Investors refusing to accept the New Economic Order

Trying to interest investors in new products, processes and ideas is becoming more difficult for providers

At the year's halfway mark, it is useful to look back to what the experts were predicting in January to see how closely markets have matched expectations. Even with generous interpretation, the result is not reassuring. In January, no one was anticipating a prolonged recession. Indeed, in both the UK and the US, the consensus was for a weak first quarter and then a reasonably strong rebound. Central banks were supposed to have started raising interest rates by mid-year as economic growth picked up. Consumer spending was positively robust and even mainstream strategists were talking about...