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

travelling tomorrow so have encashed 1/2 my dow long .... juicy little profit for 24 hours :-)

Seymour - I think many of us are similar - a watched pot .....

TOKYO--One of Mr. Abe's economic advisers on Friday signaled the Bank of Japan should take further monetary easing steps if the economy struggles as a result of a planned sales tax increase next year. Koichi Hamada, a Yale University professor emeritus, also said the Federal Reserve moving closer to a scaling-back of its bond-buying program should weaken the yen, which in turn would be good for the Japanese economy. "It seems like Mr. Kuroda was so passionate about raising the sales tax rate, and I think he will be responsible for that judgment," Mr. Hamada said at a Chuo University lecture event. "I am not worried about the government going ahead with the tax hike now, as I expect Mr. Kuroda will manage monetary policy appropriately." After months of discussions, the government decided to raise the nation's sales tax rate from 5% to 8% in April next year. Mr. Hamada and Etsuro Honda, another adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, were against the increase. But the BOJ chief kept insisting Tokyo should go ahead with raising the tax rate, otherwise it would be difficult for the bank to control the nation's interest rates. Traders say further monetary easing by the BOJ should weaken the yen. Commenting on future moves by the Fed to taper its bond-buying program, Mr. Hamada said: "Once the U.S. quits its monetary easing, the dollar will become more scarce, therefore the yen should fall." "And that's good for the Japanese economy," he added. He added, though, that a weakening of the home currency inflates import prices so "it's not just about good aspects." As of 0745 GMT, the dollar was trading at Y100.09. Traders say the dollar is rising amid the view that the world's largest economy remains firmly on a growth track, an assessment fueled by the stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data released earlier this month. Mr. Hamada, though, stated a different view, saying the currency move is due to the Bank of Japan's monetary easing programs launched earlier this year. The easing is part of "Abenomics," the pro-growth policy package being implemented by Mr. Abe. Mr. Hamada, one of the masterminds behind Abenomics, said the policy is on course for success. But a lack of belief in the program among the public is an Achilles heel of the economic policies. "We have started to see evidence that Abenomics is being successful, such as the surges in Japanese share prices we have seen over the past 12 months," Mr. Hamada said. "The public is still half in doubt, though I think that doubt is groundless." Mr. Hamada added that improving economic indicators such as job-related data were also good examples of how Mr. Abe's policy steering has been successful. Several months after Mr. Abe launched the first and second "arrows' of his policy package--the BOJ's monetary easing and the government's big fiscal spending--the government is now focused on the third arrow, or the "Japan is back" growth strategy. The package includes the government's unusual attempts to bring about an economy-wide wage-rise next year, and Mr. Hamada agreed that it is necessary for the economy as it would strengthen confidence on Abenomics among the public. Mr. Hamada said the third arrow growth strategy is struggling, therefore if he were go give a grade to it, "it would be difficult to give a C, or even a D." he said. "But I can't give it an F grade as I would have to step down from my government post."

Just closed by ex-divi play RDSB +20 and +28.31 dividend.

Nice one skinny.

+15 from Cable today. Wasn't going to bother but took an early afternoon long. Back at my buy price again now, I don't like leaving Forex positions over the w/e.

Watching GBP/JPY

Short GBP/JPY, long Cable (which is going the wrong way), probably going to get stopped out of that one.

Quite a turn.

Stopped out of Cable -40

dow is most interesting as it has now poked its head through 16000 without much trouble

confess i thought it would stall at that level so banked the rest of my dow long a bit lower (who cares!)

now watch for 16125 and be prepared to duck!

DAX looks rather overbought..

Just closed some NYSE:DDD @ $83.337 +65%.

well done indeed! ..... they're up 47% in a month sp you must have held them a while longer

Yes - I bought mid July.

Have a look at NYSE:VJET a recent IPO in the same field - I don't hold sadly.

Currently around +55 on my GBP/JPY short. Also watching AUD/NZD for a possible long.

With the stimulus going on in Japan I'm uneasy with a GBP/JPY short position, trend is long and has been for a while... AUD/NZD is interesting though I'll have a good look at this pair, shame I can short GBP/GMD also...

The only reason for the short was that it had risen very fast to a significant resistance level. Won't be holding it too much longer though.

Edit, closed +50

Never heard of GBP/GMD - until today :-)