Money Central - Times Online - WBLG

The 25 Most Bizarre Travel Insurance Claims Ever

What links a tourist who lost 84 kilograms of Bombay mix on holiday with another who had his camera stolen by a monkey? Both are among the more unusual claims received by travel insurance companies. Times Money has trawled through the files of some of the UK’s biggest insurers to bring you the 25 most bizarre travel insurance claims ever.

50 reasons not to buy an iPhone

The much-anticipated Apple iphone goes on sale in the UK on November 9. No doubt there will be hordes of Apple fans queuing outside Carphone Warehouse and outlets of O2 mobile – the smug operator which secured the contract to become the only supplier in Britain.

But does the new phone deliver or is it all just a load of hype? And will it retain its gloss for the duration of an expensive 18-month contract. Frankly, I don’t think so, but here are 50 other things you should consider before parting with your cash:

PBR 2007: At a glance guide

- UK can respond to [turbulent] environment
- Inflation on target next year and year after
- UK growth at 3 per cent this year
- Full impact of market turbulence unclear
- Growth next year expected at 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent - revised lower from Budget
- Will meet first and second "golden rules"
- Government departments will save a further £30 billion by 2010
- Borrowing will fall to £23bn by 2012
- £400m more for armed services this year
- £500m fund for armed services accomodation
- Foreign Office & intelligence agencies budgets to rise
- Annual anti-terror budget will hit £3.5bn by 2010
- £14bn investment in transport by 2010 - to include Crossrail
- Reviews to tax system - to make simpler for self employed
- Private equity tax loopholes to be closed - taper relief to end by April
- Tighter rules on tax domiciles to raise £650m
- Two great challenges: poverty and climate change 
- £800m a year for flood defences by 2010
- Development aid to hit £9bn by 2010
- Child benefit to be doubled to £20 a week next year
- Child tax credit to increase by £175 from April
- £4bn over 3 years for renovations to homes
- Inheritance tax threshold increased to £600,000 for couples

- Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, rose to speak at 3.31pm

The Autumn Budget 2007

The Conservatives have laid down the gauntlet on Inheritance tax and Stamp duty.  How will the Government respond? Return here for full coverage of the Autumn Budget and how it will affect you.

Ten Lessons from war that apply to investing

According to popular myth, today’s band of share investors contains a high proportion of retired colonels from places like Tunbridge Wells and Budleigh Salterton.
But does their service background help them when it comes to making decisions about their shareholdings? Does military history have any lessons for the stock market?
We look at 10 military maxims to see whether they have any relevance for today’s private investor.
1) Never march on Moscow.
The modern-day equivalent of this would be: never invest in Japan. Since the Nikkei index of Japanese shares peaked at 39,000 17 years ago, it has been pretty much downhill all the way. Short-lived recoveries have failed to reverse the general downward trend and Japan remains the land of the false dawn rather than the rising sun.
2) Reinforce success.
A good principle for stock market investors to follow. Building up a stake in a successful company or fund - and holding it - makes a lot of financial sense.
3) Punish failure.
Another good maxim which many investors fail to follow. They often get emotionally attached to shares and are not ruthless enough about ditching poor performers.
When Georgy Zhukov, the great Soviet World War Two commander, spoke of punishing failure, he usually meant shooting officers who had not come up to scratch. Investors in poorly performing funds might think a similar punishment for failing fund managers would be an excellent idea but nowadays they are obliged to confine themselves to putting out a sell order.
4) Don’t be overwhelmed by information.
Easier said than done, but it remains a sound investment principle. Just as poor generals have become paralysed in their decision-making by the sheer weight of reports flowing into their HQ, so investors can sometimes suffer from information overload.
5) No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.
Napoleon’s famous dictum holds true for investment as well as battles. There’s nothing wrong with having a plan, but investors need to be flexible and be capable of reacting to a changing situation.
6) Be prepared for the ‘fog of war’.
A useful warning which applies equally to crises in battle and in stock markets. In both cases accurate information tends to be in short supply, rumours abound and a calm head is needed to keep hold of the ‘big picture’ and not be distracted by the ‘white noise’.
7) Learn from previous battles, but don’t be mesmerised by them.
Just as military top brass are often accused of preparing to fight the last war again, so investors sometimes assume, wrongly, that the next stock market boom and bust will be a re-run of the previous one.
8) Distil complicated ideas into a simple formula.
Field Marshal Montgomery’s approach is a useful guideline for investors trying to make sense of a mass of conflicting theories, though it is arguably even more important for financial advisers trying to explain to their clients how products work.
9) Concentrate your forces rather than spreading them out.
This maxim might appeal to out and out risk takers but it would certainly not meet the approval of most financial experts, who would argue that diversification, not concentration, is the best bet.
10) Too much spade work is better than too little.
Field Marshal Rommel’s phrase is just as applicable to the world of investment as it is to infantry fighting. Highly successful fund managers, such as Anthony Bolton, of Fidelity, are not just talented, they also work very hard at their job.

(Picture from a fascinating story on Foreign Policy)