Opinion

ALL DOOM AND GLOOM IN THE US?

If you suddenly inherited £30,000,would you invest it in a pension that was tax efficient, put it in an ISA for you and your partner and the balance away for the kids, or get a hair transplant à la Wayne Rooney?

Ben Bernanke has signalled the US will not undertake another round of quantitative easing, claiming the country's recovery is ticking along at "a moderate pace."

As the euro crisis staggers on, Greek EU commissioner Maria Damanaki has raised the prospect of her country being forced out of the eurozone if it does not quickly assert control over its wayward public finances.

As someone who has managed both global and UK equity income funds in the past, I am often asked what are the advantages and disadvantages of managing these respective portfolios.

The euro crisis is following a predictable path. The bills have increased greatly, and are being passed around in the hope the problems will go away.

COMMODITIES SELL-OFF WAS JUSTIFIED

Have you heard of the marshmallow test? It is very famous in behavioural psychology circles, yet it had passed me by until I read a recent interview with political guru David Brooks in the Sunday Times.

As investment styles fell from favour during the credit crunch, and certain asset classes were unloved as a result of Europe's debt crisis, some veteran asset managers have had to change their spots.

That the IMA was surprised by the furore over its classifications of the Managed sectors speaks volumes for the mess in which the trade body finds itself mired.