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

UK Banks Need £25 Billion Fresh Capital By Year-End

LONDON--U.K. banks must come up with 25 billion pounds ($37.92 billion) in fresh capital by the end of the year to start plugging an estimated GBP50 billion capital shortfall across the sector, the Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee said Wednesday. The committee, which monitors the financial system and the broader economy, said the immediate objective for banks should be to hold at least 7% in common equity against their risk-weighted assets by the end of the year, after making three key adjustments for potential loan losses, higher risk weights and the costs of past misconduct. It said some banks already exceed that target, but that there was an aggregate GBP25 billion gap across the country's major banks and building societies at the end of 2012. The FPC, a new body that was set up last year as part of a shake-up of U.K. banking regulation, isn't allowed to name individual banks in its assessments of the sector. Its Wednesday statement is being closely watched by banks and their investors, since some banks could now be forced to issue new shares or step up planned asset sales. The FPC said the Financial Services Authority, the current banking regulator, has identified a potential GBP50 billion capital hole at the U.K.'s major lenders. It said this is made up of a potential GBP30 billion in potential loan losses from U.K. commercial real estate and assets in weakened euro-zone countries; around GBP10 billion in additional charges for past misconduct such as the cost of reimbursing customers for faulty payment protection insurance; and around GBP12 billion to cover higher capital charges for raising risk weights applied to banks' assets. "Taken together, the effect of these three adjustments would be equivalent to around a GBP50 billion reduction in the regulatory capital of the major U.K. banks and building societies," the FPC said in a statement. Analysts before the announcement said 81% state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) may have the biggest capital shortfall. The bank has been selling assets and cutting business lines as part of a broad restructuring, and plans to float 25% of its U.S. business, RBS Citizens Financial Group Inc. in 2015. U.K. banks haven't wanted to issue shares while their stock is at depressed prices, so they are stepping up the pace of planned restructurings and finding other ways to improve the capital ratios that serve as the primary measure of their financial health. The FPC said the Prudential Regulation Authority, which takes over from the FSA on April 1, should consider requiring higher capital ratio requirements for any major lender with "concentrated exposures to vulnerable assets, where there are uncertainties about assets not covered in the FSA's assessment of future expected losses or risk weights analysis, or where banks are highly leveraged relating to trading activities." It said banks could also be subject to regular stress tests in the future.

Italian 10-y Bond Auction 4.66|1.3 previous 4.83|1.7

Closed +50.

cluck, cluck, cluck :-)
good these index short positions aren't they :-)

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if i'd been very brave, i'ld have shorted ftse 250, but it's a bit too scary for me

CAD Core CPI m/m 0.8% consensus 0.3% previous 0.1%

CAD CPI m/m 1.2% consensus 0.6% previous 0.1%

Cyprus banks opening from 10:00 GMT till 16:00 tomorrow. Will they have enough cash to last for 6 hours?

Kathemerini

If ever there was an accident bank robbery waiting to happen...

:o)

Hils - I saw that this morning, and thought similar :-)

Hils and here they are in action Cyprus banks to reopen under tight security






Security is tight in Cyprus as banks prepare to reopen nearly two weeks after closing while a controversial bailout was negotiated.

Armed police were on guard as lorries said to be loaded with cash arrived at the central bank on Wednesday night.
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"Armed police are on guard and hundreds of staff from the private security firm G4S will be guarding bank branches and helping to transport money, said the AP news agency."

The new "High St Business model" ?

Camera retailer Jessops returns for a second shot

LONDON | Thu Mar 28, 2013 12:12am GMT
(Reuters) - Britain's squeezed high street will receive a much-needed boost on Thursday when camera specialist Jessops is brought back to life by a well-known entrepreneur less than three months after its collapse.

Peter Jones, whose investments span the food, entertainment and media sectors, will reopen six Jessops stores this week, with up to 30 more opening next month.

German Retail Sales m/m 0.4% consensus -0.5% previous 3.0%

GBP Nationwide HPI m/m 0.0% 0.2% 0.2%

German Unemployment Change 13K consensus -2K previous -3K

EUR 3 Money Supply y/y 3.1% consensus 3.2% previous 3.5%

EUR Private Loans y/y -0.9% consensus -0.7% previous -0.9%

Short FTSE @6,425

I went short FTSE @6420 earlier - can't believe how it's shot up since then :(

6437 FTSE gone short

Italy Economy Minister: Haven't Heard Anything about a Debt Downgrade

By Eva Palumbo ROME--The economy minister of Italy's outgoing government Thursday said he hadn't heard anything about a possible downgrade of the country's sovereign debt by ratings company Moody's Investors Service Inc., speculation that has been circulating on trading floors since Monday, sending financial stocks lower earlier in the week. "I don't have any news about it," Vittorio Grilli told reporters after a parliamentary hearing, according to MF-Dow Jones. "I hope the opposite occurs." Moody's said in a statement Monday that it didn't comment on such rumors. Shares in the country's two biggest banks were trading higher Thursday, ahead of a meeting between center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani and President Giorgio Napolitano in Rome. Mr. Bersani is to report on the outcome of consultations between political parties on forming a government, after inconclusive elections in February. However, the chances of success are slim after the anti-establishment party, 5 Star Movement, said it would not support Mr. Besani. At 1028 GMT, shares in UniCredit SpA (UCG.MI) were up 2.01% at EUR3.35, while Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP.MI) shares were 1.68% higher at EUR1.15 in Milan, with one trader attributing the rise to a rebound after stocks suffered heavy losses earlier in the week.

CAD GDP m/m 0.2% consensus 0.1% previous -0.2%

CAD RMPI m/m 2.2% consensus 1.9% previous 3.8%

CAD IPPI m/m 1.4 % consensus 0.6% previous 0.0%

USD Unemployment Claims 357k consensus 340K previous 336K

USD Final GDP q/q 0.4% consensus 0.5% previous 0.1%

USD Final GDP Price Index q/q 1.0% consensus 0.9% previous 0.9%

Toya - I added @6,445 - I know I shouldn't, but am tempted to stay short over the long weekend.