Over the past twelve months, the US/China trade dispute has dominated headlines and commanded a considerable slice of the world's attention. Yet, while any breakthrough would be significant for investors and positive for sentiment in Emerging Markets (EM), we think there are several other areas that could throw up positive surprises...

Christine Lagarde gave the outline of the strategic review that the ECB will carry out throughout the year 2020, starting in January. The ECB could therefore undergo profound changes under Christine Lagarde, especially with an increased consideration of the mega trends taking place in the economy...

The Daily Telegraph trumpets a landslide Conservative victory after the best results since 1987. With neither party popular, it is a testament to the appeal of the Labour Party. The Remainer vote is now fatally weakened. The consequence is that the hard-left firebrand, Jeremy Corbyn, says he will quit.

We are threatened with excitement in 2020, from civil unrest and ongoing trade wars to political upheaval and market volatility. We believe global economic expansion will continue at a slower, less even pace across regions.

The outlook for the UK stock market remains incredibly foggy in the run-up to this year's general election. Most global investors continue to regard the UK as an uninvestible market, as they have since the EU referendum in 2016.