Contacts are optimistic, however, and stated that unless interest rates go up, the market will remain strong for the next few months. Nonbank Financial Institutions Nationwide cash flows into stock and bond mutual funds were 23 percent higher in January 1998 than in December of 1997. Stock funds experienced moderate outflows which were more than offset by the doubling of inflows into bond funds. The largest inflows were into high yield bond funds, while international stock funds experienced their fourth consecutive month of outflows. Respondents at investment management firms indicate that they have increased employment in recent months and plan to increase employment further, although these increases have been hampered by labor shortages.
All respondents report significant difficulty hiring and retaining information technology personnel.
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