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Investors are always on the lookout for untapped opportunities, especially in stocks that have been heavily discounted and now present promising opportunities for those prepared to wager on a recovery.

As the new year looms, a seasoned strategy, known as the Laggards trade, is witnessing a revival.

In its recent analysis, Goldman Sachs has shone a light on stocks that have trailed the broader market significantly on a year-to-date basis. Despite their underperformance, these Buy-rated securities hold considerable potential for robust gains in the upcoming year.

Laggards can often represent contrarian investment opportunities, as they may not have garnered bullish sentiment from investors yet, or the prevailing analyst consensus might be so low that even minor positive changes in fundamentals could result in significant performance gains.

The Laggard Phenomenon: The year 2023 has been a turbulent one for many stocks, with some sectors witnessing declines reminiscent of the tumultuous years of 2007 and 2020. However, history suggests a silver lining the laggards of one year often emerge as leaders in the first quarter of the next.

Goldman Sachs equity strategists, Deep Mehta and Tarun Lalwani, CFA, explained that despite a 37% YTD underperformance relative to the S&P 500 index, 2023s laggards could be next years leaders, as the market rally in November suggests signs of an early reversal.

Sector Shift: This years laggards differ from those of 2022, with Healthcare, Financials, and Industrials taking the lead. These stocks align with several key investment themes: low financial returns, lower quality scores, affordable valuations, and high growth prospects.Goldman Sachs Unveils 5 Clusters Of Stocks In The Laggards Trade

1) Laggards with Differentiated Bullish Views: These are Buy-rated stocks by Goldman Sachs analysts, who hold a contrarian opinion compared to less than half of Wall Street analysts. They have at least a 10% upside potential. Some of the stocks included in this group are as follows: Moderna Inc. MRNA : Upside to target 189%, YTD underperformance vs. S&P 500 -75% Pfizer Inc. PFE : Upside to target 66%, YTD underperformance vs. S&P 500 -63% Enphase Energy Inc. ENPH : Upside to target 48%, YTD underperformance vs. S&P 500 -79% Loading… Loading…

2) Laggards with Consensus-Defying Estimates: These stocks have Goldman Sachs estimates that significantly diverge from the consensus, suggesting a potential surprise factor. Highlighted below are some key stocks within this group: Darling Ingredients Inc. DAR : Upside to target 86%, YTD underperformance vs. S&P 500 -47% Shoals Technologies Group SHLS : Upside to target 89%, YTD underperformance vs. S&P 500 -60% ANGI Homeservices Inc. ANGI : Upside to target 84%, YTD underperformance vs. S&P 500 -16%

Read also: Will Novembers Turkey Rally Set Stage For Decembers Santa Claus Rally For Stocks?

3) Growth at Reasonable Valuations: These are Buy-rated laggards projected to have double-digit topline growth in 2024 and 2025, with a Price-Earnings-Growth ratio below 1.0. Included in this group are the following notable stocks: Array Technologies Inc. ARRY : Upside to target 89%, YTD underperformance vs. S&P 500 -60% First Solar Inc. FSLR : Upside to target 72%, YTD underperformance vs. S&P 500 -13%

4) Laggards with Rebounding Margins: These stocks are expected to show positive sales growth and improving operating margins in 2024 compared to 2023. The following represents a selection of stocks categorized in this group: Bath & Body Works Inc. BBWI : Upside to target 45%, YTD underperformance vs. S&P 500 -39% Sensata Technologies Holding ST : Upside to target 45%, YTD underperformance vs. S&P 500 -37%

5) Laggards with Superior CROCI: These are stocks with a consistent Cash Return on Capital Invested (CROCI) greater than the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC), indicating efficient capital use and profitability. Key stocks within this group are listed below: Aptiv PLC APTV : Upside to target 52%, YTD underperformance vs. S&P 500 -29% Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. BMY : Upside to target 38%, YTD underperformance vs. S&P 500 -50%

Read now: Golds Record High: Why Havent Gold Miners Followed Suit?

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Entertainment

Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it’s ‘an underdog just like me’

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Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it's 'an underdog just like me'

Snoop Dogg has become a co-owner and investor of Swansea, with the US rapper hailing the Welsh football club as “an underdog that bites back, just like me”.

The former Premier League club, which plays in the English second tier, confirmed the US rapper and producer plans to use his own money to invest in it, Sky Sports reports, although it didn’t disclose financial details.

“My love of football is well known, but it feels special to me that I make my move into club ownership with Swansea City,” the music icon said in the announcement.

“The story of the club and the area really struck a chord with me,” he added. “This is a proud, working class city and club.

“An underdog that bites back, just like me.

“I’m proud to be part of Swansea City. I am going to do all I can to help the club.”

Swansea’s American owners, led by Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen, are trying to grow the Championship club’s global brand and increase commercial revenue.

Snoop Dogg, 53, who has 89m followers on Instagram and more than 20m on X, helped launch the team’s 2025-26 home shirt last weekend.

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The club ownership group said: “To borrow a phrase from Snoop’s back catalogue, this announcement is the next episode for Swansea City as we seek to create new opportunities to boost the club’s reach and profile.”

Luka Modric, who recently signed with AC Milan from Real Madrid, joined Swansea’s ownership group in April.

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Politics

Diane Abbott suspended from Labour Party

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Diane Abbott suspended from Labour Party

Diane Abbott has been suspended from the Labour Party pending an investigation.

A party spokesperson confirmed the decision to Sky News but did not give a reason why.

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It comes after the veteran MP defended previous comments about racism which sparked an antisemitism row and led to a year-long suspension.

She apologised at the time and was readmitted back into the party before the 2024 general election.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Diane Abbott has been administratively suspended from the Labour Party, pending an investigation. We cannot comment further while this investigation is ongoing.”

Sky News understands that the suspension is not related to the four rebels who lost the whip on Wednesday for “repeated breaches” of party discipline, including voting against the government’s welfare cuts.

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The action has been taken because of an interview in which she doubled down on her claim Jewish people experience racism differently to black people, which previously sparked a huge controversy.

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Diane Abbott

In a letter to The Observer in 2023, Ms Abbott argued that people of colour experienced racism “all their lives” and said that was different to the “prejudice” experienced by Jewish people, Irish people and Travellers.

Shortly after it was published, she issued a statement in which she said she wished to “wholly and unreservedly withdraw my remarks and disassociate myself from them”.

However in a new interview with BBC Radio 4’s Reflections programme this week, she said she did not look back on the incident with regret.

Ms Abbott said: “Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you don’t know.

“But if you see a black person walking down the street, you see straight away that they’re black. They are different types of racism.”

She added: “I just think that it’s silly to try and claim that racism which is about skin colour is the same as other types of racism.

“I don’t know why people would say that.”

Commenting on the suspension, Ms Abbott told Sky News: “It’s obvious this Labour leadership wants me out. My comments in the interview with James Naughtie were factually correct, as any fair-minded person would accept.”

The clip of the interview was re-posted by Brian Leishman, one of the MPs suspended on Wednesday, who said: “Diane Abbott has fought against racism her entire life.”

Bell Riberio-Addy, who lost her role as trade envoy in yesterday’s purge, also came to Ms Abbott’s defence, saying: “Before condemning her based on headlines, I would listen to her clip and note she discussed the different forms that racism takes and condemned all forms of racism.”

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell made similar comments, saying that in the interview his colleague “forthrightly condemns antisemitism & discusses the different forms of racism”.

But Labour MP David Taylor told Sky News he has “long thought Diane Abbott shouldn’t be a member of our party due to her appalling positions on everything from Bosnia to Syria”.

He added: “As the Jewish Labour Movement have said, antisemitism targets Jews regardless of how they look, and many in the community are visibly Jewish and suffer racism for it.”

In the interview, Ms Abbott said she “of course” condemns antisemitic behaviour in the same way she would condemn racist behaviour because of the colour of someone’s skin, adding: “I do get a bit weary of people trying to pin the antisemitic label on me because I spent a lifetime facing racism of all kinds.”

Ms Abbott made history when she was elected as Britain’s first black female MP for Labour in 1987.

She is the longest-serving female MP in the Commons, giving her the title “Mother of the House”.

As an MP on the left of the party she has often clashed with the leadership throughout her career – bar her time serving in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet.

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Many MPs rallied in support of Ms Abbott last year when it was not clear if she would be reinstated in time for the general election, or allowed to stand.

She went on to retain her seat of Hackney North and Stoke Newington with a majority of over 15,000.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner hinted action could be taken against Ms Abbott when she told The Guardian earlier on Thursday that she was “disappointed” in her colleague’s remarks.

“There’s no place for antisemitism in the Labour Party, and obviously the Labour Party has processes for that,” she said.

A source close to the decision to suspend her told Sky News there is a “very slim chance” she will be allowed back in, given she did antisemitism training and apologised last time.

It raises questions about whether Ms Abbott could join the new party being formed by Mr Corbyn and former Labour MP Zarah Sultana.

For the time being, Ms Abbott will sit in the Commons as an independent MP.

Adnan Hussain, who was elected as the independent MP for Blackburn last year, said on X: “We’d be honoured to have a giant like Diane join us, she [should] come to the side that would really appreciate her for the legend she is.”

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UK

Child who died in Minehead school coach crash was 10-year-old boy, police say

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Child who died in Minehead school coach crash was 10-year-old boy, police say

The child who died in a school coach crash in Somerset on Thursday was a 10-year-old boy, Avon and Somerset Police have said.

A specially trained officer is supporting the child’s family, the force said, adding that two children taken to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children by air ambulance remain there as of Friday.

Four children and three adults also remain in hospital in Somerset.

There were between 60 to 70 people on board when the incident happened near Minehead, just before 3pm on Thursday.

The coach was heading to Minehead Middle School when it crashed on the A396 between Wheddon Cross and Timbercombe.

Flowers outside school
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Pic: PA

Police said that 21 people were taken to hospital, including two children who were taken via air ambulance.

Gavin Ellis, chief fire officer for Devon and Somerset, said the coach “overturned onto its roof and slid approximately 20ft down an embankment”.

Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead, said the road where it happened is “very difficult to manoeuvre”.

“You have a very difficult crossing at Wheddon Cross, and as you come out to dip down into Timbercombe, the road is really windy and there are very steep dips on either side,” she told Sky’s Anna Botting.

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Tearful MP reacts to coach crash

It comes after a teacher at Minehead Middle School praised the “incredibly brave” pupils for supporting each other after the coach crash.

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“You have looked after each [other] in what was a life-changing event, we will get through this together,” they wrote on Facebook.

“I feel so lucky to be your teacher. I am so grateful to my wonderful colleagues during this time who were also fighting to help as many people as we could.”

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