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And just as some of the winners quickly rise to the top, they can just as easily lose their status in the increasingly rarefied supremacy stakes.

In the current confusing investment environment, it may be helpful to look at the market in terms of three baskets, which could be split into winner of the current cycle, loser of the current cycle and post-bubble.

Recently, the first basket has become emptier. It started out with, among others, the Brics, emerging markets in general, infrastructure plays, steel, cement, shipping, energy and commodities. In the past few months, out went Vietnam, then India, China and Turkey. And in June, Brazil sank by more than 10 per cent. Then, only energy and steel appeared to be pushing higher, with oil recently showing signs of straying into Weakest Link territory.

The loser of the current cycle could be said to contain real estate, financials consumer-related stocks in OECD countries. The mostly ignored post-bubble basket could be thought to include technology, US large-cap growth stocks, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand.

There is an argument for asserting that the past 18 months has been a simple story of going long the winners’ basket, shorting the losers and avoiding the post-bubble basket. But with beaten-down banks and financials recently up, such a strategy would appear to have a flaw.

With the massive volatility affecting the contents of the first and second baskets, there could be a case for investors simply concentrating on the third basket and biding their time. Easier said than done.

Take Asia, excluding Japan, as an example. Choose the top 100 companies by market capitalisation, leave out all companies linked to energy and materials (over-owned) and all financials (lack of visibility), and only 14 names would be left.

Economic indicators appear to shed little light. The International Monetary Fund now expects US growth of 1.3 per cent, up from an April forecast of 0.5 per cent - previously, the US economy looked set for its recession requiem. Does the recent weakness in the price of oil point to a peak in inflation, leaving central bankers less hyper, or does it evoke “demand destruction”?

Increasingly, the very popular trade of going long materials and shorting financials appears to be under pressure. Until the battle between these two strands is resolved, most investors are likely to remain on the sidelines with their record cash levels.