FYI:
The last two weeks experienced positive total inflows as a market recovery unfolded after the Federal Reserve signaled it would not continue with the interest rate hiking cycle for the time being.
For the two weeks ended January 23, more than $21 billion was poured into mutual funds, compared with negative flows of $34 billion in the prior two-week period. Bonds experienced the biggest inflows, more than $13 billion, while equities saw positive flows of around $7.5 billion. Bonds reversed an eight-week streak of negative flows, while equities had seen 13 weeks of outflows before the January 9 week, when it experienced $3 billion in inflows.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, globalization was praised by the Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, while outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a quick return to normal monetary policy.
Merkel’s comments came shortly before the Fed made a dramatic reversal on monetary policy guidance, dashing hopes that the policymakers would increase interest rates twice this year.
The U.S. government shutdown ended, at least for a short while, after President Donald Trump signed a bill to reopen the government. Trump did not receive funding for a wall across the Mexican border.
Amid global trade worries, the U.S. job market could not be in better shape. The U.S. economy added 304,000 jobs in February, beating estimates of 165,000. However, the figure for December was abruptly revised down from 312,000 to 222,000. Meanwhile, wages increased by 0.1% in January, below expectations of 0.3% growth. Wages rose 3.2% annually.
The unemployment rate continued to rise as the government shutdown put people out of work. The jobless rate advanced to 4% from 3.9%.
Regards,
Ted
http://mutualfunds.com/news/2019/02/05/mutual-funds-scorecard-february-05-edition/
