OVER the past few months, Family Money has stressed the importance of investing in the surrounding Asian Pacific markets - excluding Japan - because the upward momentum of these bourses offers investors promising returns without excessive risk.
We have also pointed out the benefits of getting into emerging markets such as South America, Mexico, India and Indonesia because their volatility, combined with their rapid development, gives investors a good opportunity to diversify their portfolio with an inherently risky, but high-return investment.
By putting together a well-spread portfolio, comprising funds from these two beckoning market categories, investors can expect attractive benefits over the long term.
Amid all the excitement, the media has forgotten the European markets, brushing them off as stagnant and unfashionable. But have they really run dry, or is it merely a case of the market's fickle sentiment? Well, a quick glance at global interest rates makes it clearly apparent that there are still some hefty gains to be squeezed out of Europe's markets.
First to come to mind is Japan, which shocked the international finance world on Monday with its 0.75 per cent official discount rate cut taking interest rates down to a record low of 1.75.
American interest rates are not too far behind at four per cent and Hong Kong is even closer as its figures tend to fall a little under US ones.