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Market Trading Guide: Buy Lemon Tree and PB Fintech on Monday for up to 12% short-term gains; here’s why – Stock Ideas

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 16:52:50 +0000

The RBI’s rate cut lifted the markets for a second straight session, with financials, auto and real estate stocks leading the gains. The trend remains positive, with the index sustaining above the 21 EMA. Decoding the current setup, Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said the index has given a breakout from its recent consolidation on the hourly chart, indicating rising optimism. “The RSI has reclaimed a bullish crossover, pointing towards strong momentum. In the short term, the trend may remain strong, with the potential for the Nifty to move towards 26,300/26,440. Support is placed at 26,060–26,000. Buying on dips may be favoured as long as the index sustains above 26,000,” De said.

Here are 5 stock recommendations for Monday:

Several trapped after tree falls on three-wheeler in Rambukkana

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 00:34:40 +0000

A large tree has fallen onto a three-wheeler while traveling along the Mawanella–Rambukkana road this evening (23), police stated.

The tree has fallen onto the vehicle in Thalagolla, Kegalle.

Several individuals have been reportedly trapped underneath while a child has been rescued and admitted to the Mawanella Base Hospital.

An operation is currently underway to rescue the remaining passengers of the three-wheeler.

Dollar Tree says it’s winning over higher-income shoppers and may offset tariffs with price hikes

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 02:25:43 +0000

Dollar Tree said Wednesday that it’s gaining market share with higher-income consumers and could raise prices on some products to offset President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The discount retailer’s CEO, Michael Creedon, said the company is seeing “value-seeking behavior across all income groups.” While Dollar Tree has always relied on lower-income shoppers and gets about 50% of its business from middle-income consumers, sustained inflation has led to “stronger demand from higher-income customers,” Creedon said on an analyst call.

Dollar Tree’s success with higher-income shoppers follows similar gains from Walmart, which has made inroads with the cohort following the prolonged period of high prices.

Trump’s tariffs on certain goods from China, Mexico and Canada — and the potential for broad duties on trading partners around the world — have only added to concerns about stretched household budgets. While Dollar Tree will use tactics like negotiating with suppliers and moving manufacturing to mitigate the effect of the duties, it could also hike the prices of some items, Creedon said.

Dollar Tree has rolled out prices higher than its standard $1.25 products at about 2,900 so-called multi-price stores. Certain products can cost anywhere from $1.50 to $7 at those locations.

The retailer weighed in on higher-income customers and the potential effect of tariffs as it announced its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings. Dollar Tree also said it will sell its struggling Family Dollar chain for about $1 billion to a consortium of private equity investors.

Dollar Tree said its net sales for continuing operations — its namesake brand — totaled $5 billion for the quarter, while same-stores sales climbed 2%. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.11 for the period.

It is unclear how the figures compare with Wall Street estimates.

For fiscal 2025, Dollar Tree expects net sales of $18.5 billion to $19.1 billion from continuing operations, with same-store sales growth of 3% to 5%. It anticipates it will post adjusted earnings of $5 to $5.50 per share for the year.

Creedon said the expected hit from the first round of 10% tariffs Trump levied on China in February would have been $15 million to $20 million per month, but the company has mitigated about 90% of that effect.

Additional 10% duties on China imposed this month, along with 25% levies on Mexico and Canada that have only partly taken effect, would hit Dollar Tree by another $20 million per month, Creedon said. The company is working to offset those duties, but did not include them in its financial guidance due to the confusion over which tariffs will take effect and when.

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Buy Lemon Tree Hotels, target price Rs 155: HDFC Securities

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 03:54:59 +0000

HDFC Securities has buy call on Lemon Tree Hotels with a target price of Rs 155. The current market price of Lemon Tree Hotels is Rs 129.35. Lemon Tree Hotels, incorporated in 1992, is a Mid Cap company with a market cap of Rs 10235.03 crore, operating in Tourism & Hospitality sector.

Lemon Tree Hotels’ key products/revenue segments include Income from Rooms, Restaurants & Other Services and Other Operating Revenue for the year ending 31-Mar-2024.

Financials
For the quarter ended 31-12-2024, the company has reported a Consolidated Total Income of Rs 355.80 crore, up 24.91% from last quarter Total Income of Rs 284.84 crore and up 22.32% from last year same quarter Total Income of Rs 290.87 crore. The company has reported net profit after tax of Rs 79.76 crore in the latest quarter. The company’s top management includes Mr.Patanjali Govind Keswani, Mr.Niten Malhan, Mr.Willem Albertus Hazeleger, Mr.Aditya Madhav Keswani, Ms.Freyan Jamshed Desai, Mr.Paramartha Saikia, Ms.Smita Anand, Mr.Praveen Garg, Mr.Sanjiv Nandan Sahai. The company has Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP as its auditors. As on 31-12-2024, the company has a total of 79 crore shares outstanding.Investment Rationale
Lemon Tree Hotels’ current net debt is ~Rs 17 billion, which is a key monitorable in HDFC Securities’ view. Lemon Tree expects to become debt-free with the help of listing of Fleur hotels (asset-heavy subsidiary) in the next 2-3 years. The brokerage expects Lemon Tree Hotels to continue to benefit from buoyant discretionary spending and demand tailwinds of the sector. They largely maintain the estimates for Lemon Tree and continue with a BUY rating and an unchanged target price of Rs 155 (17x FY27 EV/EBITDA). Promoter/FII Holdings
Promoters held 22.77 per cent stake in the company as of 31-Dec-2024, while FIIs owned 20.01 per cent, DIIs 20.79 per cent.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations given in this section or any reports attached herein are authored by an external party. Views expressed are that of the respective authors/entities. These do not represent the views of Economic Times (ET). ET does not guarantee, vouch for, endorse any of its contents and hereby disclaims all warranties, express or implied, relating to the same. Please consult your financial adviser and seek independent advice.

Inmate dead, 10 injured after tree falls in Matara Prison

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 20:11:13 +0000

January 1, 2025 11:18 pm

One prison inmate is reported dead while at least 10 others have been injured and hospitalized after a large ‘Bo Tree’ had fallen within the Matara Prison premises.

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Tree nuts prompt Cappuccino Meltaway Bars’ recall — holiday candy sold nationwide

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 20:14:17 +0000

Gardners Candies is recalling Cappuccino Meltaway Bars sold nationwide because they may contain undeclared cashews, which can pose serious or life-threatening reactions in people with tree nut allergies.

The Tyrone, Pennsylvania-based candy maker initiated its recall after discovering the “tree nut-containing product was distributed in packaging that did not reveal the presence of tree nuts,” it said in a notice posted Friday by the Food and Drug Administration.

“People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to tree nuts run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products,” Gardners stated. Nearly 4 million Americans are allergic to tree nuts, according to Food Allergy Research & Education, a health advocacy group.

Gardners cited a temporary breakdown in its production and packaging processes for the problem and said it had suspended production of the product until the trouble is resolved. The company said it hasn’t received any reports of illnesses linked to the recalled product.

Recalled 1.25-ounce package of Gardners Candies’ Cappuccino Meltaway Bars.

Food and Drug Administration

The recalled 1.25-ounce packages were sold by retailers nationwide starting on September 1 and through mail orders via Gardners.Candies.com. The candy came packaged in white plastic marked with lot #082725 stamped along side the side and bears an expiration date is August 27, 2025.

The recalled product was also sold as a Gardners Meltaway Treat Box marked with lot #101625 or #112525. Each contained two Cappuccino Meltaway Bars, along with other flavors of bars packaged in a generic holiday box.

Recalled Meltaway Treat Boxes sold by Garners Candies.

Food and Drug Administration

People who bought the recalled holiday candy are urged to call Gardners corporate office for a replacement at 1-800-242-2639, Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time.

About 0.5% to 1% of the U.S. population is allergic to tree nuts, which include almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios and walnuts, according to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology.

“Reactions to tree nuts can be severe, including life threatening anaphylaxis, and individuals with a tree nut allergy should have epinephrine available at all times,” AAAAI stated.

Kate Gibson

Kate Gibson is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch in New York, where she covers business and consumer finance.

Dollar Tree shares slide after discounter cuts full-year forecast

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 12:28:07 +0000

A sign is posted in front of a Dollar Tree and Family Dollar store on March 13, 2024 in Rio Vista, California.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Shares of Dollar Tree fell about 10% in premarket trading Wednesday after the discounter cut its full-year outlook, citing increasing pressures on middle-income and higher-income customers.

The retailer said it now expects its full-year consolidated net sales outlook to range between $30.6 billion and $30.9 billion. It expects adjusted earnings per share to range from $5.20 to $5.60. That compares to previous guidance of $31 billion to $32 billion in net sales and $6.50 to $7 for adjusted earnings per share.

In a news release, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Davis said the company cut the forecast to reflect a more conservative outlook and costs associated with converting 99 Cents Only stores that it recently acquired.

Davis laid most of the blame for lower earnings per share in the quarter on general liability claims. The company said it has had higher costs to reimburse, settle and litigate claims related to customer accidents and other incidents at stores.

He said Dollar Tree has also seen softer sales as customers across incomes were more careful about purchases.

Dollar Tree’s report comes about a week after major rival Dollar General slashed its full-year sales and profit outlook, sending its shares tumbling. Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos chalked up weak sales to “a core customer who feels financially constrained.”

Dollar stores, in particular, have felt pinched as their core customer — shoppers with lower incomes and little leftover money to spend on discretionary items — make tradeoffs after a prolonged period of pricier food and everyday costs. Walmart has won more business from value-conscious shoppers across incomes and newer online players, such as Temu, have also attracted customers with cheap merchandise.

Dollar Tree includes two store chains, its namesake, which sells a wide variety of lower-priced items like party supplies, and Family Dollar, which carries more food.

Same-store sales for the company rose by 0.7% in the quarter. At Dollar Tree, same-store sales increased by 1.3% and at Family Dollar, same-store sales fell by 0.1%. The industry metric takes out the impact of store openings and closures.

Along with contending with inflation-stretched shoppers, Dollar Tree has faced company-specific challenges. The retailer announced in March that it would close about 1,000 Family Dollar stores, citing market conditions and store performance. Then, in June, the company said it is considering selling the Family Dollar brand.

Dollar Tree bought Family Dollar for nearly $9 billion in 2015 and since then, it’s struggled to strengthen the grocery-focused chain and better compete with Dollar General.

As of Tuesday’s close, Dollar Tree’s shares are down nearly 43% so far this year. The company’s stock hit a 52-week low on Tuesday and closed the day at $81.65.

Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Kroger customers pay over $90 million a year in cash-back fees, federal agency finds

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Sat, 31 Aug 2024 20:54:45 +0000

A Dollar General store in Germantown, New York, on Nov. 30, 2023.

Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Three of the nation’s largest retailers — Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Kroger — charge fees to customers who ask for “cash back” at check-out, amounting to more than $90 million a year, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Many retailers offer a cash-back option to consumers who pay for purchases with a debit or pre-paid card.

But levying a fee for the service may be “exploiting” certain customers, especially those who live in so-called banking deserts without easy access to a bank branch or free cash withdrawals, according to a CFPB analysis issued Tuesday.

That dynamic tends to disproportionately impact rural communities, lower earners and people of color, CFPB said.

Not all retailers charge cash-back fees, which can range from $0.50 to upwards of $3 per transaction, according to the agency, which has cracked down on financial institutions in recent years for charging so-called “junk fees.”

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Five of the eight companies that the CFPB sampled offer cash back for free.

They include Albertsons, a grocer; the drugstore chains CVS and Walgreens; and discount retailers Target and Walmart. (Kroger proposed a $25 billion merger with Albertsons in 2022, but that deal is pending in court.)

“Fees to get cash back are just one more nickel and dime that all starts to add up,” said Adam Rust, director of financial services at the Consumer Federation of America, an advocacy group.

“It just makes it harder and harder to get by,” he said. “It’s thousands of little cuts at a time.”

Luis Alvarez | Digitalvision | Getty Images

A spokesperson for Dollar General said cash back can help save customers money relative to “alternative, non-retail options” like check cashing or ATM fees.

“While not a financial institution, Dollar General provides cashback options at our more than 20,000 stores across the country as a service to customers who may not have convenient access to their primary financial institution,” the spokesperson said.

Customers who opt for cash back are charged a “clearly disclosed” fee, which “helps offset the variety of costs we incur to offer this helpful service,” according to a spokesperson for Dollar Tree, which operates Family Dollar and Dollar Tree stores.

A spokesperson for Kroger didn’t respond to a request for comment from CNBC.

Kroger, Dollar General and Dollar Tree were respectively the No. 4, 17 and 19 largest U.S. retailers by sales in 2023, according to the National Retail Federation, a trade group.

Cash back is popular

The practice of charging for cash back is relatively new, Rust explained.

For example, in 2019, Kroger Co. rolled out a $0.50 fee on cash back of $100 or less and $3.50 for amounts between $100 and $300, according to CFPB.

This applied across brands like Kroger, Fred Meyers, Ralph’s, QFC and Pick ‘N Save, among others.

However, Kroger Co. began charging for cash back at its Harris Teeter brand in January 2024: $0.75 for amounts of $100 or less and $3 for larger amounts up to $200, CFPB said.

Cash withdrawals from retail locations is the second most popular way to access cash, representing 17% of transactions over 2017-22, according to a CFPB analysis of the Diary and Survey of Consumer Payment Choice.

ATMs were the most popular, at 61%.

But there are some key differences between retail and ATM withdrawals, according to CFPB and consumer advocates.

For instance, relatively low caps on cash-back amounts make it challenging to limit the impact of fees by spreading them over larger withdrawals, they said.

The average retail cash withdrawal was $34 from 2017-22, while it was $126 at ATMs, CFPB said.

Banking deserts are growing

However, retailers may be the only reasonable way to get cash for consumers who live in banking deserts, experts say.

More than 12 million people — about 3.8% of the U.S. population — lived in a banking desert in 2023, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

That figure is up from 11.5 million, or 3.5% of the population, in 2019, it found.

Generally speaking, a banking desert constitutes any geographic area without a local bank branch. Such people don’t live within 10 miles of a physical bank branch. The rise of digital banking, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, has led many banks to close their brick-and-mortar store fronts, according to Lali Shaffer, a payments risk expert at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

These deserts “may hurt vulnerable populations” who are already less likely to have access to online and mobile banking, she wrote recently.

Retailers blame banks

Retail advocates say banks are to blame for cash-back fees.

Merchants must pay fees to banks whenever customers swipe a debit card or credit card for purchases. Those fees might be 2% to 4% of a transaction, for example.

Since cash-back totals are included in the total transaction price, merchants also pay fees to banks on any cash that consumers request.

The “vast majority” of retailers don’t charge for cash back, and therefore take a financial loss to offer this service to customers for free, said Doug Kantor, general counsel at the National Association of Convenience Stores and a member of the Merchants Payments Coalition Executive Committee.

“Banks have abandoned many of these communities and they’re gouging retailers just for taking people’s cards or giving people cash,” he said.

But consumer advocates say this calculus overlooks the benefit that retailers get by offering cash back,

“You’d think they’d see this as a free way to get customers: coming into [the] store because the bank branch isn’t there,” Rust said. “Instead they’re going ahead and charging another junk fee.”

Florida farmers turn to an ancient tree from India as the state’s once-famous citrus industry dries up

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 03:44:07 +0000

An ancient tree from India is now thriving in groves where citrus trees once flourished in Florida, and could help provide the nation with renewable energy.

As large parts of the Sunshine State’s once-famous citrus industry have all but dried up over the past two decades because of two fatal diseases, greening and citrus canker, some farmers are turning to the pongamia tree, a climate-resilient tree with the potential to produce plant-based proteins and a sustainable biofuel.

For years, pongamia has been used for shade trees, producing legumes — little brown beans — that are so bitter wild hogs won’t even eat them.

But unlike the orange and grapefruit trees that long occupied these rural Florida groves northwest of West Palm Beach, pongamia trees don’t need much attention.

Pongamia trees also don’t need fertilizer or pesticides. They flourish in drought or rainy conditions. And they don’t require teams of workers to pick the beans. A machine simply shakes the tiny beans from the branches when they are ready to harvest.

Terviva, a San Francisco-based company founded in 2010 by Naveen Sikka, then uses its patented process to remove the biopesticides that cause the bitter taste, making the beans suitable for food production.

“Florida offers a rare opportunity for both Terviva and former citrus farmers. The historical decline of the citrus industry has left farmers without a crop that can grow profitably on hundreds of thousands of acres, and there needs to be a very scalable replacement, very soon,” Sikka told The Associated Press. “Pongamia is the perfect fit.”

What is the pongamia tree?

The pongamia is a wild tree native to India, Southeast Asia and Australia.

The legume is now being used to produce several products, including Panova culinary oil and protein, which are featured ingredient in Aloha’s Kona protein bars. The company also makes protein flour.

The legumes also produce oil that can be used as a biofuel, largely for aviation, which leaves a very low carbon footprint, said Ron Edwards, chairman of Terviva’s board of directors and a long-time Florida citrus grower.

Turning a wild tree into a domestic one hasn’t been easy, Edwards said.

“There are no books to read on it, either, because no one else has ever done it,” he said.

Bees and other pollinators feast on the pongamia’s flowers, supporting local biodiversity, Edwards said. An acre of the trees can potentially provide the same amount of oil as four acres of soy beans, he added.

What’s left after the oil is removed from the pongamia bean is “a very high-grade protein that can be used as a substitute in baking and smoothies and all kinds of other plant-based protein products,” Edwards said. “There’s a lot of potential for the food industry and the oil and petroleum industry.”

Why Florida?

“We know pongamia grows well in Florida, and the end markets for the oil and protein that come from the pongamia beans — biofuel, feed, and food ingredients — are enormous,” Sikka said. “So farmers can now reduce their costs and more closely align to the leading edge of sustainable farming practices.”

At a nursery near Fort Pierce, workers skilled in pongamia grafting techniques affix a portion of the mother tree to a pongamia rootstock, which ensures the genetics and desired characteristics of the mother tree are perpetuated in all of Terviva’s trees.

Pongamia vs. citrus

Citrus had been Florida’s premier crop for years until disease caught up with it starting in the 1990s with citrus canker and later greening.

Citrus canker, a bacterial disease, is not harmful to humans, but it causes lesions on the fruit, stems and leaves. Eventually, it makes the trees unproductive.

Citrus greening, also known as Huanglongbing, slowly kills trees and degrades the fruit, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Greening has spread throughout Florida since 2005, devastating countless groves and reducing citrus production by 75%. The disease has spread to Louisiana, Texas and California.

Hurricane Ian caused about $1.8 billion in damages to Florida’s agriculture in September 2023, hitting the citrus industry at the beginning of its growing season.

Disease and climate issues have also affected most of the world’s top citrus-producing countries. For example, this year’s harvest in Brazil — the world’s largest exporter of orange juice — is forecast to be the worst in 36 years because of flooding and drought, according to a forecast by Fundecitrus, a citrus growers’ organization in Sao Paulo state.

But climate and disease have little effect on pongamia trees, the company’s officials said.

“It’s just tough, a jungle-tested tree” Edwards said. “It stands up to a lot of abuse with very little caretaking.”

Pongamia also grows well in Hawaii, where it now thrives on land previously used for sugarcane.

What are citrus farmers saying?

John Olson, who owns Circle O Ranch, west of Fort Pierce, has replaced his grapefruit groves with 215 acres (87.01 hectares) of pongamia trees.

“We went through all the ups and downs of citrus and eventually because of greening, abandoned citrus production,” Olson said. “For the most part, the citrus industry has died in Florida.”

While the grapefruit grove was modest, it was common for a grove that size to be profitable in the 1980s and 1990s, Olson said.

Edwards said farmers used various sprays to kill the insect that was spreading the disease. Eventually, the cost of taking care of citrus trees became too risky.

That’s when he decided to go a different route.

“What attracted me to pongamia was the fact that one it can repurpose fallow land that was citrus and is now lying dormant,” he said. “From an ecological point of view, it’s very attractive because it can replace some of the oils and vegetable proteins that are now being generated by things like palm oil, which is environmentally a much more damaging crop.”

What about biofuel?

In December 2023, Terviva signed an agreement with Mitsubishi Corporation to provide biofuel feedstock that can be converted into biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel.

“Our partnership with Mitsubishi is off to a great start,” Sikka said, noting that the company coordinates closely with Mitsubishi on tree plantings and product development and sales. “Terviva’s progress has accelerated thanks to Mitsubishi’s expertise and leadership around the globe on all facets of Terviva’s business.”

What food products does pongamia produce?

The research is ongoing, but Edwards said they have made really good graham crackers in addition to the table oil and other plant-based protein products, including flour and protein bars.

Pongamia offers an alternative to soybean and yellow pea protein “if you don’t want your protein to come from meat,” he said.

Dollar Tree failed to pull lead-contaminated applesauce for months, FDA says

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 22:21:35 +0000

Applesauce packets recalled due to levels of lead

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Applesauce pouches contaminated with heavy amounts of lead remained on Dollar Tree store shelves for nearly two months after being recalled and linked to hundreds of lead poisonings nationwide, according to federal regulators.

In the weeks and months that followed the recall of apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches, public health officials across many states continued to report seeing recalled WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches on Dollar Tree store shelves, the Food and Drug Administration stated in a Tuesday update.

The discount chain continued selling cinnamon applesauce well after WanaBana USDA recalled all of its Apple Cinnamon Fruit Puree pouches on Oct. 29, 2023, “despite FDA’s numerous attempts to bring this serious issue to your attention,” the agency stated in a warning letter to the company’s CEO, Rick Dreiling.

Through Dec. 19, 2023, the recall was ineffective at the retail level due to Dollar Tree’s failure to pull the product, the agency stated.

Reached for comment, Dollar Tree seemed to dispute the FDA’s version of events.

“In October 2023, Dollar Tree took immediate action and began executing a recall of WanaBana’s Apple Cinnamon Fruit Puree Pouch upon being notified of the issue with the product. We continue to cooperate with FDA on this matter,” the company said in an emailed statement.

As of March 22, 2024, the CDC had received reports of 519 elevated blood lead level cases — 136 confirmed — from 44 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.

Kate Gibson

Kate Gibson is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch in New York, where she covers business and consumer finance.