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A degree of volatility that has not been seen in some time means that some of our plays came extremely close to their price targets but then bounced away, wiping off some of their profits.

The most remarkable was our short position on the Dow, which we tipped on 6 March. Amid terrified equity markets, the index came close to the 11,630 target first on 10 March and then a week later on 17 March. It is now on the up but we are still in the black, and convinced that the short-term outlook is very bleak.

We have chalked up a 16%-plus profit from our International Ferro Metals (IFL) long play, which we bought on 6 March too. The price shot up later along with the price of ferrochrome, helped by the South African energy cirses, and hit the target on 4 March.

We are shorting mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley (BB.) and currently making a tasty 6.24% profit, as things do not look pretty for the UK bank.

Among the profitable plays, there is also our currency play, EUR/USD, which has made us almost 2% in only a week, with the dollar sinking on bleak economic prospects and the euro hitting all-time highs against the greenback.

Choppiness meant that there were also some disappointments, notably electronic equipment outfit Spectris (SXS). The company is in good shape but trades in a sector that is highly exposed to economic fluctuations, and the price sank to 727p after we tipped it on 28 February, until it was stopped out on 19 March.