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Data-driven towards another rate hike?
Data-driven towards another rate hike?

The second week of April offered investors two data points, the latest US jobs report and the inflation numbers for Match, that they hoped would make the case for a pause in the Federal Reserve’s tightening cycle. Although headline inflation in March came in at a one-year low and the number of new non-farm jobs created was the least in over two years, investors were left hoping that the Fed will focus on the trends rather than the actual, positive numbers.

Emerging markets funds catch a wave in mid-January
Emerging markets funds catch a wave in mid-January

Flows into EPFR-tracked Emerging Markets Equity Funds during the third week of January climbed to their highest level since mid-1Q21 as investors positioned themselves for China’s much anticipated economic rebound and, the anti-inflation rhetoric of the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank (ECB) notwithstanding, an early end to the current interest rate cycles in the US and Europe. Investors also steered $2.5 billion – a 101-week high – into Emerging Markets Bond Funds.

Silver gets the retail medal going into February
Silver gets the retail medal going into February

Retail efforts to squeeze real and perceived institutional short positions dominated the headlines for the second week running in early February. EPFR-tracked Silver Funds were carried along for the ride, setting a new inflow record during a week when retail investors switched their attention from GameStop shares and pushed the price of the precious metal up to an eight-year high.