Salient to Investors: The S&P 500 remains up more than 9% since January 1, 2012, and up 12% in the last 12 months. Corporate profits and revenue are in a fundamental contraction so it’s natural for the market to be held back. Any sitting president has very little influence on the
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Jim O’Neill writes: Nothing has materially changed by the US election and the Chinese leadership handover. The positive surprise in Korean exports in October indicates a pick up in world trade. Japan reported its first seasonally-adjusted current account deficit following other generally grim economic news. It is
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Neel Kashkari at Pimco said stock-market volatility will increase by the end of the year as Congress delays reaching a resolution on extending spending and tax cuts until 2013. Kashkari sees brinkmanship like with the debt ceiling a year ago, and choppy markets up until the last second when a
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Brian Jacobsen at Wells Fargo Advantage Funds and Bruce Bittles at RW Baird said Obama will continue to support the Fed’s interest-rate policy. Bittles said Obama’s victory will make the fiscal cliff more difficult to deal with. Jacobsen said Bernanke will serve another term because his academic writings recognizes that
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: James Dunigan at PNC Wealth Mgmt said the fiscal cliff is going to be very messy, though we’ll get there. Alan Greenspan said the election perpetuated the political status quo and hasn’t increased the probability of resolving the fiscal challenges. Barry Knapp at Barclays recommended cutting risk, and lowered his estimate for the S&P 500
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Fidelity Investments and Pimco said the fiscal cliff and Fed bond purchases will drive demand for debt. Roger Bridges at Tyndall Investment Mgmt we’re back into political games – if we continue this policy uncertainty, then the economy will fall and bonds will rally. Bill Irving at Fidelity said people own government
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Swings in US stocks are at the lowest level in 6 years, an indicator that has most often coincided with incumbent parties keeping the presidency in data going back to 1900. Daily changes in the Dow have trailed the 112-year average of 0.75 percent in 13 of 17 instances
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Scottish money managers, including Aberdeen Asset Mgmt and Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, are investing in US regional banks. James Kinghorn at Scottish Widows Investment said regional banks are more leveraged to benefit from an improving economy than the larger banks, better relative to European banks, and attractively valued. Kinghorn said the US economy
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Author Jeff Matthews said Buffett is elephant hunting when there aren’t a lot of elephants. Bloomberg survey shows the average estimate of Wall Street brokerages is for the S&P 500 to end 2012 little changed from its close on Nov. 2. David Kostin at Goldman Sachs said stocks may end 2012 lower
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Investors can’t get enough government securities even though rising debt loads are blamed for curbing global growth. For the first time since 2008, all 26 markets tracked by Bloomberg and the EFFAS are poised to generate positive returns on an annual basis. Governments are getting a handle
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