The top 2017 emerging EMEA picks are focused on Russia, as investors “seek bargains in politically stable countries.” Bloomberg’s Ahmed Namatalla and Selcuk Gokoluk say “almost everybody loves Russia and wants to get as far away as possible from Turkey.” 2017’s top calls are “centered on markets where the political climate is improving and assets are less vulnerable to external shocks arising from higher U.S. borrowing costs and President-elect Donald Trump’s policy announcements.” For currencies: UBS is betting on Russia’s Ruble, JPMorgan Chase expects the Czech Koruna to be resilient, and Morgan Stanley bets on a Polish Zloty rebound. Russian equities are an “obvious candidate” for NN Investment Partners, Griffiths sees a rally in South Africa, and Capital Economics is betting on banks in eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, excluding Russia’s and Turkey’s. Egypt’s bonds are attractive, says Denmark-based Global Evolution Fonds, while Deutsche Bank recommends South African and Russian bonds.

Worth reading as an accompanying piece is David Gardner’s latest for the Financial Times: “A new balance of power in the Middle East,” wherein he argues that “As they look towards 2017, Russia and Iran can, nonetheless, consider they have had a good year confounding their adversaries in the Middle East — and that the west, and its allies in the region, is in exploitable disarray.” Egypt, naturally enough, features heavily in the narrative.