Salient to Investors: International purchases of US stocks, bonds and other financial assets slowed for the first time in four months in January. Thomas Simons at Jefferies said the stock market trend and better global financial market conditions supports more outflows from Treasuries by private investors. Read the full article
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Sireen Harajli at Credit Agricole says the Fed will continue with QE and maybe start tapering off toward the end of 2013, while dollar weakness is just risk-on. Kengo Suzuki at Mizuho Securities said the Fed will continue monetary easing even as economic indicators improve, and that will weigh on the dollar.
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The private-equity investment of $36 billion in US brick-and-mortar retailers before the recession in 2007 has not turned out well. Of the 8 largest retail private-equity buyouts during that period, only Dollar General has gone public Leon Nicholas at Kantar Retail said there is nothing special about
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Investors are exiting the BRICs as disappointing profits and growing state intervention cause stocks to trail global shares for a fourth year. Over 59 percent of MSCI BRIC index companies have missed analyst estimates for the fourth-straight quarter in 2013. Peter Dixon at Commerzbank says lower valuations means the time is ripe for
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Wayne Lin at Legg Mason said equities are fairly valued but we have had a very strong run and the question is what is going on more fundamentally. Jim O’Neill at Goldman Sachs expects the S&P 500 to rise to 1575 in 2013 but said US economic growth will have
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: JPMorgan Chase now predicts US home prices will rise 7 percent in 2013 and over 14 percent through 2015, and Bank of America predicts prices will now rise 8 percent in 2013 as homebuyers and investors rush to acquire a dwindling supply of properties and the Fed lowers mortgage rates. Samantha McLemore at Legg Mason
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Hedge Fund Research said 873 hedge-funds closed in 2012, the most since 2009, but the net number increased after 1,108 firms were started. Hedge funds managing over $5 billion got 65 percent of Q4 2012 fund inflows, firms with under $1 billion got 8.7 percent. Average industry management fees declined
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Witold Bahrke at PFA Pension A/S said anxiety is growing steadily, primarily regarding euro-zone developments, and while no-one expects anything concrete from the summit, there is the potential for surprises, like on Cyprus. Read the full article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-14/european-stock-index-futures-climb-as-leaders-meet.html Click here to receive immediate email alerts of the latest
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Economists say a resurgence of the debt crisis is the biggest threat facing Germany in an election year. Thomas Mayer at Deutsche Bank, Holger Schmieding at Berenberg Bank and others say declining sovereign bond yields in countries such as Italy and Ireland should not lull governments across Europe into thinking they can let up
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Paul Krugman writes: Paul Ryan’s proposal of slashing the top tax rate from 39.6 percent to 25 percent, yet somehow raising 19.1 percent of G.D.P. in revenues are even more fraudulent than his proposals in 2010 and fortunately this time getting the derision it deserves. Draconian austerity is simply not needed
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