Credit of the crunch

Despite a difficult year during the global credit crunch, opportunities still can be found in the bond market, especially among recapitalising banks

At the Investment Week Forum six months ago, I argued that the prospects for bonds over the next 12 months looked good. This view proved right - and wrong. As it has been in equities, the volatility in bond markets has been very extreme: sharp movements in government markets have met even sharper moves in corporate bond markets. The press has been full of apocalyptic comments about the global 'credit crunch'. On companies and consumers alike, the effect has been pronounced. For bond markets, this has been turmoil as profound as any for 30 years. The banking crisis of the 1970s was the last ...