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I was gazing by night at an erupting volcano in Central America last week when the news broke about Iceland’s volcano. My first thought was that this was Iceland’s payback. Ash for cash. Some bizarre spelling trick to inflate away their debt.

But I was feeling less inclined towards stupid jokes by the time I made my way home. We got caught in the fall-out.

I tried to observe events with my investor’s hat on. Of course, there were no long-term investment possibilities to investigate here. This was a chance for the opportunists – and the car hire companies. But I did take a few lessons from the situation that might be worth remembering next time you’re in a tight spot, be it travel or investment-related…

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