What Investors Should Know in Europe

A day after Japanese equities witnessed their sharpest one-day drop in more than two years, optimism over the country's stock market remains unshaken.

The volatility in the Japanese government debt market has unnerved investors in domestic banks, with the country's top lenders alone holding an estimated $390 billion worth of these bonds.

Sterling tumbled following minutes released by the Bank of England and disappointing retail sales, as the IMF warned the U.K. is at risk of "permanent damage" if its growth remains persistently slow.

Microsoft unveiled its long-anticipated next generation console Xbox One on Tuesday, but it was its inclusion of live TV, rather than its gaming capabilities that set tongues wagging.

Market rallies have to end sometime for sure, but history suggests the current one, despite its seemingly bloated nature, doesn't have to end soon.

The world's largest hedge funds have bolstered their equity holding so far this year, adding more to Boeing than any other stock, according to research firm FactSet.

Survey after survey shows that the wealthy are back to pre-crisis boom years when it comes to their outlook for their own finances, their investments and their retirements. But many of them are still sitting on lots of cash.

The big divergence over the past few months in the direction of the S&P 500 and copper, which historically trade in tandem, has one strategist questioning which market is getting it wrong.

Reports that China may step up the diversification of its huge foreign exchange reserves is not great news for U.S. Treasurys, already under pressure from talk about an easing in the Fed's bond-buying program.

Further unrest in the South African mining sector has increased the chances of another credit rating downgrade, an analyst told CNBC, after worried investors dumped the nation's currency.

Goldman Sachs has upgraded its target for the S&P 500, forecasting it will climb a further 5 percent to 1750 by year-end, from an initial estimate of 1625.

Following the FTSE's rally to its highest level in over five years, Citigroup's Jonathan Stubbs told CNBC that European equities have "rarely" been so appealing to investors.

There are no signs of a turnaround for the euro zone after six straight quarters of recession, and even once mighty Germany is struggling, according to the Royal Bank of Scotland's latest World Economy Barometer.

I was just at an interesting lunch with Garry Kasparov, the man who became the youngest world chess champion in history in 1985 at the age of 22. He held the title as the world's top player for 20 years before retiring to pursue other chess and non-chess related interests.