Salient to Investors: Gary Shilling writes: The fog remains thick, so reducing long positions in Treasury bonds and Japanese stocks and cut yen shorts, euro shorts and dollar long positions. Maintaining long positions in US defensive stocks like utilities and health care. Increased short position in junk bonds and initiated
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Mansoor Mohi-uddin at UBS said the euro and pound will weaken to $1.20 and the pound will fall to $1.41, more than 3-year lows against the dollar, by year-end 2013 as the commitment by the ECB and the BoE to keep interest rates low for extended periods. Mohi-uddin said policy
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The euro has strengthened 4.6 percent in 2013, the most among 10 developed-market currencies, indicating revealing how far Draghi is falling behind in the foreign-exchange wars. The gain shows investors are confident that Draghi et al are doing enough to hold the euro region together, but threatens the ability
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: Omer Esiner at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange says a growing list of economic indicators suggest a broad-based recovery, and the market is focusing on the US recovery gaining steam, while other major economies remain in stagnation and contraction. Richard Franulovich at Westpac Banking said risk appetite is firming and we are in a potentially momentous
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Lars Seier Christensen at Saxo Bank said: The euro’s recent rally is illusory and the euro is doomed because Europe has no fiscal union. Another possible fallout is getting rid of some of the countries being ruined by being in the euro, notably southern European economies. People are dramatically
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Norman Villamin at Coutts said earnings disappointments are not much of a surprise given the weak local economies, but they should stabilize later in 2013. Villamin said bullish global sentiment is the primary concern as everyone is on the same side of the trade, and euro strength against
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Anshu Jain at Deutsche Bank lauded Germany’s pro-austerity policies and the ECB’s commitment to limitless bond purchases as catalysts for bringing the euro past the acute stage of the crisis. Jain said implied default probabilities in Italy and Spain are as high as 20 percent and still a worry.
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Sean Callow at Westpac Banking expects clear reiteration from the Fed that quantitative easing will continue for some time. Callow said the strong dollar story is tough to make right now, and the growth differential will be supportive for the euro against the dollar in the next few
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: A. Gary Shilling at A. Gary Shilling & Co writes: In periods of prolonged economic pain, international cooperation gives way to an every-nation-for-itself attitude, including competitive devaluations. Decreasing the value of a currency, by creating and selling unlimited quantities, is much easier than supporting it, by selling
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