News Notes August 2013

The US is accelerating;Europe is improving,said Tom Lee,chief US equity strategist at JP Morgan.There's a case for higher earnings.If they start thinking rates are going up,hopefully the money goes into equities.Seek companies with topline growth,the cyclicals.I think Europe is tracking towards an acceleration.I actually think you would be better off buying US blue chips exposed to Europe,but also to US private expansion.*AIG is reinstating a 0.10 a share dividend and a 1.0 billion dollar buyback.Its Q2 earnings were 1.12 a share versus an 0.85 estimate,while revenue was 8.35 billion dollars versus an 8.62 billion estimate.*If you really want to be contarian,buy European stocks,said Nick Colas of Convergex Group.There are better opportunities around the world,than there are here in the US.*Japan is joining negotiations to form the Trans-Pacific Patnership.The TPP will be the world's largest free trade zone,also including the US,Canada,Mexico,Peru,Chile,Malaysia,Vietnam,Singapore,Brunei,Australia and New Zealand.Besides free trade,the TPP will produce a common framework for dealing with the services trade;foreign investment;government procurement;domestic regulations;and intellectual property.It is expected to have a huge impact on both global trade and investment patterns.