Salient to Investors: Mike Ryan at UBS Wealth Mgmt Americas said 76% of 2,056 wealthy investors surveyed are very worried about Washington, 33% are worried by volatility, Europe, and financial markets, and 36% have faith the government will accomplish more in 2013. Ryan said the investors were neither euphoric nor despondent – 56%
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: North American energy companies are investing more in railroad terminals than the railroads themselves because swelling output has overwhelmed pipelines. Domestic crude at least 20 percent cheaper than imports. Rail is more expensive than pipelines but reaches into metropolitan areas like Los Angeles and Philadelphia, where new pipes are
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Citigroup said small companies will be a missing element of the current US expansion as their role in driving growth continues to wane. After peaking at 55 percent in 1987, firms with under 500 employees accounted for less than 50 percent of the total workforce for the
READ MORE... →Ben Stein says: The US is borrowing 40 cents for every dollar it spends, a terrible situation. The government has been living beyond its means for years, is spending too much money and heading for default – a real doomsday scenario. The US will have a $20 trillion deficit within 36
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Morgan Stanley said leverage among equity managers climbed to the highest level to start any year since at least 2004. Margin debt at NYSE firms rose in November to the highest since February 2008. James Dunigan at PNC Wealth Mgmt said leverage is increasing among hedge-funds. Gross leverage at hedge
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Charles Plosser at FRB of Philadelphia said: The latest stimulus steps do little to boost growth and the record stimulus risks a surge in inflation, and may not speed up the economy but actually prolong it. Low interest rates reduce returns for savers and do little to encourage businesses to
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Dr. Aaron Carroll at Indiana University School of Medicine writes: The Institute of Medicine and National Research Council study shows Americans have shorter lives and poorer health, despite spending more on health care than any of the 16 other rich countries in the study. Americans eat too
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Geithner’s replacement by Lew will end a period of unusually strong ties between the Treasury and the Fed. Mark Calabria at the Cato Institute said Lew won’t be as defensive of the Fed as Geithner would be. Brandon Barford at ACG Analytics said with Geithner’s departure, Tarullo is
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Warren Buffett said banks have rebuilt capital and no longer poses a threat to the economy – capital ratios are huge and excesses on the asset side are largely gone . Berkshire invests in at least 4 of the 7 biggest U.S. lenders by assets, including Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs,
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Stephen King at HSBC said we are moving away from a US or Europe led world to a world led by China, which will make its biggest-ever contribution to global growth in 2014. King said China’s growth will rise to 8.6 percent in 2013 versus 7.8 percent in 2012, and 5.4 percent for the
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