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

IBM and Google are reporting 4th quarter results after close of the US market tonight - if they're good (and I've read some positive estimates) then the FTSE will follow the DOW up overnight - so watch out!

Toya - I've had a dabble with FB today - I think maybe the torch (google) is going to be passed on soon!

I agree with you there Skinny - but I just thought your limit might get hit in reaction to tonight's news. I got stopped out by 1 point this morning, when I'd set too tight a stop on a long(!) FTSE from 6155.

How's the casserole btw?

I'm still largely short, although I've been nibbling away as and when.

Procrastination being the thief of time - I'm doing the casserole tomorrow now, as my son has decided he would like some!

Merv the swerve speaks shortly I believe.

Didn't know Merv was about to pronounce - should we expect a dip in the market??

I doubt it - he is a spent force now -

Mervyn King to call for more action to boost economy

US college alert amid 'shooting'

A college in the US state of Texas is on lockdown amid reports of several people injured in a shooting.

I don't know how they will ever sort out their gun culture over there...

Time for me to go and relax - had a busy day! I've set a short FTSE at 6210 in case it gets there by morning!

Highest so far is 6200.0 - currently 6192.2 - 6194.2

Don't rely just yet on the " correction" shorts are finger burners

GOOG figures beat all expectations and shares have rocketed after hours, though looks overdone to me

It has for a while. Oven gloves?

Ouch - stopped out and FTSE is still rising at 6220.

Maybe I will stick to what I know

Iain - long time no post!



Mervyn King calls for more action to boost economy

He said much has been done by the government and the Bank, but more was needed, particularly to restore confidence in banks.

Sir Mervyn said there were signs a "gentle recovery" was under way.

Google profits back on track as annual revenue hits record

Net profit for the final three months of last year was $2.89bn (£1.83bn), up 7% on a year earlier. Revenues were up by more than a third at $14.4bn.

Google shares rose by almost 5% in after-hours trading, following the better-than-expected results.

Separately, computer maker IBM reported a modest rise in profits.

Big Dave's EU speech due at 8.

Here's a link to a tongue-in-cheek article written over a year ago that is proving to be eerily close to the truth. Wall Street Journal

And here's how the tabloid press are going to be egging the Great British public on. The good ol' Currant Bun

This made me chuckle :-

"The Germans also like the new arrangements. "For some reason, we never felt very welcome in Belgium," recalls German Chancellor Reinhold Siegfried von Gotha-Dämmerung."

I'm sure this will make Fred smile (or not) :-

"David Cameron—now beginning his fourth term as British prime minister—thanks his lucky stars that, reluctantly yielding to pressure from the Euroskeptics in his own party, he decided to risk a referendum on EU membership. His Liberal Democrat coalition partners committed political suicide by joining Labour's disastrous "Yeah to Europe" campaign."

"LATEST:If Tories win next election, UK voters will be offered an EU in/out referendum once govt has negotiated a settlement, PM say"

I guess that's the death knell of the coalition then!

Still here Skinny :-)

GBP Claimant Count Change -12.1K consensus 0.4K previous -3.0K

GBP MPC Meeting Minutes 0-0-9 consensus 0-0-9 previous 0-0-9

GBP Unemployment Rate 7.7% consensus 7.8% previous 7.8%

GBP Average Earnings Index 3m/y 1.5% consensus 1.6% previous 1.8%

I've bitten the bullett on FTSE shorts, Camerons referendum on the EU will undermine the Pound and this I think will drive the FTSE higher.

I've taken my profit from the short last night and am looking to set up a long position from... somewhere (having got stopped out yesterday!)...

Big funds are apparently moving out of bonds and into equities, and the US should be voting today to extend the debt ceiling for the next 3 months to allow them time to sort things out... Plus we've had some good results from US companies. So, although we seem to be racing ahead, the markets do look as though they are set to continue!