Salient to Investors: InsideClimateNews.org writes: In Phoenix, swimming pools outnumber solar panels by a thousand to one. Germany, with half the sunlight of Arizona, has four times as much solar power installed per capita. and 23 times more than the US. The primary reason for the renewable energy gulf between the US and Germany
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Stephanie Schmitt-Grohe and Martin Uribe at the National Bureau of Economic Research said the solution to an economic slump is higher interest rates when the cause of that slump is a confidence shock that cheap borrowing costs are failing to reverse, and ultra-easy monetary policy risks making fears of deflation a self-fulfilling
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Economic Outlook said Sandy reconstruction and related purchases and hiring may increase US economic growth by 0.5 percentage point in 2013. Bernard Baumohl at Economic Outlook said construction costs will be more than replacement because much of the work will involve fortifying structures. Goldman Sachs said Sandy may reduce economic growth by
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Jack Ablin at BMO Harris Private Bank said the outperformance of 3 upscale retailers versus 3 lower scale retailers indicates investors believe high-income households will fund their higher tax burden from savings, rather than by cutting spending. Read the full article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-23/u-s-stock-futures-rise-s-p-500-may-extend-weekly-jump.html
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Julian Callow at Barclays Capital said Europe won’t this time be able to bank on the Chinese recovery to lift its economy out of the quagmire because China is moving to consumption, away from investment, traditionally where Europe’s exporters would have benefited. Chris Williamson at Markit said today’s report suggests the downturn
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index indicates the share of households projecting the economy will improve rose to 37 percent in November, the highest since March 2002. Index manager Gary Langer at Langer Research Associates said the gain is largely political, occurring very disproportionately among Democrats – gains need to
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Martin Feldstein at Harvard said: The US economy would still be perilously close to a recession in 2013 even if we don’t go over the fiscal cliff. The end of payroll tax cuts will reduce GDP by 1 percent, and other tax increases and spending cuts may bring over 2
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Foreign investors can’t get enough Treasuries despite the fiscal cliff and China’s reduced stake. Aaron Kohli at BNP Paribas said there’s little of a buyers’ strike from the Treasury’s perspective and shows the depth of demand. BNP forecasts the 10-year yield will rise to 2 percent by June 2013 versus the
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The S&P 500’s P/E ratio is below the ending level of 8 of the 9 bull markets since 1962, below the average of any bull market since Reagan, and up 35 percent since March 2009 versus an average 55 percent in bull markets since 1962. 245 of 500 S&P 500 companies have
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Amity Shlaes at the Bush Institute writes: 2013 may see a market drop similar to the 1937 one after the re-election of FDR in 1936, when industrial production plummeted by 34.5 percent and the Dow dropped by half. Parallels include: A pre-election spree that breached norms and set records. Budget-cutting
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