The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Richard Fisher, has compared the effect of quantitative easing on investors to “beer goggles”.

Demographics are the forgotten dimension of investment. The experience of Japan suggests we should pay more heed.

Regulators and litigators have become latter-day big-game hunters. That spells trouble for the world’s biggest corporations and should encourage investors to look beyond mega-caps.

Investment strategists seem convinced that the euro crisis is over and European equities will outperform in 2014 as growth returns. There are clear and present dangers to this cosy consensus view and the banks are still at the heart of the problem.

In my mind's eye, I have gathered some of history's greatest military strategists to discuss the state of the markets. Their conclusion is that cash should play a greater part in their portfolios.

Janet Yellen is eminently well qualified to lead the Federal Reserve. But investors should not assume that the continuation of policy as normal comes without risk. Her dovish stance on inflation is worth noting and hedging against.

The Greek economy has been more than the sick man of Europe; it has been a standing joke. But the discipline imposed by membership of the EU has forced the necessary adjustment and the future is beginning to look brighter.

The volatility this summer suggests that markets will find it hard to adapt to policy normalization. But there are still plenty of reasons to stay bullish.

Exchange-traded funds are sold with three promises: index matching, liquidity and transparency. At least two of those claims are dubious.

Market volatility is unsurprising. The actions of no longer really independent central banks are stoking the embers of a dying system. A final reckoning is coming.

Banks need to be better regulated. But a financial transactions tax is more than wrongheaded. As currently formulated, it would be hugely damaging.

The central bank-driven global money-go-round has been turning ever faster since last summer. Now the Bank of Japan has turbo-charged it. So far, investors are enjoying the ride. But a bout of nausea cannot be ruled out.

Following the second star to the right until morning might be wiser than listening to many central bankers. They may have put us all on a road to nowhere.

Regulators are beginning to express concerns about a potential collateral crunch causing a new market seizure. One solution might be to increase the use of SDRs.

Reports of the death of the cult of equity might have been exaggerated. For those with intestinal fortitude, stocks offer both relative and absolute value. The current bull market might still be in its infancy.

The Guelphs have papal blessing, but to preserve your wealth you are better off sticking with the Ghibelline camp.

QE has artificially suppressed the yield on government bonds, as it was supposed to, but the unintended consequences of unorthodox monetary policy might be felt for years.

The BBA is holding worthy-sounding debates on regaining trust. Instead they should be following an example from 16th-century Germany.

Rising levels of obesity have produced an epidemic of diabetes in India. But there is no part of the country more bloated than its bureaucracy and less healthy than its legal system.

The incoming Chinese leadership should use the subtle insights of behavioural finance – and the blunt message of bond issuance – to rebalance their economy toward domestic consumption.

Romney and Obama support losing banks; US falling behind Europe in the ‘non-bank bank’ sector.

Pro-cyclicality is the curse of our times, thanks to the magnifying effects of ill-timed actions and inaction – but not so in Chile and Norway.

Hyperactive policymakers have been dancing a frenzied tarantella but the mournful strains of the tango can be heard in the distance. Investors would do well to prepare their portfolios before the jig is up.

Grexit or not, the selective default of Greece has already changed everything for both bond and equity investors in Europe.

With a socialist at the gates of the Élysée Palace and the eurozone limping along, there has never been a better time to buy cheap European equities.

In a recent speech, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke delivered a paean to 21st-century central banking. But investors confronted by extreme and unorthodox policy with uncertain outcomes are returning to their own version of the gold standard.

Deutsche Bank is not alone in discovering that a dash for assets can lead to a lingering headache.

New strictures have breathed life into shadow banking – it now constitutes about a quarter of the global financial system – and regulators fear they have created a monster. But look closer and there's much more to this financial Frankenstein…

It is hard to be optimistic about 2012. But much of the bad news is reflected in prices and a confluence of factors could yet provide support for equity markets and other risky assets.

There is no solution to indebtedness and the inevitable and painful process of deleveraging, so lean back and protect yourself like Muhammad Ali and the US Congress.