Salient to Investors: Fareed Zakaria said: Japan desperately needs real reforms that open up the economy and make it more friendly for business. The Economist says a Japanese company has to actually go out of business to be able fire any of its workers. Japan is 134th out of 144
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: William D. Cohan writes: What caused the financial crisis remains unheeded and serious trouble is brewing. The debt markets have once again mispriced risk when junk bonds yield a mere 5 percent. Wall Street still suffers from inadequate risk management and improper incentives. Until these problems are
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Paul Willen at FRB of Boston said if people believe house prices are going up, credit availability will evolve because there is too much money to be made lending to homebuyers. Freddie Mac said the average rate for a 30-year fixed loan is at 3.93 percent versus 3.35 percent in May and
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Shane Oliver at AMP Capital Investors said he was not worried until this week because things are much different in China than expected and potentially pose risks for global growth. Oliver said we relied on the Fed and China so much over the last few years that
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: 44 percent of economists see the start of tapering in September, 15 percent in October, 28 percent in December, and 13 percent not until at least 2014, while 44 percent expect the Fed to halt bond buying entirely in June 2014. Chris Rupkey at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ said
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: James Bullard at FRB of St. Louis said: The Fed may need to increase monthly asset purchases above the current $85 billion pace if inflation slows further below its 2 percent goal. The FOMC should signal more strongly its willingness to defend its inflation goal. The Fed inappropriately timed
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Ken Fisher at Fisher Investments said: The rally that began in 2009 is only in its middle stages because most investors still underestimate the strength of the economy – in between the transition from skepticism to optimism It is amazing that people do not marvel at the power of
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Niall Ferguson at Harvard said: The West is in decline cause by political and economic stagnation and the US and Europe institutions that are degenerating include democracy, regulation, the rule of law and justice, and civil society. Non-Western countries are improving their economic and political institutions and
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Spending on lodging, office, commercial and manufacturing buildings grew 5.6 percent in April, the slowest pace in almost 2 years. Kermit Baker at the American Institute of Architects said this type of construction normally exhibits late-cycle growth because the design and building process may take several years, while activity
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Benjamin Salisbury at FBR Capital Markets said advances such as fracking are leading to record production that may outstrip refinery capacity within 18 months to 3 years. Salisbury said you have to see the rig count fall and then and only then can we have a decision
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