Investment ideas: January 2013

As 2012 came to an end and investors wrapped up trades in what proved to be another frantic year, investment strategies were being discussed amongst analysts, portfolio managers and traders to figure out how to position trades going into 2013. Many market issues still lingered, the most prominent being the United States’ fiscal cliff, combination of expiring tax cuts and government spending cuts that were slated to come into effect December 31, if no budget-balancing deal is reached in Washington. For recommendations, Executive sat with Issa Frangieh, head of equities at Blom Bank and Shady Sahyoun, head of private banking at Credit Financier Invest.    Issa Frangieh  > Deploying money in the markets? “I’d be selective,” says Frangieh. He sees more investment opportunities in emerging markets than in developed markets because of higher growth prospects. Within emerging markets, he would be selective too: more cautious on China, which is going