Let's say the shit really starts to hit the fan with the latest bond insurance fiasco piled on top of the subprime mess, real estate meltdown, CDOs, CDSs, and all the rest. Where is a nice safe place to put some cash for awhile? Do most brokers have "cash"? I tried to ask Schwab but didn't get a good answer. AFAIK they only have various money market funds, which are full of commercial paper from the very institutions that might go under.
there are money market funds that do not invest in commercial paper. some invest only in treasuries, others invest in agency bonds (eg, fannie mae). their yields are substantially lower than 'prime' mmf's for this reason. or just put it into a bank cd.
not all cash is created equal. so if you really want to hedge your risks, i would hold 50% of cash in your home currency for liquidity purposes, but then the remaining 50% in a currency basket. for example, if i hold 50% us dollars, i would want to hold the remaining 50% in euros (the anti-dollar), canadian dollars (a commodity currency), and swiss francs (a perceived sound currency). on the other hand, the ultimate safe haven is physical gold.
Deposit money in China. China banks accept deposit even if you are a foreigner. But I am not sure whether there is a cap on the deposit. You can expect >10% return (appreciation+interest).
I moved most everything to SHY (iShares short term treasuries) which is in T Notes. I don't really want to take physical delivery of anything like $100 bills or gold bars. I need to figure out where to go next when Uncle Ben and company decide to inflate the hell out of everything (if they can). Anyone else heard the rumors of bank runs already starting in Europe? There is no mention in the US mainstream news, but I've seen references on some web forums. Who knows if they are true or just started by some conspiracy wackos.