Salient to Investors: Brad Sorensen at Charles Schwab said the economic numbers are holding up really well, and housing rebounding will continue, feeding into consumer confidence. 74 percent of S&P 500 companies so far reporting quarterly results have beat estimates. The index is at 14.8 times reported earnings versus the average
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Correlation between the Euro Stoxx 50 Index and the MSCI All-Country World Index has fallen to the lowest level since 2008. The Euro Stoxx 50 trades at 10.9 times estimated earnings versus 13.7 for the S&P 500 and 14.8 for the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. Trevor Greetham at Fidelity Worldwide is underweight
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Daragh Maher at HSBC said Moody’s downgrade was not unexpected, and the drop in the pound in 2013 is small when framed in the context of a longer time-frame, so further falls would not represent an overshoot. Maher said the comfort expressed by the gilt market is largely built
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Moody’s said the U.K.’s high and rising debt burden means deterioration in the government’s balance sheet is unlikely to be reversed before 2016, and while the U.K. has considerable structural economic strengths, expected slow growth of the global economy and the reduced speed of debt reduction in the
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Brian Jacobsen at Wells Fargo Advantage said the Fed didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know, but sometimes it doesn’t take a lot to push prices around. 73 percent of the S&P 500 companies so far reporting have beaten profit estimates, The S&P 500 trades at 14.97 times
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Amanda Sneider and David Kostin at Goldman Sachs said: Net long exposure to stocks in hedge funds rose to 52 percent in Q4 2012, matching the 10-year high reached in Q1 2007. AIG became the most-held position, Apple fell to third place. Hedge funds notably reduced holdings of Apple and gold
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Bloomberg and Pavilion Global Markets report 12 stock-sale announcements over the past 3 months for every purchase by insiders at S&P 500 companies, the highest ratio since January 2011. Pavilion said readings above 11 historically preceded average declines of 5.9 percent over the following 6 months. The ratio of sales
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Brian Barish at Cambiar Investors said it doesn’t take much imagination to know where the next potential source of weakness or worry is going to be – when the Fed steps back from QE. 71 percent of the 413 S&P 500 companies so far reporting have exceeded profit estimates, 66
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Matthew Sherwood at Perpetual Investments said the Fed is very nervous about continuing QE – if they say they have to wind down before labor stabilizes, one of the key supports will be taken away from the market. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index is at 14.9 times
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Average daily price moves for the S&P 500 have seen the steepest decline since the 1930s – the last time the annual average was this low was 1995, when the S&P 500 rose 34 percent and doubled in the next four years. Going back to 1928 shows stocks gain
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