Highlights: The banking crisis spread to Europe as Credit Suisse’s largest investor said it could not provide any more funding. The news raised concerns about banking stocks again, sending their share prices lower. The price of oil also tumbled to its lowest level since Dec 2021 over fear that the crisis could affect global growth. The market was later calmed after Swiss National Bank said it will provide Credit Suisse with liquidity if necessary.

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Wholesale prices post unexpected decline of 0.1% in February; retail sales fall (3 min read)
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The producer price index (PPI), which measures wholesale prices, fell 0.1% unexpectedly in February, below the expectation of a 0.3% increase. Most of the fall was fueled by a 0.2% drop in goods prices, particularly chicken egg prices which plummeted 36.1%. Meanwhile, US retail sales also fell 0.4% for the month, a step back from the increase in January. The new inflation data came just a day after the CPI was shown to continue slowing in February, which could be good news as the Fed contemplates its next move on interest rates.

China’s post-Covid year gets off to a disappointing start (4 min read)
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China's economic data showed a steady rather than accelerating momentum, as most growth metrics were only in line with expectations. Meanwhile, real estate investment dropped further by 5.7% after falling 10% last year. Exports also slowed sharply as demand from major trading partners has fallen amid surging inflation. Analysts said this indicates that strong policy support is needed to unleash the country’s growth potential. Chinese authorities recently announced a 5% growth target for 2023, which China’s premier cautioned would not be easy to achieve.

Reddit’s 10 Meme Stocks Ranked From Best to Worst According to Hedge Funds (14 min read)
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This article discusses and ranked the top Reddit meme stock from best to worst based on the number of hedge funds holding them. The meme stock with the most hedge fund holders is the EV startup Rivian, followed by in descending order, Palantir Technologies, SoFi Technologies, AMC Entertainment, Lucid Group, Nokia Oyj, Bed Bath & Beyond, BlackBerry, GameStop, and Canoo. A more detailed analysis of each stock is available in the article.

Apple supplier Foxconn expects decline in consumer electronics demand, prioritizes global growth (2 min read)
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Foxconn, a major supplier for Apple, reported a 10% drop in profits for 2022 and expects a decline in consumer electronics demand for the year ahead due to post-pandemic realities and global macroeconomic uncertainty. This comes after Apple reported declining sales for Mac and iPad products in Q1 2023. Foxconn also plans to expand beyond China after the country’s strict covid restrictions disrupted its largest plant last year. The company will explore new markets in 2023, with a recent commitment to expand its presence in India.

US active ETF sales soar while passive counterparts bleed cash (2 min read)
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Active ETFs in the US gained $8.6 billion in February, while passive ETFs saw $10.4 billion in outflows, according to Morningstar data. JPMorgan was in second place for total inflows with $5.5 billion and most of it came from its active ETFs lineup. Vanguard remained as the industry's top seller with $9.6 billion in inflows, while iShares and State Street both swung to outflows. But overall, the US ETF industry experienced its first money-losing month since April 2022, with a net outflow of $1.8 billion. 

Real Estate ETFs Up as Investors Anticipate Fed Easing on Interest Rates (5 min read)
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Real estate ETFs jumped slightly due to the idea that the Fed might halt rate hikes after the recent bank collapses. An example was the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE), which outperformed all the other sectors in the past day. Real estate ETFs are still down year-to-date and have underperformed the broader market in 2022 as rate hikes sent the 30-year mortgage rates to more than 6.5%. However, if interest rates were to ease, it could benefit this industry, and this article listed the largest real estate ETFs that are worth considering.

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