Skip navigation


Current DateTime: 07:31:35 02 Dec 2009
LinksList Documentid: 33482595

Current DateTime: 07:31:37 02 Dec 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24355697
  • The Decade in Review

      What may make this decade stand out more than others are the extremes.

  • Runway Angels

      The superbowl of fashion shows, models walk down the runway at the 2009 Victoria's Secret Show.

  • The Cost of True Love

      In the popular holiday song "The 12 Days of Christmas," the cost of gifts - from the 12 drummers drumming to a partridge in a pear tree - is quite pricey.

FEATURED QUIZZES


Current DateTime: 07:31:37 02 Dec 2009
LinksList Documentid: 33793611
  • Test Your Google IQ

      How much do you know about the most popular search engine in the world? Take the following quiz and find out.

  • A Healthier & Wealthier You

      Take the following quiz and find out how much you know about the impact of obesity on the health of the U.S. economy.

  • How Well Do You Know Your Bird?

      Let's talk turkey. Test your turkey knowledge and perhaps pick up a bit of trivia to trot out at your holiday meal.


Current DateTime: 07:31:37 02 Dec 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24890560
  • Predictions '10

      After a brutal 2009, we're all looking forward to 2010. Here's what our bloggers expect.

  • Holiday Central

      There are plenty of reasons to believe that this Christmas holiday season will not be as bad for retailers as last year.

  • Winterizing Your Portfolio

      If 2009 was the winter of our discontent, will 2010 be a winter wonderland for investors? A lot depends on the recovery—or lack thereof.

powered by digg
Government Will Be Key to '09 Economy: El-Erian
By: CNBC.com | 05 Jan 2009 | 09:40 AM ET
Text Size

Government policy will be the key influence in how the economy acts in 2009, Pimco co-CEO Mohamed El-Erian told CNBC.

"Pay particular attention to government action," El-Erian said in a live interview. "The government, whether we like it or not, is going to be a major determinant of both relative and absolute value in '09."

In particular, he said the stimulus package to be fashioned between President-elect Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress will be watched closely on Wall Street to see who wins and loses.

"The government is going to be a major price-setter going forward," he said.

El-Erian said the new year promises to be a "bumpy journey" in which investors should shift their focus from the safety of government Treasury notes and into other vehicles.

Among his recommendations are municipal bonds, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-backed paper, high-quality investment grade bonds, bank debt and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, or TIPS.

"There's a whole range of instruments that are protected" from risk, he said.

But the best investment decisions, according to El-Erian, will be those based on policy adjustments of the incoming administration.

"'08 was a year when the unthinkable was thinkable. Why? Because Wall Street got caught offside," he said. "There was a massive implosion of the financial sector and there was a contamination in the real economy. In such an environment policy mistakes are inevitable. The story for '09, for this coming year, is a recognition that we are now in the midst of this bumpy journey to a new destination."

© 2009 CNBC.com
Tools:
Print EmailAdd This share icon
  • digg share

CNBC HIGHLIGHTS

  • Will the Fed raise rates? Will the dollar continue its slide? CNBC experts weigh in on the year ahead.
  • CNBC’s Larry Kudlow offers Tiger Woods some advice on dealing with tabloid scrutiny.
  • Lloyd Blankfein
  • Goldman Sachs has forbidden employees from gathering in private holiday parties of 12 or more.
  • esurient
  • Dictionary.com says that of all words searched for in 2009, a synonym for greed was the top gainer.
  • Heavily armed pirates in Somalia have set up a sort of stock exhange to fund their hijackings.
  • Since its launch in 1998, Google has become a primary force on the Internet. How much do you know about the company?
ADD COMMENTS
Remaining characters


Current DateTime: 07:23:01 02 Dec 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29778428

Current DateTime: 01:02:15 02 Dec 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779196

Current DateTime: 01:42:02 02 Dec 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779199

Current DateTime: 01:02:15 02 Dec 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779198
  Data is a real-time snapshot  *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis

© 2009 CNBC, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
A Division of NBC Universal
Thomson ReutersThomson Reuters