"We're one gust of wind away from recession," Kelly said. While he hasn't seen any cracks in that industry recently, he's wary of dismissing that as a risk, especially if interest rates climb further. The smartest investments to make now are in Europe, Japan, and emerging markets excluding China, Kelly said. But emerging markets are where many of the most tantalizing opportunities are, in Kelly's opinion. An exception within emerging markets is China.

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Persons: JPMorgan's David Kelly, Kelly, David Kelly, Kelly inched, It's, hasn't, homebuilding, it's, he's Organizations: Asset Management, Fed, Federal, JPMorgan Asset Management, 19.9x, Japan's Nikkei Locations: Europe, Japan, China