The fiscal cliff continues to be the most important ridge from which markets can either take comfort or dismay. Today, optimism wins, and Asian markets, like futures on European or American ones, trust in an agreement on how to avoid that sudden precipice. An agreement that could consist of a transformation: transforming the abyss into a gentle slope, in the sense of triggering spending cuts and tax increases (connected to the disappearance of the previous tax rate cuts) gradually, spreading them along a certain number of years.
Meanwhile, the euro remains just below 1,30 and oil, after three weak days, is showing signs of recovery, as are the prices of other raw materials. A periodic survey on the opinion of international investors regarding the state and prospects of the world economy has given encouraging signs: those who see stability or improvements have increased by half to two thirds, and the country with the best prospects continues to be America.
