Salient to Investors: David Stockman writes: The central banks have shot their wad after increasing their aggregate balance sheet from $3 trillion to $22 trillion over the last 15 years, which falsified financial prices. The coming deflation will bring a plunge in corporate profits and collapsing prices of vastly inflated risk asset classes. The
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Investors pulled the most money from US ETPs backed by raw materials since April. US corn and soybean crops are the biggest ever, global stockpiles of nickel are at an all-time high, the US is producing the most oil since 1986, while China is headed for its slowest
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The slump in commodity prices to a 5-year low signals investors are cautious about the strength of the global economy. Brent crude touched a 2-year low last week and iron ore at Qingdao is the lowest since 2009. Economists expect China to grow 7.4% in 2014, the weakest
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Hedge funds’ net-long positions of 18 US-traded commodities rose 18 percent last week to the highest since September 2012. Investors tripled the net-long position in arabica coffee this month to the most bullish since May 2011 Barclays said weather is the big driver of commodities. EPFR Global
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Investors cut holdings in gold ETPs every month this year, erasing $69.4 billion. Hedge funds et al are the least-bullish since June 2007. John Paulson told clients last month that he personally would not invest more money in his gold fund. Goldman Sachs forecast prices will drop
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The World Gold Council data show that consumer buying of gold rose 53 percent in Q2 from a year earlier, almost making up for the record sales of gold ETPs. The Council sees a dampening of demand in the next few months in India due to restrictions on imports, but
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Jim Rogers writes: When there’s massive new supply coming on stream, then we’ll have the end of the commodities bull market. The world has consumed more agriculture products than it has produced for a decade now. We are running out of farmers – average age in America
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: A. Gary Shilling at A. Gary Shilling & Co writes: Investor zeal for yield and disregard for risk favors the junkiest of the junk. When the grand disconnect between investor focus on the immense liquidity created by central banks and weak and weakening global economies becomes unsustainable, probably
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Shane Brett at AllAboutAlpha writes: The long-term outlook for the US economy is broadly positive with housing stabilized, consumer confidence slowly returning, political instability solved by Obama’s decisive win, and as health spending increases under Obamacare. Cheap domestic energy will continue and the US will seriously expand
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: EPFR Global said the increase in inflows into commodity funds in 2012 was 92 percent higher than the increase in 2011. The S&P GSCI, of which energy comprises 70 percent, fell 0.9 percent in 2012, the MSCI All-Country World Index rose 13 percent, the Dollar Index fell 0.9 percent, Treasuries returned 2.3 percent. Barclays
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