Financial uncertainty seems to be caused by political considerations and lack of regulation. The problems in Ukraine seem to have taken a backseat now to the problems in Syria. The drop in economic growth in China seems to be less of a worry too. Those problems are still there, but we have more important things to worry about now! Get used to more uncertainty!
Most people who have savings and investments do so because they want financial security and perhaps a small income. They don’t want to lose the security of knowing they can use their savings if they have a financial emergency, so they are unlikely to withdraw savings or cash in investments. This gives some certainty to financial institutions like banks, but it is a certainty that has been abused.
I’ve been taking risks with investments and investing in speculative companies that are exploring for oil and trying to develop new drugs. The risks are high, but the rewards can be high. These companies on the AIM market haven’t been doing so well because they are risky. Money seems to be moving from high risk to low risk.
This week I sold shares in cable and wireless and bought shares in the AA and GlaxoSmithKline. These are relatively low risk and the latter pays reasonable dividends. My risky pharmaceutical Verona Pharma dropped quite dramatically this week, but I see that as a long-term investment.
Premier Foods continues to improve and that is my only company outside the AIM to be making me a loss. Again it is a long term investment and Christmas could see that improve and be a good investment once again.
Solo Oil had news this week, that was mixed. We were hoping the gas sales agreement would be finalised, but it seems both Solo and Aminex need capital. The shares seem very cheap now, but the GSA has been promised for a long time and hasn’t happened. I’ll just keep waiting and watching.
At least the FTSE 100 recovered this week. It’s still off the high of earlier in the year, but things are looking brighter.
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