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Brown to keep Darling

The British prime minister Gordon Brown backs down from replacing his finance minister, Alistair Darling.

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LONDON // The British prime minister Gordon Brown backed down from replacing his finance minister on Friday in a bid to hold his government together and end a political crisis. The move came after the resignation of more senior ministers, making four in as many days, and local election results that pointed to expected big losses for Labour but no clear swing to the opposition Conservatives. Media reports said Mr Brown had given up on a plan to replace Alistair Darling with his close ally Ed Balls after Mr Darling refused to move. Mr Darling has won praise for his efforts to pull Britain out of its deepest recession since the Second World War. A gathering rebellion against Mr Brown has increased the possibility of a snap election in the autumn rather than the widely expected date of May. Some Labour deputies have been gathering signatures to unseat Mr Brown. The defence secretary John Hutton and the work and pensions secretary James Purnell, who was seen by some as a potential leader of the party, became the latest cabinet ministers to quit. Mr Hutton said he was still committed to supporting Mr Brown and would quit parliament at the next election, although Mr Purnell made his aim abundantly clear. "I now believe your continued leadership makes a Conservative victory more, not less likely," he told Mr Brown in a letter published in newspapers. "I am therefore calling on you to stand aside to give our party a fighting chance of winning." Today's cabinet reshuffle, the second in eight months, may be Mr Brown's last chance to rally his party around him. His departure after only two years would add to pressure on Labour to bring forward a general election that does not have to be held until June next year. The opposition centre-right Conservatives are well ahead in the polls and would be the clear favorites to return to power for the first time since 1997. "The government is collapsing in front of our eyes," the Conservative leader David Cameron said on his website, pressing his call for an early election. *Reuters

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How to keep control of your emotions

If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.

Greed

Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.

Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.

Fear

The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.

Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.

Hope

While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.

Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.

Frustration

Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.

Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.

Boredom

Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.

Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.

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