Salient to Investors: Tim Hartzell at Sequent Asset Mgmt said the underlying data may turn weaker despite 5 years of easy money, and stocks are dependent on this monetary stimulus. Economists predict the US will expand 1.6 percent in 2013 and 2.7 percent in 2014. 24 of 41 economists expect
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Gary Shilling writes: The fog remains thick, so reducing long positions in Treasury bonds and Japanese stocks and cut yen shorts, euro shorts and dollar long positions. Maintaining long positions in US defensive stocks like utilities and health care. Increased short position in junk bonds and initiated
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: 16 of the 29 US states requiring utilities to buy renewable energy are considering paring back those mandates after a plunge in natural gas prices. Read the full article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-23/u-s-states-turn-against-renewable-energy-as-gas-plunges.html Click here to receive free and immediate email alerts of the latest forecasts.
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Kyung-Ah Park at Goldman Sachs said: Water utilities, infrastructure and water rights offer stable, long-term investment. Water supply is very inelastic, and 1 in 8 people lack access to safe water. Demand for water is growing twice as fast as the global population, and much of the developed world’s water infrastructure
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Europe is missing out on the natural gas boom in the US and Asia, and instead burning coal imported from America. The IEA predicts global gas consumption to rise 19 percent by 2017 from 2010 on demand surges in Asia and the US – Europe will drop 1.6 percent. In Europe,
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Analysts say a new breed of conservationists is curtailing sales of electricity and driving an unprecedented shift in the U.S. power industry – power use per unit of economic growth fell to a record in 2011. Demand for electricity is shrinking even as economies grow, eroding sales and profit
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Smaller stocks are outperforming larger stocks in 2012. Top sector is healthcare, followed by consumer discretionary, telecom and financials. Bottom is utilities, followed by energy, industrials, technology, consumer staples and materials. Read the full article at http://seekingalpha.com/article/884011-best-performing-russell-3-000-stocks-and-sectors-in-2012?source=intbrokers_regular
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Contrarian fund manager Bill Smead is: Bullish on the U.S. but bearish on companies exposed to China. Looks for strong balance sheets, industries with high barriers to entry, long histories of profits and dividends, p/e ratios below their 10-year average, strong insider ownership, and shareholder friendliness with regard to
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Morningstar reports mutual fund and ETF fund assets in utilities increased more than 30 percent in the 12 months through July. Utilities typically trade at a 20 percent valuation discount to the S&P 500. The P/E ratio of the Bloomberg Industries North American regulated integrated utilities is 14.9 times estimated 12-month earnings versus 12.8 for the S&P 500.
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