Salient to Investors: The Russell 2000 VIX is up almost 11 percent in 2014 versus a 6.6 percent drop in the VIX and at its highest level since 2006 relative to the VIX. Russell Rhoads at CBOE’s Options Institute said the premium indicates we would get a bigger pullback in small-caps than large-caps in a market
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Jeremy Grantham said: The stock market is expensive and headed for a bubble at S&P 500 above 2250, and offers paltry returns for years to come. Expect an explosion of M&As to record numbers due to cheaper debt in this cycle, profit margins that will remain high, a still young
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Over 33% of a Bloomberg poll of international investors say the euro economy is in its worst shape in more than a year and in danger of dropping into deflation, and the ECB is not doing enough to help. Cyril Blaise at Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria said
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Todd Lowenstein at Highmark Capital Mgmt said people are selling out of fear in a market that is really acute to geopolitical risk, given current valuations. John Canally at LPL Financial said markets have to determine if this is an escalation of the conflict. 60 percent of
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Paul Zemsky at Voya Investment Mgmt sees a new era of macro policy where the Fed uses new tools to prevent bubbles and raises concerns when markets are away from fundamentals. Alan Gayle at RidgeWorth Investments said the Fed recognizes it needs to broaden its scope of
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Individual investors have added $100 billion to equity mutual funds and ETFs in the past year, 10 times more than the previous 12 months, and vs. outflows of $300 billion in the 5 years through 2012 and inflows of $102 billion in Q1 2000 just before the tech
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Craig Hodges at Hodges Small Cap Fund said any slump in the market will be temporary and a buying opportunity as there is still a lot of money on the sidelines. Hodges is 10 percent in cash, and likes airlines. Greg Taylor at Aurion Capital Mgmt said
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The median economist predicts GDP will grow 3.1 percent in half2 2014 and 2015 will be the strongest year in a decade. Ethan Harris at Bank of America sees no major headwinds and forecasts 3 percent growth in half2 2014 on fewer government cutbacks, rising auto demand
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: A Bernstein Research study “Do High R&D Spenders in Tech Generate Stock Outperformance?” found: Over 1, 3, 5, and 10-year periods, the companies with the lowest spending on R&D tended to perform the best on Wall Street. Over the past 5 years, stocks in the biggest R&D
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Matt McCormick at Bahl & Gaynor says investors are bracing for more volatility on the basis that the economy and market are not as strong as they thought. Raymond James said equities are vulnerable to losses. Citigroup is concerned about a severe pullback. Christine Lagarde at IMF
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