The Traderszone Network

The dollar hit a four-year peak against a basket of currencies in early Asian trade on Monday, bolstering Japanese shares, but other Asian shares shrugged off Friday’s Wall Street rebound in the face of political unrest in Hong Kong. Hong Kong shares dropped 2.3 percent to three-month lows in the worst unrest since China took back control of the former British colony two decades ago. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.7 percent, hitting its lowest level since mid-May.

“Over the last five years, we have expanded into far more parts of the fixed income market and into other asset classes and other geographies, so the Pimco Total Return Fund does not define Pimco,” Hodge said. Hodge and Dan Ivascyn, who takes over for Gross at the Newport Beach, California-based firm as group chief investment officer, told Reuters in an interview that they have been speaking to clients all weekend about the new leadership. On Friday, Gross shocked the investment world by leaving his post as chief investment officer to join mutual fund management firm Janus Capital.

The dollar touched a fresh four-year high, getting a tailwind from data showing higher U.S. growth in the second quarter.

Bill Gross’s exit from the investment firm Pimco had an immediate impact on the company, with investors withdrawing about $10 billion following the announcement, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. Withdrawals were widely expected after the exit of Gross, one of the company’s co-founders, who announced his department on Friday. Gross had managed the $222 billion Pimco Total Return Fund, the world’s largest bond fund.

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Extracted from John Hussman’s “The Ingredients of a Market Crash“

Why take the concerns of a “permabear” seriously?

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Most experts say it’s best to wait before taking benefits. Is that the case? The answer comes down to you.

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