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: The Italian higher-education system lets undergraduates linger on campus for years and retake final exams 6 times, and schools are disconnected from the economy and only recently opened campus career offices. No Italian schools, public or private, are in the top 200 in the Times Higher Education’s
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Megan Greene at Maverick Intelligence writes: Austerity has become a bad word in the euro area and blamed for an ever-worsening recession. Germany’s tough-love approach to repairing the euro area’s finances has fallen out of favor but has merit in the case of Slovenia, which has been masterful
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Yields on US Treasuries, German bunds and Japanese government bonds are 1 standard deviation above their historical norm. Yields on Treasuries and bunds are more than 40 basis points below what would be 2 standard deviations from their means, and Japanese bonds are 5 basis points away.
READ MORE... →Fareed Zakaria said: The great American housing market is back as the Case-Shiller housing index showed its largest annual increase in prices in seven years, showing its core character: flexibility and resilience. The US is the only rich country whose population is growing, increasing by 3 million people every year,
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Marc Faber at the Gloom Boom & Doom Report says: High-end assets from stocks to art to real estate are in a bubble caused by central bank money-printing. This money doesn’t increase economic activity and asset prices in concert, instead creates dangerous excesses in countries and asset
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Pier Carlo Padoan at OECD said: Global economic growth will accelerate at multiple speeds in 2014 with both the US and Japan continuing to outpace the euro area. Rising unemployment is the most pressing challenge and euro countries with trade surpluses such as Germany need to allow wages to rise Reform fatigue is mounting
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Bloomberg Editors write: 59 percent of Greeks, 56 percent of Spaniards, and 38 percent of Italians and Portuguese ages 16-24 were unemployed in March 2013. It is already clear that Europe’s “New Deal for Europe,” is no “New Deal”. The scale is still too small as millions
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Akamai Technologies said China accounted for 41 percent of the world’s computer-attack traffic in Q4 2012 – more than 3 times a year ago and versus 33 percent in Q3 2012 – followed by the US with 10 percent. Verizon said China accounted for 96 percent of all global espionage
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