Europe

The attempted harmonisation of European economies through monetary union cannot be described as an overwhelming success story.

Mark Holman believes mortgage-backed securities still provide opportunities to pick up good income yields

European equity markets have rebounded strongly since hitting lows in early March as the economy has recovered more rapidly than forecast and financial markets have begun return to some sense of normality as the credit crisis has eased.

European equity markets are currently trading on 12x earnings and remain attractive compared to global equity markets.

What are the objectives of the climate change summit in Copenhagen in December this year, and what would failure to meet these objectives mean?

With the financial panic over, we have seen a ‘relief rally' in stock markets as the risk of financial meltdown has been transferred to governments via rescue packages.

Recent fund gains have been generated by stock selection and sector allocation

Managers cite good foresight and cheap equities as reasons for outperformance

In recent months, the Russian stock market has staged an impressive rally. With stocks among the cheapest in the emerging market universe, it is trading at a discount of 40% compared to its peers

Eastern European equity markets have risen strongly this year.