Emerging markets veteran Mark Mobius said in a Bloomberg Television interview yesterday that the Federal Reserve should lower the federal funds rate to jump-start the U.S. economy. Bloomberg’s Matthew Miller and Michael Patterson wrote yesterday:

The Federal Reserve should cut its benchmark interest rate to 1 percent to boost the economy as falling oil prices reduce the threat of inflation, investor Mark Mobius said.

“With oil prices beginning to soften, there may be a chance for them to give a boost to the economy by lowering rates again,” Mobius, 71, who oversees about $40 billion in emerging-market stocks as executive chairman at Templeton Asset Management Ltd. in Singapore, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “That’s still in the cards, but no one really knows.”

Cape Town, South Africa

The man who is known as “The Pied Piper of Emerging Markets” also shared his thoughts about where to invest. Miller and Patterson wrote:

Mobius also said valuations for equities in Turkey and South Africa are “very attractive,” and added that he’s “very bullish” on shares of Brazilian banks…

“More and more people are beginning to see that these markets are very cheap,” Mobius said. “The companies are well managed and well run.”

Mobius was especially excited about the prospects for Brazil. He told Bloomberg:

The economy is very vibrant there, and the banks are very well run.

Source:

“Mobius Says Fed Should Cut Rates to 1% to Spur Growth (Update3)”
Matthew Miller, Michael Patterson
Bloomberg, August 5, 2008

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