A gem of an asset class?

We are at the end of an exceptionally long and strong global economic, equities, credit and property boom. The stress of the last 12 months has brought about the demise of many of the oldest and most venerable financial institutions both in the City and on Wall Street. Among the casualties were names such as Northern Rock, Bear Stearns, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and, most recently, HBOS, Bradford & Bingley, Merrill Lynch, AIG and Lehman Brothers. Despite the various coordinated government actions we've witnessed over the past few weeks, the stress in global money markets remains acute and the...