Salient to Investors: Ed Morse at Citigroup said the lowest oil price in 4 years will provide as much as $1.1 trillion of stimulus to global economies by lowering the cost of fuels and other commodities, which are energy intensive to one degree or another. Combined production from the US
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Thomas Friedman writes: Is the US and Saudi Arabia engaged in another global war with Russia and Iran like when they pumped the former Soviet Union to death? Oil export revenues account for 60% of Iran’s government revenues and more than 50% of Russia’s. Oil producers Libya,
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The Economist said that: During the first 6 years of Reagan’s presidency, the US economy grew 22% and the median household income grew by 6%. During the first 6 years of Clinton’s presidency, the US economy grew 24% and the median household income increased 11%. During the first 6 years
READ MORE... →Fareed Zakaria said: Over time, countries that grow economically tend to become more democratic, excepting oil-rich states that are run by dictators. China will not become a Western-style liberal democracy, but should consider Singapore’s example. Minxin Pei wrote in 2006 that China had had virtually no move toward political openness
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: David Bloom et al at HSBC said: A sustained rise in the dollar may be insufficient to push inflation back to target in countries struggling with the threat of deflation, but it could buy them time and help prevent inflation expectations becoming permanently detached from target. History
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Paul Krugman writes: Bill Gross’s fall is a symptom of depression denial syndrome: the refusal to acknowledge that the rules are different in a persistently depressed economy. Since 2008, the US has been stuck in a liquidity trap – a desired saving glut with no place to
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Marco Lambertini at The World Wildlife Foundation said: More than half of the world’s vertebrates have disappeared between 1970 and 2010, primarily due to exploitation (37%), habitat degradation (31%), habitat loss (13%), and global warming (7.1%). Meanwhile the human population has nearly doubled. Latin America’s biodiversity dropped 83%,
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: HelpAge International said: Norway is the best of 96 countries to grow old in, followed by Sweden, Switzerland, Canada and Germany. Afghanistan is the worst. Australia, Western Europe and North America rank highly. By 2050, 21% of the global population will be over 60, when 40 of the 96
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The last time consumer-price increases were slowing before the Fed started raising rates was in 1994, when Treasuries lost 3.3% and Greenspan doubled the benchmark rate to 6% despite inflation being at a 7-yr low of 2.5%. Gary Pollack at Deutsche Bank said the critical example for
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Joseph Lupton et al at JPMorgan said: The US economy will grow 3% in Q3 and into 2015, while China growth will be below its 7.5% average of the past 8 quarters. The US is mostly the dog that wags the tail: each 1% change in US
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