Investing

If you’re going to risk borrowing to invest in volatile assets, you need long-term debt to do it.

The rich get richer, while the rest of us struggle to keep up, let alone catch up. It’s all about safety-first investing.

You see a reaction to a French minister saying industrial output is looking shaky. I see a market following a random walk.

With the common shares tempting value investors yet others fearing a second banking crash, these high-yielding 5-year bonds look a good compromise.

For the third time in five years, I own Lloyds shares. What’s the case for the company this time around?

Wondering how your money will grow? Pondering whether it’s worth over-paying your mortgage? Muse no more, my friends.

Sometimes the best time to pick up a bargain is when everyone else is running the other way. Is it time to buy BP shares?

Why buy some dubious investment bond thingy-me with a big initial fee when you can buy a 5% income from investment trusts?

I recycled some of my equity portfolio into Natwest preference shares. Out of the frying pan, into the microwave oven?

Did you buy bank preference shares when the market was giving them away? Me neither. What an incredible opportunity it was.

If you’re trying to beat the market, you need to buy good companies and you need buy them at the right price. A watchlist helps with both.

A huge but wildly waffle-riddled update on my personal portfolio and recent activity. Plus the week’s best links!

When investors flock to high-yield bonds, they often do so heedless of the risks. Here’s some data on corporate bond defaults.

ISA allowances are to increase with inflation from 2010, says UK Chancellor Alistair Darling. Not before time.

Venture Capital Trusts are specialised investments, where the small print about risks really does come true.