Gold

The Dow shed more than 300 points in yesterday's session as investors questioned re-elected President Barack Obama's commitment to dealing with the US fiscal cliff.

Investment veteran Jim Rogers did not vote for either leading candidate in the US presidential race as he does not think either man can save the economy.

Eclectica's Hugh Hendry has argued there is no longer any rationality behind owning gold mining equities, as the intervention of quantitative easing in 2009 has distorted valuations across the sector.

As equity markets wane and politicians dither, gold has moved firmly back into the limelight recently, with investor demand for the precious metal sending its price rebounding back near record highs.

Newton's Iain Stewart is finally reaping the rewards of a move into gold miners following a strong rally in recent weeks.

The price for gold bullion, measured in fine troy ounces, is fixed twice a day in London to allow market users to trade gold at a single level.

The gold spot price rose to its highest level this year yesterday as global equity markets started the quarter with strong rises.

Jupiter's Merlin multi-manager team, led by CIO John Chatfeild-Roberts, have refused to rule out the possibility of a default by a nation in "the garlic belt" of Mediterranean countries.

The FTSE 100 gained more than 80 points in early trading while global markets leapt higher overnight, lifted by the Federal Reserve's latest round of quantitative easing.

Gold has climbed to its highest level in more than five months as speculation the next round of QE in the US is just weeks away pushed the precious metal higher.