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Three numbers to start the day:
Berkshire Hathaway
Spent $ 24.7 billion on share repurchases in 2020
It is a record several times for Warren Buffett’s conglomerate and just one of the highlights of the legendary annual letter from the valued investor, which came out over the weekend.
Buffett has long resisted buybacks, but it seems that Berkshire’s huge treasure trove of money and low stock prices have inspired him to change his tone. Investors liked the sound of this and boosted Berkshire shares by 3.5% on Monday.
Remember, when a company repurchases its own shares, it reduces the number of shares outstanding. This makes each remaining share more valuable, because it represents a larger shareholding in the company. It is a tax-efficient way to return money to shareholders and that Buffett himself looks for in the companies in which he invests.
Applein
The initial order for the iPhone 13s may reach 100 million
This is according to an analyst’s reading of tea leaves in the supply chain. It would compare to an initial construction of 80 million units of the iPhone 12 in 2020.
The next line of the iPhone probably won’t be revealed until September, but Apple starts working with its suppliers months in advance. If your initial order for the iPhone 13 is in fact 25% higher than it was for the iPhone 12, this is a sign that management expects the smartphone update cycle driven by the 5G to last until next year.
Wall Street already expects 2021 to be a big year for iPhone sales. The consensus forecast is around 220 million units, just below the 2015 record of 231 million. That was when the larger screen iPhone 6 was released.
Airline share index has increased 27% since the beginning of 2021
I am grateful for the growing optimism about the pace of vaccination at Covid-19 and the ongoing economic recovery. Basically, investors now expect airlines to have more passengers buying tickets – and earlier – than they did a few months ago.
News over the weekend that the Food and Drug Administration approved
Johnson & Johnsonin
(JNJ) the single dose vaccine only increases optimism. And there is $ 14 billion in aid to the civil aviation sector in the $ 1.9 trillion stimulus project that has just been approved by the Chamber of Deputies.
Investors seem to be betting on a recovery in domestic flights before international routes and leisure travel before business. The biggest gains recently were low-cost operators with a focus on the United States, such as
Spirit Airlines
(SAVE) and
JetBlue Airways
(JBLU).
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Write to Nicholas Jasinski at [email protected]