Europe

The French labour minister, Michael Sapin, described the nation as "totally bankrupt" in a recent interview, leaving the French President Francois Hollande to minimise reputational damage.

Consensus opinions over the strength of the US and Chinese economies should be viewed with suspicion, according to Henderson's John Bennett, who has compared analyst forecasts to "fairy dust".

As risk appetite returns and investors begin to dip their toes back into European equity markets, S&P Capital IQ Equity Research has revealed its ten ‘power picks' for 2013 from the European stock universe.

EUROPE

ON EUROPE

Jon Bailie has joined Pioneer Investments to head up distribution efforts in Western Europe and Latin America.

Spanish boutique asset manager March Gestión de Fondos (MFG) is poised to enter the UK market with the launch of three funds.

SMART MONEY

Standard & Poor's has increased its rating of Greece's sovereign debt by six notches, after efforts by its eurozone neighbours to keep it in the currency union.

GLOBAL