...but now this year is really over 🤫😇

SpongeBob finally has his driver's license - fortunately, the BYD Seal parks itself!

Hi everyone,

I would really appreciate your opinion on my portfolio.

Briefly about me:

I am 38 years old and unfortunately only started my Trade Republic portfolio about 2 years ago. I have been investing regularly since then. I can currently invest around €350 per month - I work in a gym 🥲, and unfortunately you don't earn very well there, you could almost call it a pittance.

In addition, I have my Bitcoin and Altcoin portfolio on Bitvavo... I can't share it here, too many errors in the coins and you can still change it somehow. I then deleted the connection again.

I played soccer until I was 32 (including 3rd league, mostly 4th league for many years) and was able to save up some capital during this time, which I later invested.

My long-term core consists of:

$IWDA (+0,22%)

$EIMI (-0,07%)

$TDIV (+0,39%)

$BTC (-0,46%)

Dividend / cash flow portfolio

I also have a portfolio with a focus on cash flow, the aim is to hold around 15 stocks with a solid dividend yield and ideally dividend growth.

Currently included are:

$O (-1,37%) Realty Income

$RACE (-1,27%) Ferrari

$PEP (-2,63%) Pepsi

$MAIN (-1,03%) Main Street Capital

$NOVO B (+8,45%) Novo Nordisk

$ASML (+0,07%) ASML

$ITX (-0,16%) Inditex

$1211 (-0,95%) BYD

$ZTS (-0,47%) Zoetis

$BRO (-0,85%) Brown & Brown

$SBUX (-2,84%) Starbucks

$ITH (+3,25%) Ithaca Energy PLC

This brings my current total to 12 shares, so there is still room for one or two additions.

One of the stocks on my watchlist is Vonovia $VNA (+0,27%) with a dividend yield of just under 5%. However, the dividend growth doesn't look particularly good. As my wife will be starting work there soon, I've become more aware of the company for the first time ☺️

Other stocks on my watchlist:

Allianz

Vici

Linde

Microsoft

Waste Management

UnitedHealth Group

Mastercard

Visa

Texas Roadhouse

Nintendo

Enbridge

NextEra Energy

Wolters Kluwer (exciting sector, also corrected over 50% from ATH)

Amazon (for the yield/growth portfolio)

Maybe one or the other is missing $KO (-1,08%) or $MCD (-2,11%) but I had opted for $PEP (-2,63%) and $SBUX (-2,84%) and I don't want any more consumer stocks.

Pure growth portfolio

I also have a separate portfolio with a focus on share price growth:

$NVDA (+2,51%) Nvidia

$NKE (+0,18%) Nike

$MARA (-2,44%) Mara Holdings

$BITF (-1,75%) Bitfarms

$TTD (+0,06%) The Trade Desk

$CRCL (-5,02%) Circle Internet Group

$ADBE (-1,77%) Adobe

$COIN (-2,68%) Coinbase

$SMHN (-1,55%) Suess Microtec

$PYPL (-1,08%) PayPal

$HUT (+4,15%) Hat 8

$DRO (+5,74%) DroneShield

$LXS (-0,26%) Lanxess

$PLTR (-0,13%) Palantir

$WEED (+7,96%) Canopy

$UBI (-0,17%) Ubisoft

$MSTR (-4,12%) Strategy

I am aware that I have built up a lot of positions over the last two years. I am therefore also planning to sort out some of them and concentrate more on selected stocks.

I am grateful for any assessment, criticism, tips or suggestions.

Best regards

Chris

The prices for raw materials used in the production of lithium batteries have risen dramatically within a short space of time, in some cases by more than 100 percent.

This could lead to e-cars, grid storage, smartphone batteries and other devices becoming significantly more expensive.

Last May, the industry information service "Carbon Credits" reported that the supply of lithium was still exceeding demand. The oversupply, which had persisted for some time due to a strong boost in the production of lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, lithium chloride, etc., had led to very low battery prices, among other things.

According to BloombergNEF, the price of lithium-ion batteries fell from USD 166 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in 2022 to USD 115 in 2024.

However, as early as the spring of this year, analyses showed that the ratio would soon reverse and demand for lithium would far exceed supply.

Now the time has come and lithium prices have started to go through the roof.

The price of lithium carbonate, which is needed for the production of battery cathodes, has exceeded 94,000 yuan/ton (USD 13,300), writes " CarNewsChina ", and in November alone the raw material became 16 percent more expensive. According to "Carbon Credits", the price of lithium carbonate in China shot up from the equivalent of just under USD 8260 on June 23 of this year to around USD 13,000 on November 26, an increase of 57 percent.

The price rises are taking place across the industry. Among others, Hunan Yuneng New Energy has announced that it will charge the equivalent of around USD 425 more per tonne in future.

Among others, the company supplies the e-car manufacturer BYD $1211 (-0,95%) and the world's largest manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries CATL $3750 (+0,72%)

And the prices are passed on.

Lithium battery producer Deja Energy, for example, announced that it would be increasing the price of its products by 15 percent from December 16.

》Some prices have already more than doubled《

The prices for some lithium products have already exploded recently.

Lithium hexafluorophosphate, for example, which is used as a conductive salt in liquid electrolytes for batteries, has jumped from 7800 to 17,000 US dollars in just two months, which corresponds to an increase of around 118 percent, writes CarNewsChina. The price of the cathode material lithium cobalt oxide has even risen by more than 150 percent from 19,850 to 49,600 US dollars.

According to "Carbon Credits", the sharp rise in prices is partly due to statements made by the chairman of Ganfeng Lithium, Li Liangbin.

His company is one of the world's four most important lithium groups and covers almost the entire value chain from extraction to the manufacture of specialty products. In mid-November, Li predicted that global demand will increase by 30 to 40 percent by 2026.

》Supply gap threatens to become dangerously large《

In addition to rapidly growing demand for lithium, which is mainly driven by electric vehicles and grid storage systems, a shortage of raw materials is also a price driver. Some Chinese mines stopped production at the beginning of the year due to falling prices.

"Carbon Credits" also points out that global lithium production is concentrated in just a few countries. Australia leads the way with around 60,000 tons per year, followed by Chile (35,000 tons), China (25,000 tons), Argentina (18,000 tons) and the USA (5,000 tons).

Production is likely to increase again as prices rise, according to industry estimates by 10 percent annually. However, the situation could continue to deteriorate dramatically over the next ten years.

Analysts at Katusa Research expect demand to exceed supply by around 1,500 tons in 2026. By 2030 it could be 33,000 tons, and by 2035 a whopping 386,000 tons.

https://www.n-tv.de/technik/Preise-fuer-Lithium-Akkus-koennten-durch-die-Decke-gehen-id30154477.html

Due to the booking of the inherited shares from my father's portfolio, my annual rewind is heavily distorted. Nevertheless, I would like to present my surprising "top performer windfall".

$JNJ (-1,1%) + 30.21% since the beginning of June

2nd and 3rd place go to the Europe and Emerging Markets ETFs

$MEUD (+0,26%) +19.84% over one year

$XMME (+0,12%) +15.8% over one year

The $VUAG (+0,15%) I've only had it since the middle of the year, when I $XZW0 (+0,28%) when I reallocated.

The following had a negative impact on performance $1211 (-0,95%) and $NOVO B (+8,45%) have had a negative effect. However, I realized the losses here for tax reasons, so I cannot state the performance for the year.

I have reallocated quite a bit this year and am already very happy with my portfolio. I still have my eye on some interesting individual stocks, but my initial goal is to get back to a 70 percent ETF share. This means that next year I will mainly continue with the savings plans, provided I can keep myself under control :)

I wish everyone in the community a Merry Christmas and a successful 2026

The Chinese manufacturer BYD $1211 (-0,95%) and car subscription provider Drivio have agreed on a comprehensive cooperation in Germany, which provides for the delivery of more than 2,000 vehicles in 2026. With this step, BYD aims to drive forward its growth in the mobility market.

According to BYD, it has significantly expanded its presence in Germany this year: "The European headquarters and the German headquarters have been strengthened by experienced managers from the automotive industry and numerous locations have been opened with established trading partners," says the manufacturer.

Partnerships are now to ensure further growth in the mobility market.

"Car subscriptions have become the fourth pillar in Germany alongside purchasing, financing and leasing," BYD states. The fact that this sales channel plays a central role for the car manufacturer became clear back in June of this year when BYD signed a framework agreement with Finn for the delivery of up to 5,000 vehicles within ten months.

In contrast, the cooperation now concluded with Drivio is somewhat smaller, according to which BYD is to supply more than 2,000 vehicles to the car subscription provider in 2026.

BYD Energy Storage $1211 (-0,95%) a leading energy storage company, and Corvus Energy AS , a leading provider of marine energy storage systems (ESS), announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a strategic collaboration to further develop next-generation battery solutions for the maritime sector.

The MoU strengthens the collaboration between the two companies by combining BYD Energy Storage's scale and technological leadership in LFP batteries with Corvus Energy's unparalleled expertise in maritime ESS applications. Together, BYD Energy Storage and Corvus will work to accelerate product development, improve global market reach and provide innovative, safe and highly efficient energy storage solutions for the global marine industry.

Under the agreement, BYD Energy Storage and Corvus Energy will coordinate their global market activities to accelerate the adoption of marine energy storage systems and support the shipping industry's transition to cleaner and more sustainable operations.

Corvus Energy will act as ESS system partner and route-to-market partner, leveraging its proven expertise in system integration and strong customer relationships worldwide.

Although one of the - perhaps also the - leading manufacturer of electric vehicles, the negative outlook is solidifying.

• Declining sales momentum, especially in China
• Isolation/tariff policy of large markets (US/EU)
• Export strategy well below expectations
• Rising inventory of unsold cars
• already reduced production
• Increasing price war as a result
• with falling margins

Bought over two years ago with the intention of adding a long-term investment to the portfolio, but the prospects are not rosy in the long term either. Actually, you should keep your hands off the automotive sector anyway ;-)

A planned purchase of Chinese electric buses by Deutsche Bahn has met with harsh criticism from the German Railway and Transport Union (EVG).

"We will make this an issue in the supervisory board of Deutsche Bahn," EVG boss and supervisory board vice-chairman Martin Burkert told SPIEGEL.

Just a few weeks ago, the federal government demanded more patriotism from the economy.

"But the fact that the state-owned company Deutsche Bahn now wants to buy electric buses cheaply in China sounds like a bad joke."

At the beginning of April, Deutsche Bahn invited tenders for a comprehensive contract for the supply of buses, including suppliers of electric buses.

According to information from SPIEGEL, the Chinese car manufacturer BYD was selected as the main supplier for part of the contract, which is divided into lots as is usual for Deutsche Bahn.

Other contracts went to the Chinese manufacturer Zhongtong Bus and MAN. The partial order for BYD is for around 700 buses, a total of several thousand vehicles.

Deutsche Bahn denied the figures, but did not give any other details. The company also declined to comment on other details.

Deutsche Bahn is currently "carrying out a Europe-wide tender for the supply of buses", a spokesperson said in response to an inquiry.

This involves multi-year framework agreements. No further information on the procedure could be provided before the official end of the tender. The orders for BYD and Zhongtong Bus will go to European subsidiaries of the Chinese companies.

The SPD, which is closely linked to the EVG, recently demanded that German industry should secure domestic jobs in return for state support.

"I would like to see a little more patriotism from one or the other in the company management," said Co-Party Leader and Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil at a congress of the IG BCE trade union.

A resolution by the SPD executive board also states: "We demand location patriotism from our economy."

CONCLUSION: After the Dutch, Germany will also buy from $1211 (-0,95%) and further underline their future growth 😉