As the Nikkei moves up in price, it signifies growth in the Japanese economy. That will signal higher yields in Japan, which will make them at the margin less net buyers of U.S. Treasuries.

As the Nikkei moves up in price, it signifies growth in the Japanese economy, ... That will signal higher yields in Japan, which will make them at the margin less net buyers of U.S. Treasuries.

The Fed sounded optimistic about growth, but its view that the risks of inflation and inflation expectations were reduced is the hallmark buy signal for the back end (of the bond curve),

The U.S. economy is performing quite well. We've had two very good years of robust growth. We're looking for it to slow a little bit in 2006 but for it to still be another pretty strong year.

We are very optimistic about the Chinese automotive industry. That's a great growth area for us. Whenever an economy starts to invest in producing things for consumers, whether it be for a bottle of beer or a car, that's our sweet spot.

These aren't opportunistic bids. These companies are fundamentally sound, with good growth potential, but they are old economy and, perhaps as such, overlooked by the market. We don't buy companies hoping they will be taken over, it's just that global players are obviously seeing the same characteristics as us.