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• Barton Biggs: Low Volume Means Bull Run May Last
  Stock trading around the world fell to the lowest level since at least 2006 even as global equities entered a bull market, a sign to Barton Biggs that the rally has further to go.
• El-Erian Says Greece Agreement Likely Questionable
  The agreement likely struck by Greek political leaders today may be analytically questionable, according to Pacific Investment Management Co. s Mohamed A. El- Erian.El-Erian, chief executive and co-chief investment officer of the world s biggest manager of bond funds,...
• Bove: 'Mortgage Deal From Hell' Punishes Responsible Homeowners
  A "mortgage deal from hell" between federal and state governments with big banks under which the latter will fork over more than $25 billion to aid struggling homeowners will do mainly one thing: punish responsible borrowers, says banking analyst Dick Bove.
• Buffett: Bonds Among Most Dangerous Assets on Inflation Risk
  Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said low interest rates and inflation should dissuade investors from buying bonds and other holdings tied to currencies.
• Byron Wien: US Treasury Bonds Are Popular Due to Global Fear
  U.S. Treasurys have become a popular investment mainly due to fear gripping markets and economies elsewhere in the world, says Byron Wien, vice chairman of Blackstone Advisory Partners.
• S&P: US Faces Another Downgrade Without Budget Plan
  The U.S., lacking a plan to contain $1 trillion deficits, faces the prospect of another rating cut in six to 24 months depending on the outcome of November elections, according to John Chambers of Standard Poor s.America has had an AA-plus rating with a negative outlook...
• Gasoline Tops $3 a Gallon in All 50 States
  Gasoline prices are averaging over $3 a gallon in all 50 states for the first time since Dec. 15, according to AAA data.
• Tax Foundation: Payroll Tax Cuts Do Little For Economy
  Payroll tax cuts won't stimulate the economy but corporate income tax cuts will, a Tax Foundation study finds.
• PNC Wealth’s Bill Stone: Stocks Are Still Cheap, so Buy Now
  Stocks may have risen pretty high in the past month, and the S P 500 Index is up 7.3 percent this year, but equities have a long way to go, as prices investors are paying are below average, says Bill Stone of PNC Wealth Management.
• Harris Bank's Jack Ablin: Stocks Set to Surge 10%
  The Standard & Poor's 500 Stock Index has risen 7 percent so far this year, and it likely has at least another 10 percent to go, says Jack Ablin, chief investment officer of Harris Private Bank.
• Templeton Bond Fund Dives Into Irish, Hungarian Debt
  Ireland and Hungary represent two of the sickest economies on a sick continent. But that hasn't stopped Templeton Global Bond Fund from amassing major positions in the government bonds of those nations.
• Zell: Govt Hurts Housing Recovery With Mortgage 'Moral Hazard'
  Government intervention in the housing sector is doing more harm than good and is actually hurting recovery instead of helping it, says real estate mogul Sam Zell.
• Former Treasury Official Altman: US Recovery 'Profoundly Weak'
  Roger Altman, chairman of Evercore Partners Inc. and a former U.S. deputy treasury secretary, said the U.S. recovery has been profoundly weak and may pose a challenge to President Barack Obama s election campaign. The most noteworthy thing about the U.S. recovery so far...
• Peter Orszag: Tie Recovery Program to Economic Indicators
  According to early forecasts, the U.S. economy should already have recovered from the financial crisis. Despite some recent encouraging news, though, we still don t know when things will be back to normal. What have we learned from this delay? That in devising public...
• David Stockman: Obama Mortgage Refinance Plan 'Crony Socialism'
  President Barack Obama's plans to help homeowners refinance their loans is, in reality, crony socialism designed to help big banks cushion themselves from possible defaults, says David Stockman, a former White House budget director under Ronald Reagan. President Obama...
• Greek Fear May Have Made Many Miss US Stock Rally
  Stocks have performed well this year, but for those who jumped to the sidelines fearing a Greek implosion, it may be too late to get back in, says Keith Springer, president of Springer Financial Advisory in Sacramento, Calif. Once retail investors jump in, institutional...
• ‘Fear’ Index Enters Hibernation Mode — But Ready to Stir
  A closely watched indicator that measures volatility has gone from rattling nerves in 2011 into hibernation mode, leaving market watchers scratching their heads. The Chicago Board Options Exchange's Market Volatility Index, known as the VIX, is set to finish its 14th...
• NY Times: Facebook Pumping Up Visitation Numbers
  Facebook is going public but is the company claiming its subscribers are viewing the famed social network site more than they really are? It looks that way. In its initial public offering prospectus, Facebook claims to have 854 million active users, which are those that...
• Famed Bear 'Dr. Doom' Roubini Turns Bullish — Time To Sell!
  Economist Nouriel Roubini believes recent actions by the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank will continue to make equities an attractive investment during the next few months, The Wall Street Journal reports. Contrarian investors take note: Given that Roubini (also...
• BlackRock’s Fink: Take More Risk, Let It All Ride in Equities
  Investors should have 100 percent of investments in equities because of valuations and higher returns than bonds, said Laurence D. Fink, chief executive officer of BlackRock Inc., the world s largest money manager. Investors who seek the safety of treasury bonds will have...
• Trump: I Endorsed Romney Because of His China Policies
  Former GOP presidential hopeful and real estate tycoon Donald Trump says he endorsed Mitt Romney for president due to his stance on China's currency policies. While many had expected Trump to rally behind Gingrich, Trump says he was impressed with Romney's tough talk...
• Fortune's Tully: Bulls Have It Wrong, Stocks Only Look Cheap
  Bulls say stocks are a good deal because surging earnings make price-to-earnings ratios low by historical standards. A close study of the numbers shows they are wrong, writes Shawn Tully, senior editor at large for Fortune magazine. Bulls point out that the S P P/E...
• Bernanke Vows to Shield US From European Fallout
  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday renewed a pledge to prevent Europe's financial crisis from damaging the U.S. economy in testimony before Congress that mirrored remarks he made last week. We are in frequent contact with European authorities, and we will...
• Pimco’s El-Erian: ‘Too Early to Claim Victory’ Over Unemployment
  January's unemployment figures were a welcome surprise but the United States cannot claim victory over joblessness as of yet as the economy is still battling major headwinds, says Mohamed El-Erian, CEO of Pimco, the world's largest bond fund. The Bureau of Labor Statistics...
• Pimco’s Gross: Fed’s Rate Strategy Stalling Economic Growth
  Bill Gross, founder and co-chief investment officer of Pimco, says the Federal Reserve s strategy of zero interest rates is halting economic recovery and could be steering the United States into a Japanese-style lost decade. Who could have conceived 30 or 40 years ago...

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