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Whether gold is a good bet or not, one thing is undeniable – it is a bet.  It is not an investment, it is a speculation. So why is gold not an investment?  Gold is not like other investments. The main investment asset classes of cash, fixed income, shares and

The consumer prices index (CPI) – the Government’s measure of inflation – was 3.7% in December, up from 3.3% in November. Over the same period the retail prices index (RPI) is currently running at 4.8% up from 4.7% in November. The inflation rate experienced by everyone is not

It has taken me until almost the end of January to decide what it is but my resolution this year will be to file my self-assessment tax return sooner than 7 days before the deadline! At the start of January it was estimated that only 3.5 million of the 9.3 million

The FTSE All Share index, representing the performance of all 627 eligible companies listed on the London Stock Exchange has finished the week at 3064.33, an increase of 16.34 points (0.54%) on the day but 51.04 points (1.64%) lower than its 3,115.37 opening value at the start of the week.

Predicting the future? In January 2011 Cazenove Capital technical strategist, Robin Griffiths was reported as saying that not owning gold was “a form of insanity”. The rationale for his statement was based on his evaluation of the prevailing economic conditions, the relative strength of the dollar

market numbers The FTSE All Share index, representing the performance of all 627 eligible companies listed on the London Stock Exchange finished last week at 3115.37, a marginal decrease of 10.47 points on the day and 11.14 points higher than its 3104.23 opening value at the start of

Every now and again something happens which acts as a timely reminder of why we do what we do. I received an unexpected phone call earlier this week from a client’s wife. Without any form of introduction her opening words were “Giles said if anything happens to me, just

The FTSE All Share index, representing the performance of all eligible companies (currently about 630) listed on the London Stock Exchange has finished the week at 3,104.23 down 16.90 points on the day and 4.54 higher than the start of the week. This week the FTSE All Share index, which

The three biggest destroyers of private investor wealth are: buying high, selling low trading too often Not being sufficiently diversified But why do investors do it to themselves?  There are many well-documented psychological biases which can adversely affect the financial decision-making of private investors. If

The FTSE All Share index, representing the performance of all eligible companies (currently about 630) listed on the London Stock Exchange has finished the week (and the year) at 3062.85, some 31.56 points lowers on the day and 36.06 lower than the start of the week. During 2010

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is contacting thousands of people to warn them they could become victims of share fraud after it recovered its biggest ever ‘master list’ used by boiler room fraudsters. The list contains the names, addresses and telephone numbers of 49,387 people which the

Despite a weak economic picture, the Christmas Price Index (CPI) has jumped a staggering 9.2% this year, the second highest jump in its 27-year history. Buying all the presents in “The 12 Days of Christmas” carol would cost nearly $1,974 more than last year, with a total price

Despite a weak economic picture, the Christmas Price Index (CPI) has jumped a staggering 9.2% this year, the second highest jump in its 27-year history. Buying all the presents in “The 12 Days of Christmas” carol would cost nearly $1,974 more than last year, with a total price tag of

With an estimated eight million workers failing to save anything for their old age, the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) has been designed to try and get people into the savings habit. Many workers don’t take up the offer of joining their workplace pension scheme, or simply don’t

Well the big news dominating the headlines last week was the announcement that there will be a Royal Wedding next year as Prince William and Kate Middleton are set to tie the knot. But as the media work themselves into a frenzy the subject of cost has already been raised, with anti-monarchy and tax