The WSJ reports,"Mr. Tepper, who runs the $20-billion Appaloosa Management LP, was just yesterday telling a gathering of wealthy hedge-fund managers and investors in Las Vegas that the European Central Bank was “really, really behind the curve.” The global economy, he warned, may worsen unless the European Central Bank takes aggressive action".
And this morning, first-quarter figures from across the euro zone showed overall economic growth was weak, and revealed a contraction in GDP in the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal and Greece, while France showed no growth at all.
"Analysts are already calling it a major disappointment and say it puts added pressure on the ECB to enact fresh easing measures to prevent the region from sliding into a lengthy period of low inflation and economic stagnation. The news helped send stock markets lower in Europe and the U.S., and bond yields on both continents also dropped. The widely watched 10-year Treasury yield slid to 2.48%, the lowest since last year".
"Mr. Tepper’s warning is especially notable because he built his firm, and fortune, with concentrated wagers on certain assets appreciating. Though at times he’s made bearish investments, he’s best known for scoring huge paydays owning bank investments in 2009 and going big on U.S. equities, including airlines, in 2013.
Speaking at the annual SALT conference at the Bellagio resort, Mr. Tepper said the investment environment has become more difficult and cautioned that U.S. cannot lift up Europe and China on its own".
