Pop quiz: What links markets, Julius Caesar and Pope Gregory XIII?

The clues are sitting in your inbox. Another year has begun, and along with it, the inevitable onslaught of ‘year ahead' pieces for us all to digest.  "But what about the next few years?!" you cry. "Surely, given every investment disclaimer highlights the need to focus on the long term, it's the years, not months that matter?!" Nope, sorry, your email traffic has been commandeered by an entire industry saying, ‘31 December is a hard cut-off, thanks!'  It's very strange.  And, if you really dig into it, we're not only making very short-term (and probably inaccurate) forecasts and...