Update Daily Investment News

Investors Turn Bullish on Stocks From U.S. to Japan on Economy
(Bloomberg) -- Sentiment toward stocks rose around the world, reaching a record level in the U.S., as reports on manufacturing showed the global economy is recovering and investors bet that profits grew for the first time since 2007. Investors forecast gains in each of the nine countries represented in the Bloomberg Professional Confidence Survey for the first time since the data began in 2007. The sentiment measure for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 35 percent to 54.37. That’s only the second time the reading exceeded 50, signaling participants anticipate a rally in the next six months. The responses from 4,101 Bloomberg users were gathered Jan. 4-8 as the MSCI World Index added 2.6 percent.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aoAomVkgW0ZU

Asian Stocks Chart’s Triangle Signals Gains: Technical Analysis
(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks outside Japan may rise a further 3.8 percent, extending gains that drove a regional benchmark index through a resistance level, according to CIMB Investment Bank Bhd., citing a so-called triangle formation.The MSCI Asia excluding Japan Index may advance to 511, based on the height of its triangle, a pattern created when upper and lower trend lines intersect, CIMB analysts Nigel Foo and Kong Seh Siang said in a note today. The resistance level is drawn from the highs in August and November, while support index is at 475, its 50-day simple moving average, according to

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ac_VSuVbp01g

Global Confidence Rises on Signs of Sustained 2010 Recovery
(Bloomberg) -- Confidence in the world economy rose as an acceleration in manufacturing and service industries signaled a sustained recovery from last year’s recession, according to a Bloomberg survey of users on six continents. The Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence Index gained to 66.6 this month from 58.9 in December, reaching the highest level since the series began two years ago. The index exceeded 50 for a sixth month, which means there were more optimists than pessimists.A stimulus-driven rebound in global demand is boosting orders and encouraging companies such as Samsung Electronics Co. to raise capital spending and output. The recovery was aided by policy makers from the U.S. to Europe keeping interest rates at record lows to spur growth after the worst postwar recession.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ak4Myq1FQ4Sc&pos=5

Oil May Rebound From $78, End Losing Streak: Technical Analysis
(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil may rebound from its current three-day losing streak, possibly reaching as high as $87.20 a barrel, as long as prices don’t fall below $78, according to Societe Generale SA. Oil is pulling back because its relative strength index shows prices have advanced too rapidly, said Stephanie Aymes, a commodity technical analyst at France’s second-largest bank by market value. Futures ended a 10-day climb on Jan. 7, the longest rally since February 1996.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=am2aAHkrZR7c

Treasury 30-Year Yields to Reach 3-Week Low: Technical Analysis
(Bloomberg) -- Treasury 30-year bonds may gain after yields on the securities failed to remain above so-called resistance at 4.73 percent, according to a Citigroup Inc. report, citing technical indicators. Thirty-year yields added nine basis points last week as signs of an economic recovery reduced demand for the relative safety of government debt. Yields may fall to as little as 4.57 percent, analysts led by Tom Fitzpatrick in New York wrote to clients in a report dated yesterday. That would be the lowest level for 30-year yields in three weeks.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aHxW2zEMEzuc

Bill Miller Calls Top 10 Companies in S&P 500 Cheap
(Bloomberg) -- Legg Mason Inc.’s Bill Miller said the top 10 stocks in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index are undervalued. The biggest 10 companies on the U.S. market’s index of most valuable stocks have an average price of about 12 times earnings, Miller said today in a CNBC television interview. He said they should be between 14 and 18 times earnings.“I think there’s a lot of value in the overall market,” said Miller, chairman and chief investment officer of Legg Mason Capital Management, a unit of the Baltimore-based company.Miller’s $4.87 billion Legg Mason Capital Management Value Trust rose 41 percent in 2009, beating 76 percent of similarly managed funds, according to Bloomberg data. The gain marks the first time since 2005 that Miller beat the S&P 500 Index, which rose 26 percent including reinvested dividends. Miller topped the benchmark for a record 15 straight years through 2005.
Of the top 10 S&P stocks, Miller said he favored New York- based JPMorgan Chase & Co. and General Electric Co., in Fairfield, Connecticut. He said he expected GE to restore its dividend within the next two years.