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☆ Global equity funds see first weekly inflow in 10 weeks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 13 (Reuters) - Global equity funds drew their first weekly inflow in 10 weeks in the week to Jan. 11 on hopes of easing inflation and expectations that China's re-opening would boost global economies. Refinitiv Lipper data showed global equity funds attracted $5.17 billion in net purchases, for their first weekly inflow since Nov. 2. European and Asian equity funds received $7.35 billion and $1.54 billion worth of inflows, but investors exited U.S. funds worth $2.01 billion. Fund flows: Global equity sector fundsEquity funds focused on China accumulated $1.61 billion worth of inflows, the biggest since July 6. Data for 24,627 emerging market (EM) funds showed, bond funds secured $730 million in net buying, while equity funds drew $3.94 billion, the biggest weekly inflow since April 2022.

☆ These under-the-radar bank stocks are among Wall Street’s favorites as earnings season begins
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Several big banks will kick off earnings season for the sector on Friday, yet it's the smaller, under-the-radar names that are most loved by Wall Street. For instance, only 54% of analysts covering Bank of America say the stock is a buy, while 58% of those covering JPMorgan rate it a buy, according to FactSet. To find bank stocks expected to outperform this year, CNBC Pro screened for the names most loved by analysts. They also have at least 8 analysts covering them. About 80% of the analysts covering the stock give it a buy rating, including Piper Sandler's John Barnidge.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data show that speculators closed 2022 with one of the smallest three-month SOFR rate futures short positions of the year, a light short dollar position, and substantial short positions cross the U.S. Treasuries curve. A short position is essentially a wager that an asset's price will fall, and a long position is a bet it will rise. chartFunds' U.S. interest rate expectations reached fever pitch around August and September last year when their net short position exceeded 1 million contracts. chartIn the 10-year space, funds ended 2022 with their third largest net short position of the year, at 383,602 contracts. But funds have retained their substantial net short position.

☆ The December jobs report sent mixed signals. Here's what it means for markets.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The December jobs report is another data point that signals the Fed has more work to do to cool the economy. "A labor market this strong means an imminent recession is highly improbable," Indeed Hiring Lab economist Nick Bunker wrote in a note. While stocks usually sell off after these strong reports, fearing the worst from the Fed, Friday saw a strong rally. History suggests there are very strong odds the stock market gains 20% this year after last year's bludgeoning. Tesla stock has tumbled to multiyear lows.

☆ U.S. announces over $3.75 billion in new military assistance to Ukraine, other countries
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Mike Stone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - The United States will provide more than $3.75 billion in military assistance to Ukraine and countries affected by the Russian invasion of its neighbor, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Friday. That authority allows the United States to transfer defense items like Humvees, trucks and munitions from stocks quickly without congressional approval in response to an emergency. RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles, used for air defense, will also be sent to Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has stressed the need for better air defenses to curb Russian missile strikes that have damaged the country's energy infrastructure during winter. The United States and Germany have also pledged to send Patriot missile systems to repel Russian missile and drone attacks.

LONDON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - U.S. funds giant BlackRock (BLK.N) will defer third-quarter redemptions from its 3.5 billion pounds ($4.2 billion) BlackRock UK Property Fund, a source told Reuters, in the latest sign of strain in Britain's real estate market. BlackRock's UK property fund will defer withdrawals that were originally due to be paid at the end of December, a person familiar with the situation said, asking not to be named. As of November, funds overseeing around 17 billion pounds in UK real estate assets were restricting redemptions to prevent firesales. A spokesperson for Legal & General Investment Management said on Wednesday that its Managed Property Fund was no longer deferring redemptions. M&G, Columbia Threadneedle, Schroders and CBRE did not immediately confirm to Reuters whether redemption deferrals were still in place for their UK property funds.

☆ Republicans went after BlackRock and sustainable investing in 2022. Meet 12 officials crusading against 'woke capitalism.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

A group of vocal conservative officials are criticizing aspects of ESG investing. Players in the ESG ecosystem, like S&P Global and BlackRock, the world's largest money manager and an influential proponent of ESG investing, are often the subject of their critiques. Instead, officials often paint large financial firms' ESG strategies as functions of left-leaning agendas. Here are key GOP players who are taking aim at ESG investing. Abbott, who is seeking reelection in November, was early to denouncing ESG investing.

☆ These ETF strategies can help investors navigate a murky 2023 for markets
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here's how some ETF experts are viewing the year and what types of funds could be winners in 2023. … In 2023, investors should be a lot more selective," said Pedro Palandrani, director of research at Global X ETFs. While those areas would be negatively affected by a recession, infrastructure spending approved earlier in the Biden administration could help create solid demand even if the U.S. consumer weakens. Similarly, iShares highlighted the U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA) and the MSCI Global Agriculture ETF (VEGI) in its 2023 outlook as potential winners, in part due to their inflation-hedging properties . In iShares' 2023 outlook, the firm identified its MSCI USA Value Factor ETF (VLUE) and Core S & P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) as two funds that could benefit from a low-growth environment.

☆ The market's most political stock picks had a bad year, but they'll be back in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Tim Mullaney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Analysts who follow the industry say ESG funds' performance has been held back, most clearly, by the fact that many sustainable or ESG funds avoid companies that make fossil fuels. The average large-cap stock ESG fund had lost nearly 20% in 2022 through Dec. 21, according to Morningstar. Morningstar energy strategist Stephen Ellis thinks that's unlikely, since "we see the stocks as fairly valued to expensive," particularly in the oil part of the petroleum business. ETF – which emphasizes gambling and alcohol along with pharmaceuticals, without major holdings in oil and gas – is down 18%. ESG fund flows in Europe have held up much better than in the U.S, which Morningstar's Stankiewicz says is because of more pro-ESG regulations.

WASHINGTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed a $1.66 trillion government funding bill that provides record military funding and sends emergency aid to Ukraine, hours before a midnight deadline. "The bipartisan funding bill advances key priorities for our country and caps off a year of historic bipartisan progress for the American people," Biden said. While some of the work was done in a bipartisan manner, that was not the case with Friday's $1.66 trillion funding bill, opposed by House Republican conservatives and some Senate conservatives. They have threatened to oppose any legislation introduced by any of the Senate Republicans who supported the bill. [1/4] The U.S. Capitol is seen as Congress continues work on passing a $1.66 trillion government funding bill in Washington, U.S., December 21, 2022.

Its failure to pass a funding bill on time, which is becoming a norm, meant that the government had to function on temporary extensions of last year's funding levels, which Democrats and Republicans alike say poses threats to national security. House Republicans oppose the bill, arguing it is too bloated and was crafted in secrecy among top congressional leaders. The 4,155-page bill was passed on Thursday in the Senate on a bipartisan vote of 68-29. The legislation would provide the Defense Department with a record $858 billion, up from $740 billion last year. It is an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way," Zelenskiy, told a joint meeting of Congress.

☆ Tom Lee says there's a chance the Fed pauses hiking for all of 2023, sparking a massive stock rally
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( John Melloy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Fundstrat sees that coming in at 4.4%, also below current Wall Street expectations. "Fed framework likely changes to 'predictable Fed' as inflation is now operating near their long-term goal of 2%," wrote Lee in the note this week. "This would be a massive dovish pivot, in our view, and could mean Fed pauses entirely in 2023 (maybe)." Lee's call is well outside expectations on Wall Street. Volatility easing to spark big rally The next piece of the Lee's theory is that as the Fed changes its policy, stock market volatility will collapse.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show that speculators now hold the smallest net short position in three-month 'SOFR' rate futures since April, and the largest net short dollar position since July last year. The CFTC report showed that funds and speculators cut their net short position in three-month Secured Overnight Financing Rate futures to 332,000 contracts from 532,000 the week before. chartSince mid-October, the SOFR curve has consistently implied a peak fed funds rate of around 5.00% by June next year. A short position is essentially a wager that an asset's price will fall, and a long position is a bet it will rise. CFTC funds are now holding a $16.6 billion net long euro position, compared with a $6 billion net short position at the start of September.

The Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday is holding a second day of hearings this week on the downfall of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, examining how the company's implosion could impact the nascent industry. Old school, old school." Bankman-Fried was charged by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York for a wide variety of crimes including wire fraud, securities fraud and violating campaign finance regulations. Though Ray and Bankman-Fried won't be part of the Senate Banking hearing on Wednesday, four cryptocurrency experts will be testifying instead, including Kevin O'Leary, a longtime paid FTX spokesman. "In my opinion, it is the largest Ponzi scheme in history by an order of magnitude."

CORN AND WHEATMoney managers’ net long in CBOT corn futures and options is now the smallest since the early days of the recent rally in September 2020. Managed money net position in CBOT corn futures and optionsThat was the largest weekly net reduction in corn since August 2019. Most-active CBOT wheat futures lost nearly 7% in the week ended Dec. 6, reaching their lowest level since October 2021. Money managers increased their net short by more than 9,000 to 63,382 futures and options contracts, the most bearish since May 2019. March Minneapolis wheat also notched four-month lows on Dec. 6, and money managers pushed their net short position past 3,000 futures and options contracts.

☆ This new ETF combines international and income investing, and both themes are hot
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The three-month-old fund is an actively managed strategy that combines dividend-paying international equity holdings with covered call writing, an income strategy used frequently by fund sub-advisor Capital Wealth Planning. And international funds are also gaining traction. He added that the fund managers may actually be a bit more aggressive in writing calls in the international fund than in the U.S. version. "It's not unusual for international stocks to suspend or reduce their dividends more frequently than U.S. stocks do," Magoon said. Since its launch in September, the Amplify International Enhanced Dividend Income ETF has a total return of about 7%.

☆ Here’s how to invest in the stock market next year, according to Bank of America
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"Once rate hikes bite labor markets, the Fed will pause, and investors should deploy the $1.9 trillion," Bank of America strategists said. With a new normal of elevated inflation, BofA expects equal-weighted stock market indices to perform better than market-cap-weighted ones. How will you adjust your stock market investing strategy for the new year as recession signals heat up? The legendary investor estimated that policymakers may push the benchmark rate as high as 5.5%, which he warned could weigh especially heavily on the stock market. The stock market's recent run is due to fail even as investors are anticipating a Fed pivot ahead.

☆ Meet 12 Republican officials crusading against BlackRock and ESG investing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

China on Friday launched its first private pension scheme in 36 cities as it grapples with a rapidly ageing population, allowing individuals to open retirement accounts at banks to buy pension products ranging from deposits to mutual funds. The move marked the official launch of China's version of IRA, or Individual Retirement Accounts in the United States, a private pension scheme that offers tax advantages for individuals saving for retirement. As part of the new system, local domestic workers covered by China's public pension insurance can participate in the private pension scheme and contribute up to 12,000 yuan ($1,680) per year to their individual accounts and receive tax benefits. Eddy Wong, chief executive of China International Fund Management (CIFM), a joint venture between JPMorgan and Shanghai International Trust Co., said China's individual pension market has "huge potential and room for development". "The first movers in China's pension market enjoy an advantage," said Howhow Zhang, Greater China wealth and asset management strategy and transactions leader at consultancy EY.

☆ Tech's reality check: How the industry lost $7.4 trillion in one year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Not one of the 15 most valuable U.S. tech companies has generated positive returns in 2021. In total, investors have lost roughly $7.4 trillion, based on the 12-month drop in the Nasdaq. In the war for talent and the free flow of capital, tech pay reached new heights. Loading chart...SPACs allowed companies that didn't quite have the profile to satisfy traditional IPO investors to backdoor their way onto the public market. A slowing IPO market informs how earlier-stage investors behave, said David Golden, managing partner at Revolution Ventures in San Francisco.

Funds' historic short position in two-year Treasuries futures coincides with the recent ramping up in anti-inflation rhetoric from Fed policymakers, including those of a more dovish inclination, such as San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly. Hedge funds, going by Commodity Futures Trading Commission positioning data, have thrown in the towel completely. A short position is essentially a wager that an asset's price will fall, and a long position is a bet it will rise. In bonds and rates, yields fall when prices rise, and move up when prices fall. Funds' record short position in two-year Treasuries futures suggests that's exactly what speculators are positioning for again.

☆ The FTX fiasco could spark an industry meltdown - and slash bitcoin's price by 25% to $13,000, JPMorgan strategists say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

FTX's financial woes are likely to transform the crypto industry, JPMorgan strategists said. Bitcoin could plunge 25% to $13,000, and crypto firms might act more carefully in future, they said. "The number of entities with stronger balance sheets able to rescue those with low capital and high leverage is shrinking within the crypto ecosystem," the JPMorgan strategists said. "With the crypto market cap standing at just above $1tr before the FTX/Alameda Research collapse, our guess is that the crypto market will find a floor above $500bn in the current deleveraging phase," they added. Commentators have warned about dangerous amounts of debt and excessive risk-taking in the crypto industry before.

☆ Allianz beats quarterly profit expectations, posts rosier 2022 outlook
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Net profit attributable to shareholders was 2.464 billion euros ($2.47 billion) in the quarter compared to 2.111 billion euros a year earlier. The figure surpassed a 2.320 billion euro consensus forecast. Allianz said operating profit in 2022 would be in the upper half of its previously stated range of 12.4 billion euros to 14.4 billion euros. The "upper half" is new guidance and rosier than before. Separately, the company announced a 1 billion euro share buyback programme, which would start in the middle of November and conclude by the end of next year at the latest.

[1/2] A destroyed Russian T-72 tank is seen near a frontline, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Mykolaiv region, Ukraine October 26, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The United States on Friday announced an additional $400 million in military aid to Ukraine, including refurbishing T-72 tanks and missiles for HAWK air defense systems for Kyiv. Deputy Czech Defense Minister Tomas Kopecny told Reuters that in total 90 tanks from third parties and private stocks would be modernized. In October, Reuters first wrote about the initiative to furnish HAWK interceptor missiles to Ukraine. The Army replaced it with the MIM-104 Patriot, and the Marines shifted entirely to using smaller, more portable air defense systems.

☆ Bond ETFs are hitting the market at a historic pace in 2022 as investors hunt for income
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The spate of new launches comes as cash floods into fixed income products. "On one hand, it helps explain the dual-edged pain for 60/40 portfolios this year, but the -17% decline now has bond ETFs offering realistic yields as an equity alternative. This helps explain the continued surge to Treasury ETFs, which again led our category workbook with +$12 Bn [last week] and over +$110 Bn YTD," Sohn added. Holly Framsted, the director of ETFs at Capital Group, said the firm is not trying to time the market with its launches but does believe there is an underserved demand for actively managed bond ETFs. Capital Group launched three more fixed income ETFs, including funds focused on municipal bonds and short duration bonds, last week.

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