Japan

A tumultuous June may have taken the edge off many of the sizeable gains made by funds in the first half of 2013, but it was not enough to derail performance completely.

Japan has always been a tricky subject for a self-confessed contrarian. It is a prime example of the columnist's conundrum, a poorly diagnosed but utterly chronic condition whereby newspaper columnists, CIOs and cross asset class strategists feel the...

Japan's decision to stimulate its economy much later than other developed nations has left it positioned to be the best performing stock market, according to Ruffer's Steve Russell.

JAPAN

SPECIAL REPORT

The volatility in markets continued overnight as stocks around the globe rebounded, led by Japan where the Nikkei jumped nearly 2%.

Defensive shares including utilities giant Severn Trent weighed on the FTSE 100 during morning trading, keeping a lid on gains following a tough week which has seen shares retreat further on US QE fears.

Japan could be the next economy to default as its debt levels are unsustainable, according to Roger Webb, investment director on the credit team at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP).

Mark Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, examines the relationship between the EM giants and frontier markets.

Markets surged overnight on news Japan revised its annualised growth rate to 4.1% - up from an estimated 3.5%.