Salient to Investors: Corporate creditworthiness in the US is deteriorating at the fastest pace since 2009 with earnings growth slowing as yields rise from record lows. Moody’s said the ratio of upgrades to downgrades fell to 0.89 times in the first 5 months of the year after reaching a post-crisis
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Caroline Baum writes: The Wall Street Journal’s Jon Hilsenrath is widely viewed as Bernanke’s unofficial spokesman. Bernanke was crystal clear when he communicated the Fed’s objectives. The rise in interest rates can be easily overwhelmed by better earnings as a result of stronger growth, so if the Fed’s optimistic
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Nassim Nicholas Taleb says: The UK and the US have a fantastic history in risk-taking, in trial and error, without shame in failing and starting again. We must honor the “ruined” risk-takers with as much respect as we do soldiers – there is no such thing as
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: 10-year Treasuries yield 2.61 percent versus the S&P 500 aggregate earnings yield of 6.4 percent – more than double the average spread of 1.9 points since 2000. Investors are avoiding longer-term Treasuries, concerned that returns will be depressed for years, and money managers foresee the end of a rally that
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Ethan Anderson at Rehmann Financial said investors have been shaken by the concept of rising interest rates, a reduction in Fed stimulus, and uncertainty about the Chinese central banking system. Goldman Sachs cut its 2013 forecast for China’s economy and said the cash squeeze is hurting growth. Vasu Menon
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Ken Fisher at Fisher Investments said: The rally that began in 2009 is only in its middle stages because most investors still underestimate the strength of the economy – in between the transition from skepticism to optimism It is amazing that people do not marvel at the power of
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Gregg Berman at the SEC’s Office of Analytics and Research said most mini-flash stock crashes are not the result of broken software but human errors like entering the wrong number of shares or some other typographical error, or incorrectly entering limit orders – these errors can be fixed
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The IMF lowered its US growth forecast for 2014 to 2.7 percent, maintained 2014 at 1.9 percent, and said the Fed will maintain QE until at least the end of 2013. Bryan Novak at Astor Asset Mgmt said interest rates need to rise, but with growth is
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: David Kelly at JPMorgan Funds said the theme of whether the Fed will stop being easy and what that means for interest rates is not a significant negative for the stock market and the market may be overreacting. Bruce Bittles at RW Baird said it is disconcerting
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Jim Rogers said: When investing, don’t follow the crowd Most government numbers are made up. China has problems with housing and inflation as the US did in the 19th century when it was growing rapidly. Every country that grows rapidly has problems. The US had recessions and
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