Salient to Investors: Sabine Lautenschlaeger at ECB said radical programs such as QE should only be considered in real emergency situations, like imminent deflation, because the side effects are especially significant, but said that those risks are neither visible nor expected. Benoit Coeure at ECB said rates will remain very
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Frederic Tassin at Aviva Investors expects the economic surprise for 2014 to be on the upside, is optimistic on Europe and is finding many opportunities in terms of valuations in equities. The European equity index is at 14.1 x projected earnings versus 15.6 x for the S&P
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: IEA said 15 European refineries have closed in the past 5 years and a 16th is due to close in 2014 as the US went from depending on fuel from Europe to being a major exporter to the region. Nigeria, which once sent 12 supertankers worth of
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Expanding populations fueled global prosperity with both workers and consumers but global aging threatens to cause chronically weak economic growth, a more volatile international economy and the risk of a new financial crisis triggered by innovative investments dubbed “death derivatives.” Rob Arnott at Research Affiliates said our
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Thomas Stolper at Goldman Sachs said: The US dollar will weaken through 2014 to $1.40 per euro for the first time since October 2011 and there will be only marginal support from interest rates.” Fed tapering is already priced in and will be offset by the Fed
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: David Mericle and Jan Hatzius at Goldman Sachs said: US economic weaknesses are more cyclical than secular. US growth will rebound in 2014 to as high as 3.5 percent versus the 2.25 percent average recovery rate so far. The slow rate of recovery is in line with
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Jim Rogers writes: For a few thousand years, when people got into trouble and failed, competent people reorganized the assets and started over. Today, America and the West are kicking the can down the road and letting the incompetent people take over the assets from the competent
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The IMF predicts G-7 nations will tighten policy in 2014 by the least since they began in 2011 – at half this year’s pace as the average budget shortfall drops to about a quarter of where it was just 3 years ago. Jose Ursua at Goldman Sachs
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Ellen Zentner at Morgan Stanley said: The Fed’s near-zero interest rate and QE is holding down US bond rates, meaning the US Treasury yield curve would struggle to invert, crimping its effectiveness as an indicator of business cycles. Yield curve inversion signals investors are betting on weaker
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Jim Rogers writes: Japan says it will print unlimited amounts of money, the Fed says it can print a trillion dollars a year, and the ECB says it will do “whatever it takes.” The people getting the gigantic ocean of liquidity are having a wonderful time but it
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