Equities

Neptune's Jeremy Smith wonders whether the FTSE All Share will finish 2010 higher than it was at the start of the year.

ON THE US

Activist investing usually produces the best results during the early-to-mid stages of an economic recovery, making the current economic environment probably the best seen for this type of investor since the early 1990s.

Will Calvert, manager of Axa IM's Emerging Markets fund, says investors should no longer perceive emerging regions as pure commodity plays.

ON THE US

Reinhart and Rogoff's study of 250 past financial crises over the last 800 years found public sector debt increases on average 86%, growth takes 4.4 years to recover and real estate six years.

Investors seeking growth opportunities in the UK equity market are becoming increasingly frustrated by talk of a double-dip recession, rising political uncertainty and bearish expectations.

Despite the recent woes in the economic environment, the default risk of European structured finance securities and their ratings has so far been largely unaffected, writes S&P's Andrew South.

RLAM head of equities Jane Coffey has urged investors to avoid the current trend of overlooking growth stocks in favour of value.

Jeffrey Lum has almost doubled technology exposure in the Marlborough Far East Growth fund over the first quarter of the year.