The year of hedging dangerously

The year started strongly but the summer saw a dizzy stock market in China and the sub-prime mortgage collapse in the US. The subsequent repercussions of these events soon spread to the rest of the global market. In October and November, major investment firms in the US announced write-downs in the billions of dollars. Two chief executives from major investment behemoths - Merrill Lynch and Citi - packed their bags and were sent home to lick their wounds with multi-million dollar exit