S.C. writes: I am sending you a request for information I received from Barclays Smart Investor and I wonder whether you find it as offensive as I do.

These are difficult days. At times, it feels like the world is shuddering to a halt. There are fewer people as I wind my way to and from work every day and night on public transport.

Today is International Women's Day, a day where the achievements of women around the world are celebrated. It is also an occasion to look into why women don't invest as much as men.

Whilst I fully understand the risk of my investments, I was not aware I could lose the pension if the platform company failed. Is this really the case? What are the dangers investors need to know about?

Market panics and emergency measures like a 0.5% rate cut in the US could be a sign of things to come, and may drive the gold price above its all-time peak of $1,900 in summer 2011.

An economic slowdown or recession has far reaching consequences for prosperity and peoples' jobs of course, but the entire financial system is not in peril, as it was in 2008.

Panic over coronavirus has badly shaken the world's financial markets, culminating, on Monday, in the FTSE 100 suffering its sharpest one-day fall since the height of the 2008 crash.

The longest recovery was 1,529 days following the 2008 financial crisis, but the 1987 crash also took well over 1,000 days - so will this be an average, slow or swift bounce back?

If ever there was a time when investors needed a hero, it's now. And among the stock market capitulation, a ray of light has arrived with the latest list of Dividend Heroes.

Investment legend Warren Buffett famously encouraged investors to be 'fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.'

The firm says it is concentrating staff between 8am and 5pm on weekdays. The firm's lines were previously open until 7pm on weekdays and on Saturdays from 8am to 1pm.

The stock market rally earlier in the week was largely in response to the US government aid package, but it also suggested some investors are hazarding a guess at what the future will hold.

Anthony Bolton, who has been one of the UK's most successful investors over the last four decades, said he has returned to investing in a personal capacity.

In buying shares in their own firms, directors are signalling they have confidence in the company's future - and that the share price represents good value.

Following the closure of millions of businesses due to the coronavirus, many firms are looking to do all they can to hang on to cash reserves to help them through the difficult time ahead.

Choosing the right DIY platform is crucial but a wealth of choice and changes to charges have left many investors scratching their heads. We pick some of the best.

A balanced portfolio has a mix of assets, all of which perform differently at varying stages of the economic cycle. All investors should ensure a good mix.

Any update on recent trading and what this could mean for 2020's revenues and profits will be gratefully received by shareholders when Tesco reports its full-year results next Wednesday.

Some people will disapprove of the idea of making money from this struggle. But investors have been snapping up shares in businesses developing vaccines or tests.

The board of the trust served a notice of termination to Invesco and Barnett 'following an extended period of underperformance', in a further blow to the manager.

It arises from the fact that many of the country's leading income-orientated trusts have sufficient income buffers (reserves) in place to withstand a hostile dividend environment.

While mini-bonds are not normally protected, B&G used a regulated company to drum up clients and raise money, which means investors who poured money in that way could be entitled to a payout.

Absolute return funds are designed to turn a profit come what may. They were out of favour before the coronavirus emergency, but is it worth shopping for one now?

London-based Ruffer, founded by Jonathan Ruffer, has revealed it made huge profits from a series of complicated trades, which helped offset losses as stock markets were hammered.

As more companies are set to tap shareholders for cash, an app called Primary Bid is calling for companies to allow ordinary investors to participate in these funding calls.

Richard Wilson, the boss of giant investment broker Interactive Investor, thinks that now the tide is going out during the coronavirus crisis, it is exposing the true nature of some of Britain's bosses.

Technology stocks, which are usually the worst-hit during market downturns, are among the best performers over the past six weeks during the coronavirus chaos. This is Money finds out why.

Five years has always been the standard stipulation from financial experts as the minimum period that small investors should plan to remain in the market.

Uncertainty may be the new normal. But investors would still like to know whether share prices are close to their lows, or if there is worse to come. The answer is: it's complicated.

With Covid-19 dominating the news, the focus on healthcare has never been greater. Companies making everything from vaccines to disinfectant are suddenly having their moment in the sun.

Liberum's central estimate is based on the assumption that house prices will have a 'soft landing' and fall by 7 per cent in real terms.

The board of the £509million Temple Bar investment trust has served notice to its manager Ninety One, after portfolio manager Alastair Mundy stepped down for health reasons.

With more than half the world currently under some form of lockdown, the businesses that are still able to serve our needs are reporting increased profits and moving into new markets.

More younger people are investing thanks to the rise of the simple stocks and shares Isa - are they worried about recent market volatility? We find out.

Despairing income investors watching dividends shrivel or vanish should consider corporate debt, say experts.

In a little under two weeks the reward for digitally mining Bitcoin will be halved from 12.5 coins per block to 6.25, constricting the supply of the cryptocurrency and potentially driving up price.

When it comes to buying and selling cryptocurrencies, it is the Wild West out there. This is Money guides you through wallets, exchanges and CFDs.

The oil producer's share price has almost halved in the past year and now the company has taken a knife to the dividend too. Investors have every right to be both aggrieved and concerned.

In the 1936, the War Office turned a disused mine into an underground weapons store. In 2008 it was acquired by Restore, which is now the second largest data storage firm in Britain.

Some sectors look good value for investors, while others will be best avoided.

With restaurants, cafes and pubs closed, demand for food and drink delivered to our door is booming.

Experts say the trend is not unusual in times of economic uncertainty, where investors look for items that hold or increase in value while the stock markets are volatile.

It under-performs in rising markets while outperforming when equity prices are sliding. It's an investment modus operandi that has stood up reasonably well to recent stock market stresses.

Britain's world class big pharma companies were always going to be a huge asset in the fight against Covid-19 and in finding solutions, not just to this pandemic, but to future similar events.

Royal Mail employees have kept services operating in the midst of a crisis. So it is surprising Back has chosen, since the shutdown began on March 23, to hunker down with his family abroad.

Georgieva scratched at an old wound when she said that the UK should seek an extension beyond the transition period for leaving the EU. Brussels gave the Bulgarian her job and she has not forgotten.

Far be it for me to comment on the US's medical response to the coronavirus, but amid these failings the US does appear to have managed the business piece remarkably well.

The latest public policy intervention to support R&D and start-ups through the worst of the Covid-19 crisis is right. Some will complain the government is slow to react and lags behind Germany.

One could barely believe the reports when the May price for West Texas crude oil dipped into negative territory late on Monday. The immediate thought was: does this mean free petrol for my car?

Richard Branson has touched a raw nerve with his £500m bailout request for Virgin Atlantic. He is portrayed as living the high life in the Caribbean with a reputation for treating women carelessly.