Author Archives: Scalper1

Steve Mandel Boosts Nike, Visa, Amazon

Steve Mandel ( Trades , Portfolio ) is the founder of Lone Pine Capital, a long short equity money manager, which he started in 1997. During the last quarter of 2015, he increased his stakes in many stocks, such

Australia ETFs In Focus On Likely Snap Elections

While the global economy is on a recovery path with solid improvements across most countries, the development in Australia might block the mending road in the coming months. This is especially true given signs of political issues in the country with the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull threatening to snap elections. Turnbull has been trying to pass labor reform bills aimed at curbing union corruption in the building and construction industry, but was rejected several times by the Senate. Now, the prime minister has recalled parliament from a break for a special session on April 18 to vote on these ongoing controversial bills. The bills would re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission and establish the Registered Organizations Commission that is vital for the country’s economic growth. If the bills are still blocked, he will dissolve both the houses of parliament (Senate and the House of Representatives) and call for early election on July 2. The move would mark the first Australian double dissolutions since 1987, throwing all the 150 lower house seats and 76 senate seats open for vote. The news of double dissolution election came at the time when the latest Newspoll showed that Malcolm Turnbull’s approval rating as prime minister has slipped to the negative territory for the first time, though he remains by far the most preferred prime minister to manage the economy and deliver a tax reform. ETFs in Focus Given heightened political uncertainty over the snap elections, investors may want to take a closer look at the ETFs targeting this nation. iShares MSCI Australia ETF (NYSEARCA: EWA ) This fund is the most popular and liquid ETF tracking the Australian equity market with an AUM of $1.4 billion and average daily volume of more than 3 million shares. It tracks the MSCI Australia Index and holds 73 stocks in its basket with double-digit allocations to the top two firms. Other firms hold less than 6.6% share in the basket. From a sector look, financials dominates the fund’s return at 53.1% followed by materials (12.8%). It charges 47 bps in annual fees and has gained 4.6% so far in the year. It has a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 or “Hold” rating with a Medium risk outlook. iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Australia ETF (NYSEARCA: HAUD ) This ETF targets the Australian equity market without the currency risk. It follows the MSCI Australia 100% Hedged to USD Index and is basically a holding of EWA with currency hedged tacked on. The fund has accumulated $9.7 million in its asset base since its inception in June 2015 and charges 51 bps in annual fees. Volume is paltry as it exchanges less than 7,000 shares on average daily basis. It has lost 1.8% so far this year. First Trust Australia AlphaDEX ETF (NYSEARCA: FAUS ) This fund employs an AlphaDEX methodology and ranks stocks in the space by various growth and value factors, eliminating the bottom-ranked 25% of the stocks. This is easily done by tracking the NASDAQ AlphaDEX Australia Index and the approach results in a basket of 40 stocks that are widely spread out across various components with each security holding less than 4.6% of assets. Here again, financials takes the top spot at 34.2% while the consumer discretionary and materials sectors round of the next two with double-digit exposure each. FAUS is an unpopular and less liquid option with an AUM of only $2.9 million and average daily volume of around 1,000 shares. Expense ratio comes in at 0.80%. The fund has shed 0.8% in the year-to-date time frame and has a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 with a Medium risk outlook. WisdomTree Australia Dividend ETF (NYSEARCA: AUSE ) This fund follows the WisdomTree Australia Dividend Index and offers targeted exposure to high dividend-paying companies in the Australian equity market. It has been able to manage assets of $33.9 million and trades in paltry volume of 4,000 shares a day on average. Expense ratio comes in at 0.58%. Holding 65 stocks in its basket, the product is widely diversified across each component as none of these holds more than 3.43% of assets. Sector-wise, it has a definite tilt toward financials at 22.5%, followed by materials (15.3%), consumer discretionary (14.1%) and industrials (14.0%). The fund has gained 9% so far this year and has a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 with a Medium risk outlook. Original post

Online Travel, Other Tech Giants Set Sights On Cuba

As President Obama stands beside Cuban President Raul Castro in Havana and brokers historic talks to thaw relations between the two countries, online travel giants and other Silicon Valley titans have set their sights on building businesses on the island nation. The $8.4 billion tourism industry is likely to swell once Washington allows general tourism to the island nation. For now, a license from the Treasury Department is required for legal travel to Cuba, but the online travel kings have been quick to strike deals to build sales to that nation. Still, online travel firms shouldn’t expect any big returns on their efforts for three to five years, says Douglas Quinby, an analyst with travel research firm Phocuswright. “But once all the ducks are lined up, I think you’re going to see a lot of interest for U.S. travelers,” Quinby told IBD. “It’s a huge Caribbean destination, it’s got great beaches and sun.” Online travel giant Priceline ( PCLN ), via its Booking.com platform, already is setting up shop in Havana and allowing U.S. citizens to reserve and pay for rooms at Cuban and foreign-owned hotels. “Members of our leadership spent many weeks working hand in hand with the Cuban government and tourism authorities, hotel partners, and banks to ensure that when we launch a few weeks from now our customers will experience the secure and seamless service they’ve come to expect from Booking.com,” Todd Dunlap, managing director of Booking.com Americas, told IBD via email. Expedia ( EXPE ) is working on getting travel to Cuba online as well — though it did not share a timetable or a specific date that bookings could begin. “We currently have a team working across multiple channels to help enable U.S.-to-Cuba travel, taking every step to ensure that the solutions align with the laws governing travel between the countries,” company spokeswoman Sarah Gavin said in an emailed statement. Privately held Airbnb has been operating in Cuba for a year, and is available to U.S. citizens in Cuba. The San Francisco-based firm lets travelers rent homes, rooms in homes and apartments. According to an Airbnb blog post , U.S. visits to Cuba rose 77% in 2015, to 161,000. The company says it’s working closely with the Cuban government. TripAdvisor ( TRIP ) spokeswoman Julie Cassetina told IBD via email that the company is “now displaying hotel metasearch for Cuban hotels” on its website, but she declined to make executives available for an interview. Silicon Valley Heads To Havana Outside of the online travel agency kings, the tech contingent included IBD Leaderboard stock PayPal ( PYPL ). In a blog post Sunday, PayPal CEO Dan Shulman outlined his case for targeting Cuba. The major cash cow for the firm is likely to be in assisting Cubans who receive money from sources in the U.S., an influx which at the moment, according to the blog , accounts for $2 billion, or 3%, of the Cuban economy each year. It’s a chance for PayPal to expand the reach of its Xoom subsidiary, which handles international transfers. PayPal bought Xoom for $890 million in July 2015. The blog also makes the pitch that PayPal plans to find ways to attract Cuban small businesses — which at the moment are mostly not set up to process credit and debit cards. Privately held Stripe, which competes with PayPal payments-processing subsidiary Braintree, also made the trip to Cuba. Stripe said in a blog that it would start offering Cuban businesses the ability to set up bank accounts and incorporate in the U.S. On the trip, President Obama said Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Google would try to help ensure that Cubans have access to broadband Internet, which remains scarce, especially outside of large cities. “We know, from the experience of many countries around the world, that new technologies and improved internet access can help people in their daily lives, provide new information and experiences, and help harness a country’s creativity and ingenuity,” Brett Perlmutter, the Cuba lead for Google Access, wrote in a blog post Monday. “We hope to have the chance to offer more services to the Cuban people in the future.” Xerox ( XRX ) CEO Ursula Burns also attended the trip in a fact-finding capacity. “Recent changes in U.S. regulations may afford new commercial opportunities in Cuba,” Burns told IBD in an emailed statement, “but the parameters of those opportunities are not always obvious. The U.S. government has worked hard to describe what the recent changes mean. I think part of my job on this trip is to evaluate what they mean in light of the economic realities here in Cuba.”