Salient to Investors: Bespoke Investment and Bloomberg say short sales in the S&P Composite 1500 Index fell in February to the lowest in recorded data back to 2007 – the last time at this level saw the Index lose 3.3 percent over the next three months. Bulls say the capitulation by
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Luke Sims at Eagle Capital Growth Fund said Warren Buffett is trying to build up his stock pickers Combs and Weschler to show he hired the right money managers to succeed him. Buffett book author Jeff Matthews said the 2012 performance by Combs and Weschler was extraordinary but wants to see
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Kim Dae Young at KB Asset Mgmt said concerns about China’s recovery are prompting investors to take profits. The MSCI emerging-markets index is at 10.2 times projected 12-month earnings versus 13.2 times for the MSCI World. Benoit Anne at Societe Generale said there are more bears than bulls for the first time
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Ivo Weinoehrl at DWS Investments said the macro economic picture has improved a little, but no reason to get excited. Weinoehrl said sequestration will cut a half percent off growth in 2013, so the equity market is fully valued – the debt ceiling will be a much
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Bank of America Merrill Lynch said curve flattening will persist. Wee-Khoon Chong at SocGen predicted the spread will narrow by another 30 basis points by the end of April, and sys the flattening yield curve reflects risks that a surge in bank lending in January could fan
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Sheila Bair at Pew Charitable Trusts said US regulators lack the courage to designate non-bank financial companies systemically important and are not doing their job. Bair said regulators cannot even name as systemic those companies in the crisis, like AIG and GE Capital, that were named as systemic – yet we
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Adam Posen said given the jump in Japanese stocks and slide in the yen in anticipation of greater stimulus, any failure to move in April risks disappointing investors. Masaaki Kanno at JPMorgan Chase said the party has just started, and predicts the BOJ’s open-ended bond purchases will be
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: William Pesek writes: Unconventional policies have worked out better in the US than in Japan. Abe’s revitalization plan rests on two tired ideas – massive public-works projects and more monetary stimulus. Absent are steps to improve Japan’s economy, including tax reform, deregulation, joining free-trade agreements, empowering women, supporting
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Jessada Sookdhis at CIMB-Principal Asset Mgmt said China is clearly recovering, especially in the property sector, while US data and Italian debt sales have bolstered sentiment in emerging markets. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is at 10.5 times projected 12-month earnings versus 13.8 for the MSCI World Index. Martial
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Mark Miller writes: A growing number of employers are adding unbiased third-party investment guidance options as they work to improve their retirement plans. The best type of planner: independent advisers who have the fiduciary responsibility to put client interests first. A Deloitte Center for Financial Services survey
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