Asian Markets Up on Hope… And Fairy Dust (Reuters)
Far East markets rebounded from sharp drops last week with gains today as investors were heartened by a more optimistic outlook on the U.S. fiscal cliff. The advances were not based on an actual deal being struck between President Obama and U.S. Congress. Instead, investors’ responded to the idea that a deal could be reached, leading to Japan’s Nikkei rising 1.43%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advancing .49% and China’s Shanghai Composite gaining .11%. In addition, Australian shares rose .6%, while South Korean shares opened .5% higher.
President Obama’s $806 Billion Win (Bloomberg)
Since President Obama’s win on November 6, 2012, U.S. equities have lost $806 billion in value, Bloomberg reports. To put that into perspective, the S&P 500 would have to gain 26% to reach the previous bull-market level it occupied in 1962 — 50 years ago. Bears claim the drop shows investors are losing confidence as the economy speeds toward the U.S. government’s fiscal cliff, while bulls see the decline as a great opportunity to pick up shares at a discount. In the end, who’s right and who’s wrong will depend entirely on how individual investors like you react.
A ‘Fair and Balanced’ Baseball Network? (YahooFinance.com)
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp (NWSA) today is expected to announce it has purchased a 49% stake in the New York Yankees’ YES Network — with the option to increase to 80% within 3-5 years. While U.S. investors may not enjoy handing a stake in the network to the Aussie media mogul, the move certainly will strengthen the entity financially. Current YES partners include Yankee Global Enterprises, with a 34% share, Goldman Sachs (and Providence Equity), with a 40% share, and the New York Nets ownership, with 26%. Shares of NWSA traded last week at just over $23.
