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

Thanks Hils, Shortie.

Thanks Hilary, I've closed out the GBP/USD position taking a profit. I noticed the trend line upwards but it looks like its going to reverse from below and my own view was the run was overdone.



GJ has my attention as its up against support right now, 156.55, doubt I'll trade it though either way..

Will the trendline be maintained with the taking out of 15000

Up or down, think I'll be on the fence for this afternoons session.

Should have stayed short, live and learn with a profit though so not all bad!

I think either - cable / indexes are reasonably risky over the weekend - any thoughts?

That'll depend upon the size of your cahunas, Skinners.

:o)

It was of course rhetoric and should have ended with 'discuss'! :-)

Well Sterling is off highs and 6390 has yet to be taken out so don't expect much movement. Wall St the same unless news breaks.

Been watching currency and commodities mainly today, energy markets are interesting.

Look like it could be fun

Natural gas climb as traders watch Tropical Storm Karen --Market participants worried about possible supply disruptions in Gulf of Mexico --Natural gas hurt by weak demand and higher stockpiles amid moderate temperatures By Brett Philbin NEW YORK--Natural-gas futures rose Friday, rebounding from a one-week low, as traders worried that Tropical Storm Karen could disrupt offshore gas-production rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Natural gas for November delivery gained 0.22 cents, or 0.6%, to $3.521 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gains follow losses in two of the past three trading sessions. While the hurricane season this year has been quiet so far, energy investors are still fearful that the latest storm could hurt production in the Gulf of Mexico, where output in July accounted for 4.3% of total U.S. gas flow, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Tropical Storm Karen, now in the middle of the Gulf, has maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour and is projected to make landfall anywhere from eastern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle early Sunday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center. The governors of Louisiana and Mississippi have declared a state of emergency in their states ahead of the storm. Oil and gas companies, including Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) and BP PLC (BP, BP.LN), have evacuated nonessential workers from Gulf platforms as the storm approaches the heavy oil and gas-production area. "Some rig shut-ins are likely giving support to prices, but I don't think this will provide enough strength for a significant rally," said Gene McGillian, an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Conn. Mr. McGillian expects production in the Gulf region to be only slightly affected by the storm, which was initially expected to become a hurricane, but now isn't forecast to reach that status. Meanwhile, mild temperatures are expected to continue across much of the U.S. over the next two weeks. Moderate weather conditions have led to weaker gas demand and higher stockpiles, factors that analysts say could continue to keep a lid on prices until the onset of winter. In its 11-to-15-day outlook, private forecaster MDA said that while a couple days of above average temperatures are expected in the northeast, "otherwise the [weather] pattern has held consistent with yesterday." On Thursday, the EIA said gas inventories rose by 101 billion cubic feet in the week ended Sept. 27, more than the 95-bcf that analysts had expected. The gain was well above the five-year average increase of 82 bcf for the week and sent prices Thursday to their lowest settlement value since Sept. 26. Mr. McGillian said that with limited tropical storm activity and less near-term demand for heating and air conditioning, he expects "lackluster trading" to continue as many market participants stay "on the sidelines" in the near term.

Aaawww shucks, Skinners, and there I was thinking we were gonna discuss budgerigars versus donkeys. Ho hummm.

But if you want to discuss the merits of holding over a weekend, surely it's going to depend upon what chart timeframe you're trading and whether you're trading with or against the trend. If you're trading 1-hour or slower, and with the trend, then you're probably not going to worry too much about a gap on Sunday evening. In any event, the balance of probabilities is that the market will gap with the trend in your favour.

If you're trading against the underlying trend or on a faster chart timeframe (15 minutes or less), then the chances are that you'll get a signal to close your trade anyway, well ahead of market close.

And if you haven't got a clue why you're in the trade, can I trade against you next time please?

:o)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/03/warren-buffett-debt-ceiling_n_4036347.html

the following is a bit long but worth reading ..... came out less than 15 minutes ago ....

China urged Washington on Monday to take decisive steps to avoid a debt crisis and ensure the safety of Chinese investments, as a deadlocked U.S. Congress confronted a looming deadline to increase the nation's borrowing power or risk default.

China, the U.S. government's largest creditor, is "naturally concerned about developments in the U.S. fiscal cliff", Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said in the Chinese government's first public response to the Oct 17 deadline in the United States for raising the debt ceiling.

"The United States is totally clear about China's concerns about the fiscal cliff," Zhu told reporters in Beijing, adding that Washington and Beijing had been in touch over the issue.
"We ask that the United States earnestly takes steps to resolve in a timely way before October 17 the political (issues) around the debt ceiling and prevent a U.S. debt default to ensure safety of Chinese investments in the United States and the global economic recovery," Zhu said.
"This is the United States' responsibility."

The U.S. government moved into the second week of a shutdown on Monday with no end in sight, as Congress also confronted an October 17 deadline on raising the debt ceiling.
"We hope the United States fully understands the lessons of history," Zhu said, referring to a deadlock in 2011 that led to a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating to "AA+" from "AAA" by agency Standard & Poors.

The last big confrontation over the debt ceiling, in August 2011, ended with an eleventh-hour agreement under pressure from shaken markets and warnings of an economic catastrophe if a default were allowed to happen.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner vowed on Sunday that there was "no way" Republican lawmakers would agree to a measure to raise the debt ceiling unless it included conditions to rein in deficit spending.

The comment raised fears that the U.S. Congress and Obama could fail to reach a deal on raising the ceiling by October 17, when the Treasury has estimated it will have run out of cash.

Any ideas on how to trade this?

Hils "can I trade against you next time please?"

You know you don't have to ask! :-)

Try http://www.ftse.co.uk/Indices/FTSE_Frontier_Indices/Downloads/FTSE_Frontier_50_Index_Rules.pdf

Shortie - I've seen the background info - I can't seem to find an obvious vehicle to trade it!

.

The Chinese government has warned the U.S. that the government shutdown and prospect of Washington's first ever default were threatening the value of its U.S. investments.

In its first official reaction to the U.S. political stalemate over the budget and looming debt ceiling deadline later this month, Beijing said that "the clock is ticking" and urged politicians in Washington to "ensure the safety of the Chinese investments".

Flags of the United States and ChinaZhu Guangyao, vice-finance minister, said at a media briefing that "as the two largest economies in the world, China and the U.S. are inseparable."


The U.S. government shutdown has entered its seventh day with little sign of an immediate resolution. On Sunday, John Boehner, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives declared it was "time for us to stand and fight" over the U.S. budget.

Mr Boehner's latest comments have unsettled investors with the S&P 500 expected to open lower on Monday, following falls in European and Asian stock markets.

Mr Zhu said China has made clear its unease with the political impasse in Washington with the U.S. administration.

"The U.S. has a large amount of direct investment in China and China has a vast number of U.S. Treasury bonds . . . The U.S. is clearly aware of China's concerns about the financial stalemate [in Washington] and China's request for the US to ensure the safety of Chinese investments."

China held $1.28tn in US treasuries in July 2013, according to U.S. Treasury data, although the true figure could well be higher than this since China also invests through intermediaries. Advisers to the People's Bank of China, the central bank, have been urging the authorities to diversify the holdings.

(Read more: Obama to Wall Street: This time be worried)

However, Raymond McDaniel, chief executive of Moody's, a credit-rating agency said he thought the U.S. would not default even if a no deal was struck to raise the debt ceiling before October 17, the U.S. Treasury's deadline for raising the $16.7tn borrowing limit.

"Hopefully it is unlikely that we go past October 17 and fail to raise the debt ceiling, but even if that does happen, then we think that the U.S. Treasury is still going to pay on those Treasury securities," he told CNBC on Sunday night.

Later this week, Li Keqiang, Chinese premier, embarks on a three-nation tour of southeast Asia. Coming just after Chinese president Xi Jinping's high-profile visit to Indonesia and U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to pull out of the APEC summit in Bali, Mr Li's tour of Brunei, Thailand and Vietnam will reinforce China's growing engagement with the region.

CNBC's John Harwood has the latest details on the standoff in Washington.Mr Zhu said that Mr Obama's absence from this week's summit was "something that all other parties didn't want to see [happen]".

"We hope that the US can draw lessons from history," Mr Zhu added, noting that a last-minute agreement over the debt ceiling in August 2011 still triggered a downgrade of America's triple A rating by Standard & Poor's.

"As the world's largest economy and an issuer of the world's major reserve currency, it is important that the US take credible steps to address its dispute over the debt ceiling in a timely fashion and avoid a default . . . We hope that the US economy will be able to overcome the grave challenges it now faces and put an end to such disputes so as to sustain the economic recovery process in the US and for that matter the process of global economic recovery."

Mr Boehner said the Republican majority in the House would not pass bills to fund the government or increase the debt ceiling unless the Obama administration was willing to make concessions on healthcare and other issues.

He insisted that "there are not the votes in the House to pass a clean CR [continuing resolution]", a reference to the short-term funding measure with no strings attached that would allow the government to reopen. Mr Boehner also said the debt ceiling would not be increased unless the White House addressed long-term spending and budget issues.

(Read more: Boehner Hews to Hard Line in Demanding Concessions From Obama)

"You've never seen a more dedicated group of people who are thoroughly concerned about the future of our country," Mr Boehner said of House Republicans on ABC television. "The nation's credit is at risk because of the administration's refusal to sit down and have a conversation."

Jack Lew, Treasury secretary, told CNN on Sunday, that Congress was "playing with fire". "If they don't extend the debt limit, we have a very, very short window of time before those scenarios start to be played out," he said, referring to possible cuts in social security and Medicare payments.

He told NBC that by October 17 the Treasury would only have $30bn left to pay its bills. "$30 billion is a dangerously low level of cash. And we're on the verge of going into a place we've never been, not having cash to pay our bills," Mr Lew said.