8th January 2013 – The rally in growth-focused assets lost some momentum, pulling big “risk” barometers back from multi-month highs as attention turned to the start of the US earnings season this week. The FTSE All-World equity index fell 0.15

4th January 2013 – US stocks turned sharply lower, while the US dollar shot higher after minutes of the last Federal Reserve meeting showed that policy makers are divided on whether to keep buying assets until the end of 2013.

3rd January 2013 – Risk assets made a strong start to 2013 as a wave of relief swept through the markets after US politicians reached an eleventh-hour deal to avert the full extent of the fiscal cliff. Global equities jumped

2nd January 2013 – Global markets weathered some huge uncertainties in 2012, of which the biggest were the intensification of the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, doubts over the outlook for the Chinese economy, and worries about the US fiscal cliff.

28th December 2012 – Early gains for global equity markets ebbed away as investors awaited fresh talks among US lawmakers to solve the fiscal cliff crisis but Japanese stocks scaled 21-month peaks as the yen sank to two-year lows. A

27th December 2012 – The two themes that have dominated trading in recent weeks – uncertainty over the US fiscal cliff and the prospect of further stimulus measures in Japan – remained the drivers of market action yesterday. In the

21th December 2012 – Renewed uncertainty about negotiations over the looming US fiscal cliff left stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic struggling for a clear direction, although a batch of broadly encouraging economic data offered some support. The

20th December 2012 – Global stocks hovered near 17-month highs and the euro hit its best level against the dollar since April as investors broadly kept their appetite for risk despite the political posturing over the US fiscal cliff. The

19th December 2012 – Hopes that a US budget deal could be close and positive news out of the eurozone encouraged investors to take on more risk and helped push global stocks to near 17-month highs. An outbreak of fiscal

18th December 2012 – Signs of progress in negotiations over the US fiscal cliff boosted global equities, while the yen touched its lowest level against the dollar for 20 months in the wake of Japan’s weekend election. Hopes for a

14th December 2012 – Asian stocks rose for an 11th consecutive session but any hopes that the US might manage a similar winning streak were wiped out by apparent budget deadlock on Capitol Hill. The FTSE All-World index traded down

13th December 2012 – Late selling on Wall Street stopped a run in global stocks towards a 16-month high, while the euro rallied against the dollar and Treasury yields jumped as the US Federal Reserve committed to an extra $45bn