Salient to Investors: Warren Buffett has been shifting toward capital-intensive businesses like energy and transportation, while reducing reliance on insurance operations and stock-picking. He is planning more investment in energy, in part in renewable power, as far as the eye can see. Buffett sees the steady but far from spectacular gains of
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Expanding populations fueled global prosperity with both workers and consumers but global aging threatens to cause chronically weak economic growth, a more volatile international economy and the risk of a new financial crisis triggered by innovative investments dubbed “death derivatives.” Rob Arnott at Research Affiliates said our
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and George Soros are poised for IPO gains from investing in Essent Group, a Bermuda-based mortgage insurer in 2009. Mortgage insurers are rebounding on property prices now rising at the fastest pace since 2006 and with the government reducing its role backing home
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Larry Levitt at the Kaiser Family Foundation said for the most part insurers are finding the market for Obamacare attractive and are pricing accordingly. Levitt said it is surprising how inexpensive some of the Bronze plans will be: they carry high deductibles and significant out-of-pocket costs, but for
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Alexander Friedman at UBS says: What Fed has done is not unexpected and the market reacted because it was ahead of itself. All the Fed was saying was that the US is doing OK, that the data is trending as it should, and that it has confidence
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: MetLife cut its adviser force by a third, eliminating 2,500 jobs as the company scales back variable annuity sales and turns to other nations for growth. MetLife has 5,000 advisers who sell insurance and investment products, down from 7,500 in February of 2012. Danny Sarch at Leitner
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The vast majority of older Americans face steep and rising health-care costs that threaten to bankrupt them and are doing little to protect themselves. Only 1 in 5 companies with at least 10 employees offers long-term care insurance. Medicare doesn’t cover long-term care. Millions face spending themselves into
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Bill Miller at Legg Mason said because housing has done so well, the next move there is in financials. Miller said an improved housing market means banks’ mortgage origination businesses will improve. Miller’s fund had 40 percent of assets in financial stocks as of Sept. 30, and
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