What Lies Ahead for Apple ETFs After iPhone Use Ban?, 10 SEPT

AMZN  AAPL  MSFT  NFLX  QQQXLK  FTEC  IYW  VGT

The tech giant Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report)shed nearly $200 billion in market value in just two days amid the reports of China planning to expand a ban on the use of iPhones to government-backed agencies and state companies. Notably, China is Apple’s third-largest market, accounting for 18% of the company’s total revenues last year.

The Wall Street Journal disclosed on Wednesday that Beijing had issued a directive instructing officials within central government agencies not to bring iPhones into their workplaces or use them for professional purposes. Bloomberg News later reported that this prohibition could extend to employees of state-owned enterprises and government-affiliated institutions.

Bernstein analyst believes an iPhone ban on all Chinese government employees could cut Apple's phone sales in China by as much as 5%. However, most analysts are also calling the reaction overblown, considering China is a much larger market beyond government agencies. Wedbush Securities thinks the ban would affect less than 5,00,000 iPhones of the roughly 45 million he expects to be sold in the country over the next 12 months.

The rumored restriction on iPhones comes closely after Huawei, a Chinese tech giant, launched its new premium smartphone. Bank of America analysts found the timing of these events to be noteworthy.

Growth Prospects

One of the primary motivations to invest in Apple is its dominant presence in the consumer tech landscape, positioning it favorably for expansion into rapidly growing sectors like artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR). These areas are anticipated to see compound annual growth rates exceeding 30% until 2030 (read: Guide to Artificial Intelligence ETFs).

Historically, Apple has demonstrated an ability to penetrate new markets and swiftly capture significant market share. With the recent launch of its VR/AR headset, the Vision Pro, in June, Apple's growth potential seems even more promising.

Additionally, the iPhone maker is expanding into new markets. Apple's Services segment, which includes the App Store, iCloud, Apple Music, Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade, has been a significant growth driver. With a growing global user base, these services are expected to generate massive revenues.

Solid Zacks Estimates

Apple boasts the world’s highest stock market valuation, at nearly $2.8 trillion. It has seen positive earnings estimate revision of a penny for both the current and the next fiscal year over the past 30 days.

Apple currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.64 on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations made by 29 brokerage firms. The current ABR compares to an ABR of 1.64 a month ago based on 29 recommendations. Of the 29 recommendations deriving the current ABR, 18 are Strong Buy and three are Buy. Strong Buy and Buy, respectively, account for 62.07% and 10.34% of all recommendations. A month ago, Strong Buy made up 62.07%, while Buy represented 10.34%.

Based on short-term price targets offered by 27 analysts, the average price target for Apple comes to $205.07. The forecasts range from a low of $140.00 to a high of $240.00.

Currently, Apple carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and a Growth Score of B, suggesting that the iPhone maker is primed for growth. Apple stock is cheap, trading at a P/E ratio of 30.26 compared with Amazon’s (AMZN - Free Report) 60.66 times, Netflix’s (NFLX - Free Report) 37.41 times and Microsoft’s (MSFT - Free Report) 30.54 times  (see: all the Technology ETFs here).  

Buy Opportunity!

That said, investors should consider the declining prices in Apple to be a better entry point. Several ETFs have the largest allocation to the tech titan. Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK - Free Report) , Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT - Free Report) , MSCI Information Technology Index ETF (FTEC - Free Report) , iShares US Technology ETF (IYW - Free Report) and Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) have Apple as the top or second firm with a double-digit allocation and carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK - Free Report) 

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund targets the broad technology sector and follows the Technology Select Sector Index. It holds about 65 securities in its basket, with Apple making up for a 21.7% share. Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund is the most popular and heavily traded ETF, with AUM of $51.6 billion and an average daily volume of 6 million shares. The fund charges 10 bps in fees per year.

Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT - Free Report) 

Vanguard Information Technology ETF manages about $54 billion in its asset base and provides exposure to 323 technology stocks. It currently tracks the MSCI US Investable Market Information Technology 25/50 Index. Here, Apple accounts for a 22.7% share. Vanguard Information Technology ETF has an expense ratio of 0.10%, while volume is solid at nearly 537,000 shares (read: Don't Fear Higher Rates: Tech ETFs to Rule on Nvidia & Allies).

MSCI Information Technology Index ETF (FTEC - Free Report) 

MSCI Information Technology Index ETF is home to 311 technology stocks with AUM of $7.3 billion. It follows the MSCI USA IMI Information Technology Index. Apple accounts for a 22.3% allocation. MSCI Information Technology Index ETF has an expense ratio of 0.08%, while volume is solid at 228,000 shares a day.

iShares US Technology ETF (IYW - Free Report) 

iShares Dow Jones US Technology ETF tracks the Russell 1000 Technology RIC 22.5/45 Capped Index, giving investors exposure to 135 U.S. electronics, computer software and hardware, and informational technology companies. Apple makes up 17.5% of the assets. iShares Dow Jones US Technology ETF has AUM of $11.4 billion and charges 40 bps in fees and expenses. Volume is good as it exchanges 924,000 shares a day.

Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) 

Invesco QQQ provides exposure to the 101 largest domestic and international non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq by tracking the Nasdaq 100 Index. Apple accounts for an 11.1% share. Invesco QQQ is one of the largest and most popular ETFs in the large-cap space, with an AUM of $207 billion and an average daily volume of 46 million shares. It charges investors 20 bps in annual fees.

https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2146661/what-lies-ahead-for-apple-etfs-after-iphone-use-ban?art_rec=home-home-top_stories-ID02-txt-2146661

"RV UPDATE" BY MNT GOAT, 10 SEPT

 Mnt Goat 

 ...they now have a VERY high level of Security and Stability, something that we have heard over the last 20 years they needed. Well…now its here…

...I have to tell you the currency rate of 1/6 of a penny (IQD 1320 = USD 1) absolutely does not reflect the currency rate of the dinar. It is being “artificially suppressed”!

   But most importantly...many other financial wizards, much more knowledgeable than I, also feel this way.  To make a very good comparison one only needs to compare Iraq to Kuwait to see the imbalance and inequity happening  (KWD 1 = USD 3.45).

  I believe there is nothing more for the CBI to do but to issue the lower denominations and them to watch for inflation over a period, as their plan states they will do, and if all goes well, they liberate their currency to the global markets as in FOREX.   

I thought we needed the Oil and Gas Law passed first?  Yes, I still believe they do and we might have to wait for it.   But there is a chance that based on how fast the economy is growing they may just put that on the back burner and rethink it (remember that Dr Shababi in 2012-2013 did not have this law passed, yet he was moving forward). We must remember the past.

Al-Fateh: 2023 is the year of American failure in Iraq after its failure to pass four malicious plans, 10 SEPT

 Al-Fateh: 2023 is the year of American failure in Iraq after its failure to pass four malicious plans

On Sunday, the leader of the Al-Fatah Alliance, Uday Abdul Hadi, described 2023 as the year of failure of American plans in Iraq.

Abdul Hadi said in an interview with Al-Maalouma, “Washington is deliberately pursuing a multiple agenda in the Iraqi arena, the first and last goal of which is to make it weak and in a state of instability, while pushing to keep the infrastructure of services, especially in the energy file, marginalized and unable to meet the local demand for electricity in order to use it as a card.” Pressure on governments.

He added, "2023 can be described as a year of failure for the American agenda, starting from its failure to disrupt the oil agreement with Tehran to the continuity of importing gas to maintain the operation of electricity production plants after the failure of 4 attempts to disrupt it, all the way to confronting attempts to use the dollar to create an economic crisis through the markets by raising the prices of materials." "food".

He pointed out that "the American role in the Middle East has begun to decline significantly, especially since many countries have begun to distrust Washington as it is the main cause of many crises and was behind the emergence of a series of terrorist organizations over the past 4 decades."

America has a series of military bases in the Middle East, including Iraq, and it is trying through hegemony to impose its agenda, which primarily takes into account the interests of Tel Aviv. link

Iraqi Dinar🔥Close To Having Iraqi Dinar RV Today 2023🔥Iraqi dinar news🔥R...

Kirkuk: Mediation for calm… but the “explosion” could happen at any moment, 10 SEPT

 Kirkuk: Mediation for calm… but the “explosion” could happen at any moment

Kirkuk: Mediation for calm... but the explosion could happen at any momentVarious political mediators are moving to control the calm in the city of Kirkuk (north of Baghdad), after violent friction between demonstrators and security forces, which was close to the outbreak of widespread violence.

Although the mediations have so far been able to restore cautious calm to the city, the roots of the problem have not been resolved, and it appears that the current movements do not have a strategic plan for normalization in Kirkuk.

Meanwhile, a large number of military vehicles carrying soldiers from the army and special forces, and riot control units, arrived in Kirkuk after reports of a possible Kurdish demonstration in the center of the city.

A senior officer said: The security forces have higher orders to prevent any unauthorized demonstration, while observers from the city’s residents expect that “the atmosphere is completely ready to explode.”

It seems that supporters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party see the current truce as a “setback for their presence in Kirkuk,” while their competitor, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, is regaining its local influence there, due to the increasing rapprochement of its leader, Bafel Talabani, with the Shiite factions.

The latter two apply to some extent the saying “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” against Masoud Barzani in Kirkuk, but settling scores in this way, and in a nationally complex city, would seem like “playing with fire,” in the words of a local official in the Kirkuk government.

The city was supposed to be subject to Constitutional Article 140, which stipulates the normalization of the situation through a population census and a referendum on its fate, but after federal forces took control of the city in 2016, Shiite party leaders considered that there was no need for this article of the constitution.

rawabetcenter.com

Iraq stock market. The last place to trade "fils" and its "black" market defraud the price of the dollar, 10 SEPT

 Iraq stock market. The last place to trade "fils" and its "black" market defraud the price of the dollar

 2023-09-09 | 21:11

Economists said that the Iraq Stock Exchange relies on the shares of leading companies such as the Babel Hotel and Pepsi, while most other offered institutions sell their shares at a low price less than a dinar, so that the value is recorded in "fils", a currency that has not been in circulation for many years.

Duraid Al-Enezi – Securities expert for Network 964:

The stock market in Iraq is emerging but is active.

– The market was established in the time of the former regime, but it was established with small amounts of money because Iraq was going through an economic blockade.

After 2003, the market witnessed a reactivation as it shifted from a centralized system to a market and stock system.

– The stock market suffers because it does not contain sufficient industrial and agricultural companies and depends on trade, banks and some hotels.

– The prices of the leading shares (the most popular), do not exceed 10 dinars per share, while the majority of shares are sold at "fils".

– The market suffers from multiple problems, for example, if the manager of a joint stock company rehabilitates the company or even buys a car for the company, these expenses are deducted from the dividends of its shareholders.

– The market also suffers from limited profitability compared to stock exchanges in the countries of the region, which rely on a solid economic strategy and work in various fields.

Another controversial issue is that companies these days are not officially selling their shares, but rely on a recently emerging black market. Official direct selling is based on the official exchange rate, while the black market sells shares at the dinar rate traded in exchanges.

The issue of the dollar and its price fluctuations have significant effects on the stock market as the sudden decision to devalue the dollar by the government inflicted millions of dollars in losses on the stock exchange.

Bassem Antoine, an economist for Network 964:

– The stock market in Iraq needs significant development at the level of management and heads of companies that offer shares on the stock exchange.

– The fluctuation of the price of shares includes many companies participating in the stock exchange as some shares are sold for 150 fils.

There are more than 120 companies that offer shares on a daily basis for sale on the stock market.

Government support for this market is weak, although a boom in the market can have significant positive effects on the country's economic reality.

– There are a few companies that maintain their market value, such as the Babylon Hotel and Pepsi, and this came against the background of the economic management of these companies.

– The fluctuation of dollar prices has significant negative effects on the market as it devalues the dinar and thus the value of companies' shares declines.    LINK

Iran to remove dollar from tourism ties with regional states - Mehr News Agency (9/9/23), 10 SEPT

  Iran to remove dollar from tourism ties with regional states - Mehr News Agency (9/9/23)

TEHRAN, Sep. 09 (MNA) – The Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced that the dollar will be removed from tourism exchanges with the countries of the region.

Currently, Iran's trade transactions with other countries are generally carried out in euro, dirham, yuan, ruble, rupee, and dinar currencies, the CBI governor Mohammadreza Farzin said on Saturday.

Tourism and non-commercial transactions are made with the dominant currencies of the euro and the dollar, Farzin noted.

He further added that removing the dollar from non-commercial and tourist transactions happened for the first time in the country during the Arbaeen pilgrimage this year.

Extending the satisfactory experience of Arbaeen (removing dollar) to other countries in the region is under expert review and operational planning, he added.

https://en.mehrnews.com/news/205795/Iran-to-remove-dollar-from-tourism-ties-with-regional-states

Intel has a $1.5 billion factory in southern Vietnam for assembling, packaging and testing chips, the biggest in its global network, and has had plans to expand it.

Amkor is building near Hanoi "a state-of-the-art mega factory for semiconductor assembly and testing," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on a visit to Hanoi in July. The company has dozens of open positions on its Vietnam web page.

Chip designing firm Marvell has said it plans to build a "world-class" centre in Vietnam. 

U.S. officials have repeatedly said that assembling and designing were the segments of the chipmaking industry where Vietnam was likely to grow faster, although a shortage of engineers could slow the industry take-off.

Vietnam has also ambitions to build its own chipmaking factories, or fabs. GlobalFoundries is specialised in making integrated circuits on wafers for smartphones, cars and other applications.

Vietnam is a major exporter of smartphones and electronics.

An executive at a major U.S. chips firm said the Vietnamese government had been holding meetings with most major chips companies in the country, including Intel, Samsung and Qualcomm, to ask for advice on setting up the country's first fab.

U.S. officials have also said an upgrade of formal ties with Vietnam could help collaboration on artificial intelligence (AI), a sector in which Google is a major global player.

Vingroup, Vietnam's largest conglomerate and the parent of Nasdaq-listed electric car maker VinFast, has a unit focussed on AI.

Boeing may announce a deal involving the sale of 50 of its 737 MAX jets, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Boeing declined to comment.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/exclusive-top-us-chipmakers-tech-firms-attend-vietnam-meeting-biden-visits-3758281