Brace for a volatile ride ahead

THERE'S an old saying for markets that as goes January, so goes the year. We don't know whether prices will be higher or lower at the end of the month but so far, if the saying proves accurate for 2015, then investors are in for a hugely volatile 111/2 months ahead since the world's major indices have gyrated wildly in the first six trading days of the year.

This is arguably to be expected as markets wean themselves off the free money that was handed out by the US Federal Reserve for about six years since the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008 - handouts that took…