Tausi Insider

Will the next bull market in stocks resemble the previous one? Don’t count on it. As major North American benchmark indexes rise from recent lows in October – punctuated by Thursday’s strong rally based on data that showed easing U.S. inflation in October – it is only natural to ponder whether the worst of this year’s sell-off is behind us. There are still many threats hanging over the market, of course. Inflation remains a threat, central banks will likely continue to raise interest rates, there is a looming recession and corporate profits are slowing. Nevertheless, observers are now wondering what themes might drive the next sustained rally and what leaders might emerge. There is a significant payoff for anyone who gets it right. Stocks that tap into sweeping secular trends can produce stunning long-term gains, in some cases not only leading the stock market over a number of years, but defining it. Think of technology stocks in the 1990s, the commodities boom prior to the 2008-09 f...

The parent company of Tim Hortons has hired an executive known for leading a turnaround at Domino’s Pizza Inc. DPUKY as its new executive chair, and is giving him one of the largest sign-on executive compensation packages in Canadian history. Restaurant Brands International Inc. QSR-T is expected to announce Patrick Doyle as its new executive chair on Wednesday. He will replace co-chairs Alex Behring and Daniel Schwartz, who are co-managing partners of 3G Capital, RBI’s largest shareholder. Both Mr. Behring and Mr. Schwartz will remain on the board. The Toronto-based company, which also owns fast-food chains Burger King, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Firehouse Subs, is making the move as it seeks to boost its stock performance, which its executives believe has lagged the underlying value of the business. While the company’s share price has recovered from a significant dip during the early days of the pandemic, it is hovering around roughly the same price it reached five years ago. “W...

The parent company of Tim Hortons' is offering its new executive chair a package of stock options and shares that could potentially be worth nearly US$400-million. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press I ate at a Burger King in rural Montana earlier this fall. The wait to order was long. My burger was overcooked. My mother got the wrong order, and it was cold as well. It was, she says, the worst fast-food meal she’d ever had. I don’t blame the workers; the restaurant was understaffed, and they are underpaid. Yet those front-line workers at Burger King, Tim Horton’s, and all the other chains in the Restaurant Brands International Inc. QSR-T portfolio are the most important driver of customer happiness. Yet once again, the company is going to give a gargantuan pay package to its executive class, leaving crumbs for the underpaid and overworked people who serve us. Not even the common shareholders of the company are benefiting from the largesse. RBI said Wednesday it has lured Patrick D...

A Macy's store in the Downtown Crossing district, in Boston, on Nov. 17, 2021. Charles Krupa/The Associated Press Upscale U.S. retail chain Macy’s Inc M-N raised its annual profit forecast on Thursday on resilient demand for high-end clothes and beauty products, while the inflation squeeze on lower-income shoppers forced rival Kohl’s Corp KSS-N to scrap its forecast. Luxury goods sales have held up for Macy’s as affluent shoppers returning to social events after the pandemic splurge on pricier handbags, perfumes, clothing and gifts heading into the holiday season. But Kohl’s withdrew its annual forecasts, as the company, which caters more to lower-income customers and stocks fewer luxury goods, reeled from weakening demand due to rising prices. “The Kohl’s customer is being hit by inflation a lot more than Macy’s,” said Jane Hali & Associates analyst Jessica Ramirez. “Shoppers are also now traveling and returning to offices, and Macy’s has a better collection of those product...

After five days of testimony, including three hours from Elon Musk, a Delaware judge will now decide whether Musk’s $56-billion pay package from Tesla Inc was justified by the company’s explosive growth or undermined by a flawed process. Musk and the Tesla directors named as defendants repeatedly testified that the package achieved what it set out to do – deliver 10-fold growth in the company’s stock price, enriching investors and Musk. “We thought if we could pull this off, if this plan was executed, Tesla would be one of the most valuable technology companies,” Antonio Gracias, a Tesla board member from 2007 to 2021, told the Delaware Court of Chancery on Wednesday. “It was a great deal for the shareholders.” The trial seeks to resolve claims by shareholder Richard Tornetta that the 2018 pay package was dictated by Musk, the world’s richest person, to subservient directors and approved by a vote of shareholders who were misled by Tesla. The trial wrapped up on Friday, as Musk strug...

On Tuesday, Suncor executives are scheduled to stage their first investor day since reaching an agreement in July with hedge fund Elliott Investment Management LP. Todd Korol/Reuters Suncor Energy Inc. SU-T set clear performance targets this summer in the face of an activist investor campaign. The fate of its Petro-Canada division rests on just how quickly the oil and gas company wants to reach those goals. On Tuesday, Suncor executives are scheduled to stage their first investor day since reaching an agreement in July with hedge fund Elliott Investment Management LP. The settlement saw the company welcome three new board members, pledge to address operational issues and consider selling Petro-Canada and its 1,800 gas stations. Last month, Suncor promised to reveal plans for the division, which analysts estimate could fetch up to $10-billion, at Tuesday’s session. Going into the big reveal on Petro-Canada’s future, Suncor interim chief executive officer Kris Smith has made a number o...

A prominent U.S. short-seller targeted Canadian dairy giant Saputo Inc., SAP-T sending the company’s shares falling Tuesday. Spruce Point Capital Management LLC released a 147-page report attacking Saputo Tuesday morning. In it, Spruce Point questioned the success of Saputo’s acquisitions and said it thinks a tough global market for milk consumption means the company will have increasing difficulty covering its dividend. Spruce Point says it sees 40 per cent to 60 per cent downside in the company’s shares, with a fair value of $13.75 to $20.50 a share. In an unsigned statement sent to Tausi Insider Tuesday afternoon, Saputo said Spruce Point never engaged with the company. “Saputo is of the opinion that the report is without merit and that it contains mischaracterizations and incorrect information, which are misleading and solely intended to benefit the author.” The company did not identify what it says is incorrect. Saputo said it “remains focused on its global strategic plan initia...

The Liberal government’s proposed tax on stock buybacks is going to be expensive for a number of Canadian companies. Unfortunately, investors can’t be sure of which ones, and by how much. The reason – and I know this will shock you – is that Canadian disclosure requirements for companies’ buyback activity have lagged U.S. rules for nearly 20 years. And the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would like to expand what companies there reveal, which threatens to widen the information gap with Canada. To review, the government said earlier last month it plans to introduce a 2-per-cent tax on share buybacks starting in 2024. The idea is ripped off from the United States, which in August brought in a 1-per-cent tax on stock buybacks, starting in 2023. A lot of the discussion of the proposal is black-and-white: The Liberal government clearly sees buybacks as a diversion of capital from job-creating investment; business groups have said the buybacks are a legitimate capital-management t...

Photo : ASTA Concept ( Shutterstock ) While the idea of “passive income” sounds great, the term is usually misleading, as establishing passive income streams often requires a lot of work. While most passive income schemes involve starting a business or sinking some capital into investments, there are also ways to leverage your creative and artistic impulses: If you’re passionate about music, photography , or shooting videos, for example, you can turn those passions into income— even if you’re not necessarily a professional— by selling your work to stock media sites. Stock sites have vast collections of media that people pay to license for use in their podcasts, videos, websites, book covers, video games—basically any product that uses music , sound effects, images, or video very likely uses some volume of stock media (see the photo above as an example). And every time a photo or piece of music is licensed from a stock site, there’s a creator somewhere getting paid—and that ...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk visits the construction site of the car maker's Gigafactory, in Gruenheide, Germany, on Aug. 13, 2021. POOL New/Reuters Tesla boss Elon Musk disclosed another $3.6-billion in stock sales on Wednesday, taking his total near $40-billion this year and frustrating investors as the company’s shares wallow at two-year lows. A U.S securities filing showed he unloaded 22 million shares in the world’s most valuable car maker over three days from Monday to Wednesday. The sale is the second big chunk of stock he has cashed out since his $44-billion purchase of Twitter in October. It isn’t clear if the sales are related to the Twitter acquisition, but they are annoying investors who are upset by a perception he is diverting his focus and resources to Twitter ahead of Tesla. “It doesn’t put a lot of confidence in the business, or speak volumes for where his attention is at,” said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at brokerage IG Markets, where Tesla is a popular stock among small-...

It’s that time of year again, when we consider how to reward friends, loved ones and acquaintances with corporate stocks that will add to the warmth and glow of the holiday season. But how should we match stock with recipient? Dad seems to own everything already. Jules says she isn’t going near another initial public offering with the Fed withdrawing liquidity. And young Kyle seems so obsessed with free cash flow these days. We’re here to help, with the Globe and Mail gift guide, 2022 edition – where we put the stock into stocking stuffer. For dividend decor: Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. If you’re like many dividend-loving Canadians during the holidays, your home is probably filled with sparkling displays of banks, pipelines and telecoms. Is there room for yet another cash-flowing centrepiece? This season, consider looking beyond stocks with the biggest yields and instead turn your attention toward dividend growers – companies that are generating loads of cash and have good track ...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends an opening ceremony for the car maker's China-made Model Y program, in Shanghai, on Jan. 7, 2020. Aly Song/Reuters Tesla Inc TSLA-Q shares touched a fresh two-year low in volatile trading on Friday as boss Elon Musk’s promise to not sell his shares for at least two years did little to reassure investors. Musk has offloaded shares worth $40-billion in the world’s most valuable carmaker since late last year, with $15-billion of that coming after he made similar pledges not to sell in April. That, along with concerns about his distraction with newly bought Twitter and a slowdown in China’s economy, have set the electric-car maker’s shares on course for their worst year since going public in 2010. The stock was last down 1.2 per cent on Friday, after falling as much as 3.5 per cent earlier to its lowest since September 2020. “I won’t sell stock until I don’t know probably two years from now. Definitely not next year under any circumstances and probably not...

A group led by the management of Canaccord Genuity Group Inc CF-T said on Monday it would launch a takeover bid for the Canadian financial services company, valuing the firm at nearly $1.13-billion. The offer price of $11.25 per share marks a 31 per cent premium to the stock’s last close. In June, Canaccord’s largest shareholder had expressed concerns that the public markets were undervaluing the company, Canaccord said. After discussion with the company’s chief executive officer Daniel Daviau, the shareholder said it would support a go-private deal. https://www.tausiinsider.com/canaccord-genuitys-management-seeks-to-acquire-firm-in-nearly-1-13-billion-deal/?feed_id=325642&_unique_id=63f8ed3f2934a

CEO Elon Musk attends the opening ceremony for Tesla's China-made Model Y program, in Shanghai, China, on Jan. 7, 2020. Aly Song/Reuters While still grappling with the fallout from a company he did take private, beleaguered billionaire Elon Musk is now facing a trial over a company he didn’t. Long before Musk purchased Twitter for $44-billion in October, he had set his sights on Tesla TSLA-Q, the electric automaker where he continues to serve as CEO and from which he derives most of his wealth and fame. Musk claimed in an August 7, 2018 tweet that he had lined up the financing to pay for a $72-billion buyout of Tesla, which he then amplified with a follow-up statement that made a deal seem imminent. But the buyout never materialized and now Musk will have to explain his actions under oath in a federal court in San Francisco. The trial, which begins on Tuesday with jury selection, was triggered by a class-action lawsuit on behalf of investors who owned Tesla stock for a 10-day per...