EWC

Newmont’s Third Quarter Earnings Disappoints Though Management Remains Very Shareholder Friendly

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Image Shown: Though Newmont Corporation’s third quarter earnings disappointed, the gold miner remains very shareholder friendly. Image Source: Newmont Corporation – Third Quarter of 2021 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan One of our favorite mining plays is the gold miner Newmont Corporation (NEM), which has producing assets around the world including in Australia (EWA), Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Mexico (EWW), Peru, Suriname, Canada (EWC), and the US. Newmont has a robust development pipeline in those countries via new producing mines and expansion projects (roughly 88% of Newmont’s reserves are in the Americas and Australia), along with potential upside in Japan, Ethiopia, Colombia, and elsewhere. The company’s management team is incredibly shareholder friendly (its quarterly payout has grown from … Read more

Exxon Mobil Puts on a Brave Face

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Image Source: Exxon Mobil Corporation – November 2019 Guyana IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Near-term oil prices and most importantly, the oil price futures curve, have improved materially since just a couple of months ago when it looked like the sky was falling. For the first time ever, WTI turned negative in April 2020 for physical deliveries due May 2020 of light sweet oil to Cushing, Oklahoma, as storage options were limited (and arguably, many speculators had jumped into the market not fully aware of the risks they were taking on). Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) has seen its share price recover considerably since the drop, though we caution that management’s commitment to the dividend will prove a hard task if … Read more

Berkshire Reports 2019 Earnings

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By Callum Turcan Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.A) (BRK.B) reported fourth quarter and full-year results on Saturday February 22, and we appreciate the firm’s performance across most of its business lines, keeping in mind that losses at its insurance-underwriting business during the fourth quarter weakened its company-wide performance. That being said, the insurance business can be volatile at times, which is why we appreciate Berkshire’s large railroad, utility, consumer goods, and other business segments. On the topic of Berkshire’s insurance-related exposure to the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic (which has since spread from China (FXI, MCHI, KWEB) to the rest of the world, shutting down economies in South Korea (EWY), Italy (EWI), and elsewhere), insurance firms fundamentally altered the structure of their policies after the … Read more

Top Best Ideas Newsletter Portfolio Holding Berkshire Hathaway Reports Solid Third Quarter Performance

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Image Shown: Shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc moved higher on Monday November 4 after reporting a decent third quarter 2019 earnings report on Saturday November 2. By Callum Turcan Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.A) (BRK.B) reported solid third quarter 2019 earnings on November 2, and we continue to like Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares as a top holding in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. Our fair value estimate for BRK.B stands at $229 per share with room for upside, as the top end of our fair value estimate range sits at $275 per share. Third Quarter Overview We would like to highlight up front that Berkshire Hathaway’s underlying financial performance improved from the third quarter of 2018 to the same quarter … Read more

Saudi Arabia Attacked, Oil Prices Shoot Higher

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Image Shown: Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure was attacked over the weekend, causing WTI and Brent to rally at the start of the trading session. By Callum Turcan Disaster struck this weekend when several drones took out the Abqaiq oil processing facility and the massive onshore Khurais oil field in Saudi Arabia (KSA) on Saturday, with WTI and Brent both surging on the news once trading resumed at the start of the week. The Khurais oil field produces around 1.5 million barrels of crude per day and the Abqaiq oil processing facility is the largest in the world. Saudi Arabia’s oil production capacity was reduced by 5.7 million barrels of crude per day due to these attacks and the country is … Read more

Our Report on the Regional Banks and Asset Management Stocks

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Image Source: Carlssa Rogers Structure of the Regional Banks/Asset Management Industry The regional banking and asset management industry is based almost entirely on the confidence of intermediaries and counterparties that make up the building blocks of the financial system. An investment in a bank or asset management firm must come with the acknowledgement of the distinct possibility that another financial crisis may occur at an unknown time in the future. Though we don’t expect one anytime soon given the recent favorable stress-test results of the largest US banks, it’s worth noting that there have been three significant banking crises during the past three decades alone: the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s/early 1990s; the fall of Long-Term Capital … Read more

Trade Uncertainty Update

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Image Source: John Karakatsanis The arrest of a high profile Chinese tech executive has renewed concerns over trade tensions after the US markets were closed for a day of remembrance for the 41st President of the US. Also, the Fed released its Beige Book. By Kris Rosemann Despite the markets being closed December 5 in remembrance of the passing of George H.W. Bush, the 41st President of the US, investors continue to be pulled in different directions regarding the state of US-China trade negotiations, and the situation continues to become more muddled. After a weekend of optimism, a new round of doubt was cast over the legitimacy of the progress made at the G20 Summit, but China’s (FXI) commerce ministry offered … Read more

Protectionists Gaining Control, Implications on Europe and China

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It looks like the US-imposed tariffs are moving forward, and we’re starting to hear chatter about retaliation from Europe. Canada and Mexico may be exempt from the tariffs, however. By Kris Rosemann Mr. Market reacted unfavorably to President Trump’s top economic advisor Gary Cohn’s resignation announcement March 7, as Cohn was seen as a voice for Wall Street in the White House. Though the reaction may be short-lived, fears of the implications of increasing control from protectionists probably shouldn’t be ignored, and the probability of a trade war, particularly with China (FXI, MCHI) and with Europe, presumably moves higher with Cohn’s exit. Canada (EWC) and Mexico (EWW) may be exempt from the tariffs, however. The European Union is already reportedly … Read more

Brewing the Next Dividend Aristocrat

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Image Source: Starbuck’s 2017 annual Shareholder Meeting Most income-minded investors would love to find the next Dividend Aristocrat before it earns such a title, but many continue to focus on the stars of the past instead of working to identify up and coming dividend track records, which often carry higher dividend growth rates than the most established Dividend Aristocrats. By Alexander J. Poulos McDonald’s Is Pretty Good… Starbucks (SBUX) has a number of qualities that we look for in identifying companies that can sustain a growing dividend over time, one that has the potential to develop into a Dividend Aristocrat. The company’s dividend track record is still a young one as the payout was initiated in 2010, but forward-looking analysis … Read more

Your Hard-Earned Money

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By Brian Nelson, CFA It was Thursday afternoon, February 11, crude oil prices just hit a 13-year low, and the S&P 500 (SPY) was about to break below key technical support. Then, just as the markets were to fall further, rumors again emerged that OPEC may be scheduling a meeting to curb crude oil output, driving crude oil prices from the depths and the market higher off technical support. A barrel of crude oil continues to trade below the $30 mark, but it was quite the “save.” From where we stand, the market hasn’t been this fragile than at any time during the past decade or so, including during much of the Financial Crisis. Optimists may be whistling past the … Read more