Financial markets had been relatively stable over the month. The tone from market contacts had been of a further improvement in sentiment and cautious near-term optimism, albeit against a background of subdued trading volumes and concerns that significant risks remained, particularly related to some euro-area countries. 3 Global equity indices had fallen early in the month, in part reflecting concerns about the implications of the results of the US election for negotiations over the programmed fiscal contraction due to take place in 2013. But they had subsequently risen, as optimism increased that negotiations to ... (full story)