François Hollande, the French President, recently called for action against the strong euro, stating that the economy could end up with an exchange rate “out of line with the fundamentals”. Although plausible, exchange rates are probably “out of line with the fundamentals” most of the time...

The central issue for Japan's sovereign credit rating remains the developing and implementing of a credible fiscal strategy to stabilise government debt over the medium term, Fitch Ratings says.

Past results do not guarantee future performance. However, they certainly set the tone for predictions of it. A year ago, the outlook statements for this year's equity performance were rather cautious, with forecasters extrapolating the poor trend of 2011. However, 2012 proved to be a good year and, unsurprisingly, the broker consensus is positive for 2013. Is this justified?

In its newly-published Emerging Europe (EE) 2013 Outlook and Sovereign Review, Fitch Ratings says that positive rating actions in Emerging Europe sovereigns outweighed negative actions in 2012.

Confidence in a recovering global economy is extending into 2013 as investor fears surrounding the fiscal cliff eased, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey for December.