Aberdeen's Docherty takes defensive stance to protect against MENA woes

The disruption and anti-government protests seen in the MENA region stems from the US Federal Reserve printing money, said Aberdeen's head of global equities, who has moved defensive to protect portfolios from further unrest.

Stephen Docherty said countries including Egypt and Libya have had dictatorships for as long as 40 years, so this cannot be the sole reason for the protests seen since the end of January. It is more about the rich and poor divide, he added, which has been exacerbated by food price inflation. “When people cannot work or feed themselves and their families, they react desperately. Who is to say this will not happen anywhere else? Food price inflation has been brought on by the US Fed printing money, and has also led to higher taxes and oil prices. This is the wrong type of inflation, we wan...