📈 Goldman backed US stocks

ExxonMobil ignored warnings from the lithium industry | Goldman Sachs decided it lowballed predictions for the S&P 500 | [Finimize](   TOGETHER WITH   Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for February 20th in 3:08 minutes.   The future is now. Literally: join us for [The Inevitable Future of Cryptocurrency]( at 5pm today, and discover what's coming for crypto. [Grab your free ticket]( Today's big stories - Lithium prices have tumbled in the last two years, but ExxonMobil thinks that’s just a temporary blip - India’s stocks are leaving China’s in the dust... at least for now – [Read Now]( - Goldman Sachs pumped up its forecast for the S&P 500 index, once again Break The Silence [Break The Silence] What’s going on here? ExxonMobil [kept]( making noise in the lithium sector, despite the fact that industry pioneers are taking a breather. What does this mean? The lithium industry was the place to be two years ago, with prices so high that producers could turn a small share of the market into reliable paychecks. Now, not so much. The precious metal is mainly used to make batteries that power smartphones, laptops, and electric cars – all of which have fallen out of favor now that folk are hard-pressed to afford even their monthly essentials. The metal’s price has fallen some 80% over the last couple of years, forcing even major producers to pause expensive projects and warn of compromised profit. Exxon clearly has stellar self-belief, though. The oil and gas behemoth still plans to get its first lithium project up and running by 2027, predicting that’ll make it one of the world’s ten biggest lithium producers by 2030. Why should I care? Zooming in: Industry veterans are quitting while they’re ahead. Lithium producers have been forced to subsidize their work with their own wallets, so they’ve been stalling as many projects as possible. Thing is, lithium projects are a slow burn: producers spend years making them fit to run. Exxon, then, may be on the money. By spending the cash it makes from oil and gas to build up production sites now, Exxon should be ready to rumble while the rest of the industry is only warming up its machines. The bigger picture: Don’t be a dodo. Higher interest rates have made it far more expensive for smaller oil companies to borrow money and keep up with richer established ones. So instead, they’re finding power in numbers through a slew of mergers. Exxon’s taken advantage of that opportunity, snapping up small fry. But even the biggest oil companies could face extinction if they don’t keep pace with the green energy transition – and lithium’s not a bad place to start. You might also like: [This new battery could be the next big thing for EVs and your portfolio.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Break The Silence&utm_campaign=daily-global-20-02-2024&utm_source=email) Analyst Take India Vs. China Stocks: Whether To Invest In The Beloved Or Shunned [India Vs. China Stocks: Whether To Invest In The Beloved Or Shunned]( By Russell Burns, Analyst Indian and Chinese markets are at opposite ends of the [popularity spectrum]( right now. India’s stocks seem to be [dazzling]( everyone, cast in a glow because of the country’s strong growth story. China’s stocks, on the other hand, have been getting the [cold shoulder](, with an economic slowdown and a slew of other troubles. But popularity is a [fickle thing](. And now some investors may already be writing China back into its good books. That’s today’s Insight: [where to find opportunities among the beloved and the shunned](. [Read or listen to the Insight here]( SPONSORED BY IG Stop eating the same type of cereal every morning Exchange-traded funds (ETFs): the financial version of variety packs of your favorite snacks. See, you could research, monitor, buy, hold, and maybe sell one decent investment. That’s a lot of work for a lot of risk, though. So you could try [ETFs]( instead, and pick up a diversified bunch of assets, usually themed around a trend, sector, or style. Plus, they make it easier to pull off more [complicated trades like futures](. The best bit: you won’t need to go searching for them. [IG]( has pulled together [a ranking of the five global ETFs]( that you should look into this year. [Discover all of the best bits of ETFs, without doing any of the heavy lifting](. Thanks, IG. DisclaimerYour capital is at risk. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. [Find Out More]( When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. Dazed And Enthused [Dazed And Enthused] What’s going on here? Goldman Sachs eagerly [upgraded]( its predictions for the S&P 500 index this year, stunned by US stocks’ record-breaking run. What does this mean? Wall Street started penning in predictions for US stocks months ago, but the ink isn’t dry yet. The S&P 500 index, which tracks the biggest US companies, has been breaking record after record – and that has analysts scrambling to rewrite their expectations for this year. Goldman Sachs just upgraded its forecast for the third time, projecting that the index will reach a level of 5,200 by the end of 2024. While that’s only 4% higher than today’s point, it’s a serious increase from the 4,700 that Goldman predicted back in November, making the big bank one of the most optimistic in the market. Why should I care? The bigger picture: America’s buckling down and beefing up. Goldman also pushed its 2024 earnings-per-share forecast for the index up slightly to $241 – or around 9% more than last year. What’s more, Goldman estimates that AI will make stateside companies more productive over the next ten years. And because higher productivity has historically turned into fatter profit margins, the big bank reckons that the tech could pull the biggest US firms’ margins up from 12% today to 16% over the next decade. Zooming in: Welcome to the land of opportunity. If Goldman’s right, those souped-up profit margins should translate into 3% more profit a year for S&P 500 companies. That’s worth watching for investors, because the stock market’s returns should match that uptick. On top of that, remember that many of the most promising AI-focused firms are in the US. So far, investors have been rewarding the companies that stand to build a super-smart future, and that’s unlikely to stop anytime soon. You might also like: [Here’s how AI will boost profit margins.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Dazed And Enthused&utm_campaign=daily-global-20-02-2024&utm_source=email) 💬 Quote of the day "Love is a better teacher than duty." – Albert Einstein (a theoretical physicist) [Tweet this]( Connect your brand with the next generation of investors Our one-million-strong international [financial community]( has some big plans. [Your brand could help them]( do just that: whether you provide information, tools, or tricks, you could help retail investors around the world make smarter decisions. So showcase your mojo in this very spot, and introduce yourself to over a million engaged investors – you might even help us change the world of finance for the better. [Get in touch today.]( [Get Your Name Out There]( 🎯 On Our Radar 1. 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