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☆ This payments firm has Nvidia-like profit margins — and it's even more sustainable, investor says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Gooch-Peters pointed to Visa — which has a 60% operating profit margin — as a more sustainable investment opportunity. This creates a strong competitive moat and helps to sustain the company's high profit margins over time. Gerry Fowler, chief European equity strategist at UBS, echoed the sentiment about the importance of a company's competitive moat while picking stocks. The UBS strategist pointed to the attempts of Apple, then the world's biggest company, to break into the payments network sector. The UBS strategist also cautioned that impenetrable moats might sometimes pose a downside risk to investors.

Persons: Hannah Gooch, Peters, you've, Gooch, London Business School . Gooch, " Gooch, Gerry Fowler, Fowler, Flower Organizations: Nvidia, Sanlam Investments, CNBC, London Business School, Visa, Sanlam's, Quality, UBS, Apple, world's, MasterCard, Apple Card, Mastercard, U.S

☆ Five stocks to buy before the year end, according to the pros
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Amala Balakrishner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

FactSet data shows that 70% of the 43 analysts covering Snowflake have buy or overweight ratings on the stock. Year-to-date shares in the biotechnology and life sciences equipment manufacturer are down nearly 4%, but Ghosh remains positive. Schneider Electric Elsewhere, French energy management company Schneider Electric is on the radar of Steven Glass, managing director and investment analyst at Pella Funds. "We're very bullish, although it's not as cheap as it used to be on Schneider Electric. Year-to-date, shares in Schneider Electric are up around 28%.

Persons: Karen Kharmandarian, Colette Kress, Warren Buffett, Rahul Ghosh, Rowe Price, Ghosh, Steven Glass, it's, Glass, Schneider Organizations: Big Tech, CNBC Pro, Nvidia, Thematics Asset Management, U.S, Robotics Fund, Berkshire Hathaway, BE Semiconductor Industries, BE Semiconductor, BE, Danaher Corp, Schneider, Pella Funds Locations: China, Snowflake, Danaher, Pella

☆ Barbie’s a boss but not a business model
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) boss David Zaslav is playing too much with Barbie. Mattel (MAT.O), the $8 billion company behind the brand, has increased its market value 20% since late May, growing three times as fast as the S&P 500 Index (.SPX). Lego partnered with Warner Bros in 2014 to produce a movie featuring its renowned plastic bricks. Unlike Disney and its superheroes, Warner Bros doesn’t own the blonde bombshell. Barbie may be this year’s boss, but she and her nostalgic ilk are unlikely to become business models.

Persons: David Zaslav, Barbie, Margot Robbie, Harry Potter, Polly, Cuties, Walt Disney’s, Bob Iger, Warner, oligopolistic, Davidson, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam Organizations: Reuters, Warner Bros Discovery, Mattel, Warner Bros, Marvel, Disney, McKinsey, Harley, Thomson

☆ Sweden sees 'cause for concern' on retailer margins as food prices surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Marie Mannes | Thomson Reuters | Stockholm-Based Company News Correspondent Who Mainly Covers Anything To Do With Retail | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Sweden's competition authority on Tuesday will publish the initial findings from an investigation into food prices and competition requested by Sweden's finance ministry in March. "When we look at the margins on the retail and wholesale side, we see some cause of concern in terms of how they're developing," Martin Mandorff, head of market abuse at the competition authority, told Reuters. The agency is investigating the whole food supply chain from producers, wholesalers to the retail sector and has collected data from Sweden's main supermarkets on prices and margins. Premium food chain ICA had a 53% market share in 2022 according to the competition authority. "We have a frequent and constructive dialogue with the Swedish Competition Authority and look forward to the conclusions of the investigation," the company said.

Persons: Anders Wiklund, Martin Mandorff, Mandorff, Coop, discounter Lidl, Elisabeth Svantesson, Svantesson, Axfood, Marie Mannes, Helen Reid, Simon Johnson, Greta Rosen Fondahn, Conor Humphries Organizations: TT News Agency, Reuters, ICA, Finance, SVT, Swedish Competition Authority, Thomson Locations: Stockholm, Sweden, STOCKHOLM, Hungary, Ukraine, Swedish

There's a big buying opportunity in lithium company Albemarle , according to Baird. Baird upgraded the company to outperform and raised its price target to $288 from $222, which implies a gain of 47% from Friday's close. The reduced guidance for 2023 is "an attractive entry point for the stock," Kallo said. We see upside to estimates from any increase in lithium pricing, potential tailwinds from the IRA, and the growing demand for lithium." Baird also said the oligopolistic structure in the bromine market, in which Albemarle is a top-three producer, gives the company relative pricing power.

Hong Kong/Seoul CNN —The billionaire mastermind behind some of the world’s biggest K-pop stars is pushing back on accusations that he’s trying to monopolize the Korean music industry. “It wouldn’t be correct to say that we’re trying to take over the whole industry,” Bang told CNN in an exclusive interview in Seoul. Bang Si-Hyuk, who chairs the HYBE management agency, spoke with CNN's Richard Quest on Tuesday. “When the two companies are combined, a monopoly and oligopolistic group of companies that account for approximately 66% of total market sales will be created,” it told CNN. The company would then announce the outcome and next steps, it told CNN on Friday.

☆ Credit Suisse downgrades Home Depot, cites slowing housing market as near-term risk
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

It's time to move to the sidelines on Home Depot , according to Credit Suisse. Analyst Karen Short assumed coverage of Home Depot with a neutral rating, with a previous rating of outperform, saying the slowing housing market spells trouble for the home improvement retailer. Therefore, further declines in the stock market and home prices could weigh on demand for home improvement projects," Short wrote. However, the story for Home Depot remains constructive over the long term, according to the note. The industry has some oligopolistic features within retail; c. Demand for non-discretionary home improvement projects has been relatively inelastic," read the note.

☆ One year after Nasdaq peak, growth stocks have tumbled and crypto has broken — where to from here?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Michael Santoli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

The Nasdaq record came just ten days after Bitcoin's apex near $67,000, a moment when total cryptocurrency market value topped $2.8 trillion. Those numbers today are under $17,000 for Bitcoin and the crypto market cap is around $800 billion, down 70%-plus. Just days after the November 2021 Nasdaq high, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell abruptly and publicly shifted his rhetoric on inflation and monetary policy, endorsing a much faster removal of stimulus than previously indicated. In the 18 months leading to the March 2000 Nasdaq peak, the index more than tripled. One year after the March 2000 Nasdaq peak, with the index down some 60%, the Nasdaq 100 still had a forward price/earnings ratio above 50.

☆ Zuckerberg to testify in U.S. case against Facebook's virtual reality deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 28 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg will testify in a case by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that argues the company's proposed deal to buy virtual reality (VR) content maker Within Unlimited should be blocked. They were also on a list of witnesses submitted on Friday by defendants Meta and Within. The FTC had filed a lawsuit in July saying that Meta's acquisition of Within would "tend to create a monopoly" in the market for VR-dedicated fitness apps. The regulator argues that the proposed deal would "substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly" in that market. Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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