Great expectations?

To paraphrase Charles Dickens these are the best of times and the worst of times in which we live. Ok I know that's from A Tale of Two Cities but work with me. Investors have enjoyed steady returns from equity and property backed investments for a number of years, however 2007 has put an end to that, although the FTSE to date is still up on the year by some 7%-8%. Volatile is the word most apt to describe the last 12 months and possibly the next 12 months on the UK markets. The Dow Jones is also up on the year by over 10% although most, if not all, of those gains have been wiped out f...