies of this size generally have proven business models and are profitable or on their way to profitability.

If you’re like Goldilocks and looking for a stock that’s not too big and not too small, keep reading to see why Stitch Fix (NASDAQ:SFIX), ANGI Homeservices (NASDAQ:ANGI), and Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) fit the bill.

Stitch Fix

If you’re looking for a company with disruptive potential, Stitch Fix has it in spades. The online clothier pioneered the online personalized styling service model and is the leader in its category. Stitch Fix’s core offering sends customers five apparel items at a time; they keep what they want and send the rest back.

This model has delivered steady growth for the company, and it envisions long-term revenue growth of 20% to 25% from adding new customers, expanding to new categories and geographies, and adding new ways to shop. Its five-item box has served as the base from which the company is expanding.

Stitch Fix is currently experimenting with direct-selling models like Shop New Colors and Shop Your Looks, the second of which uses data on customers’ past purchases to offer them a curated selection tailored to their preferences. Shop Your Looks is in its early stages, but it has proven to be a winner for Stitch Fix. The service leverages the company’s customer data and proprietary algorithms and eliminates the hassle of searching for new clothes online or in stores. 

Stitch Fix is profitable, though the company is currently focused on top-line growth. Now looks like a great time to buy the stock, as it’s trading well below its previous heights despite solid execution in recent quarters — the company has crushed earnings estimates in its last four reports. As more brick-and-mortar retailers close stores and online shopping grows, Stitch Fix will benefit and the stock will eventually respond, likely sooner rather than later.

ANGI Homeservices

One of the best opportunities that the market gives to long-term investors is when stocks plunge for short-term reasons. Such an event happened last August to ANGI Homeservices — the parent of HomeAdvisor, Angie’s List, and Handy — when profits tumbled due to challenges related to its marketing on Google. The company has largely solved those problems, yet the stock is still down more than 50% compared to where it was before that earnings report.

ANGI should have a long path of growth ahead of it as more millennials buy homes and turn to online marketplaces for home service needs such as kitchen remodels, painting, or just house cleaning. The company targets long-term revenue growth of 20% to 25% as it invests in popular new platforms like fixed-price services, which eliminates the hassle of communicating and haggling over pricing for both customers and service providers. The company recently returned Angie’s List to growth after taking it over in an IAC-backed merger in 2017. Meanwhile, its marketplace segment, anchored by HomeAdvisor, delivered 27% revenue growth in the most recent quarter.

Online marketplaces tend to be high-margin businesses once they reach scale, and ANGI should see improving profit margins as it grows its network and reaps the investments it’s currently making. The company’s fourth-quarter earnings report, which comes out on Feb. 5 and will also provide guidance for 2020, offers a chance for the stock to redeem some of its recent losses. Analysts are expecting break-even earnings and just 16.6% revenue growth to $325.4 million, giving the company a low bar to jump over.

Foot Locker

Brick-and-mortar retail is a tough business, but Foot Locker has an ace up its sleeve: The nation’s biggest sneaker retailer is a prized partner of Nike, and it derives about two-thirds of its sales from Nike products. The two companies are now collaborating on “Power” stores: shops that are bigger, more interactive, and offer some of Nike’s own proprietary technology. These kinds of stores offer the kind of experiential shopping that has become a draw for customers in the age of e-commerce. 

You also might be surprised to learn that Foot Locker’s comparable sales jumped 5.7% in its most recent quarter, thanks to a strong back-to-school season. This is a sign that it’s bucking the general brick-and-mortar malaise. Comps were up 4.7% in its stores and 11.4% online, driving adjusted earnings per share up 19%. E-commerce now makes up 15.3% of sales, demonstrating that the company is building a successful online business.

If Foot Locker kept up that momentum during the holiday season, the stock could surge. Shares currently trade at a P/E ratio of just 8, which has enabled the company to aggressively repurchase stock, reducing its shares outstanding by about 7% over the last year. The stock’s dividend yield is 4%, making it appealing for dividend investors.

While Foot Locker has closed some stores and faces some of the same challenges as other retailers, those headwinds seem more than priced into the stock now, especially given its third-quarter results. With the Nike partnership and momentum from the back-to-school season, Foot Locker shares could easily rise 50% just by recouping its 2019 losses.

News Team by — February 03, 2020 By News Team in Markets
Prehistoric shark head fossil found in Kentucky

During a November dig in Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave National Park, paleontologists Rick Olson and Rick Toomey made a rare discovery.

They found a fossil of a shark head that was more than 300 million years old — an ancient species called Saivodus striatus that resembles the great white shark in size, according to the New York Post. The discovery marked the first time any presence of sharks had been documented in the area.

The National Park Service is not sharing the location within the cave that the shark fossils were found, as it has experienced fossil theft and vandalism in previous years, USA Today reported.

An Instagram account associated with Mammoth Cave National Park shared photos of the fossils.

Shark fossils, with the exception of teeth, are hard to find because shark skeletons are made of cartilage, which usually decomposes before it can be fossilized, Newsweek reported.

Since the discovery, some members of the original digging team, as well as other paleontologists, have returned to the site. According to CNET, they have found more than 100 additional fossil specimens.

News Team by — February 02, 2020 By News Team in Global News
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