Swiss Property Bubble Concern Seen Prompting Tightening – Bloomberg 02-14-13

Salient to Investors: Governments from Singapore to Dubai to Hong Kong are moving to cool overheated property markets and avert property bubbles. discovered Switzerland is having its biggest property boom in two decades, with prices pushed higher by the influx of 50,000 people a year. The UBS Swiss Real Estate Bubble Index remained in

READ MORE...

Stein Sees Signs of Excessive Risk Taking in Some Markets – Bloomberg 02-07-13

Salient to Investors: Federal Reserve Governor Jeremy Stein says: Significant reaching-for-yield behavior in corporate credits are early signs of potentially excessive risk-taking, while not posing a threat to financial stability. A decline in the quality of debt through greater subordination or less use of protective covenants also signal reaching for yield. It

READ MORE...

Housing Packs Punch for U.S. Growth in 2013 and Beyond – Bloomberg 02-04-13

Salient to Investors: Climbing home prices are lifting household wealth and boosting the purchasing power of consumers. Declining mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures are giving banks greater leeway to lend. Rising property-tax revenue is alleviating pressure on state and local governments to cut budgets. Mark Zandi at Moody’s Analytics said the housing

READ MORE...

JPMorgan Joins Rental Rush For Wealthy Clients: Mortgages – Bloomberg 02-04-13

Salient to Investors: JPMorgan Chase Private Bank put individuals and families with more than $5 million into a partnership that bought over 5,000 single family homes to rent in Florida, Arizona, Nevada and California. David Lyon at JPMorgan said investors can expect returns of up to 8 percent annually from rental income as well

READ MORE...

BlackRock Cautious as Sales End Dollar Bond Rally: China Credit – Bloomberg 01-31-13

Salient to Investors: Suanjin Tan at BlackRock said the avalanche of new deals has investors fatigued, and continued home-price restrictions and a slowing economy means being selective. Tan sees a big mindset shift in the past year with fears of a huge property market collapse in China gone: the risks are there but very few

READ MORE...

Where to Invest While Markets Remain ‘Risk-On’ – Bloomberg 01-30-13

Salient to Investors: A. Gary Shilling at A. Gary Shilling & Co writes: Investor zeal for yield and disregard for risk favors the junkiest of the junk. When the grand disconnect between investor focus on the immense liquidity created by central banks and weak and weakening global economies becomes unsustainable, probably

READ MORE...

Home Prices Climb by Most in Six Years as U.S. Market Firms – Bloomberg 01-29-13

Salient to Investors: The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values increased 5.5 percent from November 2011, the biggest year-over-year gain since August 2006. The NAR said the 1.82 million existing homes on the market last month were the fewest since January 2001. Mortgage rates near a record low are propelling demand that’s outpacing supply. Freddie

READ MORE...