 | | | | With the U.S. Congress poised to pass a bill allowing annuities to be offered in mainstream 401(k) plans, Americans soon will be asking a lot of questions about these financial products that provide guaranteed lifetime income for an upfront investment. | | | | | | The U.S. Federal Reserve's decision on Wednesday to lower interest rates may do little to cut some of the costs that matter to many consumers. | | | | | | Investors retreated from the U.S. stock market last week despite the benchmark S&P 500 reaching new record highs, pulling nearly $9.1 billion from mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that hold domestic stocks, according to data released Wednesday by the Investment Company Institute. | | | | | | UBS Group will impose from November a negative interest rate of 0.75% on wealthy clients who deposit more than 2 million Swiss francs ($2.02 million) with its Swiss bank, it said on Wednesday, citing expectations for a long period of ultra-loose monetary policy. | | | | | | BlackRock Inc, the world's largest asset management firm, said on Wednesday it had raised $2 billion for its flagship opportunistic credit fund, Global Credit Opportunities, reflecting investor demand for alternative investments. | | | | | | British hedge fund manager Man Group said assets rose 5% in the first half of the year, helped by performance in its computer-driven strategies, boosting fee income and sending its shares higher. | | | | | | British wealth manager St. James's Place said on Wednesday that weaker client sentiment weighed on inflows of new money in the first half of the year while costs rose, leading it to miss forecasts for operating profit. | | | | | | Even if the Federal Reserve this week goes ahead and cuts benchmark interest rates for the first time in more than a decade - as it is widely expected to do - U.S. money market strains will remain, Bill Campbell, co-portfolio manager of the DoubleLine Global Bond Fund, said on Tuesday. | | | | | |
