Way back on the third of November, I advocated in this very blog, that central banks needed to slash interest rates in order to help boost flailing economies. And guess what? I was right! So I reckon I’m going to take the credit for this one (let’s face it, this doesn’t always happen, so milk it while the going’s good, I say!).

In the UK the bank of England cut rates to a staggeringly low 2% - the lowest rate since time began (ok, I’m exaggerating, but you get the gist). The Eurozone looks sure to follow, as the need to improve confidence becomes ever more urgent. With that kind of paltry rate, businesses should eventually start investing again, and banks start lending again.

Of course, it’s going to take time. Once you’ve been stung, the pain doesn’t go away in a jiffy. It takes treatment, patience and belief. It also depends on the banks actually passing on this rate cut to the hard-pressed mortgage customers who need it most. Then they can start to afford to pay back their mortgages, so stabilising the housing market away from the spectre of negative equity. Once that happens, people will start looking to buy again, with funds from the now more secure banks who are being propped up by various governments.

That’s all theory of course, and what happens in reality is often a different matter, but historically at least, the housing market has always prevailed in the long run. In the meantime, many investors are looking at alternative and often quite innovative ways of making a buck. Some are getting involved in funding syndicates of one kind or another, which if entered into with intelligence and clarity, can actually be a rather appealing investment. Investors working with each other? Who’d have thought it! Yet, in the end, everything’s interconnected in some way - you just need to know which connections will provide you with the best and most consistent stream of returns.

Propertyshowrooms.com provides an interesting array of these investment funds, through its International Property Investment Network (IPIN). Definitely worth a look. For now though, I shall not tempt fate my making any more predictions. Suffice to say that worldwide investment is still alive and well; you just need to know where to look...