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US President Barack Obama has Rock Star appeal among the investing class, except in the USA. The Quarterly Bloomberg Global Poll of financial investors and analysts finds attitudes about the new president in Asia and Europe are overwhelmingly positive. In the US, by contrast, they are slightly negative. In Europe and Asia, 87% of respondents say they view Obama positively, compared with just 49% in the US. His standing among American investors is even lower on economic matters: only a quarter of US poll respondents rate his economic policies as “good” or “excellent,” compared with more than half in Europe and Asia. President Obama’s “stratospheric favorability ratings” outside the US after five months in office are related to attitudes about his predecessor, former President George W. Bush. “It speaks as much to the visceral distaste for George Bush outside of the US,” she says. In Europe and Asia, more than four of five poll respondents choose Obama over Bush as the president offering better economic leadership. In the US, investors pick Bush, 43% to 41%.

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Asian shares rose last Friday, with South Korean stocks hitting a 6-month high after the country averted recession in the first quarter, as a Wall Street rally boosted risk demand around the region and dented the yen. Many financial centers were closed for a long weekend, making investors nervous that gains made may not be sustained next week when many major US companies report quarterly earnings. The Nikkei hit a three-month closing high for the second day in a row, though off the day’s peak reached above the psychologically key 9,000 level, as banks tumbled after Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group warned of a net loss for the financial year just ended, reviving fears for other megabanks.

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This is what happened last week…

Last Tuesday began what the world community views as a major event in US history, the inauguration of Barack H. Obama as its 44th President and its 1st Black American President.
Some of President Obama’s executive orders on his 1st day in office:

1. A freeze on salaries for White House staff earning $100,000 or more, about 100 people in all.

2. New Freedom of Information Act rules, making it harder to keep the workings of government secret.

3. Tighter ethics rules governing when administration officials can work on issues on which they previously lobbied governmental agencies, and banning them from lobbying the Obama administration after leaving government service.

The week in the markets, however, continued to be bathed in the glow of uncertainty within the financial sector and coupled with Qs about the timing of the economic recovery.
Couple that with headlines announcing that China’s Y 2008 Q 4 GDP contracted from 9% to 6.8%, the UK reporting a GDP decline of 1.5%, the largest since 1980, US housing starts fell to their lowest level on record, and initial jobless claims returned to Christmas levels, matching the 26 yr. high of 589,000 set in December 2008.
Though Microsoft disappointed, IBM and AAPL rang the bell with GOOG beating too, and coming in better than expected.
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