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

good quality and diversified miners
it is currently very strange (to me) that with world economies very clearly recovering (including uk which some here need to acknowledge!), though eurozone excepted, it seems very strange to me that even good quality and diversified miners continue to take a pasting

surely this is nuts, even if markets are rarely logical, but i'm damned if i know how determine when assorted sp's will start to recover .... i'll certainly be watching the likes of BLT in particular plus RIO and perhaps KAZ

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any thoughts from anyone else?

cynic is it not all about supply and demand, de-stocking by end users and projected mineral prices?

yes, but a company cannot de-stock indefinitely and mineral prices are a simple equation of supply and demand, so unsure why the present scenario persists

end users unsure about future demand, remember the Japanese just in time concept.

doesn't quite work that way with commodities .... anyway, the position currently is as it is

I was of the understanding that within metals demand had slowed not lowered whilst the market remained over supplied. This over supply is what's keeping prices low..http://www.nasdaq.com/article/mining-ferrous-non-ferrous-stock-outlook-jan-2014-industry-outlook-cm317214

6740.8 FTse 100 gone short

Anyone in Petroplex Energy Inc?

U.S. adds 74,000 jobs in December, government says. Unemployment rate falls to 6.7% from 7%.
markets don't like that as implies accelerated tapering
can't have a strongly recovering economy without (eventually) new jobs being created - or at least old ones revived

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if uk car manufacturing is indeed sharply increasing, that just may be the first catalyst to more jobs as the car industry affects many others

Or Parkmead. PMG?

i think shortie is in PMG

oh! talk of conflicting indicators

US December jobs report misses forecasts
The US economy created just 74,000 jobs last month. Economists had forecast that the US economy generated 197,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 6.7 per cent from 7 per cent.

cynic unemployment rate fell due to 300k people leaving the jobs market, no doubt the numbers will be revised in due course.

I am in Parkmead yes.

9:00 EST - There's some major head-scratching in the wake of the US jobs report. "What sticks out is you don't believe it," says Michael Jones, chief investment officer at RiverFront Investment, which manages $4.2B of ETFs. "Bond market just launched higher and stock futures weren't friendly." He thinks seasonal adjustments to temporary workers and a cold month likely distorted the data, adding RiverFront likely won't make a move in the stock or bond markets until other reports confirm today's print. Jones has been growing cautious on the global stock rally and in December began raising cash by selling US and emerging-market stocks.

:03 EST - Friday's nonfarm-payrolls number came in shockingly weak, but some investors don't think that alone is enough to usher in the long-awaited stock pullback. That's because the Fed still has its hand on the dial, even as it begins to reduce QE. "My bet is the Fed's $75B [a month of bond purchases] is too strong still to allow much of a pullback," says Michael Jones, chief investment officer at RiverFront Investment. "Given that the Fed is still supporting us, we probably hang in there despite the conflicting data."

Cynic did you have a read of the link to the article I posted on 13912? Just wondered your take on it as you follow the miners..

Thats the GJ shorts now closed..

FTSE short now averages 6733

just read the article attaching to that link, and may re-read

however, stainless steel (s/s) prices are currently very depressed, which is a reflection of both iron ore prices and probably nickel too - an important and expensive element in s/s production

i know that our industry provides just a very small element in s/s demand, but there is no question that demand for tank-containers is very strong indeed, with certainly the last remaining south african manufacturer in that field (SA was world leader from the mid 80's, but that is another story) has sold out the whole of his 2014 production

that being the case, it is further proof positive that the chemical industry (and demand for same) is on a strong recovery course, with all the obvious implications that that brings in its wake

with that in mind, i repeat that i am much inclined to buy into BLT (as it happens) which is a quality company with a diversified portfolio - not sure if it has any nickel assets, but most certainly iron ore and copper