Over the last three months, the Fund outperformed its sector average, ranking in the second quartile of its peer group. Recent events - and, almost certainly, the expectation of future ones - have created an extraordinarily challenging market environment. Equally, conditions can turn very quickly for the better.The initiatives by the US authorities and their international counterparts offer grounds for optimism. Some of the actions have an immediate impact, while others are more lagged in nature Global growth has slowed but the magnitude and duration of that slowdown is unclear - it could be a healthy pause or more protracted. The question remains how deeply Wall Street's woes will affect the real economy and to what extent US consumers will need to cut their spending.Housing-related data is critical in terms of its impact on economic growth; it is early, to be sure, but there are some nascent signs of stabilisation. And, infl ationary pressures appear ready to subside - perhaps quite substantially and rapidly.