Dicker Data is an Australian-owned and operated, ASX-listed technology hardware, software and cloud distributor. They were founded in 1978. As a distributor, they sell exclusively to a valued partner base of over 5,500 resellers.

Dicker Data distributes a wide portfolio of products from the world’s leading technology vendors. Dicker Data have successfully navigated the end of governmental business stimulus and the impact of a global semiconductor chip shortage to post a net profit of $73.6 million, which is an increase of 29%. Sales figures increased 24% to $2.48 billion for the 2021 calendar year.

Dicker Data declared a final dividend of 15 cents (USD), 100% flanked, on total earnings of 42.6 cents per share. FY21 Results Highlights The company believes that shortages are a part of the computer business and have always planned around it. They identify the software sector to be its highest growth opportunity as dynamic workplaces, which allow employees to work from home, are currently in high demand.

They also identify that there will be a strong demand for audio-visual equipment, such as large format displays for meeting rooms, as workplaces welcome back employees to the offices. The company’s debt over the period has almost doubled to $230.2 million after they have announced debt funded deals to acquire its rival IT distributor, Exceed, for $68 million. They have also recently acquired Hills Ltd’s Security and Information Technology business for $20 million last month.

The company also has their sights on another acquisition in the future, they have been in talks with a few bankers to help finance a potential acquisition of a rival US-based IT distributor, Ingram Micro. Ingram Micro was sold to US private equity group Platinum Equity for $7.2 billion (USD) in July 2021. Prior to this, HNA Group acquired the business for around $6 billion (USD) in 2016.

Co-founder David Dicker stated that his company would have acquired Ingram Micro for $7 billion (USD) if they had been able to raise the capital. Dicker Data share value is slowly trending up since February’s acquisition. However, due to the Russia and Ukraine conflict, the ASX 200 index is currently dropping in value and this can trickle down to companies such as Dicker Data.

Overall, Dicker Data is currently in a growth state and is looking to acquire companies that would help increase the company’s value and offerings to its many clients. They aim to use debt to fund the acquisitions and then issue shares to pay down the debt once the acquisition is successful. The acquisitions have helped the company achieve a profitable year as evident in the earnings report.

With the acquisition target of Ingram Micro, this can be an exciting opportunity to track the progress from start to finish. If you would like to take this opportunity to invest in Dicker Data and don’t already have a trading account, you can register for a Shares account at GO Markets. Sources: ASX, TradingView, AFR.

A sudden rapid increase in commodity prices, propelled by supply concerns stemming from the Russia and Ukraine conflict, has brought about inflationary pressure and moved future inflation expectation. The increase has also pushed indices into a bear market and caused some volatility in global equities. Nickel, European gas and wheat have all hit record highs on Monday.

Copper, Brent crude oil, aluminium and thermal coal are currently sitting at their highest levels in years. The commodities rally has stirred up fears that inflationary pressures will persist as the price increase works its way through the supply chain and slows down economic growth. The Australian 10-year break-even rate is sitting at 2.48%, its highest level since 2014.

The US 10-year break-even rate increased to 2.86% on Tuesday, its highest level since 2005. The German 10-year break-even rate hit a record high of 2.62%. Break-even rates represent the difference between a nominal bond and an inflation-linked bond of the same maturity, implying the average rate of inflation over a given period of time.

The spike in these rates suggests that the bond market is expecting inflation to be far more persistent than central banks and strategists have been expecting. The fear of Russian energy sanctions has led to heavy selling in the global equity markets. The US Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Euro Stoxx 50 and Germany DAX index have slipped into bear markets as shown from the chart above.

The EU50 and DAX are currently down 20% since their peaks in mid-January. The spike in break-even rates comes after the surge in the price of energy as Brent crude has reached a high of $136 USD a barrel on Monday. This rapid increase in the cost of energy, namely the Brent Oil, is currently making its way through to our local petrol pumps.

As the national average petrol price has climbed to 1.839 per litre. Other commodity prices are also beginning to break into new territory and are likely to drive up the cost of goods further down the supply chain. Nickel recently hit a record high of over $60,000 USD a tonne, as supply risks sparked a short squeeze.

About 7 per cent of the world’s nickel is produced in Russia, with the metal being used to produce stainless steel. It is also a major component of lithium-ion batteries, which are used in electric vehicles. The steady surge in commodity prices and their associated inflation risk has created a dilemma for central banks across the world.

Central banks are trying to manage inflation without curbing growth. All in all, commodity prices are currently on the rise as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues. Their prices are now on most investors’ watchlists, as it can affect other markets such as Forex and Indices.

If you would like to take this opportunity to invest and do not yet have a trading account, you can open a GO Markets CFD trading account. Source: GO Markets MT5, TradingView, Globalpetrolprices, AFR

Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) released its financial results for Q2 after the market close in the US on Tuesday. The company reported revenue that fell short of Wall Street expectations at $808.325 million for Q2 vs. $873.82 million expected. Coinbase reported a loss per share of -$4.98 per share vs. -$2.47 loss per share expected. ''Q2 was a test of durability for crypto companies and a complex quarter overall.

Dramatic market movements shifted user behaviour and trading volume, which impacted transaction revenue, but also highlighted the strength of our risk management program. We are focusing on our top business priorities and more tightly managing expenses.'' ''The decline in crypto asset prices significantly impacted our Q2 financial results, which were consistent with the outlook provided in May. Net revenue was $803 million, down 31% compared to Q1, driven by lower trading volume.

Total operating expenses were $1.9 billion, up 8% compared to Q1. Net loss was $1.1 billion and was heavily impacted by non-cash impairment charges. Absent non-cash impairment charges, net loss would have been $647 million.

Adjusted EBITDA was negative $151 million,'' the company wrote in a letter to shareholders. Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) chart Share price of Coinbase was down by 10.55% on Tuesday, trading $87.49 a share. The stock fell further in after-hours following the release of the latest financial results, down by around 3%.

Here is how the stock has performed in the past year: 1 month +61.65% 3 months +20.13% Year-to-date -65.26% 1 year -67.49% Coinbase price targets Citigroup $105 DA Davidson $90 Mizuho $42 JMP Securities $205 Atlantic Equities $54 Goldman Sachs $45 JP Morgan $68 Coinbase Global Inc. is the 754 th largest company in the world with a market cap of $22.96 billion. You can trade Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX and the ASX with GO Markets as a Share CFD. Sources: Coinbase Global Inc., TradingView, MetaTrader 5, Benzinga, CompaniesMarketCap

Fears of slowing growth and weak Chinese data have forced China to ramp up its efforts to stimulate its economy and reassure investors: Record $83 billion injection: China injected a large amount of money in its economy. $83 billion was placed in the country’s financial system to avoid a cash crunch that would add further pressure to an “already” weakening economy. Spending Plans: Amid a raft of measures, China has approved a whopping $125bn of new rail projects over the past month. China is increasing its approvals for new projects and fiscal spending to counteract the slowdown.

Tax Cuts: China has put forward plans for the private sector and small business and is turning to tax cuts as a primary defence for its slowing economy. As uncertainties around tariffs continue, China is helping private companies and small business to obtain financing and increasing consumer spending. As of writing, the GDP (YoY) came at 6.4% from 6.5%, and we expect China’s economy to weaken in the lower range of the 6% mark amid the current external and domestic challenges.

Trade tensions have shaken business and consumer confidence and have further slowed economic growth. Even though there is more optimism on trade talks and higher chances of a truce deal, we expect trade negotiations to be bumpy and lengthy. The real economic implications may become more apparent in the coming months, and this can weigh on risk sentiment.

We expect to continue observing more actions from China during the year. The weak data is also giving room for policymakers to put forward more growth-supportive measures in the near term to stimulate growth and bring stability to its economy. So far, the stimulus actions coupled with positive trade talks helped the Chinese Yuan and the Shanghai Index to climb higher.

After a bruising year, the Index rose by more than 130 points since the beginning of the year.

Beyond Meat Inc. reported their latest financial results for Q4 2021 after the closing bell on Wall Street today. The US plant-based meat substitute producer company fell short of analyst expectations for the last quarter, sending the stock price lower in the after-market hours. The company reported revenue of $100.678 million in Q4 (decrease of 1.2% year-over-year) vs. $101.044 million expected.

Loss per share reported at -$1.27 a share, way above analyst forecast -$0.70 a share. Net revenue for 2021 at $464.7 million – an increase of 14.2% year-over-year. "In 2021 we saw strong growth in our international channel net revenues, as well as sporadic yet promising signs of a resumption of growth in U.S. foodservice channel net revenues as COVID-19 variants peaked and declined. These gains, however, were dampened by what we believe to be a temporary disruption in U.S. retail growth, for our brand and the broader category.

Despite the variability and challenges of the year, we did not deviate from building the foundation for our long-term growth. The investments we made in our team, infrastructure, and capabilities across the U.S., EU, and China, as well as extensive product scaling activities for key strategic partners, weighed heavily on operating expenses and gross margin during a fourth quarter and year that were already impacted by lower than expected volumes. However, we believe these investments will be instrumental in driving our long-term growth," Ethan Brown, Beyond Meat CEO said in a statement following the latest financial results from the company. "As we begin 2022, we are pleased with the progress we are making against our long-term strategy, such as the number of tests and core menu placements recently announced by our global QSR partners.

Though we will continue to invest during 2022, we expect to substantially moderate the growth of our operating expenses as we leverage the building blocks we now have in place to serve our customers, consumers, and markets — bringing forward our exciting and expansive future one delicious serving at a time," Brown added. Beyond Meat Inc. (BYND) chart (Weekly) Shares of Beyond Meat were up by 3.38% on Thursday at $48.64. However, the stock fell sharply in the after-hours – down by around 10%.

Here is how the stock has performed in the past year – 1 Month: -13.37% 3 Month: -35.14% Year-to-date: -24.80% 1 Year: -65.91% Beyond Meat Inc. is the 2973 rd largest company in the world with total market cap of $3.10 billion. You can trade Beyond Meat Inc. (BYND) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX and the ASX with GO Markets as a Share CFD. Sources: Beyond Meat Inc., TradingView, MetaTrader 5, CompaniesMarketCap

Since the recent crisis in Europe, you would have noticed a few things in the stock market which have directly or indirectly affected your normal day to day life, as a motorist one of the first things that you would have taken note of, is the price of fuel. Only a fortnight ago petrol prices for unleaded fuel was sold for $149.99 per litre (APCO service station Cranbourne), today’s price of $186.998 (price as of 24 hours ago) marks a clear sign that prices are rising and, in most cases, have hit above $2 per litre with people predicting that it will get worst before it gets better. We will take a look at why the EV market may be positioned to take advantage of this economic pain.

EV cars have long been in the process of becoming a cleaner alternative to combustible engine vehicles. Since climate change has been at the forefront of politicians and corporations’ agendas, companies such as Tesla have managed to carve out a large portion of the market for themselves and be the leading light into the new generations of cars. Whether that be by producing the latest car in the Roadster or providing companies with “regulatory credits” which allow the companies to reach emission targets set by governance in their respective countries.

In a push to reduce carbon emissions, governments around the world have introduced incentives for automakers to develop electric vehicles in return for regulatory credits. Because Tesla only manufacturers EV cars, they get free credits and as they have a surplus amount, they can sell these credits to their competitors for them to be able to meet the latest emissions targets. That’s one way in which Tesla profits hugely from their vision as they are able to make 100% profits on these credits.

As climate change reels its head and costs of fuel soars, many believe that EVs are the best alternative to an old age problem. However for EV cars to be successfully incorporated in our communities, there has to be a few advances in infrastructure including more regular charging stations, and improved battery life, with many currently working on producing longer lasting, quicker charging and more affordable batteries. As well as this, the price of EV vehicles would need to come in line with economy combustible engine vehicles to make them more desirable.

The infrastructure for electric-vehicle charging continues to expand. In 2019, there were about 7.3 million chargers worldwide, of which about 6.5 million were private, light-duty vehicle slow chargers in homes, multi-dwelling buildings and workplaces. Convenience, cost-effectiveness and a variety of support policies (such as preferential rates, equipment purchase incentives, and rebates) are the main drivers for the prevalence of private charging.

Market Performance: Sales of electric cars topped 2.1 million globally in 2019, surpassing 2018 – already a record year – to boost the stock to 7.2 million electric cars. Electric cars, which accounted for 2.6% of global car sales and about 1% of global car stock in 2019, registered a 40% year-on-year increase. Companies leading the way in manufacturing of EV cars and companies working alongside in infrastructure, battery life development and electricity providers in the field are: TESLA Volkswagen Group BMW Hyundai/KIA Jaguar Land Rover Schneider Electric SE Siemens AG ABB Eaton Corporation ChargePoint, Inc.

Webasto Group EVBox B.V. Blink Charging, Co. EFACEC Popular mentions to Delta Electronics, Inc. (Taiwan), Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc. (U.S.), Alfen (Netherlands), NewMotion B.V. (Netherlands), Star Charge (China), SemaConnect (U.S.), Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany), and ClipperCreek Inc. (U.S.).

Some of the key players in both car manufacturing, infrastructure and battery performance which investors are keeping a close eye on, in order to take advantage of potential opportunities within the stock market. As we can gather from the research, figures and public opinion as well as Geopolitical issues affecting prices of energy, we can conclude that a change to EV cars is not longer just a pipedream but a very potential reality, with governments aligned with corporations and the public in wanting to have a change of direction from combustible engines to electricity charged vehicles. We would be able to see a huge increase or EV cars on our roads within the next few years.

Sources: CNBC, iea.org, Google, meticulousblog.org