Image source: Getty Images FTSE 250 gambling-focused technology stock Playtech (LSE: PTEC) was an absolute gem last year. As my fellow Fool Ken Hall pointed out back in January, the share price climbed 60% to £7.22, making it one of the year’s standout mid-cap performers. A few key things went right. Playtech sold its Italian consumer-facing business Snaitech to Flutter Entertainment for €2.3bn in cash. This freed up capital for investment and shareholder returns and allowed Playtech to sharpen its focus on business-to-business (B2B) services, where margins tend to be better. The group also resolved a long-running dispute with Mexican…
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I was very close to buying Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares in May. After the company’s latest earnings report however, I’m glad I didn’t. The numbers themselves were impressive. But something CEO Jensen Huang said stood out to me – and not in a good way. China export restrictions The latest export restrictions on Nvidia’s H20 chip have cost the firm $4.5bn in inventory it now can’t use. And it’s also set to result in an $8bn hit to revenues in the next three months. Neither of those is positive, but what concerns me is something different. I’m more interested in the…
Image source: The Motley Fool Warren Buffett’s latest Berkshire Hathaway portfolio update in May made headlines, but one of the most interesting developments has gone largely unnoticed: a sizeable and growing stake in Chubb (NYSE: CB). While investors typically focus on Buffett’s top holdings like Apple and Coca-Cola, this lesser-known insurer is an outlier among big-name companies. Berkshire Hathaway has quietly built a position in Chubb worth over $6.7bn, as revealed in its latest 13F filing. That makes Chubb one of Berkshire’s largest publicly traded insurance holdings, alongside its wholly owned businesses like GEICO and Gen Re. The move is…
Image source: Getty Images Barclays’ (LSE: BARC) share price is near its 21 May one-year high of £3.31. Any break above that would see it hit levels not reached since 22 May 2013 when it dealt at £3.38 before moving lower. I think the key element to this surge in recent months has been a series of strong results. These resulted from a well-executed switch from an interest-based banking model to a fee-based one. Some investors may shirk at the notion of buying a stock that has risen so much already. Others may feel compelled to jump on what they…
Image source: Getty Images FTSE 100 insurance firm Admiral (LSE: ADM) is a recent addition to my passive income portfolio. This is comprised of shares bought to generate me high dividends without me having to do too much – hence the ‘passive’ label. I am aged over 50 now and this income stream should allow me to further reduce my working commitments. The only real effort involved in these passive income stocks is making the right choices in the first place. After that, it is simply a question of regularly checking that they are performing as required (which, of course,…
Japan is urging stronger domestic ownership of government bonds to stabilize long-term interest rates, according to a draft of its latest economic policy guidelines reviewed by Reuters. The move comes amid concerns that supply-demand imbalances are fueling a surge in yields, especially on super-long Japanese government bonds (JGBs). While short-term bond yields remain steady due to fading expectations of immediate rate hikes, long-term JGB yields hit record highs in May. This was driven in part by political calls for expanded fiscal spending, which alarmed investors about Japan’s worsening fiscal health. To address market instability, the government is considering reducing the…
Image source: Getty Images The most important part of working towards a second income is taking the first step. It may still take years to reach a desired goal, but getting the ball rolling is often the hardest part. Many would-be investors spend years saving and saving, thinking of the ideal day when they’ll have enough to start investing. But the truth is, any amount of money’s enough to get started. In fact, savings often lose money over time as they fail to beat inflation. So it can be a case of chasing a never-ending goal. When calculating compounding returns…
It’s been centuries since humanity invented the fiery first step behind almost all steelmaking. The work begins by loading iron ore and processed coal into a blast furnace. Combustion heats the ingredients to temperatures near 1,600 degrees Celsius, creating the molten iron necessary to produce steel, the ubiquitous modern metal found in everything from skyscrapers to automobiles. An unfortunate byproduct is a massive amount of climate-warming gas. Iron smelting, in fact, is the main reason steelmaking accounts for between 7 and 9 percent of humanity’s carbon dioxide emissions — more than the climate impact released by the entire European Union. Electra, a…
Image source: Getty Images I’m looking to buy more FTSE 100 stocks in the days and weeks ahead. But I won’t be adding Tesco (LSE:TSCO) or Sainsbury’s (LSE:SBRY) shares to my portfolio any time soon. Here’s why. Left on the shelf The meagre margins of UK’s ‘Big Four’ supermarkets are under increased pressure as the industry’s bloody price wars intensify. This is a major threat even during normal economic conditions. But with the cost-of-living crisis enduring, the threat this poses to Tesco is especially significant today. Latest data from Kantar Worldpanel underlines the scale of the challenge. Okay, the FTSE…
Image source: Getty Images Securing a second income of £10k a year is no easy feat but for loads of UK citizens, it’s well within reach. According to recent data, approximately five million of us have savings of £100,000 or more. Rather than gathering dust in a low-interest savings account, that money could be put to better use. Aiming for a £10k second income There are several reliable UK dividend stocks to consider like Legal & General (LSE: LGEN), British American Tobacco or Schroders. These stocks not only enjoy yields of around 7% but each has a long and reliable…