Salient to Investors: Rich Weiss at American Century Investments said no one expects real economic growth in the US so Laszlo Birinyi’s prediction of 3200 on the SPX comes 5 years late. Weiss said GDP growth of 3% or less and possible Fed tightening does not support such a rise. Mark
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Craig Hodges at Hodges Small Cap Fund said any slump in the market will be temporary and a buying opportunity as there is still a lot of money on the sidelines. Hodges is 10 percent in cash, and likes airlines. Greg Taylor at Aurion Capital Mgmt said
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Hedge funds’ net-long positions of 18 US-traded commodities rose 18 percent last week to the highest since September 2012. Investors tripled the net-long position in arabica coffee this month to the most bullish since May 2011 Barclays said weather is the big driver of commodities. EPFR Global
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Wall Street strategists are the most cautious in almost a decade. The average of 20 estimates predicts the S&P 500 will rise 5.8 percent in 2014 versus the average projection of 11 percent over the last 5 years. The mean estimate is 1,955. 116 S&P stocks are
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Higher debt costs will reduce buybacks and dividend increases. Borrowing costs for S&P 500 companies fell to 1.4 percent of sales the last 12 months, a record low in 11 years of data. Corporate bond yields are increasing the most since 2009 and are at 4.3 percent
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: James Paulsen at Wells Capital Mgmt said concern that a surge in US bond yields will curb US growth is overblown because higher borrowing costs coupled with gains in confidence are a healthy sign for the economy. Paulsen said confidence is at the center of everything here and that since 1967, stocks
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Hedge funds et al increased their net-long position in gold futures and options for the 4th consecutive week and the longest streak since October, while more than doubling bets on lower corn prices to a record net-short holding. Jeffrey Currie et al at Goldman Sachs said gold will decline
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Europe’s debt crisis is pressuring global earnings. Analysts predict S&P 500 companies will report a 1.1 percent average drop in Q2 earnings, the first decline in 11 quarters and after a 6.2 percent average increase in Q1. A stronger dollar threatens earnings as U.S. exports become more expensive. Predictions: Tim Ghriskey at Solaris Group doesn’t expect
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Bank of America survey said optimism among global asset allocators has fallen back to the lows of autumn 2011:, equity holdings have been reduced to underweight for the first time in seven months, cash raised to the highest level since 2008 and third-highest level on record. Predictions: RBC Capital
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