Peter temple

Peter Temple explains how agencies such as Standard & Poor's and Moody's rate bonds, and what the ratings mean.

Peter Temple explains how market benchmarks such as the FTSE 100 can be distorted.

Peter Temple ditches HSBC and buys into platinum producer Lonmin in the latest reshuffle of the share spotlight portfolio.

Peter Temple takes you through the basics of dividend payments.

Peter Temple explains how investors can make money by spread betting metals and soft commodities such as wheat and cotton.

Our Share Spotlight portfolio is keeping pace with the FTSE 100, but now's the time to buy cheap US small companies.

The discussion boards on Money Observer's sister website Interactive Investor have been going crazy with vigorous debate about the best way to hold precious metal – physical or synthetic. We asked regular columnist, investor and coin collector Peter Temple to examine the argument.

A week or so into August the jury was still out on whether the sharp correction in share markets – caused by the US credit rating downgrade, worries over eurozone government indebtedness and pessimism about global growth prospects – was likely to persist.

There has been plenty of corporate news from portfolio constituents in recent weeks to keep us occupied.

Tangible assets have continued to prove their worth as investments throughout 2010 and early 2011, partly due to the impetus provided by Asian, especially Chinese, buyers.