tune2001

I've looked at this too. Spreadbetting appears to be a great way of playing this. You get a fairly high yield from your GBP Cash ISA, while taking a put on a foreign currency such as Yen. What I found was, on IGIndex anyway, if you look at a far quarter currency GBP/JPY play (ends Mar 08) you have to pay a 24 point spread! This is exceptionally high and makes it pretty much unusable.

And what coins would they be? I have a mix of Krugers, Eagles and Maples... Are you after specific coins or specific coins in specific years?

If the govt guarantees the value of the money in NR, essentially making risk-free deposits, wouldn't the value of sterling rise as the world and his wife ploughed their money into it? ....Or am I missing something subtle?

Que? http://money.uk.msn.com/specials/interest_...umentid=4889812 "The Bank of England voted in favour of a half-point interest rate rise to 5.75% this month. Experts have warned that today’s rise, which is larger than expected, will leave millions of Brits struggling to meet their mortgage repayments, prevent would-be first-time buyers from getting onto the property ladder and could lead to a major cutback in consumer spending."

I was wondering the exact same thing. I've been waiting to see if there'll be a buy in point for these shares but I wasn't expecting this! I haven't seen any news that could cause this either...

...So the best thing you can do when things come down is to hold cash? Because it will be worth more relative to those depreciating assets. Gold while there is excess liquidity and cash as the deflation kicks in.

"My tax code will also shortly be updated (hasn't happened yet) meaning I pay zero tax" What the hell?!?!? This means that for every bankrupt, the govt loses tax revenue, which will of course have to be made up by everyone else? Can this be true? Rack up unsustainable debts and go tax-free?

It's all about the August low! Horde that cash, grab that cheap gold!

I agree. Let's ban all gold mining right now!

Well - there's 40 years left til I retire! God knows what the world will be like then! I've just got so used to seeing all my investments do nothing but go up (wish I'd bought more gold!) that seeing them fall is going to depress me - fact of live I suppose! Sadly and bizarrely - cash is not an option!

My company pension has been ticking along nicely since I opened it about 3 years ago. My problem is this: I can choose from 5 plans which split the fund across equity/fixed income. I've currently got a 75%/25% equity/bond mix. With indices at 'nosebleed levels' I thought about whacking it all into bonds BUT aren't bond prices falling? It looks like there's no way out of watching my fund fall over the next few years...

Japan is pretty solid at the mo. I bought a L&G Japan Tracker last November and it's over just over 16% already. The P/E ratio is rather high (over 20!) but you have to believe that the earnings are going to catch up. I know losing money in South America is a hackneyed concept, but have you considered Brazil? I'm loving their alternative fuel/cheap personal jets stuff. Maybe you could stick half your money in Japan and half in an emerging markets fund?

Looking at recent history for the Nikkei, it HAS increased as our own FTSE has increased but it too took a BIG knock in 2000! Admittedly, it's been 20000+ but in this modern, globalised world, can markets really operate that independently of one another? I've noticed that over the last few days the Nikkei has been falling as the FTSE has. Will they fall together as they have risen together?

Jeez this is a volatile game. I've been £9 up and £10 down in about 1/2 an hour!

Ouch! Brave words Charlie but unfortunately I fear you'll be eating your words later along with a fresh slice of humble pie served up by TTRTR. As much as I'd like to see rates held today, Betfair is showing odds of 1.18 on a cut and 6.2 on a hold! The big money is hardly ever wrong!

Erm..Me too! The boys on betfair are usually right tho. With odds for -0.25% currently standing at 1.15 you've got to believe that's the way it's gonna go!

I thought the good doctor has said that gold had run its course. What about buying shares in gold mining companies?

It looks too good to be true on Betfair at the mo. With the fed raising theirs and CPI at a 7 year high how can the BOE think for a second about doing this? Are there really so many mugs who read the VI press who think they will cut rates? With 'No Change' on at 3.3 it looks pretty tempting!

Just decided to join the fun after reading this forum for a good 6 months or so. With the dollar and pound flaking, gold and FTSE possibly reaching a peak where's the best place for money? Foreign markets? I'm thinking about putting a fun and games sized amount in emerging markets such as South America and the Far East or mining. Maybe the best thing to do is open a Swiss Franc acount and sit tight til all this blows over in late 2006?