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

Mixed feelings really, the tile system is good for things like email, facebook, messenger all one one screen and will be better as more tiles and the world adopts it. I got 6MB of RAM and intels i5 and seams to be very quick as an operating system over XP. Desktop becomes a tile which although isn't a problem takes getting used to. Also as using a non touch laptop the touch function becomes justures on the finger mouse thing which again will take some getting used to. Would be logically with a touchscreen though.

Thanks, I had the option of W7 or W8 and finally opted for 8 and have mixed feelings from what I've read.

I've gone for an I7 3770 with 8GB of RAM - which I am looking forward to playing with.

Very nice skinny, that'll be a nice machine for gaming and media then... You could take over the world with that.. lol

who would want Hanwell in preference to Kensington :-)) ?

Looks like the houses of cards are starting to topple... DAX, DOW FTSE

Agree with you Shortie.

I think I might be on track to recouping my losses! Went short DOW at 14542 and FTSE 6426 (rather a random level, but had made a bit on a long earlier...)

I'm so excited - just had to share my good news with you guys!

My theory is that the Cyprus deal could still cause some 'contagion' and set a precedent for future bail-outs needing bail-ins

That's the way to do it! Yahoo spends 'millions' on UK teen Nick D'Aloisio's Summly app

An app created by a UK teenager has been acquired by web giant Yahoo in a deal the BBC understands to be worth "dozens of millions" of pounds.

Seventeen-year-old Nick D'Aloisio's Summly app summarises news stories from popular media companies.

Cyprus defends bailout deal amid recession fears

The government of Cyprus has defended a 10bn-euro bailout deal to save its banks from collapse, amid warnings the island faces deep recession.

Laiki (Popular) Bank, the country's second largest, will be wound up, but small savers will be protected.

Depositors with more than 100,000 euros ($130,000; £85,000), many of whom are Russian, face big losses.

President Putin has told Russian officials to restructure a 2.5bn-euro loan extended to Cyprus in 2011.

Mistress T - clearly some unexpected things get you excited (writes aide memoire to self) .... VERY happy i made a good call too + earlier banking modest profits in C+M and HG+HC Indices

Hi Cynic - indeed, nice surprises always excite me :)

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- The rescue program for Cyprus reached on Monday is a new template for addressing banking problems in the euro zone, said Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the chair of the Eurogroup of euro-zone finance ministers, according to Reuters. "If there is a risk in a bank, our first question should be 'Okay, what are you in the bank going to do about that? What can you do to recapitalize yourself?' If the bank can't do it, then we'll talk to shareholders and the bondholders, we'll ask them to contribute in recapitalizing the bank, and if necessary the uninsured deposit holders," he said, according to the report

dow melting like butter on a hotplate :-))

licking the lips i am Mistress

It's like the bottom's fallen out of a cold jar filled with hot, still-runny jam Cynic ;)

DOW not tested 14411 support yet...

Eurogroup Head: Cyprus Deal New Template For Euro zone - Report
By Geoffrey T. Smith The losses suffered by uninsured depositors in Cyprus as part of its rescue package may have to be repeated elsewhere in the euro zone, Eurogroup Chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem said in a joint interview with Reuters and the Financial Times Monday. "If there is a risk in a bank, our first question should be 'Okay, what are you in the bank going to do about that? What can you do to recapitalise yourself?'. If the bank can't do it, then we'll talk to the shareholders and the bondholders, we'll ask them to contribute in recapitalising the bank, and if necessary the uninsured deposit holders," Mr. Dijsselbloem said. He said that the decision taken in the small hours of Monday by the 'Eurogroup'--the euro zone's 17 finance ministers--should be seen as proof of a new determination to limit the collective liability for bank failures, and reduce to a minimum the need for direct recapitalization of banks by the European Stability Mechanism, the safety net established by the euro zone last year. Asked what the decision meant for other countries with problems in their banking sectors, Mr. Dijsselbloem said: "It means deal with it before you get in trouble. Strengthen your banks, fix your balance sheets and realise that if a bank gets in trouble, the response will no longer automatically be that we'll come and take away your problem. We're going to push them back. That's the first response we need. Push them back. You deal with them." Although his comments represent a sharp shift in rhetoric by euro-zone officials, who have preferred to emphasize the ostensible strengthening of the euro zone's institutional defenses over the last year, they repeat basic principles that have been used in previous bail-outs: notably, that shareholders and creditors should first bear the cost of resolving failed banks. They differ mainly in the explicit reference to the 'bailing-in' of uninsured depositors.

Can you believe it..!

Just closed another FTSE +40 - indicies look to be taking a breather.

good nudge .... i'll lock in the profit on 50% at +/-90 points :-)

Think I'll hold short, Jeroen Dijsselbloem comments could well lead to a case of foot and mouth..

dow is currently dithering in a 15/20 point range, though starting to fall again as i write

I was tempted to close earlier but have left both my shorts running

It's not just Dijsselwotsit who's moving the markets. Here's some more significant news, but expect the silent treatment after the markets close.