Salient to Investors: The economic expansion shows signs of lasting almost twice as long as average, with few of the excesses that often presage the start of contractions – inflation is slowing, not quickening, household debt is shrinking, not expanding, and the labor market is slack, not tight. Robert Gordon
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: Fareed Zakaria said China is not the world’s other superpower and we should not treat it as such. Zakaria said China has always played a weak hand brilliantly, and will one day become the largest economy, but by most political, military, strategic and cultural measures it is not a
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Eric Viloria at Gain Capital said expectations of QE tapering is positive for the US dollar because it means a slowing in the expansion of the Fed balance sheet. Alan Ruskin at Deutsche Bank said the tapering story is very much in play, and the employment data suggests
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Bill Gross at Pimco said: The Fed will not taper with unemployment rising to 7.6 percent and very dire metrics for the average work week and wages, but a more normal economy requires the Fed to raise interest rates to more normal levels because QE and low interest rates are distorting capital
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Richard Fisher at FRB of Dallas sees the end of a 30-year rally in bonds so the Fed should taper QE with housing in good shape, construction has resumed, and housing prices are appreciating significantly. Fisher said the market has begun to discount that this will not go on forever. Esther
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: David Stockman says: We are in serial bubbles. Greenspan and Bernanke have inflated bubbles for years by keeping interest rates low. A system of bubble finance is geared towards massive borrowing and speculation on leverage, everyone will do it – a gambler’s dream. Financial markets are full
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... →Salient to Investors: ISM fell to the lowest reading 49 since June 2009 and versus the median forecast of 51. Guy LeBas at Janney Montgomery Scott said manufacturing is stymied by slow corporate spending and government spending and will grow at a modest pace this year and unlikely to accelerate in coming
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: OECD predicts faster global economic growth, led by the US and Japan: growth in member countries will accelerate to 2.3 percent in 2014 from 1.2 percent in 2013, China, will grow 8.4 percent in 2014 after growth of 7.8 percent in 2013. Neil Mackinnon at VTB Capital
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