Global Equities

Leading global equity investors cast their eye over their favourite markets for 2012, and give their outlooks for the coming year, in which several developed economies will face significant macro-level challenges.

Credit Suisse has named 20 of the best stocks with the ability to return capital to shareholders through special dividends and buybacks, with UK names such as clothing retailer Next and Paddy Power included on the list.

The FTSE 100 has added to recent gains in early trading this morning, raising the prospect of the index posting its largest weekly gain since last December.

US and Asian equity markets rallied overnight as talk of US politicians reaching a deal to avert the fiscal cliff helped sooth investor worries.

Former Neptune manager Nicola Muirhead has joined River & Mercantile Asset Management to work on its global equity team.

Nick Hamilton, head of global equity products at Invesco Perpetual, is hoping to boost the "mediocre" performance of the group's £1bn Global Equity fund by positioning less defensively and adding to US exposure.

Investec is bringing its $463m Global Franchise fund onshore as it expands its specialist equity range, Investment Week understands.

The managers of the Kennox Strategic Value fund have moved to add several new holdings to their concentrated portfolio in a bid to take advantage of market volatility.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch's latest 'equity hitchhiker's guide to the global galaxy' has outlined a range of prospective trades for investors in the coming months.

It has been a monumental ten years for equity and bond markets, with the euphoria of the first half matched by the despair seen on the faces of traders in the second half, after one of the worst financial meltdowns ever seen.