WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 1, 2022) Northmarqs multi-year objective to bring an investment sales team to every one of its debt & equity offices, took a step closer to completion with the addition of a team of industry-recognized professionals in its Washington, D.C. office.

Christopher Doerr, William Harvey, and Shack Stanwick will be based out of Northmarqs Washington, D.C. office and focus on the origination of investment sales and capital raises. They will concentrate on opportunities in the Mid-Atlantic region, including Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and into the Northeast. Our team is excited to join Northmarq. Their investment sales platform is experiencing rapid growth and tremendous momentum, and were thrilled to be a part of it, said Doerr. We look forward to working alongside our local bankers to provide seamless debt execution to our investment sales business. We truly want to be a full-service advisor to our clients. Our team has big plans to grow in the Mid-Atlantic and into the Northeast across all asset classes.

Chris, Will and Shack are a dynamic team with years of experience, have a strong reputation in the region, and are aligned with Northmarqs values and culture, making them an ideal addition to our growing multifamily platform, explained Trevor Koskovich, president investment sales. As they integrate with our regional debt and equity teams, I am eager to see our coverage expand in this region as we serve our clients commercial real estate needs.

Prior to joining Northmarq, Doerr served as managing director at Walker Dunlop, where he oversaw investment sales activity in the Mid-Atlantic. He also served as a senior managing director for five years at Cushman & Wakefield, working with owners of institutional real estate providing disposition services for multifamily properties in the Mid-Atlantic, as well as joint venture structuring, recapitalization, and equity placement. He has been responsible for more than $5 billion worth of transactions.

Harvey previously served as a vice president at Walker & Dunlop, where he handled investment sales activity in the Mid-Atlantic. Before this, he was an associate at Cassidy Turley (d/b/a Cushman & Wakefield) where he assisted in the disposition and equity placement process. Harveys prior experience also includes serving in the Finance department at FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority). He has completed sales of commercial real estate assets totaling more than $3 billion (nearly 20,000 units) within the past five years.

Stanwick joins Northmarq after his employment as associate director for Walker & Dunlops multifamily investment sales team where he focused on representing multifamily owners, developers, and operators. Before this, he worked for three years at CBRE.

See the rest here:
Northmarq's Washington, D.C. office adds top-tier investment sales team with eyes on expanded regional coverage - NorthMarq

By Irina Slav - Dec 01, 2022, 2:06 AM CST

Investment in the upstream oil and gas industry in Russia could decline by $15 billion this year as a result of Western sanctions, Rystad Energy has calculated, saying the total for the year could end up around $35 billion.

The analytical firm noted that Russian upstream investments stood at $45 billion last year, increasing from $40 billion in 2020. Before Russias invasion of Ukraine, upstream investments in the country were expected to rise to $50 billion in 2022, but sanctions have begun to bite and investment is set to decline substantially amid the exodus of Western oil companies from the country.

According to Rystad, investments would remain lower than normal until at least 2025 but this would likely affect smaller oil companies, while Gazprom and Rosneft will be able to continue spending as they were spending until this year, the company said.

The situation appears to be particularly worrying for the LNG industry, where several large-scale projects have been delayed because of sanction-related problems with technology and funding.

The war in Ukraine has cost the Russian oil and gas sector dearly, with project investments taking a significant hit. Covid-related disruptions in 2020 dragged down spending but this year looks set to be the start of a multi-year slump that will make the Covid years pale in comparison, said Swapnil Babele, a senior analyst with Rystad.

The worst affected projects will be Greenfield ones, the analytical firm also said, with investment in new field development set to decline by 40 percent this year from last, to $8 billion from $13.7 billion.

Next year Rystad does not expect any significant new oil and gas projects to receive approval amid the lingering effects of Western sanctions. In 2024, however, there will be a boost in production as Gazprom begins extraction from one new field and Rosneft launches production at one of the fields comprising the giant Vostok Oil project.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Russian Upstream Oil And Gas Investment Set To Plunge By $15 Billion - OilPrice.com

Redwood Materials a lithium battery recycling company based in Carson City received more than $105 million in tax abatements following a unanimous decision Thursday by the Governors Office of Economic Development (GOED) Board of Directors.

The abatements came after Redwood Materials announced a $1.1 billion capital investment, the second-largest in GOEDs history behind Tesla, which Redwood Materials CEO J.B. Straubel co-founded along with Elon Musk. Redwood plans to build a campus in Storey County at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center.

While the state is issuing a $105 million abatement, we are projecting the return on investment will be $5.6 billion for Nevada, Gov. Steve Sisolak said at Thursdays meeting.

As one of the few lithium battery recycling companies in the United States, Redwood Materials helps solve supply-chain problems for local manufacturers such as Panasonic and Tesla. It also allows the country to be less reliant on fossil fuels and less dependent on China, which has 80 percent of the global market share for lithium production.

With the tax abatements, Redwood Materials will be required to add 150 jobs in the first two years at an average weighted hourly wage of $32. By 2027, the company is expected to grow to a 450-employee workforce.

Over the next 20 years, Redwood Materials is also expected to generate $180 million in net new tax revenues for the state.

Aside from the investment to the workforce, Straubel said he is already investing in programs with UNR and UNLV to train an upcoming workforce in the lithium battery recycling industry. Straubel also said he is investing in elementary schools by offering tours to the recycling center and educating students at a young age.

During Thursdays meeting, officials thanked Straubel for keeping his company in Nevada, noting the critical need to move away from fossil fuels and expressing gratitude for making Nevada an epicenter of production for new green energy.

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Lithium recycler making near-record investment gets $105 million in Nevada tax abatements The Nevada Independent - The Nevada Independent

Shopify(SHOP -0.78%), the all-in-one commerce platform, has performed terribly in 2022, losing 70% year to date. However,investors have reasons to be optimistic. The company released an earnings report on Oct. 27showing why retailers continue gravitating to it.

Here are two reasons Shopify is the best investment in retail.

Shopify's business is driven by how successful it is at helping its merchant clients create sales, which today means using a multichannel retailing strategy. Data shows that the more channels a merchant offers shoppers to buy through, its revenue multiplies. For instance, when an online store sells through one additional marketplace, like Amazon, it gains a 38% increase in revenue. Likewise, the merchant sees a 120% revenue boost by having two additional channels.

Brick-and-mortar retailing is a significant sales channel that Shopify opened almost a decade ago by releasing its first point-of-sale (POS) software and payment system in 2013. Later it added a card reader in 2017 and additional first-party retail POS devices in 2019. This sales channel gave Shopify an offline presence long before many of its competitors. Most of its competitors use third-party POS solutions or only moved into physical retailing after e-commerce sales started fading post-pandemic.

Meanwhile, Shopify POS has rapidly become one of the preferred solutions for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB). On its third-quarter 2022 earnings call, Shopify President Harley Finkelstein said that since the beginning of 2021, SMB retailers have driven over half of the adoptions of POS Pro. He added that a third of the adoptions are from established offline retailers entirely new to e-commerce or selling only via POS devices. So, physical retailing brings Shopify an altogether new set of SMB customers.

Shopify is rapidly gaining enterprise customers, too. Several well-known brands adopted its POS Pro solutions during the quarter, driving its offline gross merchandise value (GMV) 35% higher over the previous year's period, or 41% in constant currency. This growth rate outpaced its third-quarter total GMV, which only grew 11% over the year-ago period, or 15% on a constant-currency basis. Its offline GMV also outpaces the third-quarter U.S. retail growth rate of 9%.

Shopify's multichannel initiatives are a long-term tailwind for growth. According to eMarketer, multichannel online retailing created $241 billion in sales in 2019, and this retail strategy continues to explode higher post-pandemic. By 2023, eMarketer expects multichannel sales to balloon to $575.62 billion.

Market data company Statista projects that global retail e-commerce sales will grow 42% to $8.1 trillion by 2026. So it was only a matter of time before Shopify focused on grabbing market share internationally.

The company introduced two cross-border solutions for retailers in 2022: Shopify Markets and Shopify Markets Pro. It launched Shopify Markets in the first quarter of 2022. This solution enables merchants to establish and manage a single online storefront in multiple countries and regions. Plus, the platform arms merchants with the necessary tools to scale their retailing business in each location added.

International customers can shop using their local currency, languages, and payment methods, and Shopify will collect any duties and import taxes at checkout.

Shopify Markets Pro, an enhanced version of Shopify Markets, debuted in the U.S. in mid-September 2022 in early access. A merchant that chooses the pro version gains Global-e Onlineas the merchant of record, the legal entity responsible for maintaining a merchant account and selling goods or services to an end customer. In addition, the merchant of record is responsible for adhering to local laws and regulations, registering for and paying taxes, arranging payments in local currency, and shipping andlogistics.

A person without Shopify Markets Pro acts as their merchant of record and must manage the complexities of selling cross-border themselves, which can be difficult, especially when handling multiple countries. Consequently, once Shopify starts ramping up the Pro service, it should bring in a ton of revenue, as the platform simplifies establishing a brand internationally for merchants.

Some investors might consider Shopify's stock expensive based on its price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 9.32, which is high compared to many of its peers. For instance, comparable companies BigCommerceandBlock sell at P/S ratios of 2.37 and 2, respectively. However, Shopify's solid third-quarter revenue growth beat analysts' estimates. Shopify also posted a smaller loss than expected, leading many to believe that the tide has turned and the stock is due to rebound.

If you believe in management's long-term growth plans of multichannel retailing and cross-border retailing, today's stock price might look like a bargain five years from now.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Rob Starks Jr has positions in Amazon, Block, Inc., Global-e Online Ltd., and Shopify. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, BigCommerce Holdings, Inc., Block, Inc., Global-e Online Ltd., and Shopify. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2023 $1,140 calls on Shopify and short January 2023 $1,160 calls on Shopify. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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2 Reasons Why Shopify Is the Best Retail Investment - The Motley Fool

HALEWOOD, England, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) will invest an extra 149 million pounds ($180 million) to boost output of electric vehicle (EV) power units by 70% at its engine factory in northern England as the U.S. carmaker accelerates its push to go electric.

Electric drive unit production capacity at the Halewood plant will increase to 420,000 units a year, from 250,000 units, starting in 2024, the Detroit-based carmaker said on Thursday.

The move will bring Ford's total investment in the combustion engine factory's transition to production of EV parts to 380 million pounds.

"This is a very significant and important part of scaling up for our transformation," said Tim Slatter, head of Ford in Britain. "This is a really big deal for Fords business in Europe."

The EV power unit, which consists of an electric motor and gearbox, replaces the engine and transmission of a fossil-fuel vehicle.

Ford has committed to selling only fully electric cars in Europe by 2030 and only electric commercial vans by 2035. That puts it ahead of the European Union's plans to effectively ban the sale of new fossil-fuel passenger cars by 2035.

Slatter said Ford plans to have nine fully electric models on sale in Europe by 2024, with Halewood supplying power units to assembly plants in Romania and Turkey for five high-volume models, including an electric version of the popular Puma SUV.

Halewood is expected to supply 70% of the 600,000 EVs the company aims to sell in Europe annually by 2026, Ford said.

The latest Ford investment includes 125 million pounds in the plant itself and 24 million pounds in the development and testing of new EV parts for production at Halewood.

Ford said the investment will safeguard more than 500 jobs.

The UK government contributed to the initial EV power unit investment at Halewood, which was announced by Ford last year.

($1 = 0.8326 pounds)

Reporting by Nick CareyEditing by Edward Tobin and David Goodman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read more here:
Ford to boost EV parts investment for UK plant by $180 mln - Reuters

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IrelandUruguay, Eastern Republic ofUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofViet Nam, Socialist Republic ofWallis and Futuna IslandsWestern SaharaYemenZambia, Republic ofZimbabwe

More:
Steve Williams: Sewer system upgrade an investment in city's future - Huntington Herald Dispatch

A reader asks:

We own a cash-flowing rental property with a sub-3% mortgage with 28 years remaining. On the Aug 18th episode of Portfolio Rescue, Barry said Real estate more or less returns zero net of inflation. However, does this statement take into account the leverage provided by a mortgage? Return comparisons between stocks and real estate seem to favor stocks, but its not clear whether these comparisons ever take into account mortgage leverage. Also, how does one factor a mortgage rate that is below current inflation into the calculus? On a 20-year time horizon, would it really theoretically be better to sell the property and invest the proceeds into some combination of stocks/bonds? -Nick

Robert Shiller painstakingly created an index of U.S. home prices going back to 1890.

When he produced it, Shiller mentioned, Oddly, it appears that no such long series of home prices for any country has ever been published. No real estate professor I talked to could refer me to one.

No one really knew how the housing market performed over the long run until Shiller put together his Real Home Price Index.

Here are the number updated through the latest 2022 data:

Its important to note that this series uses real, after-inflation, data for returns.

Lets dig into the numbers.

From 1890-2022 the U.S. housing market is up a total of just 122%.Thats 0.6% per year over the rate of inflation.

And the majority of that return has come in the past 3 decades or so.

From 1890-1989, the U.S. housing market appreciated just 30% in total or less than 0.3% per year. It basically went nowhere for 100 years after inflation. Since 1989, its now up more than 70% which is more than 1.6% per year above inflation.

Some people may look at these numbers and think theyre terrible. The stock markets long-term return over the rate of inflation is more like 6-7% per year.

How could housing be so much lower?

Personally, I think beating the rate of inflation while holding onto fixed-rate debt in the form of a mortgage and providing a roof over your head is a pretty good deal.

Its also important to note that Shillers data here doesnt take into account the actual experience of someone owning a home. This is just prices.

Lets say you purchased a home 10 years ago for $300,000 and you put 10% down ($30,000).

Now lets say sell that house for $500,000 right now.

Whats your return on investment?

Well, you made $200,000 on the purchase price so it has to be a 67% return right?

Yeah but what about the leverage involved?

You only put $30,000 down so was your return more like 6x?

Wrong again.

Each month you paid your mortgage, home insurance and property taxes. Plus you shelled our cash for upkeep, maintenance and landscaping. You probably bought some furniture, decorated the interior and made some home improvements.

When you purchased the house you would have had to pay closing costs. When you sell it there is a realtor fee and more closing costs. Then you have to pay for movers and such to get out.

Theres also the fact that you have to live somewhere. So do younet out your mortgage payments for what you would have paid in rent?

Im not sure anyone knows what their actual all-in costs are when owning a home because housing is a form of consumption. Plus, its the most emotional of all financial assets in that its where you live, sleep, eat and put down roots.

Thats why its so difficult to compare it to investments in the financial markets. You dont simply buy a house from a broker and pay an all-in expense ratio each year.

Housing is a complicated investment where the return calculation is often unclear.

Now, this reader is talking about a rental property so maybe its a little easier to figure out the return but there are still a lot of unknowns involved. That 3% mortgage rate is a huge asset for sure.

But the answer to this question will really come down to your tolerance for complexity.

Rental houses can offer a decent return on your investment. You have the ability to raise rents over time and your monthly payment is fixed so there is a nice inflation hedge there.

Plus you would hope the house price rises over time. Even if its only a little over the inflation rate like Shillers figures show, you would be building equity through both appreciation and principal payments.

There are also different risks involved when investing in rental properties:

It comes down to how comfortable you are with those risks versus simply investing your money in low-cost ETFs and not having to worry about anything beyond market volatility.

Your index funds are never going to call you in the middle of the night to complain that the AC is broken in your rental unit.

On the other hand, there are benefits to owning real estate. The biggest one is that youre not getting a price quote five days a week like you do in the stock market. That makes it way easier to think and act for the long-term.

The lack of volatility might allow you to sleep better at night too.

As with every investment, there are trade-offs involved.

Even if housing provides lower returns than the stock market, if it makes it easier for you to be a long-term investor, that might be worth the trade-offs.

We covered this question on the latest edition of Portfolio Rescue:

Your favorite tax expert, Bill Sweet, was back on the show as well covering questions about tax loss harvesting, decreasing your tax bill and how taxes change when your spouse exits the workforce.

Further Reading:Why Housing is More Important Than the Stock Market

Here is the podcast version of this episode:

Read this article:
Is Real Estate a Better Investment Than the Stock Market? - A Wealth of Common Sense

What happened

AGNC Investment (AGNC -0.60%) surged 2.6% shortly after the opening bell today and then settled back down during morning trading. As of 12:30 p.m. ET, the stock was up 1.6% to $10.15 per share.

The major indexes were down slightly on Thursday, led by the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was off about 250 points, or 0.7%, as of the same time.

AGNC Investment, a mortgage real estate investment trust (REIT), got a bump from some good news on Wednesday that was spiked with a little not-so-good news. The good news is that mortgage rates dropped again last week, as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate decreased to 6.49%, from 6.67% the previous week. Over the past four weeks, it has dropped 57 basis points.

The speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday at the Brookings Institution, where he indicated the Fed would be looking to slow the pace of rate hikes, could certainly help push mortgage rates even lower.

Investors may have seen the mortgage rate drop as a positive trend for AGNC Investment, which generates revenue by buying mortgage-backed securities and collecting the interest. Ideally, lower rates should improve purchasing power for prospective homebuyers and spur more mortgage activity.

However, now for the not-so-good news: Mortgage applications decreased last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Associations weekly survey.

From the previous week, mortgage applications decreased 0.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis and 33% on an unadjusted basis. Refinance activity dropped 13% from the previous week and was 86% lower than the same week a year ago. The one positive was a 4% seasonally adjusted increase in purchase activity.

This remains a very difficult market for homebuyers and the mortgage industry in general, and things likely won't start to improve until late 2023 of 2024.

As for AGNC Investment, spreads between mortgage-backed securities and Treasury bonds have widened to historically wide levels and the company's book value has plummeted. But as CEO Peter Federico said on the third-quarter earnings call, there are bright spots on the horizon.

"First, as spreads widen the book value of our existing portfolio declines, as has been the case this year. On the positive side, however, wider spreads also enhance the future value of our business by improving the go-forward return on our portfolio," Federico said.

AGNC pays out a monthly dividend of $0.12 at a yield of 14.1% -- so it is a good dividend stock, as REITs are required to pay out a certain percentage of earnings in dividends. But be cautioned that AGNC has had to cut its dividend twice since 2016, typically when yields get too high, so that is something to watch.

Dave Kovaleski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

See the original post:
Why AGNC Investment Stock Was Rising Today - The Motley Fool

Technology giant Apple Inc AAPL has had several CEOs leading the company over the years, including co-founder Steve Jobs heading the company through a period of innovative products like the iPod, iPhone and iPad. With big shoes to fill, Tim Cook took over for Jobs in 2011. Heres a look at how the stock has since performed.

What Happened: Jobs led Apple from 1997 to 2011 and helped push the company into new territory with a focus on new products and innovation. Jobs announced in August 2011 that he was stepping down as the Apple CEO. Jobs was replaced by Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook. Jobs recommended the Board of Directors to select Cook for the role.

Jobs would die two months later in October 2011 from complications related to pancreatic cancer. Jobs left behind an iconic legacy and is widely believed to be one of the most innovative CEOs of all time.

With former experience at IBM and Compaq along with being the Chief Operating Officer of Apple prior to becoming CEO, Cook brought new leadership to the role. While some investors and analysts were skeptical of Cook taking the post, he pushed the company forward to become the first public company valued at $2 trillion.

Cook has been the CEO of Apple since August 2011 and has turned in one of the best-performing stock returns over the same time period.

Related Link: 5 Things You Might Not Know About Apple CEO Tim Cook

Investing $1,000 in Apple Stock: Apple shares traded at $373.52 on Aug. 23, 2011, Jobs last day leading the company.

A $1,000 investment at the time of Cook taking over could have purchased 2.68 shares of Apple.

Apple shares split 7-to-1 on June 9, 2014, turning the investment into 18.76 shares. Apple shares split 4-to-1 in August 2020 turning the investment into 75.04 shares.

The $1,000 investment would now be worth $11,091.66 today, based on a share price of $147.81 at the time of writing. This figure does not take into account any dividends paid over the years as well.

A $1,000 investment in Apple when Cook took over would be up 1,009.2% over the last 11 years and 3 months. This represents an average annual return of 89.7% for investors who bet on Cook as the new CEO.

Read Next: Tim Cook Now Follows Elon Musk On Twitter, Ironically Ruining The Social Media CEO's Favorite Number

Photo: Courtesy ofACC Districton flickr

See original here:
If You Invested $1,000 In Apple Stock When Tim Cook Became CEO, Here's How Much You'd Have Today - Apple - Benzinga

HOUSTON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Brazil's state-controlled oil producer Petrobras (PETR4.SA) on Wednesday disclosed a 15% increase in its five-year spending plan to $78 billion, with little change to the company's strategy of focusing on fossil fuel production.

The last Petrobras business plan approved under President Jair Bolsonaro could be scrapped next year, as a newly elected government that takes office on Jan. 1 has signaled it will change the company's top management and review its strategy.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the firm is formally known, expanded planned investments between 2023 and 2027 by $10 billion compared with the 2022-2026 plan, it said in a filing.

The spending increase comes despite a reduction in the production target for 2023 of 100,000 barrels of equivalent oil per day (boed) to 2.6 million boed, the same it produced in 2015. Higher costs for drilling wells partially explains the added investments.

The company has also approved additional short-term drilling for existing projects above the company's long-term break-even of $35 per barrel.

Exploration and production will make up 83% of the spending, with production set to increase to 3.1 million boed by 2027.

Petrobras expanded investments to curb carbon emissions to 6% of the total from 4% before. It also more than doubled its decarbonization fund to about $600 million.

The company set a higher price for carbon - $90 per tonne, from $50 before - which expands the list of projects viable for approval.

President elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who takes over from Bolsonaro on Jan. 1, has said Petrobras should invest beyond fossil fuels and return to being the energy giant it was during his first two terms, from 2003 to 2010.

Lula's energy team said on Wednesday the business plan might be reviewed next year. Representatives of the president-elect met with Petrobras' CEO Caio Paes de Andrade this week and asked him to suspend the sale of Petrobras' Manaus refinery, which has been signed but is pending closing.

Petrobras' management plans to go ahead with the sale, people close to the information said. Divestments were estimated to be between $10 billion and $20 billion until 2027.

Lula is expected to decide on Petrobras' next CEO in mid-December. However, current CEO Andrade, appointed by Bolsonaro last June, is prepared to stay in the position until the end of his term in April, according to people familiar with the matter.

(This story has been refiled to fix typos in paragraphs 1 and 2)

Reporting by Sabrina Valle; Editing by Chris Reese, Grant McCool and Gerry Doyle

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

See original here:
Petrobras boosts five-year investment plan to $78 billion - Reuters