Managers should expect markets to remain difficult

'Improved', 'encouraging' and 'booming' ' all headlines on a single page. Things must be looking up, or else things are being talked up. US Treasury officials ostentatiously let slip that the economy is poised 'like a coiled spring' to deliver economic growth of around 4.75% next year. At home, the Government is borrowing like only one who knows that divine help is at hand could. There is no doubt recent investor fears are being dispelled. The markets liked the news from Iraq. Asia is putting the Sars virus behind it and companies are beginning to feel the benefits of hard decisions take...