2012: The story so far

So that's it, we're halfway through 2012. The half-year opened with the FTSE 100 (UKX) at 5,572 and is drawing to a close at 5,569 -- just three points lower.

That apparent stagnation doesn't even begin to tell the story of the last turbulent six months, and at the same time, it does. Stock markets and investors have been all over the place, yet gone nowhere.