'Time to move on': Goldman chairman O'Neill heralds favourable climate for global equities

For the first time in five years, Goldman Sachs is more bullish on US growth than global consensus.

David Kostin, global investment research chief and US equity strategist, also painted an attractive picture for US equities this year, predicting near 20% price appreciation, 11% dividend growth and increased buybacks and M&A. He predicted US GDP growth will expand by 3.4% this year and 3.8% in 2012, while consensus forecasts are 2.6% in 2011, then 3.1% next year. Kostin says: “For the first time in seven years I am particularly bullish on the outlook for the US equity market.” The bank expects the S&P 500 index to jump 19% to 1,500, through a mixture of earnings per share growth a...