Salient to Investors: Lower-rated issuers are benefiting as sinking yields spur investors to stomach more risk. Debt sold by Illinois issuers is rallying the most in 20 months despite a warning that the state’s pensions may run out of money and drain funding from education, infrastructure and local aid. Moody’s
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The saving rate dropped to 3.3 percent, the lowest since November, indicates bigger gains in employment are required to sustain spending. Stephen Stanley at Pierpont Securities said housing seems to have turned, but the drop in the saving rate indicates the gain in spending is not fully sustainable. Mark Vitner at
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities rose 2 percent from August 2011, the biggest year-to-year gain since July 2010, a sign housing will help drive economic growth. Anika Khan at Wells Fargo Securities said the modest momentum will continue. The average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate loan was
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Mark Dowding at BlueBay Asset Mgmt said investors should sell government bonds from the euro-region’s periphery, including Spain and Italy, because of a complacency on the part of policy makers, complacency in Spain, and no progress in sight. Dowding sees rising political risk in Italy. Read thef ull article at
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Europe is missing out on the natural gas boom in the US and Asia, and instead burning coal imported from America. The IEA predicts global gas consumption to rise 19 percent by 2017 from 2010 on demand surges in Asia and the US – Europe will drop 1.6 percent. In Europe,
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Salient Partners LP is limiting withdrawals after clients pulled more than $1 billion this year amid lackluster returns. The most sophisticated institutional investors are getting the same treatment that endowments and foundations received in 2008: a manager is blocking them from getting their money out. GFIA said that
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Chris Rupkey at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ said the consumer is alive and well despite fiscal cliff, and a recession is unlikely Watch the full video at http://www.bloomberg.com/video/chris-rupkey-says-u-s-consumer-is-alive-and-well-AZ_SeediTwqTssfgWXYElA.html
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The HSI Volatility Index reached a six-year low earlier this month, and the Nikkei Stock Average Volatility Index is trading near a 20-month low. Andrew Wong at Fortress Investment Group said the last time we heard that volatility was never going to rebound was in late 2006, just
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Profit margins had their first 12-month contraction since 2009 leaving investors increasingly dependent on economic growth to boost stocks. Bears say stagnant profitability accompanied recessions in 2000 and 2007. Bulls say housing and employment data indicate an accelerating economy and valuations are low. Russ Koesterich at BlackRock said margins collapse when
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Lenders say leveraged loan volumes in Asia may drop in 2013 as Europe’s debt crisis and China’s slowdown limits mergers and acquisitions while private equity firms avoid selling businesses at discounted prices. Lyndon Hsu at HSBC said banks in the region have plenty of money to deploy and there’s a
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