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

Dax is paying well today Cynic, shorting 20pts a time off 8000 or near to.

I must admit that over the past couple of years, I've been buying the likes of RECI & PEW (which I've posted on the chart thread), RECP,MGHU,HICL,JLIF & SREI mainly for the yield, but many have far outperformed more traditional equity yielders.

Eyes down.

It's amazing how they still can't resist any opportunity to have a political dig at the opposition, rather than just presenting the details.

thanks harry .... i'll turn the office tv on then - it's usually reserved for important things like rugby or the ashes or open golf!

Immediate bounce for the house builder stocks?......and maybe brewers!!!!! :o)

14517 Wall St closed

1p a pint from Sunday Harry - apparently some other bits in the budget too! :-)


Ed Balls huffing & puffing like Jabba the hutt in waiting.

Indeed H, Persimmon up 5%

Ed: Not Brewers on my list yet, apart from Wetherspoon.

7994.3 DAX position closed..

The beer escalator (2p a pint up) cancelled
and beer duty reduced by 1p a pint.
Tax/Duty? removed from AIM stocks.

Cyprus banking crisis solved.Russia buys Cyprus which is fully equipped with its own laundry within the EU!

Nice one h! lol.

Who needs the "Red Army" when all you need to take over the EU is a printing press!

This is gonna end in tears!

Wonder what they're taking by way of payment in all the bars in Ayia Napa atm?

Next Tuesday! Probably plastic beads or is that Corfu. :-)

The place hasn't been the same since my 18 yo daughter and 15 of her mates did their 'Nuns on Tour' there last summer. :o)

Damn - wish I was there :-)

.

German Manufacturing Activity Falls Surprisingly in March

By Alex Brittain Growth in German business activity slowed in March as the manufacturing sector--the heart of its dominant export industry--surprisingly contracted. The figures may raise doubts about the German economy's ability to continue shrugging off weakness in neighboring euro-zone countries that have been more badly hit by the bloc's fiscal crisis. Activity across the German manufacturing and services sectors grew in March, but at a slower rate than in February, data provider Markit said Thursday. The composite purchasing managers' index fell to 51.0 from 53.3, the company's preliminary figures showed. A reading above the 50 threshold indicates month-to-month growth. But activity in the manufacturing sector fell below that threshold, with a reading of 48.9. Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires last week had expected an improvement to 50.5 from the February figure of 50.3. Growth in services activity slowed sharply, to a reading of 51.6 from 54.7. "Germany looks set for a return to growth over the first quarter of 2013, but there are risks that the recovery will have subsided appreciably" in subsequent months, Markit economist Tim Moore said.