ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET

摘要

No wonder investors are jumpy. For weeks, the market was racked by worries that intensifying inflation would bring sharper Fed rate hikes. Then, following a string of weak economic numbers, pricing woes suddenly gave way to fears of a global slowdown. But just as swiftly, inflation angst came back with a vengeance on Apr. 20, with news that consumer prices jumped sharply in March. Is the economy overheating or heading for a nasty fall? Both fears have many investors heading for the exits. Equity fund inflows of $14.5 billion in March were about half February's pace, according to an Apr. 20 Lipper Inc. report. But dumping stocks may be the wrong strategy. Boil down all the conflicting economic and earnings data, and the economy appears just to be taking a breather. That's good news for stocks, and it has many money managers concluding that there's a lot of life left in the market—and just enough growth momentum to keep the economy chugging along without driving up inflation.