Prospects for foreign direct investment (FDI) continue to be fraught with risks and uncertainties. At $1.5 trillion, flows of global FDI exceeded pre financial crisis levels in 2011, but the recovery is expected to level off in 2012at an estimated $1,6 trillion. Despite record cash holdings, transnational corporations have yet to convert available cash into new and sustained FDI, and are unlikely to do so while instability remains in international financial markets.