Wells Fargo's Fund Commentary
Wells Fargo Advantage Fund's latest monthly "Overview, Strategy, and Outlook" says, "Following a relatively calm month-end in April, concerns over the possibility of Greece defaulting on its debts, questions about the adequacy of the European Union's rescue efforts, and nervousness over contagion in other countries and banks in the eurozone all came to a head during the first week of May. As a result, money market participants pulled in maturity limits on many European banks or ceased lending to them altogether, concentrating instead on investments in domestic banks and financial instruments, as well as U.S. government and agency obligations. This flight to quality resulted in a rally in U.S. government debt, a rally in the U.S. dollar versus the euro, and an increase in London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) across the curve. The crescendo peaked during the second week of May, as media outlets and the 24-hour news cycle focused on what they termed a Lehman-like crisis. Coordinated efforts by the U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed) and the European Central Bank (ECB), in combination with successful term auctions and improved liquidity in Europe, helped to allay U.S. investors' concerns as the month of May wound down.... It is worth repeating from last month: Direct Greece exposure does not pose a problem for our money market funds.... While banks' exposure to Greek sovereign debt appears to be manageable, especially by those banks in which we invest, the risk is that increasingly negative market sentiment will continue to affect other European banks."
