Turmoil sparks hunt for high-yield stocks
By Michael Mackenzie and Dan McCrum in New York
Fund managers have had to be nimble this year. A transformed trading environment has tested their investment strategies to breaking point.
The S&P 500 index of US stocks may have fallen just 3.6 per cent in 2011, but this modest decline masks a year of sharp price swings against a backdrop of a worsening eurozone debt crisis and banking problems.
A slowdown in emerging market economies and fears that the US economy could suffer prolonged stagnation have added to the volatility in equities.