The prospect of a protracted economic downturn until 2010 at the earliest implies that the upside for US equities is likely to be limited, despite bank recapitalisation.

Today’s sharp fall in oil prices, despite the announcement that OPEC will cut production by 1.5 million barrels per day from 1st November, reinforces our view that prices will continue to decline even...

In the light of gold’s recent lacklustre performance we have lowered our price target from $700 to $550/oz. We expect this target to be reached in the first quarter of next year, if not sooner.