Is The Recession Affecting You?

[@MacPhlea]

Pay down your (own) mortgage where at all possible, after that , anybody's guess

pay down your highest interest debts first (usually store/credit cards) then your mortgage.

[nevillew]

pay down your highest interest debts first (usually store/credit cards) then your mortgage.

Correct of course, I was working on the basis that people had surplus cash to use as Samdy was talking about investing/money markets.

[janaage]

I genuinely think there aren't many places to confidently put your money. All the traditionally defensive stuff is overvalued IMO. On an earnings basis, corporate equities aren't unattractive, but the downside risk at the moment is horrible. Maybe Brazil? BP? God knows.

You being serious?  When markets go down there is no better time to invest.  Outside UK, BRIC funds will still return well, as will a good quality India fund two name two regions to look at.  Truth is timing is the key to investing, and I'm waiting til I see the FTSE at a good (low) level and I'll be dipping my toe in definitely.  FTSE tracker could have made you 70%+ in three years during these days of 'crisis'.   At one point there was a nice 30% return in 6 months, fantastic stuff.

Just have to have big enough balls to place your bet - which is what investing is when you break it down.

[Samdy Gray]

Phased investments over the next few weeks could see some pretty decent returns over the next year or so.

After Lehman in 2008, most funds did 30%+ over the next year.

[iffy]

You being serious?  When markets go down there is no better time to invest.  Outside UK, BRIC funds will still return well, as will a good quality India fund two name two regions to look at.  Truth is timing is the key to investing, and I'm waiting til I see the FTSE at a good (low) level and I'll be dipping my toe in definitely.  FTSE tracker could have made you 70%+ in three years during these days of 'crisis'.   At one point there was a nice 30% return in 6 months, fantastic stuff.

Just have to have big enough balls to place your bet - which is what investing is when you break it down.
[/quote]

What little I know about investing is that macho bollocks about having big balls is a short road to a big loss. there's so much hot money chasing yield there's no such thing as a bargain. I prefer solid fundamentals in both companies and markets, so I like US equities, Brazil, Africa and big European
industrials - but none of these things are cheap and i think the chances of a serious 1937 crash are very real. All just my opinion.


Just have to have big enough balls to place your bet - which is what investing is when you break it down.
[/quote]

[Batch]

Warning: Shares can go up as well as down.

[janaage]

What little I know about investing is that macho bollocks about having big balls is a short road to a big loss. there's so much hot money chasing yield there's no such thing as a bargain. I prefer solid fundamentals in both companies and markets, so I like US equities, Brazil, Africa and big European
industrials - but none of these things are cheap and i think the chances of a serious 1937 crash are very real. All just my opinion

Macho bollocks? No mate it's called attitude to risk (and loss). If you're willing to take a gamble and go 100% equities you've more chance of making a mint, if you're not willing (or brave enough) to pump it all into equities and want more security you're not going to get the maximum return. No macho bollocks there.

Like I say once the FTSE's goes down a bit more I'll be really tempted to get involved.

Pound cost averaging's ideal for volatile markets, like Samdy says, better return than a lump sum investment.

[Samdy Gray]

I was listening to a market update from Invesco Perpetual today. All 3 fund managers on the panel were pretty unanimous in saying that things like this are cyclical, there are always troughs to go with the peaks and that there will be highs again in the future, followed by more inevitable crashes. It's just the nature of the beast.

The press (Peston) are quick to tell us when trillions have been wiped from money markets, but they're not so forward about reporting huge gains, which do happen.

[Ardiles]

The press (Peston) are quick to tell us when trillions have been wiped from money markets, but they're not so forward about reporting huge gains, which do happen.

True - but is that not because stock market gains (or rallies) tend to have a shallower gradient?  The FTSE 100 index has lost something like 15% of its value in 9 days of trading...and you'd be hard pushed to find a 15% gain over a similar period.

[Samdy Gray]

I see what you mean.

I just really dislike Peston, as you can probably tell.

[Ardiles]

I'm with you, brother.  I've never quite worked out how he got the gig in the first place.  I don't find his analysis to be particularly perceptive, and he badly needs some media training.  He does, however, seem to be very well connected so gets to hear a lot of stories before the rest of the pack - which I guess is why the BBC value him.

I've never quite worked out how he got the gig in the first place.

Maybe I've just answered that point myself?

[Samdy Gray]

He seems to think he's some macroeconomic genius who saw everything coming and can explain the root of all these financial troubles, when in reality he's plucking theories out of his arse.

[Ginginho]

Congratulations, Ardiles, I think you're the first poster to ever quote themself within the same post!

[Ardiles]

I'm a pioneer!

[london_red]

Referring to the points above (not about Peston) I think its all about timeframe.

If you're looking to make a quick buck over a sharp recovery in a few days/weeks/months then good luck to you. I for one won't be trying to pick the bottom.

However if you're looking to invest some money for the long term in some decent well capitalised companies there will certainly be some undervaluing as everything gets dragged down. If you scale in and don't get panicked if the stocks come off a bit more in the short term I'm sure there will be oppurtunities.

And if like iffy you think the markets are going to have a proper crash, buy gold.