Payden & Rygel chief economist Jeffrey......>

US VIEW: Payden & Rygel chief economist Jeffrey Cleveland said "our most

important view" for 2018: the "US expansion will eclipse the 1960s as the

2nd-longest cycle on record."  He quipped "last yr we declared, "we were

optimists before it was cool," emphasizing our conviction that the US business

cycle would live on, despite many investors declaring the expansion "long in the

tooth" as "already the 3rd-longest on record." Well, the ranks of the optimists

swelled in 2017 as U.S. and global GDP growth surprised to the upside."

- He adds while "party is getting crowded, we still hear from many that with the

current expansion now clocking in at 101 months, this time the end is near" but

"we still aren't ready to throw in the towel. Calendars do not determine

business cycles. Perhaps the US economy has room to run? Our review of key

leading indicators points to above-trend 2.5-3% growth" in 2018 so "we do not

foresee a recession" then. "The 2nd-longest expansion in American history

occurred in the 1960s, with the economy growing for 106 months. We think the

current expansion will eclipse the 1960s era expansion in Q2 2018. Get ready to

break records in 2018!"