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

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.

Two surveys shows price and cost increases next year --Healthcare benefits lead list of expected cost hikes for 2013 --In response, more manufacturers plan to mark up their selling prices By Kathleen Madigan The policymakers at the Federal Reserve may feel like they're herding cats. Politicians are complicating the economic outlook with their fiscal-cliff shenanigans. And monitoring the labor markets is made more difficult because people keep dropping out of the workforce and thus skew the official unemployment rate. But it looks as if inflation may follow the Fed's expectations for 2013. According to the latest projections by Fed board members and regional presidents, core consumer inflation--as defined by yearly increase in the personal consumption expenditure price index excluding food and energy--is projected to run between 1.6% and 1.9% next year. The lower number would keep inflation unchanged from 2012. At the upper range, inflation would be close to the long-run target of 2% instituted by the central bank in its December 12 policy statement. [The price environment is viewed as stable when prices on average are rising about 2%.] Surveys done by two regional Fed banks suggest policymakers may get their wish for somewhat faster inflation next year. Businesses are expecting to face significant cost increases next year and plan to respond by lifting their own selling prices. According to the surveys done by the Fed banks of New York and Philadelphia, the cost pressures won't come from energy and wages. Instead, manufacturers see benefits, specifically healthcare costs, as leading the charge. The New York Fed survey found area manufacturers think total employee benefits will increase 7.2% next year, up from 6.4% expected for all of 2012. The Philadelphia survey broke out health benefits alone and found a 7.2% expected advance, with nearly 60% of respondents saying the anticipated cost hike will be larger than the increase they saw in 2012. In response, a growing share of companies are planning to lift their own selling prices. Looking out through the first half of 2013, about 36% of respondents in both New York and Philadelphia plan to increase prices. Both readings are up from November and from readings taken six months ago. The pricing strategy won't trigger a jump in inflation. The economy has too much slack for most companies to mark up prices sharply. But the plans mean central bankers may get their wish for a more stable price environment next year. And if companies are able to make markups stick, the Fed will view that as a sign of a firmer recovery. (Kathleen Madigan, a special writer, is the primary author of the Big Picture column. She covered the economy for almost two decades at BusinessWeek and worked in the economics departments at several Wall Street firms. Write to Kathleen Madigan at kathleen.madigan@dowjones.com.)

World's investors stirred, not shaken by U.S. fiscal crisis

LONDON | Fri Dec 21, 2012 3:10pm GMT

(Reuters) - Global investors are betting Washington will overcome its budget deadlock despite an apparently serious setback.

If they are wrong, there could be a sharp market reaction and the U.S. dollar and Treasury bonds would be among the main beneficiaries, making for a very different dynamic to the euro zone crisis, where bond market pressure was instrumental in forcing policymakers to act.

Sexy Beccy's last day on CNBC, how will I cope? :O(((( only reason for watching that shixe now and again. That's me till Jan, Merry Xmas and lets hope for a very Happy New Year to everyone (even Fred (Gobshite of the year recurring) pint with my name on it! :O)

Hey cyners when you look in.......Have a good one at B&A, if you feel like a pie & pint in Bath towards the end of next week let me know.

what ho young Emu ..... am now safely ensconced at the usual, so give me a call if you want to meet up ..... can easily get more towards W-s-M if it suits you better, but please chooe a better hostelry this time :-)

A couple of days old, but relevant

In a year of big elections, Japan’s was Godzilla

Is Japan set to lead after 20 years of torpor?

Retailers 'facing critical financial issues'

Nearly 140 retailers are in a "critical condition" despite Christmas being their peak trading time, business recovery firm Begbies Traynor has said.

Its UK business solvency survey found 13,700 more firms were in distress, a 35% rise in the quarter to December.

It said many could struggle to meet their quarterly rent payment, due on Christmas Day.

That is a huge rise compared with last year! Looks like 2013 could be a good year for Begbies Traynor then...

what ho Mistress T ..... i take it that you not yet been washed away by a local tsunami ..... i'm keeping a watchful eye from afar on the state of the river at home, and hoping that we shall escape the the water table rising sufficiently to flood our cellar (wines already well off the floor!)

Hello there Cynic - luckily I'm well clear of the River Dee's flood plain, though we've had our share of rain here! I hope your cellar remains dry; best thing might be to invite some friends over and help you drain a few bottles, then you won't have to worry...

Happy Christmas All - see you in the New Year! Time for me to get my pinny on.

Like your style Toya, time he reduced his stock..... have a good one all.,.

we've managed a few bottles of good and interesting claret (the '78 was still surprisingly robust) + 1 x 1963 Croft's port (light, pale delicious) ...... trad lunch today means more claret - we thought burgundy would be too heavy - and a very ancient bottle of barsac with pud ..... this last may well not have anything nice left in it, but we shall see

Depends what meat you are having. Anything game related and the Bordeaux will be too light. Had partridge for the first time last night and have got pheasant today. Decided turkey was getting a bit dull. Happy Christmas.

would rather goose but no chance ..... partridge is delicious and should be fine with claret or even a light burgundy ..... in fact, am stuck with turkey, but have uncovered a magnum of 1994 Beringer - CA cab sauv

A tender, well hung piece of lamb from my local butcher plus 6 veg has left us well ...... stuffed.,.

a further strong sign of global economic upturn ...... FT advises that iron ore prices have hit an 8-month high

A self opinonated tit! just about sums you up cynic haha.

nice..... peace on earth and goodwill to all men.

what's up with that tosser?
must have swallowed a wasp

HALI - hope you had a good christmas
happily surprised to see TLW making a good recovery of late, but a long way further north required!