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September 13, 2025

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Top three ‘cash rich’ stocks that can weather any market downturn

3 Mins Read

With US equities hovering near record levels and economics indicators flashing warning signs – Morgan Stanley is urging investors to seek shelter in companies with robust free cash flows.

According to the investment firm, “cash-rich” businesses are better equipped to navigate volatility, thanks to their ability to self-finance operations and growth.

Amid rising unemployment and downward revisions to job creation, the appeal of these companies has grown.

Morgan Stanley has screened the Russell 1000 for names with strong cash-to-enterprise values and double-digit free cash flow growth projection. Among its top picks: DoorDash, Spotify, and FedEx.

FedEx Corp (NYSE: FDX)

FedEx stands out as a logistics heavyweight with a healthy cash cushion. Morgan Stanley expects its free cash flow to grow 31.4% in 2025 and another 14.9% in 2026.

Despite mixed earnings in the second quarter, the company’s financial flexibility remains intact, bolstered by its plan to spin off its freight division.

This strategic move could unlock operational efficiencies and sharpen focus on core delivery services.

FedEx’s ability to generate substantial cash even in a challenging macro environment makes it a compelling defensive play.

As Morgan Stanley noted, “companies with ample free-cash flow are self-financing,” and FedEx stock fits that bill.

FDX shares also currently pay a dividend yield of 2.51% – which makes them even more attractive to own for the longer term.

Spotify Inc (NYSE: SPOT)

Spotify continues to impress with its expanding user base and improving monetization.

The audio-streaming giant is projected to grow free cash flow by 27.6% in 2025 and 34.3% in 2026, as per Morgan Stanley.

The company’s second-quarter revenue rose 10% year-over-year, driven by premium subscriptions and advertising gains.

SPOT’s ability to convert top-line growth into meaningful cash reserves gives it a buffer against economic headwinds.

The firm’s scalable model and disciplined cost structure make it one of the most attractive names in the digital media space.

Other Wall Street firms agree with Morgan Stanley’s constructive view on SPOT shares, given the consensus rating on the music streaming app currently sits at “overweight”.

DoorDash Inc (NASDAQ: DASH)

DoorDash shares have emerged as a cash-generating force in the on-demand economy.

Morgan Stanley forecasts free cash flow growth of 26.6% this year and a striking 41.5% in 2026.

The company posted $3.3 billion in revenue for second quarter of 2025, up 25% on a year-over-year basis, fuelled by strong demand and rising DashPass subscriptions.

Despite competition from Uber Eats and others, DASH’s expanding margins and efficient capital allocation have helped it build a sizable war chest.

In a downturn, its cash-rich profile could be a key differentiator.

Note that Wall Street currently has a consensus “overweight” rating on DASH stock – with a mean target of about $297, indicating potential upside of nearly 20% from here.

The post Top three ‘cash rich’ stocks that can weather any market downturn appeared first on Invezz

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In World news

Editor’s Picks: Gold Knocks Out Inflation-Adjusted High, Silver Breaks US$42

4 Mins Read

Gold’s record-setting price run continued this week, with yet another new all-time high in the books. Silver also fared well, breaking US$42 per ounce.

According to Bloomberg, gold has now also surpassed its inflation-adjusted all-time high of US$850 per ounce, which it set more than 45 years ago on January 21, 1980. The news outlet notes that at the time the US was dealing with currency issues, inflation and recession concerns.

These are problems that sound all too familiar today. This week brought the release of the latest US consumer price index (CPI) data, which shows a 0.4 percent month-on-month increase for the all-items index — that’s ahead of estimates and the most since the start of 2025.

Meanwhile, core CPI, which excludes the food and energy categories, was up 0.3 percent from July. On an annual basis, core CPI was up 3.1 percent, while overall CPI rose 2.9 percent.

US producer price index (PPI) data also came out this week.

The index, which measures costs at a wholesale level, showed an unexpected 0.1 percent month-on-month decrease for August; the result was the same for core PPI.

Attention is now shifting to the US Federal Reserve’s next meeting, which is set to run from September 16 to 17. For weeks now the central bank has been widely expected to cut interest rates, and experts believe this week’s CPI and PPI numbers support that idea.

“Today’s CPI may appear to offset yesterday’s PPI, but it wasn’t hot enough to distract the Fed from the softening jobs picture. That translates into a rate cut next week — and, likely, more to come’ — Ellen Zentner, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

CME Group’s (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch tool now shows odds of 93.9 percent for a 25 basis point cut, while the likelihood of a 50 basis point reduction stands at 6.1 percent.

Bullet briefing — Mining majors in mega M&A, Newmont to exit TSX

Anglo, Teck to merge in US$53 billion deal

Anglo American (LSE:AAL,OTCQX:AAUKF) and Teck Resources (TSX:TECK.A,TSX:TECK.B,NYSE:TECK) announced that they plan to merge in a US$53 billion transaction.

The new entity, which the companies say will be one of the world’s largest copper producers, will have assets in Canada, the US, Latin America and Southern Africa.

Its primary listing will be in London, but its headquarters will be in Canada — a commitment that Teck CEO Jonathan Price told BNN Bloomberg will be ‘perpetual.’ In a bid to safeguard its critical minerals sector, Canada said last year that it will only greenlight foreign takeovers of large critical minerals miners in ‘exceptional circumstances.’

The companies expect annual pre-tax synergies of about US$800 million by the end of the fourth year following the completion of the arrangement.

Experts say the zero-premium, all-share tie up is the second largest mining deal ever, and the biggest in more than a decade. It comes not long after other high-profile M&A attempts involving both companies — Teck rejected a bid from (LSE:GLEN,OTC Pink:GLCNF) in 2023, and Anglo turned down an offer from BHP (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BHP) last year.

Newmont to delist from TSX

While the Anglo-Teck deal puts Canada front and center, major miner Newmont (TSX:NGT,NYSE:NEM,ASX:NEM) is backing away from the northern nation. The company said it has applied to voluntarily delist its shares from the TSX amid low volumes.

Newmont also said the move will help boost administrative efficiency and reduce expenses. The firm has faced increasing costs since acquiring Newcrest Mining in 2023, and sources familiar with the matter recently told Bloomberg that it’s looking to lower costs by around 20 percent.

Newmont will retain its primary listing in New York, as well as listings in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Its TSX delisting is expected to be effective on September 24.

Barrick to sell Hemlo for US$1.09 billion

Also making a move away from Canada this week was Barrick Mining (TSX:ABX,NYSE:B), which has agreed to sell its Hemlo gold mine to Carcetti Capital (TSXV:CART.H) for US$1.09 billion.

Located in Ontario, Hemlo has operated for 30 years, producing over 21 million ounces of gold during that time. The sale comes as Barrick divests non-core assets and pivots toward copper.

The company put Hemlo up for sale earlier this year, and in July was rumored to be selling the operation to Discovery Silver (TSX:DSV,OTCQX:DSVSF); that deal ultimately didn’t pan out.

Carcetti will be renamed Hemlo Mining once the transaction closes, and is expected to uplist from the TSX Venture Exchange’s NEX Board. Its backers include Robert Quartermain, who is known for leading SSR Mining (TSX:SSRM,NASDAQ:SSRM) and Pretium Resources.

Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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In Politics

Karine Jean-Pierre says Biden health talking points were tightly controlled at senior level

4 Mins Read

Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told House investigators that she did not see a change in former President Joe Biden’s competency over several years, but she acknowledged that he was ‘not the same speaker he was when she met him.’

Jean-Pierre was the latest in a string of former Biden White House officials to be interviewed by House Oversight Committee investigators over an alleged cover-up of the ex-president’s mental acuity.

She did not speak to reporters on her way into the interview just off Capitol Hill, nor did she speak after the nearly five-hour, closed-door transcribed interview.

But a source familiar with the interview shared with Fox News Digital that Jean-Pierre told investigators that while working for Biden in various capacities from 2009 to 2025, ‘she did not see a change in President Biden’s competency.’

‘She did acknowledge President Biden is not the same speaker he was when she met him,’ the source noted.  ‘She does not know why his speaking changed and never asked him.’

Jean-Pierre, who is one of the most high-profile figures from the Biden administration to appear before the committee, was among those who publicly defended Biden after his June 2024 debate against then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.

During the debate, Jean-Pierre said she was told by ‘senior staff that President Biden had a cold,’ the source said.

Shortly after the debate, she told reporters at a press briefing in early July that Biden was ‘as sharp as ever.’

Jean-Pierre told investigators that talking points were entered into her binder for press briefings by ‘various advisors,’ but specifically ones related to Biden’s health and mental acuity ‘were handled exclusively at the senior level.’

She cited the ‘cheap fakes’ talking point, which at the time, Jean-Pierre charged were people online manipulating videos of Biden to mislead the public on his health and cognitive ability. She told investigators that point in particular ‘appeared as a talking point in her binder, but she does not know specifically who added it.’

She also said that she never spoke with anyone in the White House ‘personally concerned about President Biden’s health.’

Jean-Pierre began her role as White House press secretary in 2022, shortly after former White House press secretary Jen Psaki left the position, and she stayed on until the end of Biden’s presidency in January.

But her relationship with Biden-world became estranged after her departure from the Democratic Party earlier this year, which was announced in a press release for her forthcoming book, ‘Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines.’

Jean-Pierre’s appearance before investigators came as House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., said earlier this week that his panel’s ongoing probe into Biden’s use of an autopen was coming to its conclusion.

The focus in particular was whether top officials engaged in a cover-up of Biden’s mental and physical state in the White House, and whether any executive actions or a litany of pardons were approved via autopen without the then-president’s full awareness.

Comer said heading into the hearing that one of the questions at the top of his mind were whether ‘these pardons and executive orders [are] legal?’

‘I don’t think anyone’s going to argue that the process that was used for these autopens is the ideal process,’ Comer said. ‘And what we’ve seen with the emails that have surfaced in the last week — even the Merrick Garland Department of Justice was very concerned about how this administration was using the autopen.’

‘When people in the Department of Justice email people who they believe were the ones making the decisions on the autopen,’ he continued. ‘And asked the question via email from the Department of Justice, ‘Does the president even know who they just pardoned?’ I mean, that’s very concerning.’ 

Fox News Digital reached out to Jean-Pierre’s lawyers and Biden’s office but did not immediately receive a response.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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