Trading in shares is a gamble; not much different to the races. These days the markets are very flat. People have "pulled out" (Typsi's favourite term) because they're very much afraid of what's going on militarily around the world. Money (like houses) is built during times of solid peace (that is, unless you're a war-wanker with lots of money invested in armaments or have close connections to the whitehouse who will give you a piece of the action in "rebuilding" the cities it had destroyed). These are not peaceful times and the major currencies: US$, OIL, GAS, DIAMONDS and GOLD are in a state of flux. Thus few companies can make accurate predictions about their profits; those that do might well disclose one day that they've been cooking the books and all the relevant crooks have "pulled out." I've only got little money in there these days and standing back watching the world, geo-political scene. When -and if!- stability dares poke its lovely head into the scene, then I might get a little closer involved. Until then, I just count my lucky stars I'm alive, have a roof over my head, am able to pay for my daily bread and wine, am safe, my loved ones are safe...
