Let's see how Everest Re (RE) and CNA Financial Corporation (CNA) fare in terms of some of the key metrics. The Zacks Property and Casualty Insurance industry has been gaining momentum on the back of improved pricing, increased technology advancements, exposure growth, underwriting profitability, favorable reserve development and global expansion as well as an impressive solvency level.The industry has risen 14.4% in the past year against the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s decline of 12.4% and the Finance sector’s 7.8% decline.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchHere we focus on two property and casualty insurers, namely Everest Re Group, Ltd. RE and CNA Financial Corporation CNA.Everest Re, with a market capitalization of $12.9 billion, provides commercial property and casualty insurance products through wholesale and retail brokers. It provides reinsurance and insurance products in the United States and internationally. CNA Financial, with a market capitalization of $11.4 billion, provides commercial property and casualty insurance products primarily in the United States. Both insurers carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Per the Global Insurance Market Index by Marsh, global commercial insurance prices increased 6% in the third quarter of 2022. This marked the 20th consecutive quarter in which composite pricing rose, continuing the longest run of increases since the inception of the index in 2012. Price hikes, operational strength, higher retention, strong renewal and the appointment of retail agents should help write higher premiums.Per Deloitte Insights, The Swiss Re Institute estimates an increase in demand for insurance coverage across the globe, in turn driving a 3.9% rise in premiums in 2022. Per Deloitte Insights, life insurance premium is estimated to increase 4%, while non-life insurance premium is expected to increase 3.7% in 2022.The P&C insurers remain exposed to catastrophe loss from natural disasters and weather-related events, which induce volatility in their underwriting results. Per Colorado State University, the 2022 above-average hurricane season may have 19 named storms, including nine hurricanes and four major hurricanes. Global estimated insured losses from natural catastrophes in the first half of 2022 were $35 billion, 22% above average of the past 10 years ($29 billion), per a report by Swiss Re Institute.Exposure growth, better pricing, prudent underwriting and favorable reserve development will help withstand the blow. Also, frequent occurrences of natural disasters should accelerate the policy renewal rate.The solid capital level continues to aid insurers in pursuing strategic mergers and acquisitions, investing in growth initiatives, engaging in share buybacks, increasing dividends or paying out special dividends. Consolidation is likely to continue as players look to diversify their operations into new business lines and geographies.With the reopening of the economy and robust capital level of the insurers, 2021 witnessed 869 deals, which increased 40% from 620 in 2020 while the total deal value surged 165% to $57.5 billion per Deloitte. However, with high inflation and a rise in interest rate (the Fed has already made five rate hikes this year), the momentum in the M&A environment is likely to slow down. Per Deloitte, so far this year, the number of deals dropped about 30% while deal value dropped by about 25% and is estimated to hit a low point.The interest rate environment has started to improve. In November 2022, Fed officials declared to raise interest rates by 75 basis points, shifting the target range to 3.75%-4%. This marked the sixth consecutive rate hike in 2022. Thus, insurers are poised to benefit as net investment income is an important component of their top line.The insurers have increased investment in emerging technologies in a bid to drive efficiency, enhance cybersecurity as well as expand automation capabilities across the organization. The adoption of technologies such as robotic process automation, Chatbot and RoboAdvisory, artificial intelligence and data analytics, insurtech solutions, telematics and cloud computing is gaining steam. Deloitte’s Global survey projects insurers’ technology budget to increase 13.7% in 2022.Now let’s take a look at how RE and CNA are poised.Price Performance    Everest Re has gained 25.9% in the past year, outperforming the industry’s increase of 15.2%. CNA Financial shares have declined 1.9% in the said time frame.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchReturn on Equity (ROE)   Everest Re, with a return on equity (ROE) of 10.5%, exceeds CNA Financial’s ROE of 10.1% and the industry average of 6.7%.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchValuation      The price-to-book value is the best multiple used for valuing insurers. Compared with Everest Re’s P/B ratio of 1.70, CNA Financial is cheaper, with a reading of 1.41. The P&C insurance industry’s P/B ratio is 1.55.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchDividend Yield        CNA Financial’s dividend yield of 3.8% betters Everest Re’s dividend yield of 2%. Thus, CNA Financial has an advantage over Everest Re on this front.Debt-to-Capital   Everest Re’s debt-to-capital ratio of 28.7 is higher than the industry average of 20.5 and CNA Financial’s reading of 25.6. Therefore, CNA Financial has an advantage over Everest Re on this front.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchCombined Ratio      Everest Re’s combined ratio was 98.8 in the first nine months of 2022, whereas that of CNA Financial was 93% in the said time frame. Thus, the combined ratio of CNA Financial betters that of Everest Re.To ConcludeOur comparative analysis shows that CNA Financial is better positioned than Everest Re with respect to dividend yield, combined ratio, leverage and valuation. Meanwhile, Everest Re scores higher in terms of price and return on equity. With the scale significantly tilted toward CNA Financial, the stock appears to be better poised. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time. This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Everest Re Group, Ltd. (RE): Free Stock Analysis Report CNA Financial Corporation (CNA): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research.....»»

Zacks.com users have recently been watching Bristol Myers (BMY) quite a bit. Thus, it is worth knowing the facts that could determine the stock's prospects. Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) has been one of the most searched-for stocks on Zacks.com lately. So, you might want to look at some of the facts that could shape the stock's performance in the near term.Shares of this biopharmaceutical company have returned +3.1% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +5.9% change. The Zacks Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, to which Bristol Myers belongs, has gained 5.1% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be headed in the near term?Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.Revisions to Earnings EstimatesHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.Bristol Myers is expected to post earnings of $1.73 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -5.5%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -0.7%.The consensus earnings estimate of $7.60 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of +1.2%. This estimate has changed +0.1% over the last 30 days.For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $7.89 indicates a change of +3.7% from what Bristol Myers is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed -0.5%.With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is a more conclusive indicator of a stock's near-term price performance, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Bristol Myers.The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:12 Month EPSRevenue Growth ForecastWhile earnings growth is arguably the most superior indicator of a company's financial health, nothing happens as such if a business isn't able to grow its revenues. After all, it's nearly impossible for a company to increase its earnings for an extended period without increasing its revenues. So, it's important to know a company's potential revenue growth.For Bristol Myers, the consensus sales estimate for the current quarter of $11.13 billion indicates a year-over-year change of -7.2%. For the current and next fiscal years, $45.88 billion and $47.22 billion estimates indicate -1.1% and +2.9% changes, respectively.Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryBristol Myers reported revenues of $11.22 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -3.5%. EPS of $1.99 for the same period compares with $2 a year ago.Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.04 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +1.63%. The EPS surprise was +8.74%.Over the last four quarters, Bristol Myers surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.ValuationWithout considering a stock's valuation, no investment decision can be efficient. In predicting a stock's future price performance, it's crucial to determine whether its current price correctly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects.While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S) and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.As part of the Zacks Style Scores system, the Zacks Value Style Score (which evaluates both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics) organizes stocks into five groups ranging from A to F (A is better than B; B is better than C; and so on), making it helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.Bristol Myers is graded A on this front, indicating that it is trading at a discount to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.Bottom LineThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about Bristol Myers. However, its Zacks Rank #3 does suggest that it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time. This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Bristol Myers Squibb Company (BMY): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research.....»»

Zacks.com users have recently been watching Smucker (SJM) quite a bit. Thus, it is worth knowing the facts that could determine the stock's prospects. Smucker (SJM) has been one of the most searched-for stocks on Zacks.com lately. So, you might want to look at some of the facts that could shape the stock's performance in the near term.Shares of this food maker have returned +3.5% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +5.9% change. The Zacks Food - Miscellaneous industry, to which Smucker belongs, has gained 5.4% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be headed in the near term?Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.Revisions to Earnings EstimatesHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.Smucker is expected to post earnings of $2.16 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -7.3%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -7.9%.The consensus earnings estimate of $8.68 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of -2.3%. This estimate has changed +1.6% over the last 30 days.For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $9.74 indicates a change of +12.2% from what Smucker is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed +1.1%.With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is a more conclusive indicator of a stock's near-term price performance, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for Smucker.The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:12 Month EPSRevenue Growth ForecastWhile earnings growth is arguably the most superior indicator of a company's financial health, nothing happens as such if a business isn't able to grow its revenues. After all, it's nearly impossible for a company to increase its earnings for an extended period without increasing its revenues. So, it's important to know a company's potential revenue growth.For Smucker, the consensus sales estimate for the current quarter of $2.2 billion indicates a year-over-year change of +7.1%. For the current and next fiscal years, $8.45 billion and $8.67 billion estimates indicate +5.6% and +2.7% changes, respectively.Last Reported Results and Surprise HistorySmucker reported revenues of $2.21 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +7.6%. EPS of $2.40 for the same period compares with $2.43 a year ago.Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.16 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +2.05%. The EPS surprise was +9.59%.The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.ValuationWithout considering a stock's valuation, no investment decision can be efficient. In predicting a stock's future price performance, it's crucial to determine whether its current price correctly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects.While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S) and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.As part of the Zacks Style Scores system, the Zacks Value Style Score (which evaluates both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics) organizes stocks into five groups ranging from A to F (A is better than B; B is better than C; and so on), making it helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.Smucker is graded B on this front, indicating that it is trading at a discount to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.Bottom LineThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about Smucker. However, its Zacks Rank #2 does suggest that it may outperform the broader market in the near term. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time. This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The J. M. Smucker Company (SJM): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research.....»»

Zacks.com users have recently been watching Cisco (CSCO) quite a bit. Thus, it is worth knowing the facts that could determine the stock's prospects. Cisco Systems (CSCO) has been one of the most searched-for stocks on Zacks.com lately. So, you might want to look at some of the facts that could shape the stock's performance in the near term.Shares of this seller of routers, switches, software and services have returned +14% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +5.9% change. The Zacks Computer - Networking industry, to which Cisco belongs, has gained 9.8% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be headed in the near term?Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.Revisions to Earnings EstimatesHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.Cisco is expected to post earnings of $0.86 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +2.4%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed +1.5%.The consensus earnings estimate of $3.55 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of +5.7%. This estimate has changed +2.1% over the last 30 days.For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $3.81 indicates a change of +7.4% from what Cisco is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed +0.5%.With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is a more conclusive indicator of a stock's near-term price performance, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Cisco.The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:12 Month EPSRevenue Growth ForecastWhile earnings growth is arguably the most superior indicator of a company's financial health, nothing happens as such if a business isn't able to grow its revenues. After all, it's nearly impossible for a company to increase its earnings for an extended period without increasing its revenues. So, it's important to know a company's potential revenue growth.For Cisco, the consensus sales estimate for the current quarter of $13.43 billion indicates a year-over-year change of +5.6%. For the current and next fiscal years, $54.42 billion and $56.33 billion estimates indicate +5.5% and +3.5% changes, respectively.Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryCisco reported revenues of $13.63 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +5.7%. EPS of $0.86 for the same period compares with $0.82 a year ago.Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13.32 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +2.32%. The EPS surprise was +2.38%.The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. The company topped consensus revenue estimates three times over this period.ValuationWithout considering a stock's valuation, no investment decision can be efficient. In predicting a stock's future price performance, it's crucial to determine whether its current price correctly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects.While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S) and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.As part of the Zacks Style Scores system, the Zacks Value Style Score (which evaluates both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics) organizes stocks into five groups ranging from A to F (A is better than B; B is better than C; and so on), making it helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.Cisco is graded C on this front, indicating that it is trading at par with its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.Bottom LineThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about Cisco. However, its Zacks Rank #3 does suggest that it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time. This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research.....»»

ZIM (ZIM) has been one of the stocks most watched by Zacks.com users lately. So, it is worth exploring what lies ahead for the stock. ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) is one of the stocks most watched by Zacks.com visitors lately. So, it might be a good idea to review some of the factors that might affect the near-term performance of the stock.Over the past month, shares of this container shipping company have returned -11.3%, compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +5.9% change. During this period, the Zacks Transportation - Shipping industry, which ZIM falls in, has gained 0.9%. The key question now is: What could be the stock's future direction?Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.Earnings Estimate RevisionsHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.ZIM is expected to post earnings of $3.47 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -75.5%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -5.3%.For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $38.43 points to a change of -1.5% from the prior year. Over the last 30 days, this estimate has changed +1.1%.For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $4.19 indicates a change of -89.1% from what ZIM is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed -8.6%.With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is a more conclusive indicator of a stock's near-term price performance, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for ZIM.The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:12 Month EPSProjected Revenue GrowthWhile earnings growth is arguably the most superior indicator of a company's financial health, nothing happens as such if a business isn't able to grow its revenues. After all, it's nearly impossible for a company to increase its earnings for an extended period without increasing its revenues. So, it's important to know a company's potential revenue growth.In the case of ZIM, the consensus sales estimate of $2.22 billion for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of -36%. The $12.59 billion and $7.07 billion estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of +17.4% and -43.8%, respectively.Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryZIM reported revenues of $3.23 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +2.9%. EPS of $9.66 for the same period compares with $12.16 a year ago.Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.01 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +7.27%. The EPS surprise was +2.11%.Over the last four quarters, ZIM surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. The company topped consensus revenue estimates two times over this period.ValuationWithout considering a stock's valuation, no investment decision can be efficient. In predicting a stock's future price performance, it's crucial to determine whether its current price correctly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects.While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S) and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.As part of the Zacks Style Scores system, the Zacks Value Style Score (which evaluates both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics) organizes stocks into five groups ranging from A to F (A is better than B; B is better than C; and so on), making it helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.ZIM is graded A on this front, indicating that it is trading at a discount to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.Bottom LineThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about ZIM. However, its Zacks Rank #3 does suggest that it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time. This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (ZIM): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research.....»»

Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks. Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.One company to watch right now is United Natural Foods (UNFI). UNFI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 9.38, which compares to its industry's average of 18.75. Over the last 12 months, UNFI's Forward P/E has been as high as 13.38 and as low as 6.45, with a median of 9.11.Investors should also recognize that UNFI has a P/B ratio of 1.55. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 2.44. UNFI's P/B has been as high as 2.03 and as low as 1.09, with a median of 1.40, over the past year.Finally, our model also underscores that UNFI has a P/CF ratio of 5.47. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 18.80. Within the past 12 months, UNFI's P/CF has been as high as 6.76 and as low as 3.84, with a median of 4.88.These are just a handful of the figures considered in United Natural Foods's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that UNFI is an impressive value stock right now. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time. This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research.....»»

Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks. Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.Medallion Financial (MFIN) is a stock many investors are watching right now. MFIN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 5.71, while its industry has an average P/E of 7.97. Over the past year, MFIN's Forward P/E has been as high as 7.31 and as low as 3.34, with a median of 4.86.Another notable valuation metric for MFIN is its P/B ratio of 0.50. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 0.89. Over the past year, MFIN's P/B has been as high as 0.68 and as low as 0.40, with a median of 0.53.Finally, we should also recognize that MFIN has a P/CF ratio of 2.68. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. This stock's P/CF looks attractive against its industry's average P/CF of 8.72. Over the past year, MFIN's P/CF has been as high as 3.87 and as low as 1.90, with a median of 2.65.Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Medallion Financial is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, MFIN sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time. This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Medallion Financial Corp. (MFIN): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research.....»»

Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks. The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.GasLog Partners (GLOP) is a stock many investors are watching right now. GLOP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 3.72 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 4.50. Over the last 12 months, GLOP's Forward P/E has been as high as 5.71 and as low as 2.27, with a median of 3.68.Another valuation metric that we should highlight is GLOP's P/B ratio of 0.65. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 1.18. Over the past 12 months, GLOP's P/B has been as high as 0.68 and as low as 0.30, with a median of 0.46.Another great Transportation - Shipping stock you could consider is KNOT Offshore Partners (KNOP), which is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.Furthermore, KNOT Offshore Partners holds a P/B ratio of 0.66 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 1.18. KNOP's P/B has been as high as 1.06, as low as 0.66, with a median of 0.91 over the past 12 months.These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that GasLog Partners and KNOT Offshore Partners are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, GLOP and KNOP feels like a great value stock at the moment. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time. This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report GasLog Partners LP (GLOP): Free Stock Analysis Report KNOT Offshore Partners LP (KNOP): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research.....»»

Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks. The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.PetIQ (PETQ) is a stock many investors are watching right now. PETQ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 8.39, while its industry has an average P/E of 21.85. Over the last 12 months, PETQ's Forward P/E has been as high as 20.41 and as low as 5.10, with a median of 12.13.Investors should also note that PETQ holds a PEG ratio of 1.05. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. PETQ's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 2.76. Over the last 12 months, PETQ's PEG has been as high as 1.63 and as low as 0.41, with a median of 0.77.Another valuation metric that we should highlight is PETQ's P/B ratio of 1.63. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. PETQ's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 4.34. Over the past 12 months, PETQ's P/B has been as high as 2.83 and as low as 0.80, with a median of 1.91.These are only a few of the key metrics included in PetIQ's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, PETQ looks like an impressive value stock at the moment. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time. This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report PetIQ, Inc. (PETQ): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research.....»»

Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks. The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.Barrett Business Services (BBSI) is a stock many investors are watching right now. BBSI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 13.72, while its industry has an average P/E of 24.84. Over the last 12 months, BBSI's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.12 and as low as -150.87, with a median of 12.59.Investors should also note that BBSI holds a PEG ratio of 0.98. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. BBSI's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 2.34. Over the last 12 months, BBSI's PEG has been as high as 1.26 and as low as -12.57, with a median of 0.95.Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. BBSI has a P/S ratio of 0.66. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 0.99.Finally, our model also underscores that BBSI has a P/CF ratio of 13.40. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. BBSI's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 17.46. Within the past 12 months, BBSI's P/CF has been as high as 13.90 and as low as 10.22, with a median of 11.57.Investors could also keep in mind Brink's (BCO), an Outsourcing stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.Furthermore, Brink's holds a P/B ratio of 8.69 and its industry's price-to-book ratio is 16.21. BCO's P/B has been as high as 14.16, as low as 6.33, with a median of 8.28 over the past 12 months.These are just a handful of the figures considered in Barrett Business Services and Brink's's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that BBSI and BCO is an impressive value stock right now. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time. This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Barrett Business Services, Inc. (BBSI): Free Stock Analysis Report Brink's Company The (BCO): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research.....»»

The average brokerage recommendation (ABR) for Phillips 66 (PSX) is equivalent to a Buy. The overly optimistic recommendations of Wall Street analysts make the effectiveness of this highly sought-after metric questionable. So, is it worth buying the stock? Investors often turn to recommendations made by Wall Street analysts before making a Buy, Sell, or Hold decision about a stock. While media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm employed (or sell-side) analysts often affect a stock's price, do they really matter?Let's take a look at what these Wall Street heavyweights have to say about Phillips 66 (PSX) before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage.Phillips 66 currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.92, on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by 13 brokerage firms. An ABR of 1.92 approximates between Strong Buy and Buy.Of the 13 recommendations that derive the current ABR, six are Strong Buy and two are Buy. Strong Buy and Buy respectively account for 46.2% and 15.4% of all recommendations.Brokerage Recommendation Trends for PSXCheck price target & stock forecast for Phillips 66 here>>>The ABR suggests buying Phillips 66, but making an investment decision solely on the basis of this information might not be a good idea. According to several studies, brokerage recommendations have little to no success guiding investors to choose stocks with the most potential for price appreciation.Are you wondering why? The vested interest of brokerage firms in a stock they cover often results in a strong positive bias of their analysts in rating it. Our research shows that for every "Strong Sell" recommendation, brokerage firms assign five "Strong Buy" recommendations.This means that the interests of these institutions are not always aligned with those of retail investors, giving little insight into the direction of a stock's future price movement. It would therefore be best to use this information to validate your own analysis or a tool that has proven to be highly effective at predicting stock price movements.Zacks Rank, our proprietary stock rating tool with an impressive externally audited track record, categorizes stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), and is an effective indicator of a stock's price performance in the near future. Therefore, using the ABR to validate the Zacks Rank could be an efficient way of making a profitable investment decision.ABR Should Not Be Confused With Zacks RankIn spite of the fact that Zacks Rank and ABR both appear on a scale from 1 to 5, they are two completely different measures.The ABR is calculated solely based on brokerage recommendations and is typically displayed with decimals (example: 1.28). In contrast, the Zacks Rank is a quantitative model allowing investors to harness the power of earnings estimate revisions. It is displayed in whole numbers -- 1 to 5.Analysts employed by brokerage firms have been and continue to be overly optimistic with their recommendations. Since the ratings issued by these analysts are more favorable than their research would support because of the vested interest of their employers, they mislead investors far more often than they guide.In contrast, the Zacks Rank is driven by earnings estimate revisions. And near-term stock price movements are strongly correlated with trends in earnings estimate revisions, according to empirical research.Furthermore, the different grades of the Zacks Rank are applied proportionately across all stocks for which brokerage analysts provide earnings estimates for the current year. In other words, at all times, this tool maintains a balance among the five ranks it assigns.Another key difference between the ABR and Zacks Rank is freshness. The ABR is not necessarily up-to-date when you look at it. But, since brokerage analysts keep revising their earnings estimates to account for a company's changing business trends, and their actions get reflected in the Zacks Rank quickly enough, it is always timely in indicating future price movements.Should You Invest in PSX?Looking at the earnings estimate revisions for Phillips 66, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has increased 14.9% over the past month to $20.39.Analysts' growing optimism over the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by strong agreement among them in revising EPS estimates higher, could be a legitimate reason for the stock to soar in the near term.The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for Phillips 66. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>Therefore, the Buy-equivalent ABR for Phillips 66 may serve as a useful guide for investors. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time. This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Phillips 66 (PSX): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research.....»»

According to the average brokerage recommendation (ABR), one should invest in AGNC Investment (AGNC). It is debatable whether this highly sought-after metric is effective because Wall Street analysts' recommendations tend to be overly optimistic. Would it be worth investing in the stock? Investors often turn to recommendations made by Wall Street analysts before making a Buy, Sell, or Hold decision about a stock. While media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm employed (or sell-side) analysts often affect a stock's price, do they really matter?Before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage, let's see what these Wall Street heavyweights think about AGNC Investment (AGNC).AGNC Investment currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.86, on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by seven brokerage firms. An ABR of 1.86 approximates between Strong Buy and Buy.Of the seven recommendations that derive the current ABR, three are Strong Buy and two are Buy. Strong Buy and Buy respectively account for 42.9% and 28.6% of all recommendations.Brokerage Recommendation Trends for AGNCCheck price target & stock forecast for AGNC Investment here>>>The ABR suggests buying AGNC Investment, but making an investment decision solely on the basis of this information might not be a good idea. According to several studies, brokerage recommendations have little to no success guiding investors to choose stocks with the most potential for price appreciation.Do you wonder why? As a result of the vested interest of brokerage firms in a stock they cover, their analysts tend to rate it with a strong positive bias. According to our research, brokerage firms assign five "Strong Buy" recommendations for every "Strong Sell" recommendation.This means that the interests of these institutions are not always aligned with those of retail investors, giving little insight into the direction of a stock's future price movement. It would therefore be best to use this information to validate your own analysis or a tool that has proven to be highly effective at predicting stock price movements.With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, which classifies stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), is a reliable indicator of a stock's near -term price performance. So, validating the Zacks Rank with ABR could go a long way in making a profitable investment decision.ABR Should Not Be Confused With Zacks RankAlthough both Zacks Rank and ABR are displayed in a range of 1-5, they are different measures altogether.The ABR is calculated solely based on brokerage recommendations and is typically displayed with decimals (example: 1.28). In contrast, the Zacks Rank is a quantitative model allowing investors to harness the power of earnings estimate revisions. It is displayed in whole numbers -- 1 to 5.Analysts employed by brokerage firms have been and continue to be overly optimistic with their recommendations. Since the ratings issued by these analysts are more favorable than their research would support because of the vested interest of their employers, they mislead investors far more often than they guide.On the other hand, earnings estimate revisions are at the core of the Zacks Rank. And empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.In addition, the different Zacks Rank grades are applied proportionately to all stocks for which brokerage analysts provide current-year earnings estimates. In other words, this tool always maintains a balance among its five ranks.Another key difference between the ABR and Zacks Rank is freshness. The ABR is not necessarily up-to-date when you look at it. But, since brokerage analysts keep revising their earnings estimates to account for a company's changing business trends, and their actions get reflected in the Zacks Rank quickly enough, it is always timely in indicating future price movements.Is AGNC Worth Investing In?Looking at the earnings estimate revisions for AGNC Investment, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has increased 5.2% over the past month to $3.05.Analysts' growing optimism over the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by strong agreement among them in revising EPS estimates higher, could be a legitimate reason for the stock to soar in the near term.The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) for AGNC Investment. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>Therefore, the Buy-equivalent ABR for AGNC Investment may serve as a useful guide for investors. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time. This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AGNC Investment Corp. (AGNC): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research.....»»

Make Way For The Killer Robots: The Government Is Expanding Its Power To Kill Authored by John and Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute, “Crush! Kill! Destroy!” - The Robot, Lost in Space The purpose of a good government is to protect the lives and liberties of its people. Unfortunately, we have gone so far in the opposite direction from the ideals of a good government that it’s hard to see how this trainwreck can be redeemed. It gets worse by the day. For instance, despite an outcry by civil liberties groups and concerned citizens alike, in an 8-3 vote on Nov. 29, 2022, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a proposal to allow police to arm robots with deadly weapons for use in emergency situations. This is how the slippery slope begins. According to the San Francisco Police Department’s draft policy, “Robots will only be used as a deadly force option when risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and outweighs any other force option available to SFPD.” Yet as investigative journalist Sam Biddle points out, this is “what nearly every security agency says when it asks the public to trust it with an alarming new power: We’ll only use it in emergencies—but we get to decide what’s an emergency.” A last-minute amendment to the SFPD policy limits the decision-making authority for deploying robots as a deadly force option to high-ranking officers, and only after using alternative force or de-escalation tactics, or concluding they would not be able to subdue the suspect through those alternative means. In other words, police now have the power to kill with immunity using remote-controlled robots. These robots, often acquired by local police departments through federal grants and military surplus programs, signal a tipping point in the final shift from a Mayberry style of community policing to a technologically-driven version of law enforcement dominated by artificial intelligence, surveillance, and militarization. It’s only a matter of time before these killer robots intended for use as a last resort become as common as SWAT teams. Frequently justified as vital tools necessary to combat terrorism and deal with rare but extremely dangerous criminal situations, such as those involving hostages, SWAT teams—which first appeared on the scene in California in the 1960s—have now become intrinsic parts of local law enforcement operations, thanks in large part to substantial federal assistance and the Pentagon’s military surplus recycling program, which allows the transfer of military equipment, weapons and training to local police for free or at sharp discounts. Consider this: In 1980, there were roughly 3,000 SWAT team-style raids in the U.S. By 2014, that number had grown to more than 80,000 SWAT team raids per year. Given the widespread use of these SWAT teams and the eagerness with which police agencies have embraced them, it’s likely those raids number upwards of 120,000 by now. There are few communities without a SWAT team today. No longer reserved exclusively for deadly situations, SWAT teams are now increasingly deployed for relatively routine police matters, with some SWAT teams being sent out as much as five times a day. In the state of Maryland alone, 92 percent of 8200 SWAT missions were used to execute search or arrest warrants. For example, police in both Baltimore and Dallas have used SWAT teams to bust up poker games. A Connecticut SWAT team swarmed a bar suspected of serving alcohol to underage individuals. In Arizona, a SWAT team was used to break up an alleged cockfighting ring. An Atlanta SWAT team raided a music studio, allegedly out of a concern that it might have been involved in illegal music piracy. A Minnesota SWAT team raided the wrong house in the middle of the night, handcuffed the three young children, held the mother on the floor at gunpoint, shot the family dog, and then “forced the handcuffed children to sit next to the carcass of their dead pet and bloody pet for more than an hour” while they searched the home. A California SWAT team drove an armored Lenco Bearcat into Roger Serrato’s yard, surrounded his home with paramilitary troops wearing face masks, threw a fire-starting flashbang grenade into the house, then when Serrato appeared at a window, unarmed and wearing only his shorts, held him at bay with rifles. Serrato died of asphyxiation from being trapped in the flame-filled house. Incredibly, the father of four had done nothing wrong. The SWAT team had misidentified him as someone involved in a shooting. These incidents are just the tip of the iceberg. Nationwide, SWAT teams have been employed to address an astonishingly trivial array of nonviolent criminal activity or mere community nuisances: angry dogs, domestic disputes, improper paperwork filed by an orchid farmer, and misdemeanor marijuana possession, to give a brief sampling. If these raids are becoming increasingly common and widespread, you can chalk it up to the “make-work” philosophy, by which police justify the acquisition of sophisticated military equipment and weapons and then rationalize their frequent use. Mind you, SWAT teams originated as specialized units that were supposed to be dedicated to defusing extremely sensitive, dangerous situations (that language is almost identical to the language being used to rationalize adding armed robots to local police agencies). They were never meant to be used for routine police work such as serving a warrant. As the role of paramilitary forces has expanded, however, to include involvement in nondescript police work targeting nonviolent suspects, the mere presence of SWAT units has actually injected a level of danger and violence into police-citizen interactions that was not present as long as these interactions were handled by traditional civilian officers.  Indeed, a study by Princeton University concludes that militarizing police and SWAT teams “provide no detectable benefits in terms of officer safety or violent crime reduction.” The study, the first systematic analysis on the use and consequences of militarized force, reveals that “police militarization neither reduces rates of violent crime nor changes the number of officers assaulted or killed.” In other words, warrior cops aren’t making us or themselves any safer. Americans are now eight times more likely to die in a police confrontation than they are to be killed by a terrorist. The problem, as one reporter rightly concluded, is “not that life has gotten that much more dangerous, it’s that authorities have chosen to respond to even innocent situations as if they were in a warzone.” Now add killer robots into that scenario. How long before these armed, militarized robots, authorized to use lethal force against American citizens, become as commonplace as SWAT teams and just as deadly? Likewise, how long before mistakes are made, technology gets hacked or goes haywire, robots are deployed based on false or erroneous information, and innocent individuals get killed in the line of fire? And who will shoulder the blame and the liability for rogue killer robots? Given the government’s track record when it comes to sidestepping accountability for official misconduct through the use of qualified immunity, it’s completely feasible that they’d get a free pass here, too. In the absence of any federal regulations or guidelines to protect Americans against what could eventually become autonomous robotic SWAT teams equipped with artificial intelligence, surveillance and lethal weapons, “we the people” are left defenseless. We’re gaining ground fast on the kind of autonomous, robotic assassins that Terminator envisioned would be deployed by 2029. If these killer robots follow the same trajectory as militarized weapons, which, having been deployed to local police agencies as part of the Pentagon’s 1033 recycling program, are turning America into a battlefield, it’s just a matter of time before they become the first line of defense in interactions between police and members of the public. Some within the robotics industry have warned against weaponizing general-purpose robots, which could be used “to invade civil rights or to threaten, harm, or intimidate others.” Yet it may already be too late for that. As Sam Biddle writes for The Intercept, “As with any high-tech toy, the temptation to use advanced technology may surpass whatever institutional guardrails the police have in place.” There are thousands of police robots across the country, and those numbers are growing exponentially. It won’t take much in the way of weaponry and programming to convert these robots to killer robots, and it’s coming. The first time police used a robot as a lethal weapon was in 2016, when it was deployed with an explosive device to kill a sniper who had shot and killed five police officers. This scenario has been repeatedly trotted out by police forces eager to add killer robots to their arsenal of deadly weapons. Yet as Paul Scharre, author of Army Of None: Autonomous Weapons And The Future Of War, recognizes, presenting a scenario in which the only two options are to use a robot for deadly force or put law enforcement officers at risk sets up a false choice that rules out any consideration of non-lethal options. As Biddle concludes: “Once a technology is feasible and permitted, it tends to linger. Just as drones, mine-proof trucks, and Stingray devices drifted from Middle Eastern battlefields to American towns, critics of … police’s claims that lethal robots would only be used in one-in-a-million public emergencies isn’t borne out by history. The recent past is littered with instances of technologies originally intended for warfare mustered instead against, say, constitutionally protected speech, as happened frequently during the George Floyd protests.” This gradual dismantling of cultural, legal and political resistance to what was once considered unthinkable is what Liz O’Sullivan, a member of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control, refers to as “a well-executed playbook to normalize militarization.” It’s the boiling frog analogy all over again, and yet there’s more at play than just militarization or suppressing dissent. There’s a philosophical underpinning to this debate over killer robots that we can’t afford to overlook, and that is the government’s expansion of its power to kill the citizenry. Although the government was established to protect the inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness of the American people, the Deep State has been working hard to strip us of any claims to life and liberty, while trying to persuade us that happiness can be found in vapid pursuits, entertainment spectacles and political circuses. Having claimed the power to kill through the use of militarized police who shoot first and ask questions later, SWAT team raids, no-knock raids, capital punishment, targeted drone attacks, grisly secret experiments on prisoners and unsuspecting communities, weapons of mass destruction, endless wars, etc., the government has come to view “we the people” as collateral damage in its pursuit of absolute power. As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, we are at a dangerous crossroads. Not only are our lives in danger. Our very humanity is at stake. Tyler Durden Fri, 12/02/2022 - 23:05.....»»

Vaccinated People Make Up Majority Of COVID-19 Deaths: CDC Data Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that vaccinated and boosted people made up most of the COVID-19 deaths in August. A medical worker treats an intubated unvaccinated 40 year old patient who is suffering from the effects of Covid-19 in the ICU at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut on January 18, 2022. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images) Of the total 6,512 deaths recorded in August 2022, 58.6 percent of the deaths were attributed to vaccinated or boosted people, and seem to be a sign of a growing trend where vaccinated individuals are increasingly becoming the majority in COVID-19 mortalities. In January 2022, COVID-19 mortalities in the vaccinated was still the minority with 41 percent of the data related to vaccinated or boosted individuals. However, analysis of the CDC data from June and July showed over 50 percent of deaths were being reported in vaccinated individuals, with 62 and 61 percent reported respectively. “We can no longer say this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Cynthia Cox, the vice-president of the Kaiser Family Foundation told the Washington Post in an article dated Nov. 23.  COVID mortality data from September 2021 to August 2022 (Courtesy of the Kaiser Family Foundation) Cox, while in support of COVID-19 vaccination, gave three reasons that may explain why. One was that the majority of Americans have at least been given the primary series. Her second reason is that elderly, who have the greatest risk of dying from COVID, are also more likely to take up vaccinations. Cox’s final reason was that the potency of the vaccine will wane over time and as variants become more resistant, and therefore recommended more booster uptake. COVID-19 vaccination effectiveness has been shown to wane dramatically over the period of a few months, sometimes falling into negligible efficacy. Professor Jeffrey Townsend from Yale University, biostatistician, and lead author to a research study evaluating natural and vaccinated immunity against COVID-19, wrote in an email to The Epoch Times that at this stage in the pandemic, rather than comparing the vaccinated against the unvaccinated, it is more helpful to look at an individual’s time since last exposure instead, with exposures meaning vaccinations or infections. “Most people have had some kind of exposure, the time since last exposure, along with what the last exposure was, dictates the level of immunity and can explain most variation in susceptibility, morbidity, and mortality,” Townsend wrote. Currently, long term studies on immunity against COVID-19 have shown that whether a person is vaccinated or infected with COVID-19, their immunity wanes over time. Other research compared natural immunity with vaccinations often showed that vaccination tends to wane at a much higher rate than that of natural infection. Some scientists also posited that mRNA vaccines may interfere with the body’s natural immune response. Since the current technology used in mRNA vaccines may “hide the mRNA from cellular defenses and promote a longer biological half-life and high production of spike protein,” according to a June 2022 paper published in Food and Chemical Toxicology. The spike protein is the main pathogenic part of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Clinicians Question ‘Pandemic of the Unvaccinated’ Narrative Internal medical physician and cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough told The Epoch Times that the pandemic was only driven by the unvaccinated in 2020, where there were no vaccines available, and from 2021 it was mostly the vaccinated people who were dying from COVID-19. He reasoned that it is simply because the vaccine did little to control mortality. “[The CDC data] is far too late in drawing that conclusion, [the vaccinated] probably assumed the majority sometime during 2021,” said McCullough. In 2020, more than 385,000 COVID deaths were documented by the CDC, whereas in 2021, when vaccinations were rolling out, there were more than 463,000 COVID-19 deaths. By June of 2021, around 53 percent of the U.S. population had received their first dose and 44 percent were fully vaccinated. Yet there was little difference in COVID-19 mortality cases between the first half of 2021 and the second half, with over 244,000 cases (more than 50 percent of the whole year) reported from July to December. “It certainly can’t be a situation where we blame the unvaccinated for COVID deaths. And we certainly wouldn’t conclude that the vaccines made any impact on us as the majority of deaths happened during the era of vaccinations,” said McCullough. Data from other countries have also demonstrated higher rates of vaccinated patients being hospitalized with COVID as vaccination rates overall rose. As early as January 2022, hospitalization data coming out from the state of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia showed that a greater proportion of hospitalized patients were vaccinated. The vaccinated contributed to 50.3 percent of ICU presentations as compared to the 49.1 percent who were unvaccinated. NSW was the only state that continued to track and publicize the vaccine status of the people being hospitalized in Australia. It is one of the most vaccinated places; by Nov. 24, over 80 percent of people over the age of 16 received their first boosters. The most recent weekly data from NSW continued to show that the vaccinated make up the majority of COVID hospitalizations, ICU admission, and deaths. The most recent report, dated to Nov. 12, showed that unvaccinated patients contributed to 21 percent of COVID deaths, and less than 1 percent of hospitalizations and ICU admissions. However, it should be noted that there was only 24 cases of COVID deaths reported in the report, with 440 hospitalizations and 40 ICU admissions, suggestive of a decline in disease severity. Mortality data from Manitoba in Canada in the week July 31 to Aug. 6, 2022 also showed that while the boosted population made up 70 percent of all COVID mortalities, the unvaccinated contributed to less than 10 percent of deaths. This is with 43 percent of the population boosted. Reports out of the UK also showed similar findings. A report (pdf) published on March 31, 2022 showed that almost 73 percent of COVID mortalities were in boosted individuals while 10 percent were attributed to unvaccinated people. At the time, over 57 percent of the population received a booster shot and 73 percent received their primary doses. Unvaccinated Mortality Rates May Not Reflect the Whole Picture McCullough added that with the decrease in overall disease severity with Omicron, the data may not present an accurate understanding on COVID deaths. “The CDC death data has to be interpreted with caution, because they’re not adjudicated as dying of COVID. They can actually die with COVID.” The CDC’s website currently estimates that only 10 percent of COVID-19 deaths have COVID as the contributor of deaths. Therefore, there may be cases counted as a COVID mortality even if COVID was not the primary driver for the death. McCullough gave the example that a person may be admitted to the hospital for a heart attack and test positive on the COVID test from having contracted the disease 6 months ago. Read more here... Tyler Durden Fri, 12/02/2022 - 19:45.....»»

Antifa Defendants Arrested In Attack On Trump Supporters Take Plea Deals Authored by Brad Jones via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Six of 11 alleged assailants connected with Antifa, a far-left extremist group, have taken plea deals and pled guilty to charges related to violent attacks on supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump at a “Patriot March” in San Diego shortly after the 2020 election. Counter-protesters, some carrying Antifa flags, wait to confront a "Patriot March" demonstration in support of then President Donald Trump in the Pacific Beach neighborhood of San Diego on Jan. 9, 2021. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images) Five defendants pled guilty on Nov. 18, just over a week after Erich “Nikki” Louis Yach was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison for his role in the violence near Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach on Jan. 9, 2021. Yach was the first of the 11 to be sentenced. Yach earlier pled guilty to charges of conspiracy, assault, and the unlawful use of tear gas. At his sentencing hearing, GG Hubbard, Yach’s spouse, urged the court to send Yach—a biological male who identifies as female—to a women’s prison. Yach has spent nearly the last two years in a men’s prison and will be credited for time already served. “I want to make sure she gets put in the correct facility according to her gender,” Hubbard told the court. Hubbard claimed Yach is “not violent” and said incarceration in anything but a women’s facility was “violating the law” and “political and fascist nonsense.” San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced in June that a criminal grand jury had two weeks earlier delivered 29 indictments against all 11 defendants, including “conspiracy to commit a riot, use of tear gas, assault with a deadly weapon, and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury.” Counter-protesters attack demonstrators during a “Patriot March” demonstration in support of then President Donald Trump in the Pacific Beach neighborhood of San Diego on Jan. 9, 2021. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images) “Antifa uses force, fear, and violence to further their interests and suppress the interests of others. The objective of this conspiracy was to incite and participate in a riot,” the district attorney’s office said at the time. The defendants named in the indictments are from Los Angeles and San Diego counties and are all “affiliated with Antifa” according to a statement from the district attorney’s office last December. The named are Alexander Akridgejacobs, Jesse Merel Cannon, Brian Cortez Lightfoot Jr., Christian Martinez, Luis Francisco Mora, Samuel Howard Ogden, Bryan Rivera, Faraz Martin Talab, and Jeremy White. Antifa supporters posted on social media on Jan. 2, 2021 calls for a “counterprotest” and “direct action” against Trump supporters, and then a week later gathered with other “uncharged co-conspirators” dressed in black garb with Antifa insignia to confront those participating in the Patriot March, the office stated. According to the district attorney’s office, such alleged action included “assault, battery, assault with deadly weapons, arson, and vandalism.” Videos posted online showed one of the masked, black-clad protesters carrying an “Antifascist Action” banner and another with a sign saying “No Nazis in PB”—a reference to Pacific Beach—as the group of about 100 shouted “Racists go home!” at Trump supporters. Counter-protesters spray demonstrators during a “Patriot March” demonstration in support of then President Donald Trump in the Pacific Beach neighborhood of San Diego on Jan. 9, 2021. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images) “Antifa uses force, fear, and violence to further their interests and suppress the interests of others. The objective of this conspiracy was to incite and participate in a riot,” the district attorney’s office said. The indictments accused the Antifa-affiliated group of planning the attacks and using a baseball bat, flagpole, stun gun, and tear gas on their victims. They were also accused of throwing a wooden lawn chair at a woman. Prosecutors also allege some Antifa members in the crowd chased down several minors whom they thought were part of the Patriot March, sprayed them with mace, and pushed one to the ground. The victim was later transported to a hospital for treatment of a concussion. Other “victims included a journalist [taking] photos, a dog that was maced and a business that was also vandalized,” prosecutors said. The San Diego Police Department reported a total of 16 separate attacks on eight people. The Antifa rioters allegedly threw eggs, rocks and bottles and sprayed mace at officers after police declared the dueling protests an unlawful assembly and tried to disperse the crowd. All the defendants pleaded not guilty in June. None of the Trump supporters or other bystanders were charged with any crimes. “Video evidence analysis shows that overwhelmingly the violence in this incident was perpetrated by the Antifa affiliates and was not a mutual fray with both sides crossing out of lawful First Amendment,” the district attorney’s office stated in June. Tyler Durden Fri, 12/02/2022 - 18:12.....»»

Trump's lawyers argue he can't be sued for statements he made about Carroll while acting as president in 2019. Donald Trump and E. Jean CarrollGetty/Getty The DC Court of Appeals is deciding whether Trump can be sued for comments about E. Jean Carroll. Trump's lawyers argue he's legally protected from being sued for remarks he made as president. Carroll's team argues that Trump's denials of her rape allegation fell outside the scope of his job. When then-President Donald Trump fiercely denied E. Jean Carroll's decades-old rape allegation in statements to the press in 2019, his words were so "malicious" and "humiliating" that they can't possibly be interpreted as being part of his job, Carroll's lawyers argued in court papers filed Thursday. In a June 2019 essay for New York Magazine, Carroll accused Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s.When Trump loudly denied Carroll's allegation — saying he didn't know her, she's not his "type," and that she made the allegation up to sell her memoir — Carroll sued him for defamation.The case is currently in limbo after the Department of Justice intervened in an effort to get Trump removed from the lawsuit, arguing that he's covered by a federal law — the Westfall Act — that protects federal employees from being personally sued for actions committed in the course of their jobs. While trial Judge Lewis A. Kaplan sided with Carroll, saying the Westfall Act doesn't apply, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals was split 2-1 in favor of Trump — but ultimately pushed the case to the DC Court of Appeals, since the matter concerns DC law. The DC Court of Appeals is set to hear oral arguments in the case in January, and ahead of that hearing, both sides submitted briefs spelling out their arguments.  Trump's lawyers argue that since he was talking to the press, which is part of any president's job, his comments about Carroll are protected under the Westfall Act.But Carroll's lawyers argue in their brief, filed Thursday, that previous court rulings show the law is more nuanced. "As this Court has repeatedly held, the fact that an employee is on duty (or is doing the kind of work he is employed to perform) is never the end of the inquiry. Instead it is just one among several factors in a scope-of-employment analysis," the brief reads. The bombastic way Trump denied Carroll's accusation in statements to the press are evidence that he was acting out of a personal motivation and not in his role as president, Carroll's lawyers argue. Trump "did not simply deny Carroll's claim ... he attacked her three times over four days. He implied that she was too ugly to rape. He accused her of falsifying experiences of sexual assault by other men. He concocted dark schemes and nefarious motives," Carroll's lawyers wrote in the brief. "Trump sought to destroy and humiliate Carroll after she revealed that he had raped her decades ago. There is no basis here to find that Trump had any presidential obligation to make these statements, or that Trump did so to advance any federal purpose," the brief adds. Carroll's lawyers go on to say that ruling in favor of Trump would go against constitutional values and set a dangerous precedent for the presidency, saying, "a White House job is not a promise of unlimited authority to brutalize victims of prior wrongdoing through vicious, personal, defamatory attacks. That is not the law — and this court should not make it so," Carroll's lawyers wrote. An attorney for Trump did not immediately return Insider's request for comment on Friday. Whether Trump can be sued in this case will hinge on the DC Appeals Court decision, but even if the court rules in his favor, he'll have a hard time running away from Carroll's allegations. On Thanksgiving, Carroll filed a second lawsuit against Trump, claiming battery and a second act of defamation.A New York law that went into effect on Thanksgiving allows Carroll to sue Trump for the alleged sexual assault even though the statute of limitations has expired.Her second claim of defamation centers on Trump's further denials of the alleged rape in statements on Truth social in October. Since he made those comments while no longer in office, he won't be able to claim the Westfall Act in that case. Carroll's lawyers want the two cases tried at the same time. Currently, the first defamation case is set for trial in April. Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Boomers certainly aren't at fault for wanting to retire. But losing them from the workforce is making the labor shortage — and inflation — worse. One reason for inflation is a lack of workers as more and more boomers are retiring.Olga Rolenko/Getty Images Boomers are reaching retirement age in the US. It comes while over a million people are missing from the US workforce, a BlackRock study found.  The labor shortage is one reason companies are raising prices. Millennials are already blaming baby boomers for the starter-home shortage. Now younger Americans may have a new reason to scrutinize their elders' impact on the economy. Since early 2020, at least 1.3 million retirement-age adults departed from the workforce, a new study the investment-management firm BlackRock found. That figure is growing steadily: between 2008 and 2019, members of the retired population aged 55 and older grew by about 1 million per year, and between 2019 and 2021, the number of retirees aged 55 and older has grown by 3.5 million, according to Pew Research Center. It's contributing to the shortage of workers in America, which has forced companies to pay more to attract talent. That's also one reason companies use to justify raising prices as inflation still remains high, even as it improves slightly. Inflation rose 7.7% year-over-year in October, a decline from 8.2% in September. As the Fed tries to tone down price increases, retirement is proving to be an obstacle for them — it's not boomers' fault for retiring; it's simply the reality of America's changing demographics. "An aging population will hurt the US economy's ability to grow without creating inflation longer term," the BlackRock study said, adding that the number of people retiring makes "it hard for the economy to operate at current activity levels without fueling inflation."That means the Fed has to bring inflation down by reducing demand via the higher interest rates, signaling a harsher economic downturn than the US could have had. The labor shortage is here to stay, and it's not a good sign for inflationSeveral workforce factors are complicating things for the Fed.The share of the American population that is working or seeking a job is still below pre-COVID levels, a shortfall that the BlackRock report said the economy can't recover from anytime soon. The pandemic has taken 1.3 million people out of the workforce as of October, the researchers estimated. A wave of retirements means that the cost of labor is getting more expensive for companies, and they're raising prices on goods to make up for it. Trump-era immigration policies and a declining birth rate are also thinning out the number of working Americans.Gen Xers aged 55 to 64 are one of the few groups working at their pre-pandemic employment rate, according to Labor Department data. Plenty of older Americans are still working, though — in fact, more of them are working into their 80s, thanks to medical advancements, but also because the cost of retirement is just too high for many.Before the pandemic, the number of octogenarians in the workforce hit its peak: a Washington Post analysis using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the number of working adults in their 80s reached a high in 2019, with roughly 734,000 octogenarians in the US workforce that year compared to roughly 110,000 in 1980.Labor activists and politicians have argued that workers can enjoy their current rare bargaining power and wage gains without it leading to inflation-inducing price hikes — but companies would have to be willing to cut into their own profits.Evidence shows they largely haven't been willing to make that compromise. Corporate profits are soaring the most since 1950, with many companies clocking record profits over the past year, such as those in the oil-and-gas industry. And by extension, lowering the cost of goods and cutting corporate profits should ease the sting of the retirement wave as well. "Companies have passed higher costs on to customers. But they have also taken advantage of circumstances to expand profit margins," Paul Donovan, the chief economist at UBS, said last month. BlackRock predicted that the Fed rate hikes will push the US economy into a recession, as 2023 seems poised for one, according to other economists. But this demographic shift workers of any age propel "won't reverse without massive structural changes in workforce behavior over time," the BlackRock study said. "Demographic trends also suggest the labor pool will expand much more slowly in the next 20 years than it did in the past 20." People are overestimating how much inflation will come down in the near term, the BlackRock study said, and they're underestimating the impact of a coming recession and earnings slowdown. Because it predicts inflation will last a while amid a recession, the study recommends, for the short-term, investing in inflation-linked bonds, and says that pursuing treasuries and US stocks is a bad idea. In the long-term, however, the BlackRock study says stocks will be a good investment. "Long term, we're overweight equities and think stocks' overall return will surpass fixed income," the study said.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Binance will freeze withdrawals of Ankr's token and explore whether it's been targeted by hackers, Changpeng Zhao said Friday. Binance has frozen withdrawals of an Ankr token that could have been targeted by hackers, CEO Changpeng Zhao said Friday.Eric PIERMONT / AFP) (Photo by ERIC PIERMONT/AFP via Getty Images Binance froze withdrawals of a staked Ankr protocol token Friday. The exchange's chief executive Changpeng Zhao said the crypto could have been targeted by hackers. The Ankr coin's price crashed 99.5% in the past 24 hours, sparking fears of an attack. Binance said Friday that it will freeze withdrawals of a cryptocurrency that derives part of its value from a link to the exchange's own native Binance Coin token.Chief executive Changpeng Zhao said withdrawals of Ankr's Reward Bearing Staked BNB coin would be paused while Binance probed a potential attack by hackers.The token, which held around $123 million of assets and was intended to offer Binance Coin holders returns via staking, crashed 99.5% Friday to trade at $1.51."Initial analysis is developer private key was hacked, and the hacker updated the smart contract to a more malicious one," 'CZ' said on Twitter. "Binance paused withdrawals a few hours ago."Binance has also frozen around $3 million that hackers moved to its centralized exchange, he added.Hackers have relentlessly targeted digital assets in 2022 with more than $3 billion wiped from the sector this year, according to Chainalysis.Binance's freezing of Ankr's token comes at a time when investors are worrying about contagion from the implosion of rival exchange FTX and a brutal crypto winter that has seen bitcoin's price fall 63% year-to-date, with the token trading at just under $17,000 at last check.Read more: Sam Bankman-Fried said he doesn't think he's criminally liable for FTX's implosion, but that his lawyers don't want him speaking publiclyRead the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Braxia Scientific Corp., (CSE: BRAX) (OTC: BRAXF) (FWB: 4960), a medical research and telemedicine company with clinics providing innovative ketamine and psilocybin treatments for depression and related disorders, announced the filing of its financial statements and management discussion and analysis for the second quarter ended September 30, 2022. "We are executing our vision to increase access to novel treatments such as Ketamine and Psilocybin to address mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)," said Dr. Roger McIntyre, CEO of Braxia Scientific. Q2 2023 Financial Summary Q2 2023 in-clinic treatments increased 34.5% year-over-year. In the first 6 months of 2023, in-clinic treatments increased 35% compared to the prior year period. During the quarter, the Company acquired KetaMD which launched an initial pilot of its virtual ketamine treatments late in the quarter. The Company expects KetaMD's revenues and profitability to increase as services and operations ramp up services, marketing, and forging new clinical partnerships. Q2 2023 revenue increased 18% year-over-year to $0.46 million for the period ending September 30, 2022. In the first six months of 2023, revenues increased 10.1% to $0.87 million compared to the ...Full story available on Benzinga.com.....»»

PsyBio Therapeutics Corp. (TSXV: PSYB) (OTCQB: PSYBF) reported its unaudited interim financial results for the three and nine-month period ended September 30, 2022. PsyBio, a fully integrated and intellectual property-driven biotechnology company, develops new psycho-targeted therapies aimed at the potential treatment of mental health problems, neurological disorders, and other human health conditions. Third Quarter 2022 Financial Results “A copy of the unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and the corresponding management's discussion and analysis for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022,” reads a press release......»»