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2020 COTY:

Meet this year's Company Of The Year

Zoom turned into a lifeline for millions of people in 2020, as a global pandemic forced 'social distancing'

Google Stadia is now available in eight more European countries

Kris Holt
·Contributing Writer
·1 min read

Google has switched on Stadia in eight more European countries. Residents of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Switzerland will be able to start using the game-streaming service over the next day or so as Google rolls out access.

That brings Google's tally of countries in which Stadia is available to 22. As long as you have a Gmail address and a decent enough internet connection, you'll be able to play Destiny 2 or Super Bomberman R Online gratis across a number of devices. New members get a free month of Stadia Pro, which includes a number of additional games. Continuing a subscription and maintaining access to games costs €9.99/month in those countries.

Otherwise, users have to buy games individually. Stadia's storefront includes the likes of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Marvel's Avengers and Cyberpunk 2077, the latter of which will be released on Thursday.

It's important for game-streaming services to expand to more markets as competition heats up between them. Nvidia's GeForce Now platform is also available throughout Europe. Save for Romania, Microsoft's xCloud service is available in all of the aforementioned countries too. Amazon's Luna, meanwhile, is in beta and only available in the US for now.

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  • Vanguard Makes Rare Retreat as Price War It Started Takes a Toll

    (Bloomberg) -- Vanguard Group created the price-cutting fervor that became an Olympic sport in money management. Now it’s feeling the toll of that competition.The fund giant amassed $6.3 trillion on founder Jack Bogle’s once-contrarian idea that it could thrive by focusing on cutting costs for investors. That ethos, which helped Vanguard earn the trust of small savers and big institutions alike, has been showing its limits in a turbulent year.Net flows to Vanguard’s funds slowed in 2020 as rivals continue to roll out similar products and amid the rise of so-called robo advisers and almost-free trading. The vast majority of its growth came from exchange-traded funds, though they offer even thinner fees than the index mutual funds that long propelled its success. The company staged an abrupt retreat in recent months from some of its boldest plans for global expansion.It all shows that even the world’s second-largest asset manager isn’t impervious to the combined pressures of industry competition and the discombobulating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the financial world. As Vanguard charts a course through the storm, it’s ditched business lines, closed overseas offices and seen senior executives depart. Now the firm is swiveling to focus more squarely on what it knows best: catering to individual investors.“Their roots are in retail -- that higher-touch institutional service model isn’t necessarily their strength,” said Kyle Sanders, an asset management analyst at Edward Jones. “They were just never reaching that level of success.”It’s no help that competition in retail investing is fiercer than ever, with customers expecting virtually-free experiences at a range of firms -- whether it’s getting automated advice online or making no-fee trades through Charles Schwab Corp. or the financial-technology phenomenon Robinhood Markets Inc.This year, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded from a blistering selloff to soar past 30,000 for the first time, funds run by Vanguard in the U.S. drew about $159.1 billion in total net flows through October, coming in 19% below the approximately $197 billion it collected by the same point last year. That’s the money manager’s lowest level of net flows for the first 10 months of a year since 2013.Vanguard’s storied mutual funds took in just $10.4 billion over the same 10-month period. Its ETFs brought in a net $148.7 billion, with around 20% of that coming from conversions of shares from its mutual funds to its ETFs, according to company data.The squeeze on inflows isn’t just affecting Vanguard. Its main rival, publicly traded BlackRock Inc., saw total net flows through the first three quarters of the year dip 12% from the year-earlier period to $264 billion.Unlike such rivals, Vanguard has an unusual structure in which it’s owned by its funds and therefore the investors in them. The Valley Forge, Pennsylvania-based firm’s main mission is to give customers “the best chance for investment success,” said company spokesman Freddy Martino.Amid heightened competition among low-cost money managers, Vanguard has made a series of moves this year rolling back its global ambitions. It withdrew from Hong Kong and Japan, and returned $21 billion in managed assets to government clients in China. It shuttered most of its Australia institutional business.Another blow came last week, when Vanguard lost its mandate to run at least $590 million in Taiwan government pension and insurance assets. The sum was redeemed in part because of the firm’s “unusual moves” in Asia, according to a Bureau of Labor Funds update.“Vanguard’s vision for our international businesses is to improve investment outcomes for individual investors, either by serving them directly or through financial intermediaries,” Martino said in a statement. “We are focused on countries globally where our business model resonates.”Institutional funds were at one point a pillar of Vanguard’s growth strategy in Asia. Back when William McNabb was chief executive officer, he made a point to travel to Asia at least once a year. After taking the helm in 2018, Tim Buckley opted out of his predecessor’s annual trips, according to a former employee in the region. They likely became impossible anyway with the pandemic.That person and two former colleagues, speaking on the condition they not be identified, said the company found it increasingly difficult to commit the necessary resources to catering to the region’s institutional clients, who often require customization and individualized attention. In recent years the firm turned away some mandates from institutional customers because the fees generated were too low to justify the work, one of the people said. It still maintains a presence in defined contribution plans, a type of retirement plan, as well as in endowments and foundations.Vanguard made several leadership changes this year. In July it named John James, formerly the head of Vanguard’s human resources division, to oversee institutions, preceding its pullback in Asia. Last week it appointed Chris McIsaac to lead its international business, succeeding a more-than three-decade company veteran, Jim Norris.To its competitors -- and especially smaller firms that have suffered outflows this year -- Vanguard maintains an enviable position in money management. Its ETF inflows are a major bright spot: Vanguard trounced BlackRock in the first three quarters of the year as it continues to gain market share.As it adjusts, Vanguard is doubling down on managing money for individual investors, setting up a potential price war for investment advice. It’s promoting a robo-adviser that selects portfolios made up of Vanguard ETFs. For those with about $50,000 or more to invest, Vanguard pushes a reduced-cost advisory service with access to a human via phone, email or video conference. Since setting up a joint venture with China’s Ant Group Co. last December, the duo unveiled a robo adviser aimed at customers with at least 800 yuan ($122) to invest, which recommends portfolios built from 6,000 mutual funds.In a sense, the company is doubling down on the no-frills ethos that has worked so well for decades to weather the landscape it helped inspire.“The Vanguard effect is hitting Vanguard,” said Eric Balchunas, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “It’s like a boomerang in a way.”For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

  • I’m 38 with $315,000 saved for retirement, but have $30,000 in debt. Should I lower my 401(k) contributions to get rid of that debt?

    Your issue is a common one: The average personal debt load (that’s debt excluding mortgages) of people with debt is about $38,000, according to research from Northwestern Mutual. “He is still contributing 15% (10% employer, 5% employee) toward retirement with a long runway being only 38 years old.” Frankly, you might even be able to contribute less to retirement if that meant you could pay down debt faster: “Saving money for retirement is incredibly important, but between your savings to date and your company’s 10% contribution (which is amazing — kudos to them), your retirement fund should continue to grow steadily — even if you take a pause from saving altogether and drop your contribution rate down to 0%,” says Amy Ouellette, director of retirement services at Betterment for Business — adding that’s true only “as long as you’re truly ready to be focused on paying down your debt as rapidly as possible.”

  • Billionaire Ray Dalio Picks Up These 3 “Strong Buy” Stocks

    Sometimes, the experts will tell us what we already know. Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, has built a legendary reputation in financial circles, for taking his firm from a home business in his two-bedroom apartment to the international hedge fund giant, employing over 1,500 people and managing more than $138 billion in total assets. But when questioned on how he did it, or how today’s investors can survive the ongoing pandemic crisis, his advice can sound downright ordinary.Dalio’s advice for investing during the pandemic can be summed up easily enough. First, he says to diversify the portfolio. Diversification means spreading out the risk, which in turn will reduce your losses should one – or even several – investments turn south. Second, Dalio tells us not to bother trying to ‘time the market.’ Even the pros don’t usually get this right, and Dalio says that simply buying into a stock you like, and holding it long term, is a better strategy then trying to buy in at the right time. The stock market is a risky place to put your money, and Dalio understands that. His tactics for mitigating that risk are age-old – and have arguably brought him great success. Bearing this in mind, we decided to look at Bridgewater's recent activity for inspiration. Running three stocks Dalio's fund picked up during Q3 through TipRanks’ database, we found out that the analyst community is also on board, as each sports a “Strong Buy” consensus rating.Baxter International (BAX)We will start with Baxter International, a healthcare company based outside of Chicago. Baxter produces medical devices and other products for the treatment of acute and chronic conditions, particularly blood, immune, and kidney diseases. The company markets mainly to healthcare professionals and institutions, rather than the open market, and boasts over $11 billion in annual revenue.The company’s revenues through 2020 have been stable, and in-line with historical values. Baxter ended 2019 with a $3 billion quarter; that slipped to $2.72 billion 1Q20, but had risen steadily to $2.97 billion by 3Q20. The company pays out a modest dividend for investors, which at 24.5 cents per common share gives a yield of 1.3%.Dalio’s position in Baxter is a new one for him. His firm bought up 124,701 shares of the stock, a holding that is worth $9.73 million at current prices.5-star analyst Danielle Antalffy, of SVB Leerink, writes of Baxter, “[We] see BAX's underlying fundamentals -- accelerating sales growth, meaningful margin expansion -- as unchanged. One of the most meaningful datapoints in this quarter was 6% peritoneal dialysis patient growth… well ahead of the mid-single-digit long-term growth outlook for the Renal business that the Street is modeling. As the COVID pressures begin to lift, visibility into the long-term growth drivers should improve, and we would expect the shares to move meaningfully higher.”In line with her bullish comments, Antalffy rates BAX shares an Outperform (i.e. Buy), and her $105 price target implies a 34% one-year upside potential. (To watch Antalffy’s track record, click here)Overall, the analyst consensus rating on Baxter is a Strong Buy, based on 12 reviews that include 11 Buys against just a single Hold. The stock is selling for $78, and its $95 average price target suggest it has room for ~22% upside growth in 2021. (See BAX stock analysis on TipRanks)CVS Health Corporation (CVS)The next stock is another healthcare company, but where Baxter, above, markets to the professional side of that sector, CVS aims squarely at the consumer healthcare market. This company is best known as the CVS pharmacy chain, and is a staple of the retail scene. CVS stores offer a range of home healthcare and hygiene products, along with basic groceries, pharmacy services, and some more specialized prescription medical equipment. The company has brought in more than $130 billion in annual revenues for the past three years.CVS’ revenues showed a slight dip this year, during Q2, when economic conditions deteriorated, but quickly rebounded. The sequence of quarterly earnings in 2020, $66.7 billion, $65.3 billion, and $67.1 billion, show a steady sales base, to be expected from a retailer dealing in products mainly deemed essential during the shutdown policies. Q3 EPS came in at $1.66, well ahead of consensus expectations of $1.33.The dividend here is 50 cents per share, and has been held steady at that level for over three years now. The payment annualizes to $2, and gives a yield of 2.7%.Dalio’s Bridgewater bought 320,039 shares of CVS stock last quarter, expanding a test position that the firm already held. The buy boosted the total holding dramatically, to 333,804 shares, which are now worth $24.87 million.Deutsche Bank analyst George Hill notes that CVS looks set for a ‘peaceful transition of power’ when the current CEO, Larry Merlo, steps down next year. "While we believe Ms. Lynch will likely consider executing upon CVS’ vertically integrated care delivery strategy, we do expect her to take a fresh look at the business and have little fear of exploring new directions. We believe Mr. Merlo’s legacy will be having the courage to try to reshape and better utilize the struggling retail pharmacy with the Aetna deal," Hill noted."CVS is in the early innings on delivering against its vision of a vertically integrated healthcare services company with outsized consumer engagement," the analyst concluded.To this end, Hill rates CVS shares as a Buy, and gives them a $101 price target, indicating his confidence in 35% growth potential over the next months. (To watch Hill’s track record, click here)Overall, CVS has 7 recent Buy reviews and 2 Holds, giving the stock a Strong Buy rating from the analyst consensus. The average price target is $83.29, suggesting an 11% upside from the current share price of $74.50. (See CVS stock analysis on TipRanks)Darling Ingredients (DAR)With the last stock, we move from healthcare to the food industry. Darling Ingredients recycles the waste products of the restaurant industry and the animal-processing industry – namely, oils, fats, and grease – and manufactures usable meat and bone meals, yellow grease, and tallow. The company’s products are used in pet foods, animal feeds, bioenergy, and fertilizers. Darling has delivered strong performance through 2020. The company’s quarterly earnings have held between $848 million and $852 million during the corona crisis, while earnings have been shown year-over-year gains in each quarter. The Q3 results included 61 cents EPS on $850 million in top line revenues. DAR stock has been rising steadily since last winter’s market crash, and is up ~77% year-to-date.This is another new holding for Dalio and Bridgewater. During Q3, the fund pulled the trigger on 69,392 shares, which are now worth $3.46 million. Covering the stock for Wolfe Research, 5-star analyst Sam Margolin is impressed by Darling’s combination of cutting-edge renewable fuels and mature feed segments. “We rate DAR Outperform because of its rapid growth in the Renewable Diesel segment (Diamond Green Diesel JV), supported by its feedstock/manufacturing advantage sourced largely from the base business… DAR’s other segments are Food and Feed ingredients, which are relatively mature compared to Fuels. While we do not expect material growth in Food and Feed, we note that margins in the segments have been remarkably steady over recent years…”These comments support Margolin’s Outperform (i.e. Buy) rating, and his $67 price target implies 34% upside growth next year. (To watch Margolin’s track record, click here)Other analysts are on the same page. With 5 Buys and 1 Hold received in the last three months, the word on the Street is that DAR is a Strong Buy. Shares are currently priced at $49.87, and the $58.83 average price target suggests double-digit growth of 18%. (See DAR stock analysis on TipRanks)To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

  • Xpeng Seeks $2 Billion To Stoke More Growth As Electric-Car Deliveries Soar

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  • Bank Error in Your Favor: Citi’s Fight to Reclaim $900 Million

    (Bloomberg) -- The market had just opened in New York when Arokia Raj knew he had a problem.A contractor in India for Citigroup Inc.’s Citibank retail business, Raj had been the “checker” on a periodic interest payment to a group of Revlon Inc. creditors, with the bank acting as administrative agent on the loan. Suddenly he realized that Citi had instead sent some of those creditors the full remaining principal.“Bad news,” his supervisor told the head of North American loan operations by chat on Aug. 12. It was, in fact, $900 million of bad news.Raj will testify this week by videoconference in federal court in Manhattan as Citibank goes to trial to recover the more than $500 million it still hasn’t gotten back from the defendants, asset managers including Brigade Capital Management, HPS Investment Partners and Symphony Asset Management. Unless there’s a last-minute settlement, the trial -- over one of the biggest banking errors in recent memory -- will be closely watched on Wall Street, and its outcome could have a significant impact on the industry.Representatives for Brigade and Symphony declined to comment on the case. A representative for HPS didn’t immediately provide comment outside of business hours.‘Shot Across the Bow’Citibank argues that because the funds were its own, not Revlon’s, and were transferred in error, they must be returned. To Revlon creditors already locked in a bitter fight with the cosmetics giant over its restructuring earlier in the year, the money satisfied a debt, and they should be allowed to keep it.Citibank has “a pretty strong case,” said Eric Talley, a professor of corporate law at Columbia Law School, but it’s “not so crystal clear that it doesn’t involve a little bit of risk.” The outcome will likely hinge on the creditors’ contention that they got what they were entitled to, he said.If they prevail, Talley said, it could be “a shot across the bow” of the big commercial banks, signaling that they won’t be able to get courts “to ride to the rescue to salvage an error that you committed because of poor internal controls.”Read More: Revlon to Avoid Bankruptcy Filing Upon Completing Debt DealMeanwhile Citi, which has had to explain the embarrassing error to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve, already has “a little bit of a black eye,” Talley said. Even if the bank wins, he said, “it would be an overshoot for Citibank to pop the champagne corks and say we’re vindicated after all.”Citigroup said it would do better.“As previously stated, we take pride in the role that we play as a global leader in financial services and recognize that an operational error of this nature is unacceptable,” the company said in a statement. “We look forward to presenting our case in court.”‘Mistakes Do Happen’Financial services trade groups have stuck up for Citibank in court filings, arguing that a win for the creditors would expose banks that facilitate wire transfers and serve as administrative agents to unnecessary risk. The Loan Syndications and Trading Association, whose more than 500 members include Citi as well as most of the creditors involved in the case, said that “mistakes do happen” and that participants routinely return incorrect payments, as many of the Revlon creditors have.A ruling for the defendants would “undermine the smooth functioning of syndicated lending” and promote “the kind of non-cooperative opportunistic behavior that destabilizes any market dependent on trust and transparency,” the group said.At the trial, which begins Wednesday, Citibank plans to present testimony from witnesses like Raj who can explain the processing errors that led to the payments, as well as internal communications showing that Revlon intended only to have the bank send interest. Revlon was allowed to pay the loans off early only if it notified the creditors three days in advance, Citi argues in court filings, and the balance wasn’t set to mature for another three years.QuickTake: ‘Unjust Enrichment’ and Citi’s $900 Million ErrorIn addition, the bank says, a lawsuit the creditors filed just one day after the transfers, demanding that Revlon accelerate payment of the debt, shows they knew they weren’t entitled to the early full payment Citibank sent on Aug. 11. And the creditors alleged in their suit that Revlon was insolvent, meaning they knew it didn’t have the money to make the payments, Citi argues.“They should at least have suspected a mistake when they received payments totaling the amount of principal outstanding,” the bank contends.Perelman’s RecordThe defendants argue that they accepted the money in good faith and didn’t receive notice of the error until almost 20 hours after the transfers were completed. They say they had ample reason to believe Revlon intended to pay off the loan. For instance, if Revlon hadn’t repaid the debt or repurchased enough of it, the company probably would have defaulted and “almost certainly” would have filed for bankruptcy, they argue.They note that Revlon paid off debt at face value at least five times in connection with the restructuring in May and twice more over the summer. They also note that Revlon gave creditors that consented to the restructuring the right to force the company to buy back its loans under the amended credit agreement. As a result, once they received the wire transfers, they considered the loans paid off.“It was especially unlikely that any term lender would have concluded that the August 11 transfer was a mistake given the recent history between the parties,” they argue.Referring to Ronald Perelman, the billionaire whose holding company MacAndrews & Forbes owns more than 80% of Revlon, they say “it is simply nonsense to suppose that sophisticated lenders, familiar with Mr. Perelman’s track record, would have doubted his ability to pay down the term loans, just as he had found ways to pay other Revlon debt before.”The case is Citibank NA v. Brigade Capital Management, 20-cv-6539, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).Read MorePerelman Sells Revlon Loans at a Loss, Weeks After Debt SwapCitigroup Gets Freeze on Brigade Money in $900 Million ErrorCiti Should Get Back Rest of $900 Million Flub, Trade Groups SayFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Steve Wozniak's Blockchain Venture Lists Cryptocurrency Token, Reaches $950M In 13 Minutes

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  • Better Due Diligence Would Have Turned Up More Clues About Nikola Founder Trevor Milton: Financial Times

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  • I’m 63, unemployed since March, and have $220,000 in retirement savings — should I claim Social Security early?

    I am 63 and have been unemployed since March with unemployment benefits to run out by Dec. 24. Here is my question: Is this a good time to take Social Security to help subsidize my gig work or should I wait until my Full Retirement Age? See: Confused about Social Security — including spousal benefits, claiming strategies and how death and divorce affect your monthly income?

  • Ford Motor Co. cuts contract workers effective immediately, ends buyout period for salaried employees

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  • Airbnb IPO Price Raised, With A Potential Valuation Near $42 Billion

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  • The Likely Fifth $1 Trillion Company Has 13% Upside, Analysts Say

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  • I’m 12 and in 7th grade. My parents are divorced and I earn $10 a month from my podcast. Should I invest in stocks now?

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  • Smith & Wesson Brands Clears Key Benchmark On Soaring Gun Sales, Profits

    Smith & Wesson Brands stock has made a tremendous recovery this year amid soaring sales of firearms. On Monday SWBI's Relative Strength (RS) Rating shot to 92, crossing a key threshold. Over 100 years of market history reveals that the best stocks typically have an 80 or higher RS Rating at the beginning of a new run.

  • Airbnb to Boost IPO Price Range, Aims for $42 Billion Value

    (Bloomberg) -- Airbnb Inc. boosted the price range of its initial public offering, pushing its potential valuation to as much as $42 billion.The San Francisco-based company will now offer its shares for $56 to $60 apiece, up from a previous price range of $44 to $50 each, according to a filing Monday. That would increase the amount Airbnb is expected to raise to as much as $3.1 billion, and push its fully diluted valuation to $42 billion from $35 billion at the top of the earlier range.Increasing the price range usually indicates high demand from investors and a well-received roadshow. Airbnb can still price its shares up to 20% higher than the top end of the revised range without having to reapply with the Securities and Exchange Commission.Airbnb’s IPO is part of a year-end rush for of consumer-facing technology listings as their public market plans were deterred by market and economic volatility earlier in the year. Positive coronavirus vaccine news and a better understanding of its impact have led investors to become more receptive toward companies that haven’t necessarily benefited from this year’s turmoil, dealmakers have said.Read more: Airbnb, DoorDash Boost Price Ranges Ahead of Mega Week for IPOsThe home-rental company, which has seen a bounce back in domestic bookings since the early days of the pandemic crushed demand, plans to offer 50 million shares, with existing shareholders selling an additional 1.6 million shares.The offering previously comprised 51.9 million shares, with existing investors planning to sell 1.9 million shares. Airbnb is expected to price its offering on Wednesday and begin trading the following day.Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are leading the IPO. Airbnb plans to trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol ABNB.(Updates with background in third and fourth paragraphs)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.