Asset Management

MicroEquities High Income Value Microcap Fund Launching March 2012

by on February 6, 2012

menafn.com…

http://www.abnnewswire.net/rss2/menafn/abn_menafn_en.asp Microequities Asset Management is launching a new Fund, the High Income Value Microcap Fund. As some of our investors would like to …

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MicroEquities High Income Value Microcap Fund Launching March 2012

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‘Warren Buffett Of The North’ Comes To BlackBerry Maker’s Rescue

by Reuters on January 25, 2012

Huffington Post…

By Cameron French and Alastair Sharp TORONTO (Reuters) – The arrival of the man known as “the Warren Buffett of North” on Research In Motion’s board this week offers a ray of hope to the BlackBerry maker’s impatient shareholders after their disappointment that an insider was named new chief executive. That’s not to say the reclusive Watsa – who heads Fairfax Financial, now RIM’s fourth-largest shareholder – has a reputation as a turnaround artist who will agitate for radical change at the struggling company. But his 2.25 percent shareholding and new role as director suggest Watsa sees real value in the withered share price, even though some say the company has fallen hopelessly behind its rivals in the hyper-competitive smartphone and tablet markets. Based from the Indian-born Canadian’s track record, fellow shareholders have good reason to be optimistic. “Prem is attracted to companies that are out of favor and unpopular with the market,” said Todd Johnson, a portfolio manager at BCV Asset Management in Winnipeg, which holds Fairfax bonds. “He likely believes RIM is salvageable and that the market is unfairly punishing the stock now. His investing acumen has helped shares of Fairfax Financial, technically an insurer but also his investment vehicle, rise more than 100-fold in just over 25 years. Watsa is chairman and CEO of Fairfax and controls its voting shares. Watsa’s appointment to RIM’s board was part of a head office shuffle in which Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie gave up their shared chief executive role to Heins, a company insider. RIM investors, who have watched their stock drop 84 percent in the last three years, sent the shares down sharply after the change in leadership was announced. They’re concerned that Heins, with his close association with the pair who presided over RIM’s swoon, may not have what it will take to reverse the decline. Heins reinforced that impression when he said he saw no need for a seismic shift at the BlackBerry maker, even though its market share has tumbled. BUFFETT OF THE NORTH Watsa started receiving comparisons to Buffett – the best-known proponent of investing on the basis of a company’s value – back in the 1990s. He’d already shown his investment chops by selling stock ahead of the 1987 stock market crash and buying Japanese puts – or rights to sell stocks at guaranteed prices – ahead of the Tokyo market’s collapse in 1990. But it was his call on the U.S. mortgage crisis that cemented his reputation as a savvy investor. Watsa began raising alarms on the U.S. mortgage industry in 2003, and Fairfax began selling or hedging its equity holdings, and buying credit default swaps that it later sold when the market began to collapse. A CDS enables the holder to be compensated in the event of a loan default. The move initially didn’t pay off, as stock markets churned higher in the mid-2000s. But when the market crashed in 2008, Fairfax notched a profit of $1.5 billion on the back of a $2.7 billion investment gain. In late 2008, with markets still reeling and other investors licking their wounds, he started to plow money back into equities, notching another strong year in 2009. Since then Watsa has changed gears again, hedging the company’s equity portfolio in 2010, and making more contrarian investments such as buying a 9 percent stake in troubled Bank of Ireland last year. “He’s gotten very very strong investment returns, I don’t think you can argue with that,” said one portfolio manager who holds RIM shares. “Whether he’s being brought on the board to support his existing equity positions or maybe ascertain whether value is there for a potential takeover and what that level would be at, I think there’s a lot that can be taken from his being added to the board,” said the manager, who requested anonymity because of his firm’s policy on speaking on the record. To be sure, not all of Watsa’s moves have been golden. Fairfax was forced to write off most its investment in Winnipeg-based media company Canwest in 2009 as the company filed for bankruptcy protections. It also wrote down a significant investment in publisher Torstar in 2008-09 and took losses on its holding of forestry company Abitibi Bowater. LOW PROFILE Born in 1950 in Hyderabad, India, and trained as a chemical engineer, Watsa has maintained a public profile that has at times bordered on the reclusive since he took over Fairfax in 1985. For his first 15 years at the company, he barely spoke to a reporter, and only started holding investor conference calls in 2001. Fairfax has generally not been known as an activist investor, but Watsa has hardly shied away from a fight, launching a $6 billion lawsuit against a group of hedge funds in 2006, accusing them of conspiring to the drive the company’s shares down so they could be shorted. A short position enables an investor to profit when a stock drops. With a board seat, Watsa will have a prime position to make sure his RIM investment is a winner. “He sees the value in this company, he sees where sentiment is, he sees where the asset value is and the cash value is and he sees the strategy. By joining the board he’s giving a vote of confidence and perhaps can have more hand in overseeing this transition,” said Matthew Thornton, analyst at Avia Securities in Boston. “That doesn’t mean it’s going to work.” (Editing by Frank McGurty) Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

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Video: Boyle Says Risk Outweighing Reward in U.S. Stocks

January 20, 2012

Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) — Daniel Wiener, chief executive officer at Adviser Investments, Douglas Borthwick, managing director at Faros Trading, Kathy Boyle president, and founder of Chapin Hill Advisors, and Peter Andersen, portfolio manager at Congress Asset Management Co., talk about investment strategies, the outlook for the U.S. stock market and European debt crisis. Wiener also discusses earnings at International Business Machines Corp. and Google Inc. They speak with Pimm Fox on Bloomberg Television’s “Taking Stock.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: HSBC’s Morris Likes U.S. Technology Stocks, Treasuries

January 19, 2012

Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) — Charles Morris, who oversees the Absolute Return fund at HSBC Global Asset Management, discusses the outlook for equities, bonds and commodities. He talks with Linzie Janis and Owen Thomas on Bloomberg Television’s “Countdown.”

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The Possible Winners Of A Plan To Slash Greece’s Debt

January 13, 2012

* Funds positioned for talks to succeed or fail * Part bank-owned funds among the players * Size of fund holdings may derail deal By Tommy Wilkes and Sophie Sassard LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Hedge funds are positioning to profit from a plan to slash Greece’s towering debt pile as Athens enters final talks that could sway the country’s membership of the euro. York Capital, the $14 billion fund part-owned by Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse, New York-listed Och Ziff , and $10 billion-strong Marathon Asset Management are among those who collectively may have built up sufficiently large positions to scupper the bailout deal, several sources close to the debt restructuring told Reuters. The deal asks creditors to voluntarily write down 50 percent of the notional value of their bond holdings. But hedge funds may opt out, hoping that Athens will let them get away with it to save itself political embarassment. “I think we’ll hold out. People are so slow in Europe and by the time they’ve got everything in place logistically this might be the one window where investors might be paid back in full,” said one hedge fund manager who owns Greek bonds. The stakes for Greece are high. Without the deal, the international lenders will not bail Athens out a second time, which means it will likely default around March 20, when a 14.5 billion euro bond falls due. But hoping that Greece will pay out after all looks increasingly like a dangerous strategy. According to three senior euro zone sources on Thursday, the country is likely to force all creditors into the deal. “Unless these guys are all teaming up and getting a really good law firm, I still think it’s going to be touch and go,” said one of the sources close to the talks. “I think politically it would look bad for the Greeks and the Europeans to let (a payout to hedge funds) happen… This is the exact thing the official sector hates.” Funds that have bought credit insurance on the bonds they own could gain by staying away however, if the changing of Greek bond contracts would be seen to amount to a default and trigger Credit Default Swaps (CDS). BETS ON BAILOUT? Reuters spoke to thirteen sources including hedge funds, advisors and sources familiar with current Greek debt trading, but they declined to reveal details of their strategy in the Greek debt restructuring. New York-based York Capital Management, part-owned by Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse, is among the funds to have bought Greek debt, two of the sources said. One source familiar with the firm said it owned a chunk of a Greek bond maturing in March, and was betting there would be a last minute bailout for the country. Och-Ziff Capital Management, the $28 billion fund founded in 1994 by Daniel S. Och, also has a position in Greek bonds, three sources said. Och Ziff and York declined to comment. Many funds have followed a more traditional strategy of buying the Greek bonds at distressed prices from banks keen to get the toxic paper off their books. This means that these funds might sign up to the deal, if the terms on offer are better than the price they paid for their bonds. Others might hold out, hoping enough creditors will do the same and enabling them to exact a better payout from Greece. Some 206 billion euros of Greek debt is in private hands, but it is unclear how much of that is owned by hedge funds. Up to 25 percent of private creditors have not been identified, according to one source close to the talks. DECADES OF EXPERIENCE Other firms with an interest include Madrid-based Vega Asset Management, which resigned from the committee representing private creditors in talks over the bailout last year. Founded in 1996 by former Banco Santander star trader Ravinder Mehra, Vega was once among Europe’s largest hedge funds, managing close to $12 billion before suffering outflows. Vega declined to comment. Two New York-based funds with decades of experience profiting from buying distressed debt are also involved. One is Marathon Asset Management, a member of a private sector creditor-investor committee negotiating with Greece. A $10 billion credit focused fund run by Bruce Richards, it has an emerging markets credit team which specialises in distressed corporate and sovereign debt. The other is Greylock Asset Management. It is headed by Hans Humes, who represented some $40 billion of creditor holdings during Argentina’s record-breaking restructuring, and now sits on the steering committee. Funds who have bought Greek debt in the last few months are likely to have paid anywhere between 20 and 45 cents on the euro, depending on the maturity. By signing up to the deal, which is for a 50 percent haircut, they would still make a profit.

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Investors Falling Out Of Love With Hedge Funds

December 16, 2011

(Laurence Fletcher and Sinead Cruise) – Deep cracks are starting to show in the love affair between hedge funds and their investors, after another year of paltry returns on expensive investments leaves many feeling cheated and close to bailing out. An asset class once feted for its ability to make money in all markets is back under the spotlight after the average fund lost 4.4 percent in the first 11 months of the year, data from Hedge Fund Research shows. That tepid performance comes just three years after hedge funds lost an average 19 percent in 2008′s market chaos, and raises serious questions about the industry’s future growth, particularly in light of the huge fees the managers often earn. “I’m disappointed at the level of returns,” said one large institutional investor who asked not to be named. “The hedge fund industry has once again been underwhelming people’s expectations. “It’s an expensive asset class … They’re going to have to have another 2001 or 2003 in the next three-to-five years if they expect the industry to grow,” the investor said. Hedge funds, which made money both in 2001′s tumbling markets and 2003′s rally, have been caught out this year by whipsawing markets and high volatility amid the euro zone’s prolonged and deepening debt crisis. Equity funds — which often rely on fundamental stock analysis — have been particularly hurt, while macro funds, which bet on stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities, have also left some investors disappointed. Star managers have suffered, notably John Paulson, whose main Advantage fund was down 47 percent to the end of November, while Crispin Odey’s European fund is down around 15 percent to end-October, despite big gains in the autumn rally. “Most hedge funds have a cash benchmark so one really wants to ask — have they been better than cash after fees? My sense is that many have not,” said Patrick Rudden, head of blend strategies at AllianceBernstein. A review of hedge fund performance compiled by HSBC seen by Reuters shows huge variance of more than 80 percentage points across the industry during 2011. While the Paulson Advantage Plus fund was seen the worst performer this year, the Renaissance Institutional equities fund had advanced 32 percent by December 9. “Hedge fund performance figures this year should be seen in the context of exceptionally challenging circumstances for all market participants,” one industry source said. REDEMPTIONS Despite the humble returns, clients faced with volatile equity markets and meager returns on cash and government bonds markets aren’t pulling out wholesale from hedge funds because they do not know where to re-allocate to. However, Man Group and Polar Capital have both recently reported outflows from their funds and data from BarclayHedge and TrimTabs Investment Research on Monday showed investors asked funds to return $9 billion in October, more than three times the amount they pulled in September. “Obviously investors (across the industry) are not happy with performance … but many know why (funds have lost money) and they know you’re paid to manage risk,” Fabrice Cuchet, global head of alternative investments at Dexia Asset Management, told Reuters in a recent interview. However, dissatisfaction is certainly growing. Data from research group Preqin show the proportion of investors who say hedge fund returns have fallen short of their expectations has risen to 40 percent, compared with 28 percent last year and the 38 percent recorded in 2008′s market chaos. “In 2008 people were calling the end of the hedge fund industry, but in retrospect people scratched their heads and said, ‘the equity market is down 40 percent and hedge funds are down 20 percent. Have they done a good job? Yes,’” the large institutional investor said. “This (year) isn’t that. This isn’t a ‘down 40 percent’ year. It’s a totally different situation,” he said. Guy Saintfiet, senior hedge fund researcher at pensions consultant Aon Hewitt, which has $3.8 trillion in assets under advice, said new and existing clients were still allocating to hedge funds but were far more picky about the funds they backed. “But I think what you have seen is that the average hedge fund out there is probably not a good investment and that is the main lesson, not that the hedge funds our clients are investing in are not doing what they are supposed to be doing,” he said. Nevertheless, one head of hedge funds at a U.S. bank said the overall industry performance has been “unimpressive” since 2007 and a broad shake-up is needed if managers want to hold onto jittery investors chastened by recent volatility. “Not only is this a second down year in four, but the up years have been in line with the market. So you’ve had four years that have been in line or horrific,” the manager said, speaking anonymously to avoid souring business relationships. “In the new paradigm they should be aiming for capital protection. They should be trying to minimize down-capture and offer a decent amount of up-capture…I do have a genuine worry for the industry,” he said. (Additional reporting by Chris Vellacott; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

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UK’s Solum Asset Management to launch first investment sukuk in 2012

November 28, 2011

(MENAFN) UK’s Solum Asset Management’s chief executive, Safdar Alam, said that in 2012′s first quarter, the company would launch the first investment sukuk, reported The Peninsula. Alam added …

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Japan’s lost decade: still a risk for U.S. economy

September 19, 2011

By Steven C. Johnson NEW YORK (Reuters) – As the U.S. economy slouches toward another recession and confidence in policymakers erodes, investors are coming to grips with the notion that the country may already be several years into a Japan-style lost decade. If so, the years ahead could be a very tough slog. U.S. households, unlike those in Japan, have higher debts and lower savings, while massive deficits have sapped political support for the type of robust government spending Japan relied upon. In short: in a prolonged period of anemic growth, the U.S. economy may have a slimmer margin for error. “I’m more convinced we are headed in that direction,” said Scott Mather, portfolio manager at PIMCO, the world’s largest bond fund with $1.2 trillion in assets under management. “We might have an even harder time than Japan did.” Not all economists believe the United States will repeat the Japanese experience, but markets have been flashing warning signs. Three years after the United States’ housing bubble burst, 10-year Treasury yields are struggling to stay above 2 percent, while stocks have declined every month since April. Japan’s 10-year yield has not closed above 2 percent since 1999 and the Nikkei is 77 percent below a peak hit in 1990 before a commercial real estate bubble burst. U.S. economic output through the second quarter of 2011 has yet to surpass the level seen before the crisis hit in 2008 and may not do so soon; economists polled by Reuters give the country nearly one-in-three odds of falling back into recession over the next year. “The financial turmoil of the last three or four months has been the markets coming to terms with a period of prolonged slow growth,” said Andrew Scott, professor of economics at London Business School. “With households paying down debt and not consuming, it’s hard to see where growth will come from.” MISDIAGNOSING THE DISEASE Boosting exports — an early objective of the Obama administration — won’t be easy since most of the developed world is also ailing, with Japan, Britain, Switzerland, China and others wary of allowing their currency to gain too much strength. That means America can’t rely on steady dollar weakness — Europe’s ongoing debt and banking crises have recently boosted the greenback against the euro — to sell more abroad. “Japan (in the 1990s) had a world that was booming around them, and they are an export-oriented economy that could take advantage of that,” Mather said. And while Japanese households were net savers, U.S. consumers relied on rising home prices to fund their spending, an option that dried up when the housing bubble burst. “We will be lucky to do as well as Japan, because they at least had a stack of cash to help them through,” said Michael Cheah, who helps manage $1.5 billion at SunAmerica Asset Management in Jersey City. Some economists argue both Japan and the United States misdiagnosed their economic diseases. When credit-driven asset bubbles burst, an indebted private sector — companies in Japan, households and banks in the United States — focused exclusively on paying down their debts. In such instances, even slashing interest rates to zero, as both the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan did, won’t boost activity because there is no demand to borrow. “That’s when the classical economics taught in universities goes out the window,” said Richard Koo, chief economist at the Nomura Research Institute and author of “The Holy Grail of Macroeconomics: Lessons From Japan’s Great Recession.” STIMULATING DEBATE Koo said Japan’s eventual embrace of robust fiscal stimulus filled the gap left by the private sector and kept the economy from tumbling into full-fledged depression. By 2006, Japanese growth had started to recover and interest rates to rise, though momentum dried up when the 2008 financial crisis hit. “It took Japan 15 years to recover because policy was applied in such a zig-zag fashion,” he said. “If the United States could maintain fiscal stimulus for three to five years, I’m sure the economy could pull itself out sooner.” For investors, that’s a big “if.” With the United States already running one of the largest budget deficits as a share of output since World War II, political opposition to fiscal stimulus is high and rising. President Barack Obama proposed a $447 billion job creation plan this month but Republican leaders in Congress oppose plans to pay for parts of it with higher taxes on the wealthy. Standard & Poor’s stripped the United States of its top AAA credit rating in August, citing concern politicians could not agree on ways to reduce deficits over the long run. The subsequent stock market sell-off was driven partly by “the realization….that there will be less ability to stimulate the economy with fiscal measures,” John Chambers, head of S&P’s sovereign ratings committee, said last week. Almost half of outstanding U.S. government debt is held by foreigners, and recent Treasury data shows demand has slipped in recent months. Of course, massive spending swelled Japan’s debt burden, too — it’s now more than 200 percent of output. And while the government has been able to finance it by borrowing from its citizens, that may change as its aging population retires. But “Japan faced a depression and avoided it. They could have done much worse,” said Robert Madsen, senior fellow at the MIT Center for International Studies. “The responsible policy was to use fiscal policy.” DEFLATION OR INFLATION Alan Wilde, who helps manage $52 billion as head of fixed income and currency at Baring Asset Management, said he “remains to be convinced” that the United States is destined for a “Japan-style lost decade.” For that, he credits the Fed, which acted more swiftly than the Bank of Japan by pumping trillions into the financial system through asset purchases and avoiding deflation. In fat, he says bond investors may need to keep an eye on inflation. Data last week showed core consumer prices, which remove food and energy costs, rose 2 percent in the 12 months to August, extending a recent upward trend. “My hunch is we end up with much higher inflation,” he said, as “bond markets show much greater volatility than previous years as we lurch from strong recovery to abject disappointment with more regularity.” That could limit the future Fed flexibility, too. Markets expect the central bank to tilt its bond portfolio toward longer-dated maturities when it meets September 20-21 to try to push long-term interest rates lower, a move that won’t add to the money supply and, some say, won’t do much for growth. “To get banks to lend, we’re going to flatten the curve? The 10-year is already there, and if you can’t stimulate the economy with a 10-year yield at 2 percent, 1.5 percent isn’t going to do it either,” said David Brownlee, head of fixed income at Sentinel Asset Management in Montpelier, Vermont, with $28 billion under management “For years up to 2008, the economy lived large on leverage, and now we’re unwinding all of that,” Brownlee added. “You could easily see a decade of slow growth.” (Editing by Theodore d’Afflisio)

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Free Loan Consultation

September 3, 2011

Call me or complete the form below for the free consultation.   Our goal is to understand your commercial real estate loan needs and use our capital markets expertise, connections, and partners to provide the best loan solutions.   We find the best debt or equity loan solution for your requirement and get the loan closed. * = required field First Name * Last Name * Phone Number Email * Loan Type * Debt Equity Both Debt & Equity USER/SBA Hard Money Bridge Rehab Property Type Apartments Office Retail Industrial Hotel Senior Datacenter Healthcare Mixed-Use Single-Tenant Student Housing Other City * Reason * New Purchase Re-Finance Loan Buyout Line of Credit Other Loan Amount Property Value NOI Other Notes Follow-Up Email Phone Your Role Borrower Broker Attorney Other   Commercial Real Estate & Multi-Family Loans – Both Debt & Equity – California & Nationwide Bryan Shaffer – Questions: bshaffer@gspartners.com   Loans and Services: Construction Debt & Equity Financing | Interim Loans | Rehab Loans | Bridge Financing | Construction | Perm Financing Fixed-Rate and Adjustable-Rate Loans | Participating Loan Financing | Joint Venture Financing | Second Mortgage Loans Owner Occupied User Loans | Mezzanine Debt Financing Preferred Equity Financing | Credit | Tenant Lease Financing | Sale | Leaseback Financing | Bond Credit Enhancements | Hard Money | Quick Close Loans Specialty Healthcare Real Estate Loans | Specialty Technology & Data Center Loans

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Ex-Beazer Finance Chief to Repay Home Builder

August 31, 2011

From WSJ.com… The former finance chief of Beazer Homes USA agreed to a settlement with the SEC requiring him to reimburse Beazer over $1.4 million he received during a period when the company allegedly committed accounting fraud. Read the article: Ex-Beazer Finance Chief to Repay Home Builder Find our Weekly Commercial Real Estate, Private Equity and Fund Newsletters at www.WeeklyBrief.net

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Kerzner Weighs Atlantis Dubai Sale

August 30, 2011

From WSJ.com… The owner of several luxury resorts is exploring selling its 50% stake in the property to raise money to restructure $2.6 billion in mortgage debt. Taken from: Kerzner Weighs Atlantis Dubai Sale Find our Weekly Commercial Real Estate, Private Equity and Fund Newsletters at www.WeeklyBrief.net

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UBS To Cut 3,500 Jobs

August 23, 2011

GENEVA — Swiss bank UBS AG said Tuesday it is cutting 3,500 jobs worldwide as part of an effort to save 2 billion Swiss francs ($2.5 billion) annually by the end of 2013. The Zurich-based bank said the cuts would be achieved “through redundancies as well as natural attrition.” UBS had announced plans for a headcount reduction last month, without specifying exact numbers, after acknowledging that it wouldn’t achieve the target it set for itself in 2009 for a pretax profit of 15 billion francs a year by 2014. News of the cuts pushed shares in UBS up 2.7 percent to 10.82 francs (13.72) on the Zurich exchange. Analysts at Zuercher Kantonalbank said employee payouts would likely depress an already weak third quarter for UBS, as the bank is hit by charges of 450 million francs. UBS said almost 1,600 of the jobs lost will come from its investment bank unit. More than 1,200 will be in its wealth management and Swiss banking business, while about 700 will be split between its global asset management and its wealth management Americas units. A spokesman for UBS, Yves Kaufmann, declined to say how the jobs cuts will be distributed geographically. The bank currently has 65,000 employees in more than 50 countries around the world.

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China Huarong H1 profit up 160%

August 3, 2011

(MENAFN) The China Huarong Asset Management Corp’s President, Lai Xiaomin, stated that the company’s profit hiked by 160 percent in the first half of the current year, year on year, thus hitting …

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Switzerland- Union Bancaire Prive Announces New Joint Ventures in Asia

August 3, 2011

(MENAFN) Union Bancaire Prive (UBP) announced today the reation of two new Asian joint ventures that will spearhead the development of its asset management business in the world’s fastest-growing …

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Honda Lifts Profits With Speedy Earthquake Recovery

August 1, 2011

(Chang-Ran Kim) – Honda Motor Co reported an unexpected quarterly profit and raised its annual outlook by more than a third, as Japan’s No.3 automaker rebounded quickly from a severe parts shortage caused by the March 11 earthquake. Honda reported a 90 percent fall in quarterly operating profit on Monday, versus expectations of a loss, after it suffered the biggest production drop by any car maker from the March disaster, due mainly to bad timing for the scheduled delivery of parts. The supply shortage coincided with the full remodeling this spring of its Civic model in the key U.S. market, where sales of the popular car fell by a third in June. While its recovery schedule still lags that of rivals, Honda now expects to produce more in July-September than it had outlined in June as the supply bottleneck eased. It raised its annual sales forecast by 135,000 vehicles to 3.435 million vehicles. “I think Honda deserves some credit for the first quarter, which some expected to be in the red,” said Naoki Fujiwara, a fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management. In April-June, Honda made an operating profit of 22.58 billion yen ($292.5 million), better than the average estimate of a loss of 67 billion yen according to seven analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The results were boosted by a 43 percent jump in profits from its motorcycle operations and stronger-than-expected earnings at its finance business, the maker of Civic and Accord cars said. First-quarter net profit, which includes earnings from China, was 31.8 billion yen, down 88 percent, while revenue fell 27 percent to 1.715 trillion yen. Honda’s Japanese car production halved in June from the previous year, even as Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) eked out a rise and the decline at Toyota Motor Corp shrank to 16 percent from 78 percent in April. Top automaker Toyota reports quarterly earnings on Tuesday, with consensus estimates calling for a 190 billion yen loss. For the full year to March 2012, Honda expects an operating profit of 270 billion yen, or 35 percent more than the previous forecast of 200 billion. A poll of 21 analysts produced a forecast of 407.7 billion yen. The automaker raised its annual net profit forecast to 230 billion yen from 195 billion yen. The results came as vehicle sales in Japan fell by a record in July, battered by production disruptions from the March earthquake, while South Korean rivals extended their winning streak to report strong global sales. TOUGH U.S. MARKET With full restoration of the supply chain only a matter of time, Honda Chief Financial Officer Fumihiko Ike expects sales to improve as production ramps up. He cautioned however, that a U.S. economy plagued by weak housing starts, a high jobless rate and the debt crisis would make for a tough sales environment. “I think car makers will start offering bigger incentives once supply is available and consumers seem to know this and are waiting for them,” he told a news conference. “It will be a very competitive market then.” A stronger yen also hangs over Honda, while surging raw materials prices and escalating fears over the health of the global economy weigh on the overall industry. Honda kept its dollar assumption for the year at 80 yen, while changing its euro assumption to a more favorable 112 yen, from 110 yen. The dollar was trading around 77.5 yen on Monday, while the euro was fetching 111.6 yen. Separately, Mitsubishi Motors Corp reported first-quarter operating profit of 12.23 billion yen, against a loss of 4.5 billion yen last year as it sold more cars and cut costs. Mitsubishi Motors raised its six-month operating profit forecast to 18 billion yen from 5 billion yen but retained its full-year outlook, citing uncertainties including the strong yen and a shaky global economy. Honda’s shares have fallen 4.2 percent so far this year, underperforming a 1.7 percent drop in Tokyo’s transport sector subindex. Before the results were announced, Honda shares closed up 1.5 percent at 3,125 yen, outperforming the benchmark Nikkei average and a rise in most other auto stocks. ($1 = 77.190 Japanese yen) (Additional reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Matt Driskill and Anshuman Daga) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

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VIDEO: Quam Asset Management (HKG:0952) Chief Executive Officer Richard Harris Speaks With Frontier Securities at Mongolia: Capital Raising and Investment Conference

July 25, 2011

VIDEO: Quam Asset Management (HKG:0952) Chief Executive Officer Richard Harris Speaks With Frontier Securities at Mongolia: Capital Raising and Investment Conference

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Lack Of Debt Deal Could Spell Trouble For Stocks

July 16, 2011

(Reuters) – Stocks will be hard pressed to turn the tide of recent selling next week as political jousting over raising the United States’ debt ceiling intensifies. The benchmark S&P 500 index this week recorded its worst weekly loss in five weeks. Investors, frustrated by the lack of progress in the debate between the Democrat-controlled White House and Senate and the Republican-majority House, could move into what are perceived as safer assets, such as cash. While the wrangling over the debt ceiling takes center stage, earnings season will continue to heat up after a solid first week. According to Thomson Reuters data, 39 companies in the benchmark S&P 500 index .SPX have posted results, with 74 percent reporting earnings that topped Wall Street estimates. Companies in the index are forecast to show a 6.5 percent rise in profits over the second quarter of 2010 when all the reports are in. For this week, the S&P 500 ended down 2.1 percent; the Dow fell 1.4 percent and the Nasdaq declined 2.5 percent. The overhang from the debt ceiling issue could diminish the focus on earnings. House Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, said President Barack Obama and Democrats had still not put a serious deficit plan on the table, underscoring the acrimony in negotiations to avert a government default. “The news flow next week dealing with the deficit issues and the political posturing that is taking place is going to intensify and is really going to drive these markets,” said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont. “People are starting to get nervous about what they are seeing out there. For a portfolio manager — let alone an average investor — this is a treacherous market to be trying to position yourself in.” ECONOMY IS A “DISASTER” Economic data on tap for next week includes several reports on the housing market — June housing starts on Tuesday and existing-home sales on Wednesday. In addition, data is due on leading economic indicators for June and the Philadelphia Fed survey of manufacturing activity in the Mid-Atlantic region. Economic reports over the last month have raised questions about the health of the U.S. recovery. “The bigger picture is the economy is still a disaster,” said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey. Saluzzi said people still are watching earnings for signs growth may be stagnating. “Eventually, companies are not going to keep cutting costs.” Quarterly results are expected from a slew of companies next week, with more than 10 Dow components scheduled to report. Major financial companies due to report include Goldman Sachs (GS.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N), Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) and American Express (AXP.N). Also on the calendar are earnings news from technology companies Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Intel Corp (INTC.O). “Let’s see what all the rest of these guys have. Let’s see if it’s still being driven by cost cuts or are they actually getting revenue gains. That is going to tell me a lot more than if they cut the debt deal,” said Saluzzi. After the S&P 500 weekly loss, the index was just below its 50-day moving average, a technical level which could indicate more selling. Some analysts believe the market could still come back if the U.S. debt issue is resolved soon. “This area, as far as it pulling back, is balancing the threat of a default, but it would take an actual default to take us much lower than here,” said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. in San Francisco. But the longer the debt ceiling question continues without a conclusion, the bigger the risk for further declines in stocks and for volatility to spike. The CBOE Volatility index .VIX rose nearly 30 percent for the week “The more it drags out into Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or whatever, then we’ve got some serious issues. That will be an overhang no matter how good the financials come in terms of earnings reports next week,” said Tommy Huie, chief investment officer of BMO Asset Management U.S. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “It could be a pretty volatile week, no doubt about it.” (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Kenneth Barry) Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

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Microequities Asset Management Rejects Takeover Bid for QMASTOR (ASX:QML)

June 23, 2011

Microequities Asset Management Rejects Takeover Bid for QMASTOR (ASX:QML)

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Sen. Mark Warner Receives Big Contributions From JPMorgan During Deficit Talks

June 16, 2011

WASHINGTON — During the first three months of 2011 employees of JPMorgan Chase piled in campaign contributions to the campaign committee of Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), who has wound up at the center of the deficit debate over taxes and spending. From January to March, employees of JPMorgan and Highbridge Capital Management , the company’s hedge fund, contributed $87,600 to Warner’s campaign committee, according to campaign finance filings. These contributions, which came from a fundraiser for Warner hosted by JPMorgan, amounted to a quarter of all contributions Warner reported receiving in the first quarter of 2011. JPMorgan’s employees and the company’s political action committee have given a combined $194,400 to Warner over the course of his career, making the company the biggest donor to the senator’s campaign committee. In total, Warner received $151,286 from banks, investment firms and investment advisers in the first quarter of 2011. These contributions accounted for 43 percent of his total receipts during the same period. That’s already more than he raised from these groups over the past two years. Since late last year, Warner has been involved in conversations over how to reduce the long-term deficit as a member of the so-called “Gang of Six.” (The group has since shrunk to a party of five after Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma dropped out.) Many of the issues arising in deficit negotiations are of special interest to JPMorgan, as well as to other banks and investment firms. These include discussions on closing tax loopholes, capital gains tax rates and a potential financial speculation tax. Warner’s office disputes that JPMorgan’s contributions have any bearing on the senator’s positions on the deficit negotiations. Responding to a question of whether contributions provide any special access, Warner spokesman Luke Albee gave HuffPost a one-word answer: “No.” Albee also stated that JPMorgan has never lobbied the senator on the issue of deficit negotiations. Albee labeled Warner as the “most active architect of the Wall Street reform bill,” along with former Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the chair of the Senate Banking Committee. “[Sen. Warner] repeatedly took public positions at odds with Wall Street,” Albee said, citing the senator’s position on the Credit CARD Act, systemic risk, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and an amendment on mortgage cramdown proposed by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). According to his office, Warner also refused to accept campaign contributions from the financial industry during the discussions over the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill. Warner did step up for for the financial sector in one area last year: When the House voted to eliminate a tax loophole, the senator worked to exempt venture capital funds from the change. In 2010, Warner was one of a few senators who were instrumental in blocking an increase of the tax rate on carried interest, the percentage of income paid out to investment managers. At the time, James Surowiecki explained in the New Yorker how the carried interest taxation amounts to a multi-billion dollar loophole: In a typical private-equity fund, the managers get paid two per cent of assets as a regular fee, plus twenty per cent of the fund’s profits. They pay regular income tax on the two per cent. But on their share of the profits, which is called “carried interest,” they usually pay only long-term capital gains — even though they put up hardly any of the fund’s actual capital, most of which comes from outside investors. Last year, a provision attached to a House-passed tax extenders bill sought to tax most of the carried interest earned by venture capital, private equity and real estate investment fund managers as earned income, increasing the tax rate as high as 38.6 percent. When the bill moved to the Senate, Warner backed a change that would have exempted venture capital funds from the higher rate. Warner voiced his concern about the provision in a letter co-signed by three other Democrats and Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) which stated that the provision “could not occur at a worse time.” The letter echoed talking points from the National Venture Capital Association, including on statistic that said “venture-backed start-ups are adding over 4,000 jobs each month.” The carried interest provision was ultimately omitted from the bill . JPMorgan is currently the only major bank that lists carried interest as a lobbying issue for 2011. One explanation for the bank’s stake in preserving carried interest could be the January announcement of JPMorgan’s intent to create a new real estate fund. Known as Junius Real Estate Partners, it “will be wholly owned by J.P. Morgan Asset Management; however, the seven or eight team members will keep a ‘sizable portion of the profits’ in the form of carried interest.” The President’s deficit commission has proposed eliminating the capital gains tax rate — which currently affects carried interest — entirely. Capital gains and carried interest would both be taxed at the personal income rate, which the commission recommends lowering to counterbalance the elimination of loopholes like carried interest taxation and the special rates for capital gains. Warner has already stated that the “Gang of Six” will avoid tax hikes, which would likely include raising capital gains taxes to the personal income tax level. According to an earlier HuffPost report , Warner said the group will not propose actually raising tax rates.

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Video: Andersen Says Investors `Overallocating’ to Treasuries

June 10, 2011

June 10 (Bloomberg) — Jacob Kirkegaard, research fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and Peter Andersen, portfolio manager at Congress Asset Management, talk about the Greek sovereign-debt crisis, U.S. Treasuries and investment strategy. They speak with Pimm Fox on Bloomberg Television’s “Taking Stock.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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China: GOP Lawmakers Are ‘Playing With Fire’ By Contemplating Default

June 8, 2011

Republican lawmakers are “playing with fire” by contemplating even a brief debt default as a means to force deeper government spending cuts, an adviser to China’s central bank said on Wednesday. The idea of a technical default — essentially delaying interest payments for a few days — has gained backing from a growing number of mainstream Republicans who see it as a price worth paying if it forces the White House to slash spending, Reuters reported on Tuesday. But any form of default could destabilize the global economy and sour already tense relations with big U.S. creditors such as China, government officials and investors warn. Li Daokui, an adviser to the People’s Bank of China, said a default could undermine the U.S. dollar, and Beijing needed to dissuade Washington from pursuing this course of action. “I think there is a risk that the U.S. debt default may happen,” Li told reporters on the sidelines of a forum in Beijing. “The result will be very serious and I really hope that they would stop playing with fire.” China is the largest foreign creditor to the United States, holding more than $1 trillion in Treasury debt as of March, U.S. data shows, so its concerns carry considerable weight in Washington. “I really worry about the risks of a U.S. debt default, which I think may lead to a decline in the dollar’s value,” Li said. Congress has balked at increasing a statutory limit on government spending as lawmakers argue over how to curb a deficit which is projected to reach $1.4 trillion this fiscal year. The U.S. Treasury Department has said it will run out of borrowing room by August 2. If the United States cannot make interest payments on its debt, the Obama administration has warned of “catastrophic” consequences that could push the still-fragile economy back into recession. “It has dire implications for the economy at a time when the macro data is softening,” said Ben Westmore, a commodities economist at National Australia Bank. “It’s just a horrible idea,” he said. Financial markets are following the U.S. debate but see little risk of a default. U.S. Treasury prices were firm in Europe on Wednesday, supported by a flight to their perceived safety on the back of the Greek debt crisis and worries about a slowdown in U.S. economic growth. Marc Ostwald, a strategist with Monument Securities in London, said markets were working on the assumption that the U.S. debt story “will go away.” But nervousness would grow if a resolution was not reached in the next five to six weeks. ‘WOULDN’T HAPPEN’ The Republicans’ theory is that bondholders would accept a brief delay in interest payments if it meant Washington finally addressed its long-term fiscal problems, putting the country in a stronger position to meet its debt obligations later on. But interviews with government officials and investors show they consider a default such a grim — and remote — possibility that it was nearly impossible to imagine. “How can the U.S. be allowed to default?” said an official at India’s central bank. “We don’t think this is a possibility because this could then create huge panic globally.” Indian officials say they have little choice but to buy U.S. Treasury debt because it is still among the world’s safest and most liquid investments. It held $39.8 billion in U.S. Treasuries as of March, U.S. data shows. The officials declined to be identified because they are not authorized to speak to the media. Oman is concerned about the impact of a default on the currency reserves of the sultanate and its Gulf neighbors. “Our economies are substantially tied up with the U.S. financial developments,” said a senior central bank official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “It just wouldn’t happen,” said Barry Evans, who oversees $83 billion in fixed income assets at Manulife Asset Management. “They would pay their Treasury bills first instead of other bills. It’s as simple as that.” Monument’s Ostwald called the default scenario “frightening” and said bondholders’ patience would wear thin if lawmakers persisted in pitching this strategy in the coming weeks. “This isn’t a debate, this is like a Mexican standoff and that is where the problem lies,” he said. Yuan Gangming, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a government think tank, smelled some political wrangling behind the U.S. debt debate as the 2012 presidential election draws nearer and said Republicans “want to make things difficult for Obama.” But with time running short before the U.S. Treasury exhausts its borrowing room, Yuan said default was a real risk. “The possibility is quite high to see a default of the U.S. debt, which would harm many countries in the world, and China in particular,” he said. (Reporting by Kevin Lim and Jong Woo Cheon in Singapore, Suvashree Dey Choudhury in Mumbai, Aileen Wang and Kevin Yao in Beijing, Abhijit Neogy in Delhi, Marius Zaharia in London and Umesh Desai in Hong Kong; Editing by Dean Yates and Neil Fullick) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

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PCCP Partners With Principal Real Estate Investors to Acquire …

May 31, 2011

… real estate private equity firm focused on commercial real estate debt and equity investments. PCCP has over $6 billion under management in multiple closed-end funds and joint ventures with institutional investors. …

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Video: Barings’s Do Likes China Consumer, Health-Care Stocks

May 27, 2011

May 27 (Bloomberg) — Khiem Do, head of multi-asset strategy at Baring Asset Management Ltd. in Hong Kong, talks about the outlook for China stocks and his investment strategy. Do also discusses U.S. stocks and the U.S and European economies. He speaks with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television’s “First Up.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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BlackRock CEO Makes Fortune While Stock Sinks

May 25, 2011

BlackRock Inc. (BLK) Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink told investors on a conference call in January last year that the world’s biggest money manager was “very well positioned” for 2010. At the end of the year, the market sent a different message: New York-based BlackRock’s total share return was negative 16 percent, while the Standard and Poor’s 500 Asset Management and Custody Bank Index rose 13 percent.

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Daymark Realty Advisors Secures 34,000-SF Lease Renewal with Smiths Medical at 5200 Upper Metro Near Columbus, OH

May 25, 2011

    COLUMBUS, OH   (May 25, 2011) – Daymark Realty Advisors Inc., a leading provider of strategic asset, property management and structured finance solutions for owners of commercial real estate, today announced that it has secured a 63-month lease renewal totaling 33,967 square feet with Smiths Medical at 5200 Upper Metro (top left photo) in the Columbus suburb of Dublin, Ohio.   Since January 1, 2011, Daymark Realty Advisors and its subsidiaries have successfully executed lease transactions totaling in excess of 1.2 million square feet, valued at more than $18.9 million.   Daymark Realty Advisors and its subsidiaries manage 5200 Upper Metro, a three-story, Class A office building, on behalf of individual owners.   Smiths Medical, the largest division of the UK-based Smiths Group, is a global supplier of innovative medical devices for the hospital, emergency, home, and specialist environments. “Smiths Medical has been a tenant at 5200 Upper Metro for the last six years and their renewal maintains the 89 percent occupancy rate at the property,” said Elizabeth Grossman , vice president, asset management. “Dublin’s friendly entrepreneurial environment has attracted several large companies in the last decade and is home to numerous corporate headquarters.”   Built in 1999, 5200 Upper Metro is a 96,000-square-foot office building situated on nearly eight acres in the affluent suburb of Dublin. The property is located in the Metro Center Business Park , a 130-acre corporate office park that features numerous amenities, including an onsite café, four hotels, three restaurants, and a fitness center. Chris Potts and Brett Cisler from Colliers International represented Daymark Realty Advisors in the transaction.   Paul Tingley from Jones Lang LaSalle represented Smiths Medical.   For more information regarding Daymark, please visit www.DaymarkRealtyAdvisors.com   Contact : Damon Elder, (714) 975-2659, delder@DaymarkRA.com

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Video: Jacob Says LinkedIn’s Share Price `Difficult to Justify’

May 20, 2011

May 20 (Bloomberg) — Ryan Jacob, chairman of Jacob Asset Management and manager of the Jacob Internet Fund, talks about the outlook for LinkedIn Corp. following its initial public offering this week. LinkedIn is the largest professional-networking website. Jacob speaks on Bloomberg Television’s “InBusiness with Margaret Brennan.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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GM Makes Big Investment In U.S. Plants

May 10, 2011

(Bernie Woodall) – General Motors Co said on Tuesday it will invest about $2 billion in 17 U.S. plants, including a facility here that makes transmissions for small cars, as the automaker shifts from recovery mode to investing in future products. GM said the plans will create or preserve more than 4,000 jobs as it retools the plants in eight states. The company employs 202,000 people globally, including 77,000 in the United States. “We are doing this because we are confident about demand for our vehicles and the economy,” GM Chief Executive Daniel Akerson said in a statement. Investors and analysts have speculated on GM’s plans for its growing pile of cash as the company’s liquidity has reached $36.5 billion. It earned $3.2 billion in the first quarter after posting net income of $4.7 billion for all of last year, its first full-year profit since 2004. GM did not disclose the timeline for the investments or in what other facilities it will invest other than to say more announcements will be made “over the next few months.” Executives previously signaled GM’s focus on building cars would only grow, as shown by last week’s announcement to invest $131 million revamping a Kentucky factory for a new version of the iconic Chevrolet Corvette sports car. The Kentucky announcement is part of the $2 billion plan. Another key issue as GM adds jobs is how many will be in the so-called second-tier wages that are about half those of veteran union-represented employees. The lower wage will figure prominently as major U.S. automakers face labor talks with the United Auto Workers this summer. GM filed for bankruptcy in 2009 after the U.S. housing downturn and a spike in gasoline prices the year before that caused consumers to turn away from its high-profit but fuel-hungry trucks. The U.S. automaker emerged from bankruptcy 40 days later thanks to a $52 billion taxpayer-funded bailout and sold shares in an initial public offering last November. Since exiting bankruptcy, GM said it has invested $3.4 billion in its U.S. plants, creating or retaining more than 9,000 jobs. The investment is not a surprise and by delaying the details of the specific plants affected GM maximizes the attention it will receive as it works to assure taxpayers the bailout was money well-spent, said Mirko Mikelic, senior portfolio manager with Fifth Third Asset Management. “They probably underinvested in some of these plants for the last few years,” said Mikelic, whose firm has held GM bonds and preferred securities in the past and still follows the stock. “They were keeping a handle on their cash. For years, in terms of R&D, they’ve been behind particularly Toyota.” The U.S. government still owns 32 percent of GM’s common shares and many investors see that as an overhang on the stock. Last month, sources said the Treasury could sell a significant portion of its GM shares by fall. GM shares were up 0.4 percent at $31.51 on Tuesday afternoon, compared with their IPO price last November of $33. (Additional reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit, editing by Matthew Lewis) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

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Dan Solin: Financial News Is Destroying Your Wealth

May 4, 2011

Almost anyone can be a financial pundit. Unlike legitimate professions, no formal training or certification is required. If you have a web cam, you can call yourself a “financial professional” and offer your opinions on a wide range of financial subjects. Unfortunately, some investors will rely on your “expert opinion”, and suffer the inevitable consequences. A recent interview with James Altucher on Yahoo’s Daily Ticker illustrates everything that is wrong with financial journalism. It’s not easy to do that in one interview. Mr. Altucher’s biography is informative. He is president and founder of Stockpickr LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of TheStreet.com and a managing partner at Formula Capital Management, LLC, an “alternative asset management firm” that runs a fund of hedge funds. According to the SEC website , Formula Capital is no longer registered with the SEC and is not required to update its Form ADV. This is an odd background for someone who makes financial predictions. There is no data indicating stock pickers are skillful rather than just lucky. Their percentage of “winners” is typically less than what you would expect from random chance. Hedge funds make no sense for anyone other than those who manage them. Hedge “fund of funds”, where the fund manager takes a cut of the fees for pretending to have the ability to pick outperforming hedge fund managers, are even more tenuous. These thin credentials did not deter Mr. Altucher from confidently predicting that the Dow is going to 20,000. He may be right or wrong, but neither Mr. Altucher or anyone else can predict the direction of the markets. Legendary investor, Benjamin Graham, who was co-author of the investment classic, Security Analysis, summarized the views of those with legitimate credentials: “If I have noticed anything over these 60 years on Wall Street, it is that people do not succeed in forecasting what’s going to happen to the stock market.” Mr. Altucher proceeded to make matters worse. Even though his crystal ball tells him the markets will continue their remarkable bull run, he advises investors to avoid stocks. Why? Because it’s “too hard.” There is “too much competition…The very best investors in the world can only consistently produce 10% to 15% annual returns, so what hope is there for the rest of us?” This is errant nonsense, which is easily contradicted by reams of data. But data can be dull and Mr. Altucher is a colorful character who does not want to get bogged down with boring details. While he makes a passing reference to buying index funds for those “really determined” to own stocks, here’s what he leaves out. Intelligent investing is really easy. Capturing the returns of the global marketplace can be done by anyone. All you need to do is purchase a globally diversified portfolio of low management fee index funds in an asset allocation suitable for you. I told investors precisely how to do this in 2006 when I wrote The Smartest Investment Book You’ll Ever Read. I recommended the purchase of only three index funds from Vanguard, Fidelity or T. Rowe Price. How difficult is this? Using this “no-brainer portfolio” and assuming you invested 100% in stocks (which is far too aggressive for most investors), your returns would have been approximately 7% annualized over the past 10 years and almost 10% over the past 20 years. Mr. Altucher’s concern about “competition” is hopelessly wide of the mark. You do not have to compete with any other investors to obtain the returns of the global marketplace. Over the past 50 years, if you bought a globally diversified portfolio of stocks and held for a ten year period, your average annualized return was over 12%, which is what Mr. Altucher wrongly states was attainable by only “the very best investors in the world.” Mr. Altucher fails to note the consequences of not investing in stocks. You will suffer the ravages of inflation and taxes, which practically insures your portfolio will lose money. Does this seem like an intelligent investment strategy? There is a logical inconsistency in Mr. Altucher’s advice. Since he is so confident of his ability to predict the Dow reaching 20,000, wouldn’t it make sense for his clients to be fully invested during this bull run? Presumably, he could tell them (and others) when to exit the markets before the next crash. The reality is neither he, nor anyone else, has this predictive ability. Mr. Altucher’s views, and those of other financial pundits, is long on musings and short on data. You may find him and his colleagues entertaining to watch, but relying on their psychic predictions and wrong-headed conclusions is harmful to your financial health. The views set forth in this blog are the opinions of the author alone and may not represent the views of any firm or entity with whom he is affiliated. The data, information, and content on this blog are for information, education, and non-commercial purposes only. Returns from index funds do not represent the performance of any investment advisory firm. The information on this blog does not involve the rendering of personalized investment advice and is limited to the dissemination of opinions on investing. No reader should construe these opinions as an offer of advisory services. Readers who require investment advice should retain the services of a competent investment professional. The information on this blog is not an offer to buy or sell, or a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any securities or class of securities mentioned herein. Furthermore, the information on this blog should not be construed as an offer of advisory services. Please note that the author does not recommend specific securities nor is he responsible for comments made by persons posting on this blog.

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Video: Lountzis Says Buffett Is Taking Responsibility for Sokol

April 29, 2011

April 29 (Bloomberg) — Paul Lountzis, founder of Lountzis Asset Management, talks about the outlook for Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s annual shareholders meeting and former executive David Sokol. Sokol won praise from Berkshire Chairman Warren Buffett after actions that brought scrutiny to a firm where executives stress the importance of reputation. Lountzis speaks with Pimm Fox on Bloomberg Television’s “Taking Stock.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: Smith Says Risk Is Now `Back in Vogue’ With Investors

April 22, 2011

April 21 (Bloomberg) — Henley Smith, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Asset Management, and Peter Andersen, portfolio manager at Congress Asset Mangement, talk about the U.S. economy and prospects for additional quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve, the outlook for the financial markets and investment strategy. They speak with Pimm Fox on Bloomberg’s “Taking Stock.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: Morris Mark Likes Google on `Superb’ Cash, Revenue

April 15, 2011

April 15 (Bloomberg) — Morris Mark, president of Mark Asset Management Corp., talks about Google Inc.’s first quarter earnings, growth strategy and Chief Executive Officer Larry Page. He speaks with Cory Johnson on Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg West.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Technology Stocks Now A Bargain After Dropping Post-Japan

April 14, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO (Noel Randewich) – Top technology companies warrant a fresh look as earnings season hits full swing next week after their shares were hard hit by sputtering PC sales and supply issues following Japan’s largest-ever earthquake. Fund managers have sold down sector bellwethers since the March 11 disaster, fearing worse-than-expected damage to margins as they battle to secure critical components from a country that supplies 14 percent of the world’s electronics. Plus sliding PC sales — blamed on an explosion in powerful tablet computers like Apple Inc’s iPad and smartphones — have triggered a shift away from entrenched PC players. Now, some argue major players such as Intel, Cisco and Hewlett-Packard present attractive bargains despite uncertainty about how much the sector will be affected by Japan over the next few months. Intel, HP, Dell and Microsoft Corp are trading at less than 10 times forward earnings versus the market’s 13.5 average. All have underperformed the market in past weeks. “Tech in general, especially things related to the PC, has not had strong a strong bid to it as of late,” said Pat Becker Jr., a portfolio manager at Becker Capital Management. But “if you look at corporate profits, these companies are putting up peak margins or close to it and are printing cash.” Since the quake, Intel’s stock has lost 5 percent, HP is off 1 percent, and Microsoft has added just 1 percent. That compares with a 1.5 percent gain for the S&P 500 Index. Even Apple — hurt by a rebalancing of the Nasdaq 100 and fears of supply hiccups for components like memory chips and touchscreen glass — has shed 3 percent and now trades at 13 times forward earnings. Analysts say the Cupertino, California, company remains a bargain despite gaining 38 percent over the past 12 months, with the highest projected earnings growth among major tech stocks yet still valued lower than Google Inc. For a table comparing Big Tech, please click link.reuters.com/jyh98r . QUAKE FALLOUT Overall, the U.S. technology sector trades at about 13.5 times expected earnings, about the same as the S&P 500 Index, according to StarMine SmartEstimates, which places more weight on recent forecasts by top-rated analysts. Google Inc reports on Thursday, kicking off a quarterly results season that will be picked apart by investors anxious about the fallout from Japan. World PC sales unexpectedly dipped 1.1 percent in the first quarter, according to research house Gartner — the first drop in two years. With the iPad dulling demand, IHS iSuppli expects PC sales to gain 11 percent this year, versus 2010′s 14 percent. But some say pessimism about the PC industry is exaggerated and ignores a corporate market where the tower and monitor still reign supreme, and where loosening budgets should spur a replacement cycle this year. “Technology is going to be a leadership space for the next year,” said Michael Yoshikami, CEO of YCMNET Advisors, which holds a number of technology stocks. “We are going to see tech upgrades sooner rather than later.” Wall Street has priced in conservative forecasts also due to the still-unclear impact of Japan’s crisis. But Wall Street may see volatile swings depending on executives’ forecasts. Japan accounts for 14 percent of the world’s electronics manufacturing, and the disaster damaged chip-making equipment and interrupted production. [nL3E7EM0FP] “While we think the results for the first quarter will be good, we’re more concerned about management commentary — talking down numbers, talking down expectations, perhaps using Japan as an excuse,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management. “Some investors will see right through that and see there’s an opportunity.” The consumer space is attractive, portfolio managers say. People increasingly see select gadgets as indispensable, which helps tech companies weather the impact of rising gasoline prices and weak jobs growth. “Some types of consumer electronics have moved into the category of needs, not want: in particular smartphones,” said Mike Shinnick, a portfolio manager at Wasatch Advisors Inc in Indiana. “Downloading music, watching videos, that’s what kids do for fun. They’re not asking for a new baseball mitt.” But semiconductor investing still requires caution. Japan’s role as supplier of a fifth of the world’s chips has caught Wall Street’s attention. Texas Instruments on Monday will be the first major U.S. chip player to report earnings, and will probably explain how much revenue it expects to lose after it was forced to temporarily close two factories in Japan. Intel follows Tuesday and is expected to post revenue below target due to weak notebook sales, especially after a flawed chipset interrupted the launch of its newest processors. But underscoring the value some see in the industry, Texas Instruments agreed to buy rival National Semiconductor for $6.5 billion — a 78 percent premium. “Tech doesn’t get much respect if you look at the multiples. Arguably it could still get more respect from investors,” said Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu. Other investors predict a slightly inflated March quarter due to over-stocking. Seagate Technology gave better- than-expected guidance for the January-March quarter, suggesting PC makers are securing more parts than they need. As investors hunt for bargains, analysts also warn about potentially overpriced items. Google, chipmaker Nvidia and Internet content delivery company Akamai Technologies carry more expensive multiples than the market average. “With a lot of components you’re going see some artificial inflation of demand in the March quarter because of the Japanese over-ordering phenomenon,” ThinkEquity analyst Rajesh Ghal warned. (Additional reporting by Bill Rigby in Seattle, editing by Edwin Chan and Maureen Bavdek) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

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Obama Deficit Plan Wins The Approval Of The Bond Market

April 13, 2011

NEW YORK (By Emily Flitter) – It lacked details, and quickly drew a crowd of critics across Capitol Hill, but President Barack Obama’s $4 trillion deficit cutting plan won over a notoriously skeptical bond market — at least for now. Prices on U.S. government debt rose when news of Obama’s plan trickled into the market before his speech on Wednesday afternoon as traders applauded the size of his deficit reduction package. Traders said the president picked an ambitious goal that, if pursued, would require the government to sell fewer bonds in the future and keep the nation in good standing with creditors. “It’s a positive for bonds because it helps to preserve the triple-A credit rating of the United States,” said Tom Simons, money market economist at Jefferies & Co in New York. Obama proposed cutting ballooning U.S. budget deficits by $4 trillion over 12 years and curbing deficits to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product in 2015 and 2 percent toward the end of the decade from the current 9.8 percent projected for 2011. His plan would include ending Bush-era tax rates for the wealthiest Americans. He would also seek $770 billion in cuts to non-security discretionary spending by 2023, and savings of $480 billion from the Medicare and Medicaid health programs by 2023 and at least $1 trillion more by 2033. Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes gained 8/32 in price, with the 10-year yield falling to 3.46 percent from 3.50 percent at the previous day’s close. MANAGING EXPECTATIONS The plan also came amid low expectations that Obama and lawmakers from both parties could overcome the politically charged environment surrounding budget negotiations. Republican leaders in the House of Representatives and the Senate have said they expect to continue budget talks past May 16, the date on which the U.S. will reach its debt issuance ceiling. They said negotiations could stretch to July, when the possibility of a U.S. default on debt becomes real. “The bond market has priced in the worst,” said Michael Cheah, senior portfolio manager at SunAmerica Asset Management in Jersey City, New Jersey. “Any positive surprise will result in buying because the bond market has given up on Congress.” The scale of the problem is enormous. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office projects that if current laws remain unchanged, the federal budget will show a deficit of close to $1.5 trillion, or 9.8 percent of GDP in 2011, with $10.43 trillion in publicly held debt outstanding at the end of the year. This is significantly higher than deficit levels before the start of the financial crisis, which hovered in a range of 3 to 5 percent between 2002 and 2008. In 2009 the deficit was 11 percent of GDP and in 2010 it was 9.4 percent. To be sure, Obama’s plan to reduce the deficit is still short on details and any solution will have to navigate its way through a divided Congress. “This offers the financial markets the tantalizing prospect of the long dreamed-of Grand Compromise that would obviously be good for all dollar-denominated assets,” said Cary Leahey, senior economist and managing director at Decision Economics in New York. “However, the devil is in the details and the details have to be dealt with, starting today.” (Additional reporting by Ellen Freilich and Al Yoon; Editing by Dan Grebler) Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

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Video: Fridson Says Demand for High-Yield Bonds `Still There’

April 13, 2011

April 12 (Bloomberg) — Martin Fridson, global credit strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management Inc., talks about the outlook for high-yield bonds. He speaks with Pimm Fox on Bloomberg Television’s “Taking Stock.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: Natixis’s Hailer Says Funds Moving Assets Out of Bonds

April 1, 2011

April 1 (Bloomberg) — John Hailer, chief executive officer of North America and Asia operations at Natixis Global Asset Management, talks about investment fund flows. Hailer speaks with Matt Miller and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. Senior Economist Ellen Zentner on Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: Turner, Milligan, Adams Discuss Japanese Investments

March 29, 2011

March 29 (Bloomberg) — Mike Turner, head of strategy at Aberdeen Asset Management Plc, Andrew Milligan, head of global strategy at Standard Life Investments, and Ken Adams, head of strategy at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, discuss investing in Japan. They spoke with Bloomberg’s Rodney Jefferson in Edinburgh on March 23. (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: MQS’s Gelfond Says Fed Is Keeping Interest Rates Too Low

March 28, 2011

March 28 (Bloomberg) — Bob Gelfond, chief executive officer of MQS Asset Management, talks about the U.S. economy and Federal Reserve monetary policy. He speaks with Julie Hyman on Bloomberg Television’s “Taking Stock.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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