Lovely, lurid headlines in the press again. Millions wiped off shares. Economic meltdown. Panic in the City. It’s scary, dramatic-sounding stuff but it doesn’t have to make us run screaming for the hills.

None of this is much of a surprise. As I’ve said before, we’re in turbulent times. This isn’t the last of the big drops, but then there will be big gains later too.

In fact, in all honesty, when I saw the headlines (in someone else’s London Evening Standard on the train) my first thought was “oh good, I’ll put some money into a FTSE All Share tracker this week – I’m glad I wasn’t able to a fortnight ago when there was another big dip”. Seriously, that’s my view and that’s what I’m going to do when I get a minute!

I refuse to be scared by the headlines. None of this means the end of the world – it doesn’t even mean the end of our economy. For a start, many businesses and individuals are doing very nicely even now (take a look at our articles on how to make money from the recession for an idea of a few sectors that are doing well). And several economists I respect are saying, and have said for a while, that although the recession will be tough, it won’t be a depression and it won’t last much further than some time in 2010.

And as for the apparent global recession that everyone’s talking about, of course there are certainly negative consequences of that but there are also many positive ones:

• Isn’t it a relief for the earth’s atmosphere that already somewhat fewer toxic gases are being pumped out by the world’s developed and developing countries?
• Isn’t it pleasant to see oil prices drop to around $60 a barrel? Not only will that help motorists (admittedly it’ll help them pump some more fumes into the atmosphere but that’s nothing compared to industry) but also it will bring the price of gas down a little and it should also help bring the price of food back down.
• These factors will also bring down inflation (it’s already happening) which will further encourage Mervyn King to cut interest rates which should help the millions of people in debt in this country (not massively but it’ll help a little).
• Isn’t it about time the West had a wake-up call about our stupid, wasteful and greedy consumerism? It hasn’t made us happy and it’s contributing to pollution too.
• Frankly, don’t we need a bit of a break from constant growth? Couldn’t our economies do with a bit of a rest? Yes, that may sound like a weird thing to say about an economy because we seem to take it for granted that economies are supposed to grow – that’s just what they do, but what’s wrong with a bit of a break for a year or so?

We have to insist on thinking for ourselves, refusing to be pulled this way and that by talk of terrible losses or fabulous gains. Living a simple and sensible life and concentrating on important things – good relationships, health, giving and keeping active – we’re much less likely to be impressed or scared by these explosive headlines.

There are so many commentaries on what has been happening over the last couple of weeks that I'm not going to add to them...yet (watch this space, though, I have stuff to say!)

However, my big warning to everyone, given the kinds of questions I've had from journalists, readers, viewers etc recently is "Don't lose money through panicking".

I honestly think that's the biggest danger for consumers right now. Greed, stupidity and fear are the big enemies of money-making. We've had a few years of greed and stupidity and if we don't watch it we'll have another year or two of fear and stupidity.

Now is not a time to be selling everything - it being a low market. Now is a time for holding tight, cutting costs and looking to buy while things are cheap. By things I mean shares and, a little later, I mean property and even businesses if that's what you're after.

This is a time of opportunity if we approach it right. And one way to help dampen the panic and get our feet on the ground is to have a laugh about it. Here are some lines sent in by readers of the Freakonomics blog (a good one to subscribe to btw). Check 'em out and add do please any you have heard. We all need some good jokes:

What’s the difference between a investor and a pigeon?

The pigeon can still make a deposit on a house.

Heard something similar back in the 80s. I love that joke.

What’s a Liberal?
A Conservative Mugged by Wall Street.

I went to buy a toaster, and it came with a bank.

Q: What’s the difference between a guy who just lost everything in Vegas and an investment banker?

A: A tie.

Q: How many stock brokers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Two … one to change the bulb, the other to sell off the old one at the highest price possible before CNBC reports that it’s burned out.

Q: How many commodities traders does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None, they don’t change bulbs; but the trading price of darkness plummets due to oversupply.

Q: How many real-estate agents does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Just one … but after changing the bulb, s/he raises the asking-price of the house due to “recent renovations.”

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced his altitude and saw a man below. “Excuse me, but can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago but I don’t know where I am,” he said.

The man below replied: “You are in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 ft above the ground. You are between 40 and 41 degrees North latitude and between 56 and 57 degrees West longitude.”

To which the balloonist replied “You must be a broker.”

To which the man on the ground said: “I am, but how did you know?”

The reply came from above: “Everything you told me is technically correct but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help so far.”

The man below responded: “You must be a trader.”

To which the balloonist replied: “Yes, I am, but how did you know?”

To which the man on the ground said: “You don’t know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to your current position due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep and you expect me to solve your problem. The fact is, you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it’s my fault.”

As overheard being told on the radio by Warren Buffett:

They are cancelling the Christmas Pageant on Wall Street this year.

They are apparently not three wise men left among the lot, let alone a virgin.

What’s the difference between a bond and a bond trader?

A bond matures.

I was running a money workshop at the BBC yesterday and, as so often happens, I had loads of questions thrown at me about ISAs, particularly moving ISAs.

The rules have changed recently which makes what was already a bit of a complicated area, even more confusing…at least at the start. So, here are a few FAQs about moving your ISA and the answers:

Q: Is an ISA an investment?

A: Not exactly, no. ISAs are kind of ‘wrappers’ that you wrap around an investment to stop you having to pay tax on any gains you make. So a cash ISA is like opening a savings account at your local building society but, because you’ve wrapped it in this tax-saving protector, when they add the interest on you don’t get that nasty lump taken out for tax. With a shares ISA, any gains you make on that investment don’t get taxed either.

Q: Can I move my money from one ISA to another?

A: Yes, so long as you don’t take the money out and then try to put it in another ISA. You can transfer it directly from one to another while keeping the money in the ISA ‘wrapper’ all the time. Fill in a form from the new company you want to move to and make sure that they will do the transfer for you, keeping the money within the ISA wrapper at all times.

Q: Will I lose out if I move?

A: Possibly. Some providers charge you a bit if you move your money. But it still may be worth it if their interest rate has gone down so much compared to your new provider. Check it out, though, before you make the move.

Q: Can I move my money from a cash ISA into a shares ISA?

A: Yes, you can now. You can transfer your cash ISA to another ISA manager, either into another cash ISA or into a stocks and shares ISA. Also, you can transfer your stocks and shares ISA to another ISA manager, but only into another stocks and shares ISA. You can’t transfer a stocks and shares ISA into a cash ISA.

A: Since April 6^th the rules have changed so now you can put a total of £7,200 in an ISA-wrapped investment (within the tax year – April 2007-April 2008). You can either put the whole lot in a shares ISA or you can invest up to £3,600 in a cash ISA and the rest in shares.

BTW, if you need help you can check out the Government’s factsheet on ISAs which is here.

The markets are down again as I write. Not a surprise. This week and next week at least will see more of the roller-coaster ride we've been seeing over the last fortnight.

I'm really not worried about it myself. In fact, if I had some money to spare right now I would be looking for bargains to buy. This is a good time for investors (if you're willing to sit the ride out) unless you have invested in the US sub-prime mortgage market.

This correction has been coming for a while. There has been too much greed and stupidity running the decisions of corporate investors over the last few years. Now the chickens have come home to roost, with the sub-prime mortgage market in America crashing.

One particularly interesting aspect of the current ups and downs is the way dodgy investments are packaged and re-packaged and then re-packaged again all around the world. The main reason why the problems in the US mortgage market are so badly affecting European and Asian banks is that many of them have invested in products relating to this market in some way or other. Debt produces income to lenders (it's one of the main ways that banks make money) and dodgy debts (i.e. money lent to people who would have difficulty paying it back) can produce truly eye-watering returns for a while at least as the interest rates are so high.

One lender doesn't carry all the debt though. They wrap it up into an investment product and offer it around to other banks around the world to invest in. Some of these then wrap it again and offer it elsewhere as part of a different investment product...and so the poison spreads.

The problem now is that no one knows who has invested in these products and, if so, how much so there is fear and loathing across the markets with no one trusting anyone else and the flow of money-lending all but stopping in some parts.

It will take a while for things to sort themselves out and for calm to reign again. There is much to sort out though, not just sub-prime-related investments. I think there has been too much lending across the board over the last few years, with banks funding mergers and aquisitions that probably shouldn't have happened, at least not at the prices quoted. So a shake-down has been on the cards there as well.

The bumpy ride will continue for a while but if you are investing for the long-term, and that includes your pension fund, then this is not a time to panic.

Of course, if you feel differently, comment here - or post a note on our new discussion boards.