Well what can I say when I read a certain news item recently. ‘A collector paid £360 on eBay for a single type of Snowdrop bulb’ The Snowdrop collecting fashion has taken off. Pardon?!! This sounds very familiar, was it only last autumn that I wrote the article on ‘Tulipmania’. Can it be that tulips
Read MoreHave our elected representatives across the developed economies dealt with the credit crisis? Recent market activity would suggest that they have not and have simply delayed the further action that will be required in order to bring some stability to financial markets. In response to this, the impatience of stock markets has shown through recently
Read MoreTo start with, a very nice 21st century definition: A derivative is a contract between two parties that specifies conditions—in particular, dates and the resulting values of the underlying variables—under which payments are to be made between the parties. We have all become a lot more aware of these derivatives in the last few years
Read MoreWe are now 3 years into the economic recovery and unfortunately employment growth remains subdued. As Governments, companies and consumers continue to repay their borrowing (deleverage) in addition to spending cuts like those seen in the UK with slow consumer spending this has led to a restriction of economic and employment growth and the low
Read More‘What goes up must come down’. We all remember from our school days Sir Isaac Newton for his famous law of gravity and the picture of the apple falling on his head. Sir Isaac Newton was a genius mathematician who had an input into many aspects of life in this country at the end of
Read MoreIf stock-market investment could ever truly be likened to a rollercoaster ride it would be now as we have recently experienced sharp falls and rises in global stock-markets largely due to investor sentiment as the potential impact of the deepening sovereign debt crisis and worsening economic data is revealed. It is worth reminding ourselves that
Read MoreWhy are global stock markets falling? There is a general realisation that lifting the US debt ceiling or striking a deal on Greek debt will not solve the underlying problem facing the world economy. Governments, companies and individuals in developed countries are still very much ‘over borrowed’ and therefore need to continue to ‘tighten their
Read MoreWhat alternative investments should we be considering in order to keep the value of our monies intact? Is it too late for gold, what about silver, or oil or any other precious commodity? No one seems too keen on keeping their savings in US Dollars either. So what options could we consider in these interesting
Read MoreThe concerns over Greek debt are weighing heavily on the stock market as those in power failed to agree a second bail-out of debt-stricken Greece. As investors, it pays to remind ourselves that stock markets react to sentiment in the short term. In fact they react very quickly and are incredibly sensitive. As Warren Buffett,
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