Latest news with #Minto
Scoop
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Israel Blocks NZ Aid To Starving Palestinians
Up to $29 million worth of aid provided by New Zealand is held up on the Gaza border by Israel, says the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa. PSNA says this aid is loaded on some of the 9,000 aid trucks sitting ready to try to lift the Israeli created famine. Three months ago, Israel cut off all food, medicine, fuel, and nearly all water supplies entering Gaza. Famine has begun and the UN has cited 14,000 babies at imminent risk of starving to death. It estimates 600 truckloads of aid a day is necessary to feed the people in Gaza. Gaza's own food production has been destroyed by Israel. Some 70 percent of Gaza is already occupied by Israel or under Israeli evacuation orders. New Zealand Foreign Minister, Winston Peters last week said the humanitarian situation in Gaza is 'simply intolerable'. But PSNA Co-Chair, John Minto says that since then, as Israel refused to allow more than a trickle of aid into Gaza, and instead escalated its already horrific military onslaught, Peters' only public statement has been to offer condolences for the shooting of two Israeli diplomats in Washington. 'Our government's selective indifference to mass murder is making all of us complicit.' Minto says New Zealand has taken a lead in the past and must do so again. 'Our government should be advocating internationally for the enforcement of a protective no-fly zone over Gaza, and a multinational military protection for aid convoys so they can go into Gaza whether Israel approves them or not.' 'At home we should be sending Israel an equally clear message. We must send the Israeli ambassador packing and immediately sanction Israel by ending all trade and other links,' Minto says. 'As each day passes with no concrete action from New Zealand, our government is linking us with the most massive and ongoing war crime of the 21st century.' 'Our government will never live down it's complicity but might salvage some credibility by acting now.'
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
This Canadian Monthly Income Stock at $12.68 Is a Remarkable Opportunity
Written by Brian Paradza, CFA at The Motley Fool Canada As Canada grapples with a housing crisis, with demand for rentals far outpacing current supply, one undervalued gem stands out: Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: Priced at just $12.68 per unit recently, Minto Apartment REIT units offer investors respectable and growing monthly income distributions, trade at a deep discount to their intrinsic value, and offer investors cheap exposure to Canada's chronic housing shortage. Let's explore why this 4.1% yield opportunity is too compelling to ignore. Minto Apartment REIT currently trades at a staggering 55% discount to its most recent net asset value (NAV) of $22.73 as of March 31, 2025. In simpler terms, you're paying about $0.45 for every dollar of high-quality residential real estate assets the trust owns. This disconnect between price and value is glaring, especially when compared to beaten-down office REIT peers like Allied Properties REIT (37.3% discount) or Artis REIT (51.2% discount). Minto's management isn't sitting idle, it has repurchased $28.2 million worth of units since late 2024, taking advantage of acute mispricing and signaling confidence in the REIT stock's upside. Minto pays a monthly distribution of $0.04333 per unit, translating to a 4.1% annual yield. While the yield may seem modest next to higher-risk alternatives, it's remarkably sustainable. The REIT's payout ratio sits at just 66.4% of normalized AFFO (adjusted funds from operations), leaving ample room for future hikes. Since its 2018 initial public offering (IPO), Minto has raised distributions annually, including a 2.9% increase in December 2024. For passive-income seekers, this consistency is golden. Minto owns 28 high-quality apartment buildings (7,598 suites) in major Canadian cities like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal. Occupancy rates are robust at 96.2%, with rents rising 5.3% year over year during the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2025). Even better, the REIT's 'gain-to-lease' potential—the difference between current and market rents—sits at 11.2%, hinting at further revenue growth as leases renew in 2025 and beyond. With a 42.6% debt-to-assets ratio and 99% fixed-rate debt at an average 3.5% interest rate, Minto Apartment REIT's portfolio is financially insulated from rising borrowing costs. Recent moves, like selling non-core assets and acquiring a prime Vancouver property, have strengthened its balance sheet. Trustees reinvested proceeds from asset sales into unit buybacks and debt reduction, creating a virtuous cycle for shareholders. The Minto Apartment REIT portfolio could generate positive earnings, grow the distributable cash flow, and create value for long-term-oriented investors. Canada potentially needs more than 5.5 million new homes by 2030 to restore affordability. At current construction rates, the shortfall will persist for longer. Meanwhile, immigration, though slowing temporarily, continues to funnel demand into cities where Minto Apartment REIT operates. Over half of 2024's new permanent residents settled in the REIT's markets, ensuring steady tenant demand. The Canadian stock market's indifference toward smaller REITs has kept Minto Apartment REIT undervalued. However, catalysts are emerging that could lift the REIT beyond its $500 million market cap. Aggressive buybacks shrink the unit count, boosting per-unit metrics. A potential rebound in investor appetite for REITs, spurred by stabilizing interest rates, could also narrow the NAV gap. Even a partial revaluation to a 30% discount would imply a 50% upside on Minto Apartment REIT units from today's price, not counting distributions or rent growth. At $12.68, Minto Apartment REIT isn't just a monthly income stock—it's a coiled spring. Investors get paid to wait for the market to recognize the small REIT's true value, all while it benefits from Canada's unrelenting housing shortage. With a rock-solid balance sheet, disciplined management, and rents climbing faster than inflation, this REIT is a remarkable opportunity for patient investors. The post This Canadian Monthly Income Stock at $12.68 Is a Remarkable Opportunity appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada. Before you buy stock in Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor Canada analyst team just identified what they believe are the Top Stocks for 2025 and Beyond for investors to buy now… and Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust wasn't one of them. The Top Stocks that made the cut could potentially produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider MercadoLibre, which we first recommended on January 8, 2014 ... if you invested $1,000 in the 'eBay of Latin America' at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $21,345.77!* Stock Advisor Canada provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month – one from Canada and one from the U.S. The Stock Advisor Canada service has outperformed the return of S&P/TSX Composite Index by 24 percentage points since 2013*. See the Top Stocks * Returns as of 4/21/25 More reading Made in Canada: 5 Homegrown Stocks Ready for the 'Buy Local' Revolution [PREMIUM PICKS] Market Volatility Toolkit Best Canadian Stocks to Buy in 2025 Beginner Investors: 4 Top Canadian Stocks to Buy for 2025 5 Years From Now, You'll Probably Wish You Grabbed These Stocks Subscribe to Motley Fool Canada on YouTube Fool contributor Brian Paradza has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2025 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Dr. Phil's son linked to tribal lender accused of predatory 700 percent interest loans
Jay McGraw, son of famed daytime talk show host 'Dr. Phil' McGraw, reportedly profited handsomely from a lending business targeting low-income people with high-interest loans, some with interest rates as high as 700 percent. Jay McGraw, a successful TV producer, was once listed as president and secretary of a company called CreditServe, which helps arrange small, high-interest loans through a company owned by a Native American tribe in Alaska, according to records obtained by an investigation from ProPublica and the Anchorage Daily News. Though records no longer list McGraw as a top officer in the company, a federal lawsuit filed in Illinois in November accused McGraw of providing 'tens of millions of dollars' in capital for the loans and serving as the 'principal beneficiary' of the business, only using the tribal corporation as a 'front.' (The suit settled confidentially in May.) The loans went out through a company called Minto Money, which is based in the tribal community of Minto, Alaska, a remote log-cabin village of about 160 people. The company's operations grew from $2 million in annual revenue in 2020 to roughly $12 million by 2024, according to the investigation, generating millions of dollars for the Minto community. Minto Money has been the subject of more than 280 consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission, according to the investigation, and holds an 'F' rating with the Better Business Bureau. 'What these people are doing should be illegal,' one individual wrote in an anonymous complaint to the Bureau in February. 'They're charging me over 700% interest. It makes it impossible to pay off the loan! They're taking $400 of my money every month and I only borrowed $725. After months of payments I've only paid $35 toward the balance!' The Independent has contacted Jay McGraw, CreditServe, and Minto Money for comment. Dr. Phil is not linked to the lending operation, and Merit Street Media, which airs his show, defended Jay McGraw in a statement to ProPublica. 'Dr. Phil knows his son Jay to be a smart, strong, caring human being, and while he does not know his business, Dr. Phil supports him 100%,' the statement said. Investors have been known to seek out tribes as business partners to avoid various forms of financial regulation, a strategy sometimes referred to pejoratively as ' rent-a-tribe.' While incomes in Minto are well below the state median, Jay McGraw appears to live a high-income lifestyle, with a lakeside mansion in Texas and trips to Paris, Palm Beach, and Napa.
Otago Daily Times
12-05-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Veteran activist John Minto unlawfully pepper-sprayed and arrested
John Minto was charged with obstructing and resisting police during a protest in Lyttelton on Waitangi Day 2024. Photo: RNZ / Pretoria Gordon Police unlawfully pepper-sprayed and arrested veteran activist John Minto at a pro-Palestinian protest in Christchurch in February 2024, the Independent Police Conduct Authority has found. The 70-year-old was charged with obstructing and resisting police during a Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa protest in Lyttelton on Waitangi Day, though charges were later dropped. A police investigation concluded their actions were lawful, but that the officer had failed in his duty "to provide aftercare" after pepper-spraying Minto. But the IPCA has found both the pepper-spraying and the arrest itself were unlawful. In a letter from IPCA chair Judge Kenneth Johnston KC, he stated the authority found "a number of inconsistencies" between the account of the officer and video footage of the incident, which "led us to doubt the genuineness" of the officer's version of why he had used the pepper-spray. The IPCA did "not accept" the police version that Minto had moved from where he was standing, or that the officer could have perceived Minto presented a real threat. Johnston said the IPCA considered whether there was sufficient evidence for police to charge the officer with assault, but could not rule out the officer pleading self defence. Instead, it asked police to "consider an employment process" for the officer involved. The IPCA report said Minto was arrested for obstructing the arrest of another protester behind the officer who pepper-sprayed him, half an hour after that arrest and by a different officer. But Johnston said there was "no case for obstruction", and no grounds to suspect Minto had hindered the arrest of the other protester, "or indeed showed any intention of doing so". "Our view is that you were standing lawfully on the footpath both prior and during the other protester's arrest. The evidence does not show you advancing past where you were originally standing after being pushed by the officer who pepper sprayed you, and that you were not paying any attention to the arrest." Police were approached for comment, but said they had only just been made aware of the ruling and would need more time to respond.
Otago Daily Times
12-05-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Veteran Chch activist unlawfully pepper-sprayed and arrested at protest
John Minto was charged with obstructing and resisting police during a protest in Lyttelton on Waitangi Day 2024. Photo: RNZ / Pretoria Gordon Police unlawfully pepper-sprayed and arrested veteran activist John Minto at a pro-Palestinian protest in Christchurch in February 2024, the Independent Police Conduct Authority has found. The 70-year-old was charged with obstructing and resisting police during a Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa protest in Lyttelton on Waitangi Day, though charges were later dropped. A police investigation concluded their actions were lawful, but that the officer had failed in his duty "to provide aftercare" after pepper-spraying Minto. But the IPCA has found both the pepper-spraying and the arrest itself were unlawful. In a letter from IPCA chair Judge Kenneth Johnston KC, he stated the authority found "a number of inconsistencies" between the account of the officer and video footage of the incident, which "led us to doubt the genuineness" of the officer's version of why he had used the pepper-spray. The IPCA did "not accept" the police version that Minto had moved from where he was standing, or that the officer could have perceived Minto presented a real threat. Johnston said the IPCA considered whether there was sufficient evidence for police to charge the officer with assault, but could not rule out the officer pleading self defence. Instead, it asked police to "consider an employment process" for the officer involved. The IPCA report said Minto was arrested for obstructing the arrest of another protester behind the officer who pepper-sprayed him, half an hour after that arrest and by a different officer. But Johnston said there was "no case for obstruction", and no grounds to suspect Minto had hindered the arrest of the other protester, "or indeed showed any intention of doing so". "Our view is that you were standing lawfully on the footpath both prior and during the other protester's arrest. The evidence does not show you advancing past where you were originally standing after being pushed by the officer who pepper sprayed you, and that you were not paying any attention to the arrest." Police were approached for comment, but said they had only just been made aware of the ruling and would need more time to respond.
