rather than pick out individual stocks to trade, it can often be worthwhile to trade the indices themselves, especially in times of high volatility.

for those so inclined, i attach below charts for FTSE and FTSE 250, though one might equally be tempted to trade Dow or S&P, which is significantly broader in its coverage, or even NASDAQ

for ease of reading, i have attached 1 year and 3 month charts in each instance

Dow currently 13,148/13,154

FTSE 5,934/5,940

US cancels vote on Boehner's fiscal cliff 'Plan B'

US Republicans have cancelled a tax vote in Congress, less than two weeks before a deadline for budget reform.

Republican House speaker John Boehner proposed the bill, which would have raised taxes on high earners. But right-leaning Republicans rejected it.

Analysts say the rejection has weakened Mr Boehner's position in negotiations with the White House.

Politicians need to agree fiscal rules by 1 January, or steep tax rises and deep spending cuts will take effect.

wow! glad i had the sense to shut dow long before bed last night .... shame i didn't reverse it too! ..... just shorted ftse as i'm sure -25 (as it stands) will be much greater later .... ftse 250 will probably drop far more but that index not yet open for trading

Damn!!!!! The fine art of kicking yourself :O) Could have equally gone the other way though, such is the casino of playing the indeces. Well done to those who had the battle to stay short.

one could say that it also shows the danger of leaving certain positions open overnight ..... and stops, guaranateed or otherwise, are all very fine, except that stock indices have a nasty habit of spiking momentarily

Just had a small long @13,170 - it looks like the fall last night hit 13,019 @01.15.

about right, but when i checked in at about 07:00 this morning Dow could have been traded about 30 points lower ..... all a bit "whizzy" isn't it :-)

Isn't Obama in a better position now?

probably, and for sure this nonsense will be resolved prior to armageddon, but the markets will react to every nuance and twist until then

I'm staying well away from it, for that reason - would need to be near my screen, and have no wish to be tied to my computer all day

not when you can be tied to the bedposts!

I'm still short FTSE and DOW rolling over daily, both have now swung to profit.

GBP Current Account -12.8B consensus -14.1B previous -17.4B

GBP Public Sector Net Borrowing 15.3B consensus 14.3B previous 6.0B

GBP Final GDP q/q 0.9% consensus 1.0% previous 1.0%

GBP Index of Services 3m/3m 1.1% consensus 1.1% previous 1.2%

GBP Revised Business Investment q/q 3.8% consensus 3.5% previous 3.7%

ok you smartarses - where do we go from here (Dow = 13122 = -187 and FTSE = 5900 = -61 and FTSE 250 = 12300 = -125)?

If we are still here after 11:12 - I suggest the pub!

i've got to drive down to B-on-A this afternoon, so i'll keep the bibulation until i get there!

Well we're still here and I'm still short, FTSE to test 5900 support, DOW 13115 support held and I think it'll test again today.

Thanks for the charts Shortie - I'll hold my albeit small, long for now, on the assumption that as the World didn't end at 11:12, the yanks will make the right noises at somepoint soon.

Historically both the FTSE and DOW are trading near to highs against a propped up economy. This is why I'm shorting both with small stakes and will happily add to my positions if either decides to rally.

House Speaker Boehner to Hold 10 A.M. EST Press Conference -Bloomberg TV

Global stock indexes fell sharply Friday and investors fled to the safety of the dollar and German Bunds after U.S. Republicans canceled a House vote on a tax bill intended to avert a fiscal crisis. Bund futures were up 0.26 point at 144.58, while oil prices slumped as investors grew concerned that time was running out for U.S. lawmakers to come to an agreement on a plan to avoid tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to take effect at the start of 2013. S&P 500 futures fell by as much as 3% earlier and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell by 2%. Both were off lows by early morning trading in Europe and were recently down around 1.3% apiece. The FTSE 100 was down 0.7%, the DAX and the CAC-40 were down 0.4%. Asian stock markets ended firmly lower. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropped 1% after rising 1.3% at one point during the day. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.7%, South Korea's Kospi Composite lost 1%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index declined 0.2% and the Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.7%. In foreign exchange markets, the dollar strengthened against a number of currencies as investors dumped asset classes that are seen as more risky. The dollar was up against the euro, with the single currency falling to $1.3199 compared with $1.3244 late Thursday in New York. The dollar is a favored currency at times of stress as it remains the world's reserve currency, and tends to be resilient even during U.S. economic uncertainty. "The clear lack of progress and shrinking time-frame has placed the emphasis on risk off trades such as the dollar and the yen," explained Lee McDarby, head of dealing at Investec Corporate Treasury. Spanish and Italian government bond yields also rose as risk appetite was damped. The 10-year Spanish government bond yield increased by 0.05 percentage point to 5.25% and the Italian equivalent ticked up 0.08 percentage point to 4.49%. Problems in the euro zone are never far off the agenda and Friday was no exception. Ratings firm Standard & Poor's cut Cyprus to CCC+ from B, citing the rising risk of default. Cyprus has very close links with Greece and its banking sector. The U.K.'s economy also looked like it was in a precarious state. The third reading of U.K. gross domestic product for the third quarter was revised down to 0.9% growth from 1.0%. In addition, consumer confidence released earlier this morning dropped while public finances also come in weaker than expected. "The U.K. appears to be ending 2012 not in particularly great shape and as such we suspect the Bank of England has more work to do with further policy stimulus likely in early 2013," said economist James Knightley at ING Bank. Sterling dipped against the dollar following the disappointing reports but U.K. gilts remained steady.