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Strategies & Market Trends : The Epic American Credit and Bond Bubble Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: redfrecknj who wrote (52153)	1/31/2006 4:01:36 PM
From: GST	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110194

Nothing destroys the middle class faster or more surely than currency devaluation -- the fate of the US middle class is tied directly to the fate of the dollar, and the dollar has only one way to go, down, and down, and down.

To: redfrecknj who wrote (52153)	1/31/2006 5:34:30 PM
From: shades	Respond to of 110194

What was it PEROT said about sucking? =DJ Japan Mutual Funds See Big Exodus In Midst Of Livedoor . By Arden Dale Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Mutual fund shareholders were just as spooked by the Livedoor Co. (4753.TO) woes as other investors in the Japanese stock market. Fund shareholders pulled more money out of Japan equity funds last week than they put in, reversing a bullish trend that had prevailed since July. Hardest hit were yen-denominated funds based overseas, a sign that Japanese investors were quickest to pull their money, according to Brad Durham, a managing director of Emerging Portfolio Fund Research, a Boston tracking firm. Between Jan. 18 and Jan. 25, investors pulled $360.7 million out of Japan funds, according to data published Tuesday by EPFR. The exodus occurred as a probe surrounding Livedoor prompted panic selling in the wider Japanese equity markets. That turmoil jammed the Tokyo Stock Exchange, forcing it to shut down its trading system, and the Nikkei Stock Average fell 5.6% in the period between Jan. 16 and Jan. 23. Among U.S. funds to see the biggest shareholder exodus was the Scudder Japanese Equity Fund (FJESX), which had an outflow of about $7 million, according to Durham. Another was the Credit Suisse Japan Equity fund (WPJGX), which saw about $150,000 drain out. It remains to be seen how some of the biggest-name funds fared. EPRF doesn't track flows at the Fidelity Japan Fund (FJPNX) or the Fidelity Japan Smaller Companies Fund (FJSCX) on a weekly basis, for example. The biggest outflows were at yen-denominated funds based in Luxembourg, EPRF said. Among them were the Schroeder ISF Japanese Equity Fund, and the Merrill Lynch IIF Japan Opportunities Fund. The AXA Rosenberg Japan Equity Alpha Fund, yen-denominated and based in Ireland, was another with redemptions, according to Durham. There were some surprises. The iShares MSCI Japanese Index (EWJ) exchange-traded fund attracted $121 million of new money during the week, according to EPFR data. "I would think that since they're more liquid than traditional mutual funds, they would have had more outflows," said Durham. And a rush for the exits last week by investors in Japan funds doesn't mean a stampede is on the way. In fact, the exodus is likely to be short-lived, according to Durham, who predicted it may already have reversed. By Thursday, EPFR will have data to show whether or not the redemptions have stopped. Indeed, the Japanese stock market has been rallying strongly in recent days. Andrew Foster, director of research at Matthews International Capital Management LLC, the advisor to the Matthews Funds, said his firm hasn't seen any panic among shareholders in its Japan or Asia Pacific funds. "We haven't changed anything about how we're investing in Japan as a result of Livedoor, and we remain sanguine that the long-term picture for Japan is one where we're happy to continue investing," said Foster. In general, he added, the Matthew Funds are finding more companies that merit investment in Japan. Foster is the co-portfolio manager of the Matthews Asian Growth and Income Fund (MACSX), which includes Japan investments, but he doesn't run the firm's Japan fund. In general, mutual fund investors have been having a love affair with Japan funds for the past year or so. The average U.S. mutual fund that invests in Japan was up 33.6% in 2005, according to Lipper. In December, $1.5 billion flowed into Japan stock funds, including ETFs, according to Sam Campbell, an analyst at Financial Research Corp., a Boston research firm. Investors have contributed about $15 billion into Japan funds since the beginning of last August, doubling assets in the niche during the period from about $30 billion to about $67.2 billion, according to EPFR. -By Arden Dale; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2052; arden.dale@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires January 31, 2006 15:37 ET (20:37 GMT)