As a child, I was always told to "go along and get along." And, I hated that!
While I never disagree just to be disagreeable, it is a point of honor to disagree whenever I think it matters.
So, it annoys me when I find myself in agreement with a large group of people. This morning, I saw a new survey of money managers by the firm of Towers Watson about stock market conditions that concluded "our central thesis is it is going to be a bumpy ride over the next several years. The immediate landscape looks all right, but the long-term problems are still there."
They expect U.S. equity returns to be about 7%, down from 8% a year ago. English and Japanese stock markets are expected to rise about 6% this year, with the Eurozone rising 7%, each up 1% from last year. China is expected to rise 10%, up from 7.8% last year.
Volatility will remain high but not as high, dropping from 20% possible swings to "mere" 15% swings.
The biggest problems is the Eurozone's financial crisis and fiscal policy impotence in the most powerful country, i.e., the U.S. -- duh!
While I can quibble with some of this, I cannot disagree . . . darn it!
While I never disagree just to be disagreeable, it is a point of honor to disagree whenever I think it matters.
So, it annoys me when I find myself in agreement with a large group of people. This morning, I saw a new survey of money managers by the firm of Towers Watson about stock market conditions that concluded "our central thesis is it is going to be a bumpy ride over the next several years. The immediate landscape looks all right, but the long-term problems are still there."
They expect U.S. equity returns to be about 7%, down from 8% a year ago. English and Japanese stock markets are expected to rise about 6% this year, with the Eurozone rising 7%, each up 1% from last year. China is expected to rise 10%, up from 7.8% last year.
Volatility will remain high but not as high, dropping from 20% possible swings to "mere" 15% swings.
The biggest problems is the Eurozone's financial crisis and fiscal policy impotence in the most powerful country, i.e., the U.S. -- duh!
While I can quibble with some of this, I cannot disagree . . . darn it!
