Sign of the Times - How to Spot a Recession

Sign of the Times - How to Spot a Recession: "There are many signs that indicate whether we are in a recession or not and certainly the most obvious one is when the Prime Minister says so. That is why a formal announcement of a recession by anyone in authority has been omitted from this list. What appears here instead are some other factors in determining the state of our economy. For instance, did you know skirts can act as a barometer when it comes to assessing the financial climate of the day? Didn't think so. We'll come to that later, but for now, let's start with gold.

Golden Years

Gold is always good but during the lean years, it's the greatest. You could even say it's worth its weight in gold. This precious metal is traditionally seen as a 'safe haven' during economic downturns and 2008 has seen gold soar by more than a quarter to about £395 an ounce.

While investors desert other commodities like rats on a sinking ship, gold will always draw the smart money. You should therefore expect gold to receive heavy investment until we see the back of this recession. HSBC analyst James Steel can only agree, he says: 'We expect gold prices to be supported for essentially as long as this sentiment holds sway in the financial markets.'

Table Trouble

Top restaurants that are usually fully booked through to Christmas have repo"