The stockbroker's lexicon is full of euphemisms. One of the more insidious is "a stock-pickers' market". The positive spin on such a market is that there are returns on offer for those who pick the right stocks. A more realistic take is that the market as a whole is doing nothing - but you might just get by if you are lucky enough to pick the right stocks.

At present, a stockpickers' market, in either sense of the phrase, would be a boon. Last year was one of the most spectacular cases on record, when trying to pick the right stocks would have made little or no difference. Returns for the two traditional main styles of investing - "value" investing focused on stocks that are cheap compared to their fundamental value, and "growth" investing focused on stocks whose profits are growing - were virtually identical and, of course, very bad.