Mutual Fund Sector

(Reuters) - The United States and Japan are leading a fragile developed world recovery that could be blown off course if Europe fails to contain the damage from its problem debtor states, the OECD said on Tuesday. It urged euro zone leaders to embrace all options for tackling the crisis, potentially including common bonds to go with the common currency. In its twice-yearly economic outlook, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development forecast that global growth would ease to 3.4 percent this year from 3.6 percent in 2011, before accelerating to 4.2 percent in 2013, in line with its last estimates from late November. "The global economic outlook is still cloudy," OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria told reporters. "At first sight the prospects for the global ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "Inevitably there is going to be an element of bargain hunting as investors look to top up their holdings on the basis of slightly lower prices" - Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers European stocks edged higher on Monday on China’s pledge to boost growth. USD "Equity prices have gotten oversold" - Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist for Janney Montgomery Scott LLC U.S. equity market edged higher on Monday on China stimulus hopes and after German and French officials said they would cooperate to keep Greece in the monetary union. GBP "Obviously, as the euro depreciates, the U.K. gets slightly more expensive" - Miles Shipside, Rightmove commercial director U.K. national house prices stagnated in March, announced the ...

(Reuters) - Markets extended gains in Asia on Tuesday with investors hunting for bargains in shares beaten down to 2012 lows late last week, as hopes grew that Europe could agree on fresh action to tackle its debt crisis while promoting growth. A Chinese media report saying Beijing will accelerate infrastructure investments to combat slowing growth lifted Hong Kong and Chinese shares by 1.2 percent .HSI and 0.6 percent .SSEC respectively. European shares looked likely to extend gains, with financial spreadbetters predicting that major European markets .FTSE .FCHI .GDAXI would open as much as 1.0 percent higher. U.S. stock futures were up 0.1 percent. .EU .L .N MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS climbed 1.4 percent, having recovered on Monday from a ...

(Reuters) - Gold steadied in Europe on Monday as a retreat in the euro arrested the metal's rebound from its 2012 lows, but prices remained supported near $1,600 an ounce as investors bet the metal's price correction had been overdone. a Spot gold was at $1,591.50 an ounce at 0932 GMT against $1,592.00 late on Friday. U.S. gold futures for June delivery were down $1.30 an ounce at $1,590.60. Last week, gold fell to its lowest this year at $1,527 an ounce, before staging its biggest two-day rally since October as traders holding short positions rushed to cover. "I suspect that what we saw last week was partly short covering, and that has helped us on the way up, with maybe a little bit of extra safe-haven interest," Mitsui Precious Metals analyst David Jollie said. "In the next few weeks ...

They are the few, the brave, the unloved, and among big investors, their number shrinks by the month. They are the last of the bond bulls, the investors who believe long-term U.S. government bonds will extend a historic run that has already pushed interest rates to multi-decade lows. Recent surveys show broad disdain for Treasuries among market cognoscenti. A cross-section of star money managers and investors, including Warren Buffett, BlackRock's Larry Fink and even bond expert Dan Fuss of Loomis Sayles, have urged investors to switch to stocks, arguing yields have nowhere to go but up. Yet the average retail investor keeps sending money to bond funds. And in the past few weeks, things have been moving in the bond bulls' favor. Fear of a Greek exit from the euro zone and JPMorgan ...

FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK at 0800 GMT (EDT +0400) WORLD Ranges were broadly flat overnight but the dollar has checked some of its advance amid fears that data is still not strong enough in theUSfor the Fed to continue allowing the market to price out expectations for monetary easing. On Friday theUniversityofMichiganconsumer sentiment index slipped to 74.3 in early March from 75.3 in February; industrial production was unchanged m/m in February; and the y/y reading for core consumer prices slowed to 2.2% in February from 2.3% in January. Yet, this should not mask the positive momentum in theUSeconomy, as theUniversityofMichiganreport included key improvements in labour market assessments, while manufacturing production was up 0.3% m/m in February. Moreover, at a 1.9% annual rate in the past ...

(Reuters) - Today's coda for investing in the market calls for rapid-fire trading and an eye for the next hot sector. The investing heroes in this world are hedge funds such as Renaissance Technologies, which made founder James Simons a billionaire with its computer-driven, high turnover trading. And yet, an informal study of U.S. mutual funds shows that managers who churn through their portfolios are underperforming those who hold investments for longer periods. The hair-trigger trading strategies used by a number of hedge funds ran into trouble last year, when worries over the U.S. budget, European debt crisis, Japanese tsunami and North Africa unrest whipsawed markets and left investors frustrated over when to get in and out. The mutual fund study, from Thomson Reuters' Lipper Inc, ...

(Reuters) - Stocks edged higher on Tuesday as investors awaited the outcome of discussions on a bailout package for Greece that is critical to the country avoiding a chaotic default. Greek officials worked on the draft of a text on the 130-billion-euro bailout plan that will be put to political leaders for approval while strikers protesting against more austerity tussled with police outside parliament. A light U.S. economic calendar this week shifted investor focus back to the euro zone. With the S&P 500 up nearly 7 percent this year the market has grown hesitant before Greek leaders put pen to paper on the terms of the deal. An improving technical picture for equities, reasonable earnings, better economic data and optimism over Europe's debt crisis were all boosting stocks, said Marc ...

Stocks climbed on Wednesday after better-than-expected earnings from Goldman Sachs eased worries about U.S. banks' profits in the fourth quarter, while the euro rallied on the IMF's move to increase its ability to fight the European crisis. Investors will keep a watchful eye on Europe, though, with the outcome of Greek debt restructuring talks unknown. A deal with the private sector is vital to cash-strapped Athens if it is to gain its next batch of international aid and avoid going bankrupt when 14.5 billion euros ($18.5 billion) of bond redemptions fall due in late March. "It's too early to get excited about Europe, but the IMF news is clearly a positive and a sign Europe is on its way to stabilizing," said Jerome Heppelmann, chief investment officer at Old Mutual Focused Fund in ...