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: Carson Block at Muddy Waters said he stopped betting against Chinese companies this year after government agents hindered his analysts and harassed workers at his storage company in Shanghai. Block says China is protecting frauds by making it difficult to research short sale candidates, and has used intelligence and police agencies to deter
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Bloomberg and Strategas Research Partners report the average S&P 500 company cut interest expenses to 2.39 percent of sales in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, the lowest since at least 2002. With borrowing expenses at record lows, companies are finding it harder to squeeze costs, causing profit margins to
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Investors have pulled $440 billion from U.S. equity mutual funds since 2008. E.E. Geduld at Cougar Trading says crashes happen when investors become convinced they’ve lost control – the volumes we can now handle are gigantic, but the exit door hasn’t changed in size. Timothy Ghriskey at Solaris Group said
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Bloomberg survey of analysts shows they are most bullish on stocks farthest from their highs – banks. Financial institutions remain 58 percent below the record of February 2007 while analysts raised estimates for profit growth to 21 percent for Q3 and 32 percent for Q4 on signs of a housing recovery. Revenue
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: George Soros called on Europe to buy Italian and Spanish bonds, warning a failure by leaders meeting on June 28 to produce drastic measures could spell the end of the euro. Wayne Lin at Legg Mason says the EU summit won’t produce anything extraordinary, that Soros’ views are extreme, and expects more volatility.
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