As global equity investors turned over the calendar into the new year, they were quickly greeted with the similar gloomy themes that concluded last year on a sour note. Equity markets continued its downward trend last month due to growing concern about a U.S. led economic slowdown and general tightening of the credit market as the subprime debacle continues to unfold. Volatility was significantly higher last month. While global stock markets staged a slight rebound after announcement of a U.S. economic stimulus plan and another round of Fed rate cuts, the question whether it would be enough to fend off a U.S. recession remains on every investors' mind. For the month of January, the MSCI World Free Index tumbled 7.71%.
U.S. economic statistics released last month continued to highlight
