Is foreign demand for U.S. assets dying? Don't bet on it yet

As the first quarter draws to a close, financial markets are at a crossroads. We could be seeing the early stages of a tectonic shift in global investment flows, with a dramatic decline in demand for U.S. assets from abroad. But it's also possible that this is simply a pause and that the 'U.S. exceptionalism' narrative has more chapters to go. Net sales of U.S. equities by foreign central banks reached $28 billion in January, and net sales of all U.S. assets by the private sector totalled $74.8 billion, according to official Treasury International Capital flows data. These were, respectively,…