RESMED INC has an Investment Rating of HOLD; a target price of $217.000000; an Industry Subrating of Low; a Management Subrating of Medium; a Safety Subrating of Medium; a Financial Strength Subrating of Medium; a Growth Subrating of High; and a Value Subrating of Medium.

HENRY SCHEIN INC has an Investment Rating of HOLD; a target price of $77.000000; an Industry Subrating of Low; a Management Subrating of Medium; a Safety Subrating of Medium; a Financial Strength Subrating of Medium; a Growth Subrating of Medium; and a Value Subrating of Medium.

Ageas was spun out of Fortis during the financial crisis after a consortium including Banco Santander and Royal Bank of Scotland launched a failed bid for ABN Amro. The takeover was badly timed and ambitious, and to fund it Fortis started selling noncore divisions while writing down collateralised debt. As Fortis’ capital began to decline, the company initiated a rights issue and the long-held promised dividend was suspended. As Fortis’ share price began to decline and financial market conditions continued to worsen, with a series of leadership changes customers began to withdraw deposits. Fortis was approached by the government and sold its domestic banking operations to the Belgium government, and BNP Paribas and was asked to spin off its insurance and asset management divisions.

Despite swings in prices -- copper prices have jumped almost 30% in the past six months, while wheat prices are down 12% -- the current state of commodity prices indicate the world economy generally is in a high-cost environment. By our calculations, these two commodities, along with urea (a proxy for fertilizer and chemical prices) and soybeans, are on average selling for prices that are 20% higher than their individual 20-year averages. The most expensive, on a relative basis, is copper. Copper is a light metal and a key component in electric vehicles as well as an important element of power transmission, telecommunications, and HVAC systems. Copper prices of almost $10,000 per metric ton are 47% higher than the long-run average; and are higher by 29% in the past six months in the wake of China's decision to drop its "zero Covid" policy and focus on economic growth. Wheat and soybeans are selling at 46% and 38% premiums to the average prices, respectively, driven in part by market disruption from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Urea prices, however, are 4% lower than the long-run average, and are down by 54% in the past six months due to weak demand and declines in natural gas prices, which are an important cost of goods. We think underlying long-term economic fundamentals are favorable for most commodities as global standards of living improve, but we project ongoing volatility from inflation, the pandemic, and geopolitics. We recently raised our sector recommendation to Basic Materials to Over-Weight. The current market weight of the sector is 3.0%, and we think investors should consider exposure of 3%-4% in diversified portfolios. We recommend well-managed, financially strong industry leaders that are able to take market share during challenging periods for the Metals, Ag, Chemicals and Paper industries.