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Reuters – Nick Bullman, who told Reuters he has this week placed bets on falling share prices, is concerned that government stimulus packages have not revived bank lending as much as hoped and that conditions remain as tough for companies as they did last year.
"The rally has been a ‘dash for trash’ based on speculation … On Wednesday (I) went short on the Standard and Poor (500) and financials via ETFs (exchange-traded funds)," he said in an interview on Friday.
Bloomberg – Hedge fund assets increased by $10.6 billion in July, rising for a third straight month, as managers trading shares benefited from global stock market gains, according to Eurekahedge Pte.
Net inflows into the industry totaled $2.1 billion, while gains through performance were $8.5 billion, bringing total assets under management to $1.35 trillion, the Singapore-based research firm said in a report posted on its Web site.
Hedge fund managers are making a comeback after suffering their worst year on record in 2008, as stock markets recover amid optimism that stimulus measures will help put an end to the worst of the global economic recession. The MSCI World Index jumped 8.4 percent in July, bringing its year-to-date advance to 14 percent.
Overseas – Some of the best news for U.S. companies and investors has been coming from overseas.
At home, the news remains bleak. In July, for example, U.S. retail sales slipped 0.1%—not the increase many economists were expecting. Heavily indebted and stressed about job losses, Americans seem reluctant to return to their free-spending ways.
Abroad, however, good news has come from unexpected places. Economists already suspected that China and other emerging economies were showing strength in recent months, the effect of the Chinese government’s aggressive stimulus programs.
Bloomberg – Ronald Reagan used to joke that the nine most terrifying words in the English language were “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Barack Obama is making those words welcome.
As he approaches his 100th day in office, Obama is rolling back the Reagan Revolution and restoring government to a central role in the economy. He has passed the biggest budget stimulus ever, prepared the way for an overhaul of the U.S. automobile and banking industries and proposed a $634 billion government- funded expansion of health-care benefits.
“It’s profound,” says presidential historian Richard Norton Smith of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. “There are very clearly taking place some long-term, even transforming shifts in priorities and resources.”
The Ledger – Anxiously assembled at the most perilous moment for the global economy since the Great Depression, the world’s financial powers pledged more than $1 trillion Thursday for emergency loans to combat spreading chaos. But they rebuffed President Barack Obama’s bid for new stimulus spending and made no guarantees of success.
"This was the day the world came together to fight back against global recession," declared British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the summit host, as he led a choreographed show of unity designed to boost confidence in homes and boardrooms everywhere. "This is just the beginning," added Obama.
No one promised an immediate impact, and all agreed much remained to be done.
Reuters – Asian stocks rose to a two-month high on Monday, with expectations for a global economic recovery later this year on the back of massive government spending prompting investors to wade back into riskier assets.
Regional equities have risen for six consecutive days, bolstered by expectations big government stimulus spending packages in coming weeks will revive growth and banks will eventually lend to each other again.
Major European stocks were expected to open as much as 0.4 percent higher, according to financial bookmakers, on hopes companies will benefit from the collective efforts of central banks and other policymakers.
