FYI:
.The picture of long-term flows has not changed in the past two weeks, with bonds experiencing strong inflows, offset by equity outflows.
.For the two weeks ended March 20, mutual funds saw $3.1 billion in net inflows. Equities experienced more than $11 billion in outflows, while bonds saw around $16 billion of inflows. Taxable and investment grade bonds were particularly strong, while high yield and global bonds were rather weak. In the equity realm, domestic stocks were particularly hit. All in all, mutual funds experienced the eighth consecutive week of positive flows.
.With respect to Brexit, Prime Minister Theresa May’s third attempt to pass a deal through Parliament failed as expected, while a string of Monday votes showed there is no majority for any kind of deal. A referendum or another election is increasingly a likely outcome, as well as the worst-case scenario of a no-deal Brexit.
.U.S. GDP advanced by 2.2% in the fourth quarter of 2018, lower than the previous estimate of 2.6%. As such, the U.S. annual GDP expanded by 2.9% in 2018 compared with 3.1% previously forecasted.
.Bank of Japan policymakers are rather undecided about the bank’s next steps. While one committee member suggested the central bank should act to increase stimulus and thereby increase inflation, the majority were in agreement that the current stimulus should remain unchanged.
.U.S. retail sales unexpectedly declined by 0.2% in February, driven down by lower consumer expenditures on furniture, clothing and food, among others. Core retail sales dropped by 0.4%. Analysts had expected core sales to rise by a similar amount.
.U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) came in at 55.3, rising slightly from February when it was hovering near two-year lows.
Regards,
Ted
http://mutualfunds.com/news/2019/04/02/mutual-funds-scorecard-april-2-edition/
