Salient to Investors: Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s MOVE Index signal that the zero to 0.25 percent range won’t increase for more than 2 years, a bullish sign for bonds. Krishna Memani at OppenheimerFunds said the Fed has been very articulate about the direction of short-term rates, which is entirely data
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Ivo Weinoehrl at DWS Investments said the macro economic picture has improved a little, but no reason to get excited. Weinoehrl said sequestration will cut a half percent off growth in 2013, so the equity market is fully valued – the debt ceiling will be a much
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Bank of America Merrill Lynch said curve flattening will persist. Wee-Khoon Chong at SocGen predicted the spread will narrow by another 30 basis points by the end of April, and sys the flattening yield curve reflects risks that a surge in bank lending in January could fan
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Sheila Bair at Pew Charitable Trusts said US regulators lack the courage to designate non-bank financial companies systemically important and are not doing their job. Bair said regulators cannot even name as systemic those companies in the crisis, like AIG and GE Capital, that were named as systemic – yet we
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Adam Posen said given the jump in Japanese stocks and slide in the yen in anticipation of greater stimulus, any failure to move in April risks disappointing investors. Masaaki Kanno at JPMorgan Chase said the party has just started, and predicts the BOJ’s open-ended bond purchases will be
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: William Pesek writes: Unconventional policies have worked out better in the US than in Japan. Abe’s revitalization plan rests on two tired ideas – massive public-works projects and more monetary stimulus. Absent are steps to improve Japan’s economy, including tax reform, deregulation, joining free-trade agreements, empowering women, supporting
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Jessada Sookdhis at CIMB-Principal Asset Mgmt said China is clearly recovering, especially in the property sector, while US data and Italian debt sales have bolstered sentiment in emerging markets. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is at 10.5 times projected 12-month earnings versus 13.8 for the MSCI World Index. Martial
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: E. William Stone at PNC Wealth Management doesn’t expect massive impact from the impending spending cuts, but says there is fear of the unknown and an anticipation of increased volatility. William Murray at the IMF said sequestration means reevaluation of growth forecasts. Read the full article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-28/u-s-stock-index-futures-little-changed-before-gdp-report.html Free
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: FRB of Chicago President Charles Evans said: The Fed must avoid removing accommodation prematurely, as the Japanese did. The US economy will grow 2.5 to 3 percent in 2013 and 3.5 percent to 4 percent in 2014, and unemployment will be at or slightly below 7 percent by year-end
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Danish central bank Governor Lars Rohde said world central bankers need to plan for monetary tightening to avoid feeding asset bubbles. Rohde said there is no short-term alternative to global easing, given the state of the real economy. Jacob Graven at Sydbank A/S said it will be the same
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