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

Shortie,

The money supply needs to reach the economy before you'll see a rise in inflation. At the moment, the QE is going on to the banks' balance sheets and isn't reaching the consumer.

Until all the 'bank bashing' stops and the bank capital requirement threats are lifted, the central bank printing presses can run 24/7, but very little QE money will get as far as the real economy.

Hils, what about increases in price due to higher costs of imports because of sterling's weakness? Suppose it's demand driven as well, and higher costs reduce demand.

Yep. I think you just answered your own question there, Floss.

:o)

Two halves of the same brain working in sync. Amazing!

I can think of many government departments crying out for staff with that unique talent.

:o)

Creates a bubble in the markets though, as soon as QE ends and the pump stops running investors will cash in and run.

What day this week is that?

US 10 year bond auction @5pm.

Mmmm, just waiting to re-apply my FTSE shorts, looks like the rally is getting underway now..

a good day today one way and another ....... sold TCG at a good profit and then went short - that is now in the money ....... bought back FTSE for a very acceptable profit and then switched to Dow long, which is also now in the money

i must try working one day :-)

Shortie,

Whether or not there's a bubble will surely depend upon how adept the central bankers are at recognising the early signals and reacting by slowing the presses down. If they get it right, I don't see why it should be a problem if you take other factors into account as well.

Given their track record, however, I suspect that you will be right and they won't react quickly enough. History shows that markets invariably overshoot, first one way and then back the other way. All markets portray those traits, and they will always continue to do so. Isn't that why you trade them though?

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

Now who was it that once said 'no more boom or bust'? Oh yes, it was the one-eyed Scottish monster who got us into this mess in the first place.

shh! don't say that too loudly or fred will hear you :-)

God forbid - if this thread gets trashed, I'm off.

Thank you for your earlier comments

I have had a great day playing swings and roundabouts quite successfully. Currently nicely in profit on my FTSE long and marginally in the red with my Gold long.

I wish every day was as much fun (and as profitable)

Samsung set for crucial Galaxy S4 smartphone launch

Samsung is set to launch a device in its flagship premium smartphone range, expected to be named the Galaxy S4.

It follows the S3, a handset that has sold more than 40 million units. The Galaxy handsets are seen as the closest competitor to Apple's iPhone.

Analysts predict software that tracks where users are looking and automatically scrolls down the page as it is read, without it being touched.

There is also expected to be a souped-up camera and processor.

And some of the software is probably developed by CSR :-)

quite a nice start to my day - dow position shut down LIMIT UP :-)

I have a down bet on the Ftse at 6510 and an up bet on gold at 1583 atm -with gold currently under water

US unemployment stats @12:30.

USD PPI m/m 0.7% consensus 0.7% previous 0.2%

USD Unemployment Claims 332K consensus 348K previous 340K

USD Core PPI m/m 0.2% consensus 0.2% previous 0.2%

USD Current Account -110B consensus -111B previous -108B

CAD NHPI m/m 0.1% consensus 0.1% previous 0.2%

CAD Capacity Utilization Rate 80.7% consensus 80.8% previous 80.9%