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

well you made plenty previously and you can't always call them right - it would be too easy!

shortie - was it you who told me about HG&HC index? .... if so, many thanks, as it has been most fruitful, though it is very "heavy" and volatile ..... i never know where to set limits on it, so just bank a decent profit when it's offered - as now, albeit that it has continued north a bit

Just seen a headline:
US construction spending falls 0.3%

But:

U.S. manufacturers expanded their business in December after contracting slightly in November, according to the closely followed ISM index. The Institute for Supply Management index rose to 50.7% from 49.5% in November

sold balance Dow at 13348 as it looks to be out of puff - no surprise really

FTSE 140pts up on the back of low volume what does that tell us?

i agree with you hali, and indeed after a quick thought, i have shorted Dow at 13342 ...... it is of course the first day of trading of the fiscal year in usa, which helped rationalise my decision

have also sold a slice of AAPL at 548 but shall retain core (groan!!)

Well - I have chickened out. Was targeting 6200 - but nerves have got the better of me and I bottled at 6040 having trousered a very, very healthy profit. Was not prepared to loose it - although I still expect it to get to my 6200 I am afraid to say I bottled it.

Happy New year to you all - mine has certainly started well - and at the risk of being shouted down - do take a look at AMER - I still think it has legs and is starting to be picked up by many on their radar. Good Luck all - I will look in from time to time.

In general, not many business have been established over the last five years in European countries or north America. Even in Asia and south America, the situation has been bad.

I conclude that there is not many competitors for many of those who survived the downturn, so the rebound should continue for many companies over this year. IMO

AMER was tipped by the Indie or similar

ahoj - what is your definition of "not many" and in what sector?

That was a goodly run you had there BHunt! Congratulations! - reckon you did the right thing to cash in, but what do I know...

Well done bhunt - cynic, if you mean the NMX3720 - it was me that kept/keeps banging on about it.

Cynic: That is generally true regardless of sector.
Do you agree or not? Why?

Cynic re: "shortie - was it you who told me about HG&HC index?"

Affraid it wasn't me...

Awsome day and apart from GKP & GENL, pretty much everything else on my watchlist was in the blue! Long may it last, though I think it may just be the New Year feel good factor (post Santa rally that never happened!) Greece seems to have faded from the headlines, so maybe the Eurozone is healthier than expected! (I wish!!!) I wonder what the next crisis will be?

must have been skinny then i guess

because, ahoj, i don't think it would stand up to scrutiny.
it seems to be accepted that more and more people have become self-employed ..... it follows that they will have nearly always set themselves up as companies

have taken some profits on this surge.

h, am hoping it's going to run until friday, so buttocks clenched until then!

harry - put in a trailing stop

No shit Sherlock!

Bigger fights loom after U.S. "fiscal cliff" deal

WASHINGTON | Thu Jan 3, 2013 6:30am GMT

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans face even bigger budget battles in the next two months after a hard-fought "fiscal cliff" deal narrowly averted devastating tax increases and spending cuts.

The agreement, approved late on Tuesday by the Republican-led House of Representatives and signed by Obama on Wednesday, was a victory for the president, who had won re-election in November on a promise to address budget woes, partly by raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

But it set up potentially bruising showdowns over the next two months on spending cuts and an increase in the nation's limit on borrowing. Republicans, angry the fiscal cliff deal did little to curb the federal deficit, promised to use the debt-ceiling debate to win deep spending cuts next time.

Republicans believe they will have greater leverage over Democrat Obama when they must consider raising the borrowing limit in February because failure to close a deal could mean a default on U.S. debt or another downgrade in the U.S. credit rating. A similar showdown in 2011 led to a credit downgrade.

"Our opportunity here is on the debt ceiling," Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said on MSNBC. "We Republicans need to be willing to tolerate a temporary, partial government shutdown, which is what that could mean."