Fund performance

The Conference Board Employment Treads Index fell 0.45 percentage points to 100.95 in September, pointing to continued slow job growth for the rest of the year. However, the figure is up 4.4 percentage points from September 2010.

Despite concerns over the debt crisis in Europe and the growing debate over a second global recession, recent news on the domestic economic front has been “relatively decent,” according to Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott.

The Consumer Reports Sentiment Index remained weak in October, dropping minimally to 47.6 from 48.8 the month before—but showed some glimmers of hope for the economy.

While the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 14.3% in the third quarter, many mutual fund categories performed worse, according to Lipper.

The John Hancock Investor Sentiment Index, based on a survey of 1,005 investors by Matthew Greenwald & Associates, fell to 10 in the third quarter, down from 18 in the second quarter. When John Hancock launched the index in the first quarter of this year, the reading was 22. To participate in the survey, respondents needed household income of at least $75,000 and assets of $100,000.

BOSTON -- Top economists who spoke here at the Insured Retirement Institute annual conference told attendees to brace for fundamental paradigm shifts as they wait for global and domestic economies to stabilize.

In a new report, “Volatility Responsive Asset Allocation, Russell Investments recommends that institutional investors use a dynamic asset allocation policy that varies as market volatility changes.

The State Street Investor Confidence Index increased slightly, from 88.1 to 89.9 in September, and The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had declined sharply in August, remained essentially unchanged during the month at 45.2 ( 1985 = 100), up a notch from the August's 45.2 reading.

Americans are divided on their outlook for the economy, a Harris poll of 2,464 adults earlier this month found. Twenty-one percent expect the economy will improve, 45% think it will stay the same, and 34% fear it will get worse.

NEW YORK-"We are not in a death spiral, like we were in 2008 with Lehman Brothers," maintained Scott Migliori, U.S. chief investment officer of RCM, an asset management firm that is a member of Allianz Global Investors.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index rose 0.3% in August, following a 0.6% gain in July and a 0.3% increase in June.

A new report by the Investment Company Institute shows that over the past four months, a staggering $75 billion has been withdrawn from equity mutual funds.

Fears over a possible economic slowdown, sovereign debt and not enough capitalization at U.S. financial institutions sent the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) Risk Index up 2.5 points to 110.5 in the second quarter. This is very close to the previous high reached in the third quarter of 2010.

Developing economies of the world are still showing robust growth, but that may not be enough to lift the sagging economies of the developed world, which still account for 60% of combined global economic output, warns Lin Yifu, a World Bank senior vice president and chief economist.

News of a possible double-dip recession and extreme stock market volatility prompted 40% of Americans to reduce their spending in the past 60 days, according to the September Bankrate Financial Security Index.

While 52% of registered investment advisors say a double-dip recession in the next six month is unlikely, their clients are nonetheless looking to reduce expense, cut back on discretionary spending and making more conservative investment choices, according to Charles Schwab’s 10th semi-annual Independent Outlook Study released Wednesday.

Forty-two percent of hedge fund managers became bearish on stocks in August, up markedly from 27% who were pessimistic in July, according to a survey by BarclayHedge and TrimTabs Investment Research. This is the largest percentage of bearish hedge fund managers in a year.

The constant barrage of bad news has eroded consumer, investor and business confidence to dangerously low levels.

A tip of the hat to Standard & Poor’s?

The spike in market activity and volatility spurred by the downgrade of U.S. debt, the debt-ceiling contratemps in Congress and the European sovereign debt overhang did not drive overall trading volume to record levels in August.