We may get the ultra-cold winter we have been promised, but if you plan to ski early in the season there might be a good case for waiting to see which resorts get a decent base early on and which are struggling. If you can avoid the French and British school holidays, there will be plenty of accommodation. If you have a car it is never hard to find somewhere you can get in, even in high season. TRAVELLER'S GUIDEGETTING THERECrystal Ski (0870 405 5047; www.crystalski.co.uk) Inghams Ski (020-8780 4433; www.inghams.co.uk) easyJet ( www.easyJet )READINGThe Ski Club of Great Britain (020-8410 2000; www.skiclub.co.uk) Snowfinder Guide to France, by Hugh Hutchinson and Adam Coxen (£9.95 on Amazon).MORE INFORMATIONSki France (00 33 1 47 42 2332; www.skifrance.fr) French Government Tourist Office (09068 244123; calls charged at 60p/min; www.franceguide ).. It has been hailed as a historic moment for Europe. Turkey is in talks to join the European Union more than 40 years since taking the first steps towards membership.
The controversial move, made in early October, comes after years of wrangling between member states over whether Turkey was suitable for inclusion. The final decision could take another 10 years, but there is now renewedinterest inemerging Europe as a lucrative investment market. Many fund managers insist that economic liberalisation, convergence with Western Europe and rising commodity prices offer prospects; other financial advisers say the easy money has already been made.We spoke to leading investment houses and IFAs about how people should invest and commit money there, and which countries looked attractive.Emerging Europe is, broadly speaking, the former Eastern Bloc countries such as Poland and Estonia, many of which joined the EU in May 2004. Bulgaria and Romania are due to join in 2007, and have been carrying out the necessary political and social reforms to meet entry requirements.Alain Bourrier of Merrill Lynch, who co-manages the MLIIF Emerging Europe fund, says convergence countries such as Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic have grown at double the rate of their Western European counterparts, having benefited from lower taxes and cheap labour."Emerging Europe offers an interesting opportunity that cannot be found elsewhere," he explains. "We hold positions intelecoms companies and banks that enjoy significant catch-up potential. The opportunity for growth in the banking sector is particularly extensive, as between 90 and 95 per cent of people don't have mortgages."This view is shared by Liesbeth Rubinstein, head of Emerging Europe, Middle East and African equities at Schroders. Companies have become more competitive and have enjoyed funding from richer countries, she explains, which has allowed them to grow faster.
"We are looking for faster growth and improving corporate profitability at a discount to developed markets," she adds.Global emerging markets, including emerging Europe, has been the number one ranked sector, with a return of 35.53 per cent over the past year to 21 October 2005, according to data compiled by Lipper.This trend is expected to continue. Robin Geffen, managing director and chief investment officer at Neptune Investment Management, predicts that mostgrowth will come from these areas in 2006."At the front of the queue would be Russia, which benefits from a strong oil price," he says. "It also has excellent domestic supplies of strategic metals and a growing middle class whose future savings will underpin the stock market."Investing in emerging Europe also means getting to grips with alien companies. Among the stocks favoured by investment houses is the Hungarian oil refiner MOL Magyar."Demand for oil is good and the company's valuation is cheap," said one fund manager. "It will deliver good margins for longer than the market anticipates, because there are big barriers to entry within this sector. It takes three years and about $2.5bn (£1.4bn) to build a new refinery."Hungary's OTP Bank is also popular.