Equities

MY 10 PREDICTIONS FOR THE YEAR

A solution to the Greek crisis may be delayed until September after European finance ministers failed to reach an agreement on the terms of the fresh bailout.

Billionaire investor George Soros has warned a Greek default is "inevitable", and EU leaders must adopt a plan B to stem contagion to the rest of Europe.

European leaders last night bowed to the inevitable and conceded Greece is likely to default on its massive debt burden, which would be a first among the 17 countries using the euro, according to reports.

US pension funds and other institutional investors have filed an amended complaint alleging "rampant nepotism" and "failed corporate governance" at News Corp in light of the ongoing British phone hacking scandal.

ON JAPAN

Sentiment among the US equity managers at Goldman Sachs Asset Management stands broadly in line with the bullish outlook for America's economy that Goldman's global investment research unit issued early this year.

Lazard Asset Management is planning a fund located in Ireland, based on the group's $500m multi-asset class emerging markets investment program, which has run in a US-based portfolio since mid-2009.

Despite last month's significant price movements in US treasuries, yields are still below the levels seen at the end of last year.

Managers are increasing their bets against the euro and forecasting falls of up to 20% in the single currency, even as the ECB continues to tighten monetary policy.