LEX What is the definition of optimism? A Japanese equity fund manager ironing five shirts on a Sunday evening. No other market has the capacity to disappoint – or threaten jobs – quite like it.
Equities around the world have soared on the understanding that, should economies stay sluggish, governments will not raise interest rates. If growth picks up, meanwhile, the conclusion stays the same: buy stocks. That dumb but effective strategy has worked everywhere except in Japan – the only developed market in negative territory in the year to date.
