Australian resource stocks, a safe haven when the crisis first broke, have been some of the worst performers over recent months. But any hope for a recovery in commodities prices may still be premature. Meanwhile, Mark Mobius at Templeton Emerging Market Funds, who has a slightly longer perspective than many of his peers, is taking a more aggressive stance on resource plays, which he believes are oversold. He says he was recently in South Africa, buying up mining shares, and is considering copper stocks in Latin America. More worryingly, there are still plenty of potential time bombs around, including Brazil.
Japan is another.
It isn't only the supply side that suddenly seems more frightening. Talk that the government itself would no longer be the massive buyer of last resort for its own paper suddenly gave rise to a new and scary demand-side scenario as well. Fundamentally, there has been little change. The yen-dollar exchange rate remains one of the riskiest calls around. Analysts such as Jim O'Neill, chief currency economist at Goldman Sachs in London, see the yen strengthening further.