SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) --By 2.08pm Shanghai time on March 8, it was clear that Xiang Guangda's giant bet on a fall in nickel prices was going spectacularly wrong.Futures had just skyrocketed above US$100,000 a ton and his trade was more than US$10 billion underwater. It was threatening not only to bankrupt Mr Xiang's company, but to trigger a Lehman Brothers-like shock through the entire metals industry and possibly topple the London Metal Exchange (LME) itself.But Mr Xiang was calm. Within hours, more than 50 bankers had arrived at his office wanting to hear how he planned to respond to the crisis. He told them simply: "I'm confident that we will overcome this."And he did.

Investing is as much about avoiding costly mistakes as it is about finding winning stocks. In a market like this one, pummeled by sky-high inflation, interest rate concerns, and recession fears, staying away from stocks that are unlikely to produce decent returns in the long run is particularly important.There are bad stocks, and then there are Beyond Meat, Peloton, and Coinbase. All three companies are struggling with plunging demand, losing heaps of money, and dependent on fads or frenzies. It's best to keep your distance.Beyond MeatAs inflation puts pressure on consumers, fake meat products have been tossed out of the grocery cart. Overall sales of refrigerated plant-based meat products in the U.S. are contracting at a double-digit rate as people become unwilling to pay a hefty premium.

One of the main pillars of the bearish thesis on Apple stock is the rich valuation. But compared to the peer group, maybe AAPL is not so pricey after all.Apple stock is considered a buy by the majority of analysts that cover the name. According to TipRanks, more than 80% of Wall Street experts think that owning shares is a good idea, while only one analyst has a sell rating on the stock.Among skeptics, one of the main arguments against owning AAPL is the elevated P/E ratio. But a closer look at the peer comparison suggests that Apple stock may be more affordable than many seem to believe.Figure 1: Is Apple Stock Overvalued? What The Peer Comparison SaysApple’s valuations: fair, too rich, or a bargain?The following graph probably explains why so many value investors are cautious about Apple

ShopifyThere was a time when the shares of companies announcing layoffs would move higher, as the market would be relieved to see the top brass take action to get costs under control. Things didn't play out that way when Shopify announced that it would be cutting 10% of its staff late last month, as the stock took a 14% hit that day alone.Shopify has proven mortal. The stock is now trading 80% below the all-time high it hit just nine months ago. The company's initial pandemic projections that years of heady growth were coming had it invest aggressively in building out its offerings. The deceleration has been rough. Revenue rose a mere 16% in its latest report, well short of analyst expectations. Gross merchandise volume rose a mere 11%.Business has slowed, and that makes the stock's valuat

Nvidia reported horrible Q2 numbers and provided disappointing guidance for the next quarter.However, with cryptocurrency mining GPU demand in deep decline, Nvidia's problems could last longer than a few quarters.Nvidia's valuation is still high, and earnings estimates should see more downward revisions.I'm comfortable about revisiting this stock in the $100-120 range, but for now, Nvidia is a sell.NVIDIA Corporation's (NASDAQ:NVDA) market cap reached an absurd high of more than $800 billion during the tech-top in November 2021. During this bubble phase, Nvidia's stock hit an all-time high of around $350, trading at more than 100 times TTM non-GAAP EPS (approximately 40 times TTM sales). Then, the Fed pricked the ultra-high multiple bubble, and many stocks, including Nvidia, crashed.I warn

Tesla shareholders voted in favor of a 3-for-1 stock split at the company's annual meeting on Aug. 4.Shareholders will see more shares of Tesla stock in their account after the stock split takes place on Aug. 24.The shares will trade at a split-adjusted price on Aug. 25.Tesla is moving forward with its second stock split on Aug. 24. Shareholders approved the 3-for-1 stock split at the company's annual meeting this month.If you're confused about stock splits, below is a breakdown of how they work, so you can set your expectations.Image source: Getty Images.Stock splits are taking over headlines in 2022Large tech companies have been dominating stock-split news this year. Amazon pursued its first stock split since the dot-com boom, completing a 20-for-1 stock split on June 3. E-commerce giant

By Isabel WangA stock market rally that followed a healthy gain in U.S. employment in August gave way to losses on Friday with the three major indexes closing at their lowest levels since late July, as Wall Street assessed one of the last major economic reports the Federal Reserve will see before it raises its benchmark interest rate at its upcoming September meeting.U.S. stocks recorded a loss for the third week in a row on Friday after Russia's Gazprom said it will hold off on reopening the Nord Stream pipeline to Europe The $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$ finished 337.98 points lower, or 1.1%, to 31,318.44, after rising as much as 370 points at its session high. The $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$ slipped 154.26, or 1.3%, to end at 11,630.86, recording its longest losing stre

Major technology stocks such as Apple and Alphabet extended losses Monday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank would stick with its plan to raise interest rates to fight inflation.Growth stocks are particularly vulnerable to higher interest rates. Growth companies, such as the U.S. tech giants, generate most of their cash flow far in the future. Higher interest rates mean future cash isn’t as valuable as it was when rates were lower.The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 0.9% on Monday. The index declined 3.9% on Friday, its worst day since June.Apple was down 2% on Monday after tumbling 3.8% on Friday after Powell, in a short speech Friday at the Jackson Hole economic conference, said the Fed would remain aggressive in raising interest rates until it return

Three months ago, Do Kwon was a multi-billionaire on paper. He had a million followers on Twitter. And he commanded a sprawling crypto empire nearing $100 billion in value, which had seemed to explode from obscurity to ubiquity overnight.If there were a Mt. Rushmore of crypto, Kwon’s face would have been half-chiseled into stone by May of this year. And one of those faces would have been an anonymous slab in a hoodie, so that’s saying something. His algorithmic stablecoin “UST,” created by his company Terraform Labs (TFL), had crypto’s most coveted investors lining up to give him their money.The Terra ecosystem’s astronomical growth was unprecedented. If it survived the crucible of early adoption, it was poised to become the backbone of the entire decentralized economy — “crypto’s reserve

. SpotifyAfter years of decline, music industry revenue has surged to its highest level in more than 20 years. The reason? Music streaming companies like Spotify.While physical and digital music sales have continued to wane, audio streaming has exploded over the last seven years and now accounts for over $15 billion of music industry revenue. Moreover, Spotify isn't satisfied with just delivering great music to its users. The company has invested in podcasts and audiobooks, landing exclusive deals with celebrities as varied as Joe Rogan and Meghan Markle.Operationally, the company is firing on all cylinders. In its most recent quarterly report, Spotify announced a 19% year-over-year increase in daily average users (DAUs) to 433 million and a 14% jump in paid subscribers to 188 million. The