From $350 billion a couple of years ago, to $1.1 trillion (or more) 20 years from now, investment bank Morgan Stanley believes that the space economy could more than triple in size by 2040. But what exactly is this space economy -- and how do you invest in it?

Various pundits will answer this question in various ways, but here's how I prefer to look at it. All of the space economy is divided into three parts: old space companies, new space companies, and what I'd call space-adjacent companies.

Let's look at them one at a time.

Image source: Getty Images.

What's the first thing you think of when you think about space exploration? Rocket ships, of course! And for the longest time, American rocket ships were built by just a handful of companies.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) built the Delta IV heavy-lift rocket, for example, and Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) the Atlas V. (Now both rockets come from the companies' joint venture United Launch Alliance, or ULA.) Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) contributed Pegasus, Minotaur, and Antares rockets to the mix. And unless they were bought from Russiaor built in-house, the engines that powered these rockets generally came from Aerojet Rocketdyne (NYSE:AJRD).

All four of these companies are still doing decent business building rockets and selling them to the government for occasional rocket launches. They're also all involved in the development of a new mega-rocket for NASA, the Space Launch System, or SLS.

NASA hopes that SLS will be the rocket to take American astronauts beyond low Earth orbit, returning to the moon, exploring Mars, and even capturing asteroids for research and mining. But increasingly, SLS is attracting criticism for its high cost and long development time -- and it's even being accused of using obsolete technology. Indeed, SLS looks emblematic of "old space" companies' whole approach to space -- charging hundreds of millions of dollars to build a handful of expendable rockets, then throwing them away after just one launch.

Today, new space companies are rising up, offering new business models that promise to make space launch easier and cheaper -- and stealing market share from these old-guard space companies.

SpaceX is the most obvious example of this new breed of space company. Its reusable Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and forthcoming Starship rocket have captured the imaginations of space fans and space investors alike with the promise of dramatically cutting the cost of space launch by building a rocket once and then launching, landing, and relaunching it many times. By not having to build an entirely new rocket for each mission it launches, SpaceX has already cut the cost of spaceflight to as low as $50 million -- a seven-fold improvement over prices ULA has charged for some missions.

At the same time, small-launch companies such as Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit are coming at space launch from a different perspective. Virgin Orbit -- the sister company to space tourism pioneer Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) -- plans to carry rockets high into the atmosphere aboard specially modified airplanes, then release them to blast small satellites the rest of the way into orbit. Because the carrier aircraft can be flown multiple times, this introduces a measure of reusability into the process (a la SpaceX), while the company's unique launch profile permits satellites to be launched essentially from any airport to any orbit a customer might desire.

Mind you, Virgin Orbit hasn't actually put any satellites in orbit yet. But Rocket Lab has. In fact, the company has already launched 11 times from its first spaceport in New Zealand. It's also opened up a second launch site in Virginia, and is currently building a third.

These aren't the only rocket companies working to remake space launch in their image, but so far, they're the most successful. Alongside companies like Planet Labs (a satellite imagery company) and OneWeb (a satellite internet company), they form the face of the new space economy -- and for investors brave enough to risk investing in IPOs, these are certainly companies to watch.

A third facet of the space economy, and one that's all too easy to overlook, is companies that are what I'll call space adjacent -- businesses that operate primarily here on Earth, but that benefit (or in some cases suffer) from advances made outside Earth's atmosphere.

Who might this include? You can actually cast a pretty wide net. Some of the new space companies named above -- SpaceX and OneWeb in particular -- are building out satellite broadband constellations orbiting Earth. If successful, they could generate billions of dollars of profit selling internet access from space. Their success could also bring billions of new customers onto the internet globally, boosting the growth prospects of Alphabet for example, which will try to sell advertising to all these new customers.

On the flip side, investors will need to ask how cheap, universally accessible internet service will affect unwillingly space-adjacent enterprises such as Comcast, for example, which may find their internet service monopolies disrupted by competition from beyond the skies.

One company not yet mentioned, Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM), is bringing online a space-based air traffic monitoring service called Aireon, which has the potential to improve upon -- or even replace -- current systems of ground-based radar used for tracking aircraft and controlling air traffic. If successfully implemented, this technology could result in more efficient flight patterns that decrease fuel usage and improve the profitability of airlines.

Of course, this is just a sampling. You can imagine similar examples all around the globe, as satellite imagery is used to improve the efficiency of automotive traffic, cargo vessels at sea, or irrigation and fertilization of farmland, for example.

In short, there are ways to invest in the space economy directly. There are also ways to invest in it indirectly. And there's a very strong likelihood that in future years, your investments anywhere on Earth will be affected by the space economy, whether you like it or not.

Read more from the original source:
3 Ways to Invest in the Space Economy - The Motley Fool

PLC () is an AIM-listed firm that provides funding and advisory services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME).

Formed in 1997 as an investment syndicate, it now specialises in four areas equity financing, debt financing, advisory services and fund management.

What it owns

Braveheartnow holds six strategic investments in its portfolio alongside other historical investments.

These included biotechnology firm Kirkstall, UV light detection group Paraytec, propeller and rotating shaft monitoring group Gyrometric Systems, microscope imaging firm PhaseFocus and Sentinel Medical, a spin-out of Paraytec developing technology to detect cancer cells in urine.

The company also has a 51.72% stake in Pharm2Farm Limited (P2F), a plant nutrients specialist.

In a January,Braveheart said Paraytec (100%) has started the second round of user trials.

Paraytec is part of anInnovate UK funded R&D project (NEXUS) that includes Malvern Panalytical, the University of Central Lancashire, GSK, Medimmune and Fujifilm Diosynth.

Aggregates are an impurity that must be controlled and must stay within product specifications, so measurement is essential to ensure they meet the requirements of regulatory agencies.

Pharm 2 Farm(51.72%) has sent samples of silicon micronutrient and turf to potential customers.

Biotechnology company Kirkstall (64.67%) has appointed new distributors in South Korea and China.

Gyrometric Systems (19.95%) has developed shaft monitoring and measurement systems for revolutions as low as 0.25 revolutions per minute, which is useful for wind turbines.

Its ship drive monitoring systems, meanwhile,will be exhibited next year in September at SMM Hamburg, the world's largest exhibition for ship technology.

Phasefocus Holdings (21.20%) has recently been granted a new US patent for a fundamental improvement in its underlying ptychography imaging technology.

The method protected by the new patent has the potential to speed up Phasefocus's systems by a factor of 10 times.

Sentinel Medical (38.40%) is to revise the trial protocols for its prototype instrument to detect bladder cancer from urine after initial work at Sheffield University.

In the first half of the current financial year(to October) Braveheart made a loss of 122,000 ( 114,000 profit).

There was an interimdividend of 0.5p.

Progress continues across a broad front and we remain optimistic that this will eventually be reflected in enhanced returns to shareholders.

Continued here:
Braveheart"s investments focused on six-strong portfolio - Proactive Investors USA & Canada

More than 100 Arizona teachers returned to the state Capitol on Monday to rally for an education tax measure, carrying signs and wearing bright red T-shirts,the color symbolizing the #RedForEd movement.

The one-hour rally was a quiet affair compared to 2018's week-long walkout, which brought tens of thousands of teachers out of their classrooms protesting stagnant wages and low classroom funding.

The educators on Monday came to support Invest In Education, a proposed ballot measure that would raise nearly $1 billion for education by taxing the state's wealthiest residents.

The rally didn't interfere with classes schools were closed Monday for PresidentsDay. Invest In Ed organizers marked the Capitol with more than 1,800 red and white signs, each signifying an unfilledteacher position in the state.

The Arizona Supreme Court knocked the first iteration of theinitiative off the 2018 ballot just a few months before the election, spurring an outcry from the teachers who spent months collecting signatures.

This time around, supporters must collect at least 237,645 signatures from voters to qualify for November's ballot. On Monday, education leaders urged teachers to grab signs and supplies to start collecting signatures in their spare time.

Kelly Trujillo, a Kindergarten teacher in Tempe, said additional money sent to schools by state lawmakersfor teacher salaries after 2018's walkout helped, but did not boost everyone's salary. Because the state used a narrow definition of a teacher, certain support staff, for example, were not included in the calculations for the raises.

Many districts, including hers, used the money for everyone, spreading it more thinly.

Trujillo said her paycheck has not grown enough to allow her the financial freedom she wants.

"I have to live with a roommate," she said."I've been teaching for 15 years, and I would love to be able to buy a house and live by myself."

The measure would createa 3.5%tax surcharge for single individuals making more than $250,000 or married couples making more than $500,000.

The current income tax rate in Arizona for someone making$159,001 or more is 4.5%. Arizona's average income tax rate is one of the lowest in the nation.

The money would go to the following, according to Invest in Education:

Gov. Doug Ducey rolled out a plan to raise teacher salaries 20% by 2020. So far, the Legislature has sent enough money for a 15% raise the last 5% is expected in the upcoming budget.

The #20by2020 teacher raises in all will cost the state $644 million, compared withan additional nearly $500 million Invest In Ed would raise for teacher and support staff salaries.

Ducey has also increased education funding in other areas, but educators have said it's still not enough to restore all the cuts made during the Great Recession.

Reach the reporter at Lily.Altavena@ArizonaRepublic.com or follow her on Twitter @LilyAlta.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

Read or Share this story: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2020/02/17/arizona-teachers-return-capitol-invest-education-rally/4787589002/

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Arizona teachers return to Capitol to kick off Invest In Ed education tax effort - AZCentral

Wombat Invest, the investment app, has launched its second equity crowdfunding campaign to raise 200,000 at a pre-money valuation of 2.5million.

Users can choose from 16 themed funds including The Social Media Guru, The Foodie and The Green Machine. Investors can auto-invest a certain amount each month and/or use a round-up function linked to a bank account.

The campaign on Seedrs follows an initial crowdfund in 2018, during which Wombat raised 210,000 from more than 490 investors.

Since launching in Summer 2019, the app has acquired over 5,000 users and has joined the Natwest Accelerator Fintech Programme.

Wombat will use the funds to make product improvements, launch and market new funds and build its customer financial education programme.

CEO and founder Kane Harrison said: Millions of Britons thought about investing last year - but didnt. Many are put off because saving and investing can seem complicated, time-consuming and expensive.

Wombat solves all of these problems and we believe it will improve the financial habits of the next generation of savers and investors in the UK, Europe and beyond.

Wombat aims to launch in Europe and Australia within the next three years. It also plans to add more products and features, including premium subscriptions and Junior ISAs.

The app is free to use until the users account value reaches 1,000. After that, users are charged 1 per month plus 0.45% of the value of their investments.

View original post here:
Wombat Invest return to the crowd - Finextra

Investing in stocks is a good way to grow wealth in the long run, and it's a wise strategy to employ in the course of saving for retirement. But if you're going to put money into stocks, it pays to load up on those that pay dividends.

If you're not familiar with the concept, dividends are payments issued to stockholders when a company has excess capital at its disposal. Dividends are typically paid quarterly, though they can be paid at different intervals. And sometimes, you'll get a special dividend -- a one-time payment that's generally larger than the typical dividend its issuer normally pays. With that in mind, here are three reasons to consider adding dividend stocks to your portfolio.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

Companies that issue dividends aren't required to do so; but those with a strong history of paying them tend to uphold that practice for the long haul. As a result, loading up on dividend stocks is a good way to generate ongoing income. You can use those quarterly payments to supplement your income during your working years or, just as importantly, supplement your Social Security benefits during retirement.

When market corrections or recessions strike, stock values can plummet on a whole. That's bad news if you rely on your portfolio as an income source or need to tap your portfolio immediately, because if you sell off investments in the midst of a downturn, you're liable to take losses. The great thing about dividend stocks is that they tend to keep paying even when their values drop, which means if you need access to money, you can get it without having to take a hit on investments.

When you receive a dividend payment, the choice of what to do with it is yours. You can take that cash and use it to pay bills or take a vacation -- or you can reinvest that money to grow your wealth. In fact, you can set up your investment account to automatically reinvest your dividends so you're not tempted to cash them out, thereby effectively forcing yourself to save more. And if you collect dividends regularly and reinvest them consistently, you'll effectively capitalize on a well-known strategy known as dollar-cost averaging.

When buying up dividend stocks for your portfolio, your first inclination may be to choose the ones with the highest dividends. That strategy makes sense in theory, but remember, you also want to look at factors like company strength and consistency. A company that pays a substantial dividend but has a rocky financial outlook probably isn't a great choice, because if its stock value goes down, you stand to lose money.

You should therefore take your time in deciding which dividend stocks to buy, and vet each company individually. You can also consult this roundup of high-yield dividend stocks. All of these stocks are projected to offer solid growth not just in 2020 but well into the future.

More:
3 Reasons to Invest in Dividend Stocks - The Motley Fool

SoftBank is going to make some large investments in Latin American companies this year especially in the areas of e-commerce, healthcare, and financial technology, according to Bloomberg. Through a $5 billion Latin America Fund launched in the first quarter of 2019, SoftBank is planning to invest $1 billion in 2020 which will add to last years $1.6 billion.

The company has invested $100 million to $150 million into each of 17 companies and two venture capital firms so far. And now SoftBank is looking at about 650 firms in the region.

We are focused on investing in companies that could achieve long-term profitability, said Andy Freire, Managing Partner at SoftBank Group International, during a roundtable with reporters via Bloomberg.

Some of the investments that SoftBank made in the area include Colombia-based delivery company Rappi, Brazil-based fitness company Gympass, and Argentina-based financial-tech company Uala.

Along with investing in companies, SoftBank will launch an 11-week program with the Correlation One foundation for training and hiring artificial intelligence talent. Plus SoftBank is going to continue investing directly in venture capital firms as it did by taking a $130 million stake in Kaszek Ventures and a $100 million investment in Valor Capital Group last year.

See the article here:
SoftBank Is Going To Invest $1 Billion From Its Latin America Fund This Year - Pulse 2.0

From the start of 2020, crypto prices made significant recoveries. While analysts were reluctant to call an altcoin season, some assets marked impressive gains.

Altcoins remain riskier and much more volatile in comparison to Bitcoin (BTC). While the leading crypto coin bounced off lows around $7,100 in January to above $10,000, some altcoins made even bigger gains.

If a trader decided to allocate $1,000 into altcoins on January 1, 2020, the average gains of top 20 coins were 43%. This is not an impressive gain for the world of crypto, especially having to wait more than a month. But it is still a positive move, despite taking into account the recent price slump.

But investing in four specific assets would have led to more significant gains. The biggest gainers in the crypto space were Bitcoin SV (BSV) with 274% gains; Tezos (XTZ) with 222%, Chainlink (LINK) with 234%, and Dash (DASH), which is up 254%.

The average gain of these four assets is close to 246%, significantly higher in comparison to the overall top 20 of coins. However, there is a warning those assets have been viewed with some skepticism, especially in the case of BSV.

Still, splitting $250 for each coin would have yielded roughly $2,460. Of course, the exact sum is shifting, especially given that BSV was extremely volatile in the past few days, and actually sank from highs above $360. Also, XTZ has stepped back from its highs, undermining its YTD progress.

Among the top 20 of coins, the gains averaged 185%, and almost any asset bounced off its lows. However, the exact gains depend on catching the exact moment of price lows, and selling off before a deeper correction. Right now, altcoins have accrued significant gains, but a 60% correction is also quite possible.

Altcoins may achieve significantly higher gains in comparison to BTC. But those assets often see their market liquidity diminish within days. Locking in gains from altcoins also means selling before the cycle has ended and corrections set in.

Choosing a selection of older, more established altcoins, brings lower returns. Taking Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Binance Coin (BNB), and Monero (XMR) will bring average returns of 177%, with ETH alone achieving 192% gains.

In the first six weeks of 2020, separate altcoin rallies managed to bring higher gains from lows to highs, though timing the market can never be exact. However, one of the strongest gainers turned out to be coins that face a halving this year, including BCH, BSV, ETC, and DASH. Altcoin selection is a matter of personal preferences, with no clear way to predict which asset would regain its appeal after the prolonged bear market.

What do you think of the altcoin gains in 2020? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Images via Shutterstock

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Which Cryptos Should You Have Invested in on NYE For Max Gains? - Bitcoinist

The oil industrys drive to show investors and the world that the sector is taking climate change seriously has reached the largest Russian oil producer, state-controlled Rosneft, which has just pledged to invest US$5 billion in environmentally-friendly projects within the next half decade.

Rosneft will invest in projects to curb carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and for better utilization of associated petroleum gas, Reuters quoted Rosneft as saying on Monday.

The Russian oil firm will also look to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 8 million tons through 2022, according to Reuters.

Rosnefts commitment to invest in reducing carbon emissions comes days after UK-based supermajor BP, which holds nearly 20 percent in the Russian oil giant, announced plans to become a net zero company by 2050 or sooner.

Last week, BP said that it aims to become a net zero company by 2050 or sooner in the latest pledge for net zero carbon emissions by an oil major. BP will also target to halve the carbon intensity of the products it sells by 2050 or sooner, joining other majors such as Shell and Equinor, which also aim to reduce the carbon footprint of the energy products they sell.

Earlier this month, Equinor unveiled a plan to reduce the net carbon intensity, from initial production to final consumption, of energy produced by at least 50 percent by 2050. Shell has also setshort-term targetsfor reducing the net carbon footprint of the energy products it sells.

In Russia, Ruslan Edelgeriev, the senior adviser on climate change to President Vladimir Putin, said earlier this month that Russia needs to take urgent steps to fight climate change and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. Russiathe worlds fourth-largest greenhouse gas emitter after China, the U.S., and Indiareduced the use of oil and coal in its energy mix by 4 percent between 2015 and 2018, while the share of natural gas has increased by 3.5 percent annually in each of those years, The Moscow Times quoted Edelgeriev as saying at a news conference in early February.

Russia has a recent plan to adapt to climate change until 2022, but Putin said at his annual press conference in December that nobody really knows the causes of climate change, at least global climate change.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

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Russia's Biggest Oil Firm To Invest $5B In Green Projects - OilPrice.com

By Dhirendra Kumar When one meets someone new, its better to assume the best about them since most people are honest and sincere. Things work out better if your default attitude is open and trusting. Unfortunately, this is not a safe attitude when buying financial services. As a rule, you should assume that anyone trying to sell a financial service is either hiding something or actively misrepresenting something. This may be only 90-95% true but its better to assume the worst.

Why is buying financial services different from buying, say a jacket or shoes or a car? There are many reasons for this and while some are to do with specific issues with the way business and regulations are conducted in India, there is a much deeper reason that is fundamental to financial services.

Whats fundamentally different about financial services is that the input, product and output of the business is all the same stuffmoney. Literally, the only way they can earn more is by ensuring you get less of it. Think about this carefully. Lets say you want to buy a midsize car. There are choices at various price points. You could buy one from Tata Motors for Rs 8 lakh, or Maruti for Rs 10 lakh, or from Honda at Rs 15 lakh, or from Mercedes at Rs 50 lakh. So is everyone except Tata Motors overcharging? Not really.

For each of these companies, the deal is transparent and clear. You will give an auto company some money and in exchange you get some combination of performance, reliability, safety, gadgetry, prestige and whatever else you look for in a car. If a car company wants to make more money, then it can enhance the attributes that customers value and charge more.

Thats not the way it works in financial services because the only thing thats going around is money. You give money, the provider spends money to create the product, but the product itself is more money, some of which you get back. Some of your money is kept back for expenses, profits, sellers commissions etc. Therefore, unlike cars or jackets or mobile phones or anything else, financial services are a zero sum game.

This has a serious implication which customers generally dont understand. For a given type of financial service, and a given competence with which it is run, the only way the provider can make more money is to give you less of it. If the provider wants more of anything, be it profits or salaries for employees, or more dividends for the owners, then that has to come from reducing what you get. If it wants to increase sales by paying more commissions to agents then that too is paid for by reducing your returns. Everything comes out of your pocket.

This is not a theoretical model of financial services. This drives every interaction you have with your bank, insurer, stockbroker, mutual fund and those trying to sell you their services. And dont count on regulators to protect you. In general, Indias financial regulators are always well behind the curve in stopping malpractices in these products.

The only way to make the right choices when you save, invest and insure yourself is to arm yourself with knowledge and make decisions yourselves without depending on a salesperson. Decades of interacting with customers of financial services and observing these industries has led me to believe that when dealing with them, distrust and suspicion should be your default attitude.

(The author is CEO, Value Research)

Read the original here:
Why you should not trust anyone when you invest - Economic Times

From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Feb 17:The B S Yediyurappa regime is planning to come out with a series of measures to improve the investment climate in Karnataka and thereby attract investments in the industrial sector.

Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala, in his address to the joint session of Karnataka legislature, said on Monday said the State Government is coming out with several steps for improving investment climate in the State and it would soon bring out a new industrial policy and set up a bio-incubator to nurture and support start-ups in areas of bio-pharma.

The State Government will announce the new industrial policy soon to promote standalone and grid-connected solar-powered agricultural pumps.

In his 20-page address in Hindi to the joint session of the State legislature, Vala said Karnataka ranked second in the country as an investment destination by attracting investment of Rs71,745 crore up to November 2019.

The State Government has initiated action to unveil the new industrial policy for attracting investment, new technologies, and generation of jobs, with a focus on comprehensive industrial development in tier2 and tier 3 cities, he said.

The bio-incubator to nurture and support startups has been set up in collaboration with Manipal Academy for Higher Education (MAHE).

He said the State Government has already announced a new textile and garment policy 2019 for the development of textile and ready-made sector.

It has also set up the Karnataka Innovation Authority to further strengthen the innovation ecosystem.

Hike in Honorarium:

The Governor said the State Government has enhanced the monthly remuneration of ASHA workers from Rs3500 to 4,000 with effect from November 2019 and has released one-time payment of Rs3000 ASHA workers as an incentive for having transferred data to RCH software application.

The monthly honorarium of the anganwadi workers has been increased from Rs8,000 to Rs10,000 and monthly of anganwadi helpers from Rs4,000 to Rs5,250.

It has decided to distribute Bhagyalakshmi bonds pending for about two years to eligible beneficiaries.

Karnataka secures first rank:

Karnataka stood first in the country in increasing forest cover, reduction in maternal deaths, and to layout a fiscal consolidation roadmap to improve the states finances.

The State is second largest milk producer in the country and a sum of ?691 crore has been released for payment of incentive of Rs5 per litre of milk to nearly nine lakh dairy farmers till the end of December, 2019.

The Governor said 276 Karnataka public schools have been started from Standard 1 to 12 by integrating nearby primary, high schools and Pre University colleges with an objective to enhance the quality of education.

A novel concept of Water Bell has been introduced in shcools to prevent dehydration in school children.With regard to health, Vala said mobile mammography and cervical cancer diagnostic units have been sanctioned to 10 districts where cancer diagnostic facilities are not available in the district hospitals.

See the original post:
BSY government planning steps to attract investment - Daijiworld.com