Where you should have invested this year...

S&P's research shows these two markets proved themselves the most capable of shrugging off a difficult start to 2011: the Hungarian market rose by 20.6% from 1 January to 30 June, while the Czech Republic enjoyed a 15.1% gain. Of the 45 countries assessed by S&P, the next best performers were even closer to the epicentre of the European sovereign debt crisis. The French equity market rose by 14%, the Spanish equity market by 12.3%, and Ireland was up by 11.8%. A gain of 4.3% for developed equity markets year-to-date versus a 2.2% fall for emerging equity markets backs up those who war...