Investors told: Cut US exposure at your peril

Merchant Securities says despite the S&P 500 Index having had its worst start to the year in 50 years, it has been possible to outperform the index by taking an underweight position in financials and choosing stocks with a global customer base, or those that can leverage the rising global demand for food and energy. The institutional and retail client stockbroker sees the US economy narrowly avoiding recession, but forecasts that growth in the first half of 2008 will be zero or negligible at best. It says there is more scope for the Fed to cut interest rates and sees the Fed funds rate ...