Salient to Investors: Unlike Greece, Spain and Britain, the US economy is fundamentally healthy. The US debt problem can be readily resolved as long as both parties compromise. Over the past 5 years, Republicans in the Senate have threatened or used a filibuster 385 times, or almost double the rate
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Unemployment in the 17-nation euro region rose to 11.6 percent from 11.5 percent in August, the highest since data started in 1995. Youth unemployment is at 23.3 percent. Christoph Weil at Commerzbank is now more pessimistic, saying the euro-area economy will only return to growth in Q2 2013 and the jobless rate will increase
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Mark Dowding at BlueBay Asset Mgmt said investors should sell government bonds from the euro-region’s periphery, including Spain and Italy, because of a complacency on the part of policy makers, complacency in Spain, and no progress in sight. Dowding sees rising political risk in Italy. Read thef ull article at
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Europe is missing out on the natural gas boom in the US and Asia, and instead burning coal imported from America. The IEA predicts global gas consumption to rise 19 percent by 2017 from 2010 on demand surges in Asia and the US – Europe will drop 1.6 percent. In Europe,
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: IMF growth projections have been revised downward almost everywhere, especially in Europe and the big emerging markets like China. The IMF projects the US to the strongest of the rich economies over the next four years – 3 percent versus 1.2 percent in Germany and France and 2.3 percent in Canada. The
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Overall debt of the 17 euro countries reached 90% of output, the highest since the euro’s creation in 1999, and 9 are in recession. Ford is closing a major plant in Belgium and two facilities in Britain Zanny Minton Beddoes of The Economist said: Europe has a very big,
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Larry Summers said Europe’s handling of the sovereign debt crisis evokes comparisons with US strategy during the Vietnam War which opted at each juncture to do the “minimum” to avoid an imminent catastrophe until it all collapsed. Summers said measures are not in place that will drive adequate economic growth,
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The ZEW Center for European Economic Research index of investor and analyst expectations rose to minus 11.5 from minus 18.2 in September. Neil Jones at Mizuho Corporate Bank said the better the chances of a bailout for Spain, the more risk-on that is – the market is not prepared for the upside or
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Martin van Vliet at ING said a sharp reversal in September is possible, given the slowing global economy and the fiscal squeeze in the euro zone – any upturn in euro-zone industrial activity will be modest. IMF forecasts 3.3 percent global growth in 2012, the weakest pace since the 2009
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Gary Cohn at Goldman Sachs says: There is a small probability that the euro area will stick together, and it’s more likely that some countries will exit to pursue growth. The ECB program hasn’t addressed the lack of growth – Europe still needs a “Lehman moment”. Southern Europe has no
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