Stay calm, and don't forget the Jardines

THE first half of the year has been rocky for investors, but also a clear reminder of how financial markets exaggerate every fear and magnify every hope.

Take oil prices. An investor who fell asleep towards the second half of last year, when prices were around US$50 a barrel, and woke up today, would have thought nothing has changed. He would have missed the drama as oil halved to US$20-something by January and doubled again in the next few months to US$50.

Similarly, investors should view current fears over Brexit with equanimity. Even if there were no such fears, something else will take the place, be they anxieties over US politics, a flare-up in the Middle East, the South China Sea, or another China slowdown and debt blowup.