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

Spanish 10-y Bond Auction 4.92|2.3 previous 5.20|1.6

China backs stronger N Korea sanctions
that's both interesting and very curious ..... i wonder what brought about that significant change of stance by NK's long-time champion

French 10-y Bond Auction 2.10|2.2 previous 2.30|3.1

FTSE Edges Higher Amid Upbeat Earnings; BOE Up Next

MARKET NEWS: FTSE 100 6451.61 +23.97 +0.37% FTSE 250 13930.09 +6.82 +0.05% FTSE AIM All-Share 742.64 +0.76 +0.10% TOP NEWS: U.K. Growth Seen Hampered By 4Q Setback, Euro Zone Difficulties -BCC The U.K. economy continues to face tough headwinds that are likely to dampen growth both this year and next, the British Chambers of Commerce said Thursday, while urging the government to deliver on its promises of supporting businesses and stimulating growth. U.K. Cameron: We Will Stick to Economic Plan U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron will pledge Thursday to stick to his government's painful austerity drive and wider economic plan even though he will acknowledge that the challenges are huge and recent signs of progress are just the beginning of a long hard road to recovery. COMPANIES NEWS: Aviva 2012 Operating Profit Falls 10% to GBP1.89B, Cuts Dividend Insurance firm Aviva PLC (Thursday reported a 10% fall in 2012 operating profit to 1.89 billion pound, cut its final dividend to 9 pence and removed the scrip alternative in a move to improve earnings per share and give clarity to cashflows and dividend. Standard Life Net Profit Sharply Higher, Proposes Special Div U.K. insurer Standard Life PLC (SL.LN) Thursday posted a sharp rise in full-year net profit and announced a special dividend, after a significant improvement in the U.K. business, growth in its Investments unit and management actions in Canada and the U.K all boosted earnings. Cobham Posts Reduced FY Pretax Profit; FY Dividend +10% Defense technology company Cobham PLC (COB.LN) Thursday reported a 12% reduction in full-year pretax profit, raised the dividend by 10%, and said it expects its operating margins in 2013 to be silghtly lower than last year. Schroders 2012 Pretax Profit -12% to GBP360M, Raises Dividend Global asset management company Schroders PLC (SDR.LN) Thursday reported a 12% fall in 2012 pretax profit, on revenue 5% lower due to a fall in net revenue margins, and a 4% increase in costs as the company continued to invest in the business. Aggreko 2012 Profit Rises to GBP367M, FY Expectations Unchanged Aggreko PLC (AGK.LN), a supplier of temporary power and temperature control solutions, Thursday reported a rise in full year pretax profit and said that expectations for the 2013 year as a whole remain unchanged from previous guidance. IMI 2012 Pretax Profit +5%, Dividend +8%; GBP175M Buyback Program IMI PLC (IMI.LN), an engineering group, Thursday announced a 5% increase in its pretax profit for 2012 and declared an 8% increase in the full-year dividend by 8%, also reporting that it plans to carry out a 175 million pound share buyback program and to divest the majority of its Merchandising business. DS Smith Sees EPS Growth but Performance of Paper Ops Still Poor DS Smith PLC (SMDS.LN), a supplier of recycled packaging for consumer goods, Thursday said it continues to expect substantial year-on-year earnings per share growth and views the remainder of the year with confidence but said the performance of its Paper business continues to be poor. Hunting Lifts Dividend 27% on Strong Earnings Growth Hunting PLC (HTG.LN), an international energy services group, Thursday lifted its final 2012 dividend by 27% as pretax profit more than doubled and said it is confident of delivering a further satisfactory year in 2013. Balfour Beatty Gets GBP130M National Rail Contract Global infrastructure group Balfour Beatty PLC (BBY.LN) said Thursday it has won a contract worth over 130 million pounds to build two miles of the Crossrail route and a new rail station in South East London, from Network Rail. BT to Create 1,000 Engineering Jobs for New Broadband Network U.K. telecommunications operator BT Group PLC (BT.A.LN) said Thursday that it will hire an additional 1,000 engineers to help with the rollout of its GBP2.5 billion fiber broadband network. ECONOMIC NEWS: U.K.'s Cable Raises Question of Increasing Government Borrowing The U.K.'s business secretary has publicly questioned whether the government should borrow more to fund capital spending, a strategy that flies in the face of Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne's austerity drive. BROKER COMMENTS: Cobham Results Solid, But US Defense Ebbs- Edison 0916 GMT [Dow Jones] Cobham (COB.LN) shares are 2.2% higher to 234p following FY results. The numbers are slightly ahead of expectations, says Edison Investment Research. It's due to improved efficiency savings and significantly lower tax rate than 2011. Edison notes Cobham's ramped up cost-cutting efforts in the US, but the brokerage emphasizes the many platforms on which Cobham still has growth potential. "Overall, we see today as a solid result, however not much has changed from the position at November's update," says Edison. The brokerage adds that the US defense segment will continue to decline, whilst cost cutting will soften the blow, and the search for growth is set to continue through investment in R&D. National Express Still Faces Overhang Risks -Liberum 0914 GMT [Dow Jones] National Express (NEX.LN) still faces overhang risks, Liberum Capital says, after Elliott Advisors placed 50.6 million shares in the bus and rail firm. Following the placing's completion, it will hold 9.9% of National Express. Liberum sees the disposal as locking in some of the gain while still retaining a significant shareholding in what it perceives as a long-term value play. The broker adds until the Spanish economy starts to improve and UK coach earnings recover, it expects the shares to trade at a material discount to fair value. Liberum rates National Express at hold with a 280p target price. Shares are down 9.9% to 207p. Investec Places Cobham Rating, Target Under Review 0913 GMT [Dow Jones] Investec Securities places Cobham (COB.LN) hold and 205p target under review following FY results. Says EPS is slightly ahead of Investec's estimate (at 22.6p vs 22.0p) due to lower interest and tax. Says an excellent cash performance and currency effects helped reduce year-end net debt to GBP360M against Investec's GBP444M forecast. "Cobham has ground out a solid performance in challenging defence and security markets," it says. "After a strong relative performance recently, we would not expect the shares to push on much further," it adds. Shares +2.2% to 234p. Unilever Should Sell Food Business -Liberum 0858 GMT [Dow Jones] Unilever (ULVR.LN) should sell its food business to generate new investment for other parts of its operations, Liberum Capital analyst Pablo Zuanic says. "The arguments against a sale of food do not hold water, in our view. We say there are too many categories [and] brands to fix to believe in a turnaround of the food business." Says the buy of HJ Heinz (HNZ) puts Unilever's food business in the spotlight. "The Heinz deal could bring buyers to the fore [for Unilever's food business] and entice Chief Executive [Paul] Polman to sell. We assign higher probability to this event." Has a buy rating. No target price disclosed. Shares +1.5% at 2721p. IMI Boosted By Buyback, Divestment - Investec 0847 GMT [Dow Jones] IMI's (IMI.LN) full-year results are largely in line with expectations says Investec. However it says the focus is on the long-awaited divestment of Merchandising Systems, which has been confirmed. This, along with the GBP175M share buyback underline the strength of the balance sheet for IMI and the sector as a whole, says Investec. Investec places its buy rating and 1245p target price under review. Shares are up 6.4% at 1343p. IMI Delivers Robust Set of Results - Oriel 0846 GMT [Dow Jones] IMI (IMI.LN) delivers a robust set of FY results, says Oriel Securities. Adjusted EPS of 84.3p beats the broker's view of 83.7p. It notes the dividend is also a beat, at 32.5p against its 32p view, while net debt is much better than expected, at GBP144 million against the GBP171 million forecast. Oriel says the standout number is the 19.6% margin in fluid power in 2H, despite the volume drop. It notes this demonstrates very clearly the structural change within the division and IMI as a whole. It adds the ongoing and accelerating transformation of the platform is becoming better understood. Oriel rates IMI at buy with a 1450p target price. Shares rise 6.8% to 1348p. GlaxoSmithKline Dolutegravir Data Are Significant -Shore 0840 GMT [Dow Jones] GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK.LN) fresh Dolutegravir data indicate a statistically significant result, says Shore Capital. Interim data, at 24 weeks, show Dolutegravir delivered virological suppression when compared with twice-daily Isentress, the Raltegravir antiretroviral drug, it notes. "While the study was intended to demonstrate non-inferiority, helpfully superiority was also a pre-specified endpoint." Final data are generated at 48 weeks. Shore keeps a buy rating for GlaxoSmithKline. Shares are up 0.8% at 1485p.

Ooops!

German Factory Orders m/m -1.9% consensus 0.6% previous 0.8%

BofE faces knife-edge decision on bond buys

LONDON | Thu Mar 7, 2013 10:44am GMT

(Reuters) - The Bank of England will decide on Thursday whether to pump more money into the economy as the government stuck to its guns that it would not turn back on its deficit-cutting pledge.

Ahead of the 12 noon British Time announcement by the Bank, Prime Minister David Cameron said abandoning the austerity programme would be disastrous.

Treading water.

GBP Asset Purchase Facility 375B consensus 375B previous 375B

GBP Official Bank Rate 0.50% consensus 0.50% previous 0.50%

Yep no change from the BOE.

RBC consumer outlook index declines to 47.1 in March from 49.5 in February --The vast majority of consumers expect gas prices to rise further --About two-thirds of consumers expect to get a tax refund, and 52% plan on spending some of that money By Kathleen Madigan Sentiment about the U.S. economy turned sharply lower as February turned into March, according to data released Thursday. High gasoline prices and fiscal problems are hurting confidence. The Royal Bank of Canada said its consumer outlook index fell to 47.1 in March from 49.5 in February, putting the index back to its lowest reading since December 2012. The RBC current conditions index fell more than four points to 37.1 from 41.4, while the expectations index declined to 54.8 from 58.0. "The improved economic outlook evident in the first two months of 2013 appears to have been wiped out by rising gas prices and the failure of the government to avoid sequestration," said the report. RBC said the surveys were conducted between Feb. 28 and March 3. Consumers still are worried about the labor markets. The RBC jobs index remained at 55.3, after it fell to that point in February from 56.4 in January. The inflation-expectation index jumped to 80.4 from 76.4. The March reading is the highest since RBC began surveying consumers about prices in December 2010. Higher gasoline prices are driving the inflation outlook. The report said 85% of consumers expect a major or minor increase in gas or fuel prices over the next year, a rise of nine percentage points saying that last month. "Public optimism about the direction of the country has declined significantly from last month," the report said. "Over two-thirds (68%) now think things are off on the wrong track, the lowest score in 15 months." In a series of special questions, RBC asked U.S. consumers about tax refunds. About two-thirds of consumers expect to get a refund, and 52% plan on spending some of that money, rather than saving all of it. In addition to buying basics like food, mortgage and home repairs, consumers plan on using the money for vacations, as a down payment for a big-ticket item or to buy gifts. "We may be seeing a modest pent-up demand scenario playing out," says Tom Porcelli, RBC's chief economist. "Ultimately, it will be interesting to see if those desires expressed in the [report] show up in actual spending. As we know, sometimes what the consumer says and does can be quite different." The RBC consumer outlook survey is conducted online via Ipsos' Public Affairs.

Challenger: U.S. Job Cuts in February Up 37% From Previous Month

By Kristin Jones Layoffs planned by U.S.-based companies jumped 37% in February from the previous month, driven by job cuts in the financial sector, according to data from consulting firm Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc. But the cuts continued to be offset by more hiring. U.S.-based employers in February said they planned to cut 55,356 jobs, 7% more than the same period a year ago. The financial sector accounted for 21,724 of those planned job cuts. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) alone said it would reduce its headcount by 19,000 over the next two years as it trims its mortgage business in response to an improving housing market. "Ideally, you want an improving economy to lead to job creation, but it is not unusual to see employers make reductions in some areas while simultaneously adding in others as changing economic conditions require them to shuffle workforce priorities," said Challenger Chief Executive John A. Challenger. The firm also noted 3,000 job cuts planned by United Technologies Corp. (UTX), which may foreshadow further layoffs by aerospace and defense companies as wide government spending cuts--known as the sequester--take effect. "In addition to aerospace and defense, the sequester is likely to result in increased job cuts in the government, education and non-profit sectors, as well as private-sector industries that count the government among their biggest customers, such as technology, construction and transportation," said Mr. Challenger. Meanwhile, planned hiring announcements, which represent a fraction of the actual hiring activity in the economy, totaled 92,372 in February.

ECB Leaves Refi Rate Unchanged At 0.75%

LONDON--The Bank of England joined a number of other leading central banks in leaving its monetary policy unchanged Thursday, but its inaction masks a lively debate among policy makers over whether new tools are needed to rekindle growth in the U.K.'s stalled economy. But while the BOE mulls new ways of reviving the flat-lining economy, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron Thursday made it clear that his government will stick to its painful austerity drive and wider economic plan, despite calls for a change of course from within his coalition government and the ranks of his own party. The BOE said in a statement its Monetary Policy Committee voted to leave the central bank's benchmark interest rate at 0.5% and the size of its bond-buying stimulus program at 375 billion pounds ($563.1 billion). The central banks of Australia, Canada and Brazil earlier this week left their key policy rates unchanged, while the European Central bank is expected to follow suit when the monthly meeting of its governing council concludes later Thursday. As is usual when it leaves policy unchanged, the MPC didn't release a statement explaining its decision. Sterling rose immediately following publication of the BOE's decision at 1200 GMT, touching a high of $1.5070. U.K. government bonds fell after the announcement, as some market participants were disappointed by the BOE's decision to not extend the asset purchase program. The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond rose 0.03 percentage points to 1.99%. This month's decision marks four years since the benchmark interest rate in the U.K. was cut to 0.5%, a record low in the central bank's 319-year history. There have been few instances outside of wartime in the last 100 years when rates have been kept low for so long, underscoring the economy's parlous state. The U.K. eked out economic growth of just 0.2% in 2012 and is tipped to expand only 1% this year, according to a range of independent forecasts compiled by the treasury. Many economists believe further bond-buying is imminent, even though annual inflation, measured at 2.7% in January, is tipped to rise further above the BOE's target this year. This view was reinforced when minutes of February's policy meeting revealed Governor Mervyn King and markets chief Paul Fisher joined longtime stimulus advocate David Miles in voting for more bond-buying. They were defeated by the remaining six officials on the nine-man panel. "A combination of mixed economic data and the MPC's recent tilt in a more dovish direction, is likely to have made this decision a close call. With only a modest pick-up in growth expected, the possibility of further QE will remain a live issue," said Stephen Gifford, director of economics at the Confederation of British Industry. The monetary policy debate in the U.K. has deepened in 2013 as officials cast around for new ways to boost growth. Mark Carney, the Bank of Canada chief who succeeds Mr. King as BOE governor in July, has signaled he is willing to consider introducing a range of innovations in U.K. monetary policy when he takes office, including Federal Reserve-style guidance on the path of interest rates to encourage spending and investment. Officials have already introduced a program called the Funding-for-Lending Scheme, or FLS, to encourage banks to lend more to households and businesses, although its success has been mixed so far. Rate-setters have also floated the idea of charging banks to park their cash at the central bank in a bid to goad lenders to dish out more loans, and discussed other radical measures. Analysts are now weighing the chances that fresh stimulus comes in a new form. "The growing openness of the committee to new ideas suggests that the MPC is unlikely to remain a "one-club golfer'," said Martin Beck, U.K. economist at Capital Economics. There is also renewed debate within Britain's coalition government about possible changes to its central economic policy--cutting the U.K.'s huge budget deficit. In a long academic article for the New Statesman magazine published Wednesday, the U.K.'s business secretary publicly questioned whether the government should borrow more to fund capital spending, a strategy that flies in the face of Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne's austerity drive. Vince Cable, a member of the Liberal Democrats, the smaller of the two coalition parties, said the key question facing the government was whether it should borrow at current, very low interest rates to raise money to build schools, road and rail projects and housing. Although such a strategy might help revive growth in the economy, nobody knows how financial markets would react, he said. Mr. Osborne is facing growing calls ahead of his budget statement on March 20 to do more to boost growth in the moribund British economy after the country was stripped of its prized top-notch credit rating by Moody's Investors Service in February. Some senior Conservative cabinet ministers are becoming increasingly outspoken in declaring that their departments should be spared from the government's next round of spending cuts, fueling debate among commentators that some may be positioning themselves for a future leadership bid. But in a speech, which comes less than two weeks before Mr. Osborne delivers his annual budget statement on the coalition's tax and spending plans, Mr. Cameron said there are signs the government's economic strategy is bearing fruit. The budget deficit has shrunk, interest rates are at historic lows, private sector jobs are being created and exports to fast-growing economies like Brazil, India, China and Russia have increased, he said. "Of course, these signs of progress are just the beginning of a long hard road to a better Britain," the prime minister said. "But the very moment when we're just getting some signs that we can turn our economy round and make our country a success is the very moment to hold firm to the path we have set."

USD Trade Balance -44.4B consensus -42.8B previous -38.5B

USD Unemployment Claims 340K consensus 354K previous 344K

USD Revised Nonfarm Productivity q/q -1.9% consensus -1.6% previous -2.0%

USD Revised Unit Labor Costs q/q 4.6% consensus 4.4% previous 4.5%

CAD Building Permits m/m 1.7% consensus 5.4% previous -11.2%

CAD Trade Balance -0.2B consensus -0.6B previous -0.9B

dow target is 14545 ...... i think it was back in october/november when that number was first mooted, and though it has inevitably been a pretty bumpy ride since then, that target now looks readily achievable

if that should happen some time in say april, then it signals strongly the customary "sell in may and go away"

CHF CPI m/m 0.3% consensus -0.3% previous -0.3%

GBP Consumer Inflation Expectations 3.6% previous 3.5%

UK Jan Construction Output -6.3%MM, -7.9%YY

German Industrial Production m/m 0.0% consensus 0.6% previous 0.3%

CAD Housing Starts 181K consensus 173K previous 159K