Salient to Investors: RealtyTrac said home seizures had its first annual increase since October 2010, as lenders seek to manage the flow of distressed properties without disrupting the housing recovery. Default, auction and repossession notices were down in November, down 19 percent from a year ago, and the 26th straight month with an annual
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Warren Buffett and Charles Munger favor stock buybacks when two conditions are met: the company has ample funds to take care of operational and liquidity needs the stock is selling at a material discount to the company’s intrinsic business value, conservatively calculated. Read the full article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-12/berkshire-expands-buyback-will-pay-up-to-120-of-book-value.html
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Mohamed El-Erian writes: Analysts will be hard pressed to explain how equity markets ended unchanged on the day of an unprecedented policy announcement from the Fed. The Fed’s shift to employment and inflation thresholds was a surprise as most analysts expected this would not occur until March 2013 at
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Paul Krugman said to some extent we are hurt by Chinese growth since we compete for limited supplies of oil, minerals, etc. The U.S. needs to give China more of a voice in trade policy because the alternative is much less appealing. China is the largest polluter in
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Mark Mobius at Templeton Emerging Markets said: Developing-nation equities will climb in 2013 on low debt levels, high foreign exchange reserves, economic growth that may average 5 percent in 2013, central banks adding money to the financial system. Low interest rates make equities very attractive. sending institutions et al on an incredible hunt for returns, including frontier
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Larry Edelson is short-term bearish on gold but long-term bullish. Both possible outcomes for the world economies are bullish for gold. Scenario 1 – least likely – is the stock market continues to rally and the US economy begins to recover. The up to $20 trillion of monopoly money printed by the Fed floods
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Daniel Kalt at UBS said Switzerland’s residential-property boom is the biggest risk facing its economy, and the situation will continue for one to three years. Read the full article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-12/swiss-property-boom-is-biggest-risk-for-the-economy-ubs-says.html
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Bachhraj Bamalwa at All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation said Indian households and temples hold 25,000 metric tons of gold – 10 percent would ensure supplies to Indian jewelers for 3 years. Bamalwa said Indians will continue spending on gold on marriages and in festivals, and with no social security, investment in
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Bill Gross at Pimco cut mortgage bonds to 44 percent of assets, to the lowest level in 12 months. Read the full article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-12/gross-sells-mortgage-debt-after-fed-buying-cuts-yield.html
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Bill Gross at Pimco recommends avoiding longer-term Treasuries because of steps to boost the economy. Guy Davidson at AllianceBernstein said longer bonds have much more downside than upside, and recommends switching to the 10-yr to 15-yr maturity range. The median economist expects the Fed to continue to buy Treasuries at
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