Where did July's smart money go?

Risk appetite ebbed and flowed in July as markets weighed the relative risks of the eurozone crisis, weakening US growth and the potential for a hard landing in China. The EU summit at the start of the month brought about a stabilisation in markets that lasted until a fresh panic about Spain emerged, sending bond yields higher and equity markets lower. But signs of life in Chinese manufacturing and better data from the US, had started to push stock markets higher again by the end of the month. Cautious optimism In general, investors were cautiously optimistic, embracing the lower ri...