Salient to Investors: 17 S&P 500 tech companies so far reporting have missed estimates by an average 3.6 percent. Analysts predict the group will report a 6.7 percent decline in profit versus a predicted 2 percent increase for the S&P 500 as a whole. 72 percent of S&P 500 members
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Crude oil is trading at the highest price relative to gold in more than 4 years. John Stephenson at First Asset Investment Mgmt said oil has real supply and demand dynamics, and there is a strong argument for prices holding up because the US has clearly has
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Jim Rogers writes: The oil and gas boom is not quite the boom that the press seems to think it is. Natural gas wells decline very quickly and reserves may not be what we thought. Oil wells decline at the rate of 38 to 69 percent in
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: Jim Rogers says: Natural gas fundamentals are not nearly as good as the hype. The number of rigs on the ground is down 75% over the last two years as the wells are very short-lived, and it takes an enormous amount of money to keep them up.
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Benjamin Salisbury at FBR Capital Markets said advances such as fracking are leading to record production that may outstrip refinery capacity within 18 months to 3 years. Salisbury said you have to see the rig count fall and then and only then can we have a decision
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Jim Rogers said: When investing, don’t follow the crowd Most government numbers are made up. China has problems with housing and inflation as the US did in the 19th century when it was growing rapidly. Every country that grows rapidly has problems. The US had recessions and
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The S&P GSCI Spot Index has lagged the MSCI All-Country World Index for 6 months, the longest stretch since 1998. Hedge funds cut combined bullish bets across 18 US raw-material futures by 51 percent from a 16-month high in September and are bearish on 6 of them. EPFR Global
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: OECD predicts faster global economic growth, led by the US and Japan: growth in member countries will accelerate to 2.3 percent in 2014 from 1.2 percent in 2013, China, will grow 8.4 percent in 2014 after growth of 7.8 percent in 2013. Neil Mackinnon at VTB Capital
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Most analysts say OPEC needs to conform better with the limit to keep supply from overwhelming demand. Societe Generale says the necessary reduction could be substantial. The Centre for Global Energy Studies says prices may tumble without output curbs. OPEC accounts for 40 percent of global oil supply. Seth
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