Salient to Investors: Brad Sorensen at Charles Schwab said the World Bank cuts in growth forecasts are reminders that there’s still work to be done. Sorensen likes earnings so far and the sizable money on the sidelines could boost the market higher. The World Bank cut its global growth forecast for
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The IMF said: India’s financial system is vulnerable due to a deterioration in bank assets and a lack of capital as the economy slowed. Increasing involvement in the financial industry leaves the government exposed to losses at banks and is braking economic growth India’s economy will expand
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Barry Norris at Argonaut Capital Partners said: Buy European stocks with the highest potential for earnings growth over those with the cheapest valuations. The big liquidity rush that has made everyone enthusiastic won’t last the year – equities will rally because they are the least-worst option among asset classes. ECB
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: James Paulsen at Wells Capital Mgmt said job creation, tame inflation and rising home prices support solid retail spending in 2013, but consumer cyclicals may underperform the market because these positive economic trends are already discounted – the S&P 500 GICS Consumer Discretionary Sector Index has outperformed the broader market by
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Private equity companies and venture capitalists reduced renewable-energy investment to the lowest since 2006. Vinod Khosla at Khosla Ventures said all the fashionable VCs have exited, and the number of new businesses is smaller. Ethan Zindler at New Energy Finance said venture investors in early stages do
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Christin Tuxen at Danske Bank predicts gold will average $1,720 an ounce in 2013 as central-bank stimulus will sustain buying as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation, and $1,600 in 2014 as economic growth curbs demand. Tuxen said the prospect of the Fed stopping easing and improving economic activity
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: EPFR Global said investors added a record $3.1 billion to equity mutual funds in the first week of 2013, the most since it began tracking the industry in 2000. Investors withdrew $69.1 billion from US equity funds in 2012 and $375 billion since 2007. Walter Todd at Greenwood Capital Associates said
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Royal Bank of Scotland said sales of CDOs linked to property are poised to climb to as much as $10 billion in 2013, 10 times the level of 2012 as investors wager on a real estate recovery and the Fed pushes down borrowing costs. Richard Hill at RBS said the deals could
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: North American energy companies are investing more in railroad terminals than the railroads themselves because swelling output has overwhelmed pipelines. Domestic crude at least 20 percent cheaper than imports. Rail is more expensive than pipelines but reaches into metropolitan areas like Los Angeles and Philadelphia, where new pipes are
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Citigroup said small companies will be a missing element of the current US expansion as their role in driving growth continues to wane. After peaking at 55 percent in 1987, firms with under 500 employees accounted for less than 50 percent of the total workforce for the
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